I have Daryl's 5" filter press, an air pump, and a 6 gallon Smoky Lake water jacket canner. This combo is usually great for producing clear syrup bottled in glass. However, this last 6 gallon batch I bottled came out with a slight haze. I'm trying to figure out what happened. As usual, I heated the syrup to 195, drew off 1.5 gallons into a pot with 1.5 cups of DE. I ran it through the press, back into the big pot, then added 2 cups of DE, a little recirculation,confirmed clarity, then into the canner. Is it possible that too little DE would create a slight haze? I think I read that Daryl's press can hold 4.5 cups of DE, so maybe I should add more for a 6-gallon batch.
One thing I noticed was that there was slightly more leakage between the plates than usual, despite tightening the nuts really tight. Not sure why that happened. Is it possible that inside the press some dirty syrup could leak into the clean syrup flowing out?
Thanks for ideas.
Central Ohio
Leader WSE 2x6
Old metal corn crib converted to "The Shack"
Smoky Lake 6 gallon water jacket canner
Daryl 5" filter press with air pump
Deer Run 125 RO
2023: 140 taps, buckets, 32 gallons
2019: 100 taps, buckets, 45 gallons
2018: 100 taps, buckets, 31 gallons
2017: 100 taps, buckets, 15 gallons
2015: 100 taps, buckets, 34 gallons
2014: 100 taps, buckets, 30 gallons
2013: 100 taps, buckets, 52 gallons