First time press questions

[Super Sapper]

You can run the syrup through your press whenever you have time, it will just need to be heated to about 200 degrees. The amount of DE is determined by the amount of syrup and how it is filtering. You will use the same amount of DE with 3 or 5 sections if you only needed 3 sections. It just won't be full with 5 sections. You will just use more papers and as said they are cheap. It really sucks when your press is full and you still have about 1 gallon left to filter.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Once you own a press and run it you will find its idiosyncrasies and will invent new ways to run it. When you get a bag of DE yes a big bag from whoever you will realize that it will last a season and it was the cheapest supply you will get. I know guys that filter off the press by mixing DE in the draw off tank and filtering into their finisher/reheater and then once they have a set amount they heat to filtering temp and then filter once more into the bottler.

Now if you were to stack all your chambers on end on a cookie sheet and fill with DE keeping track of how much it takes to fill 1/2 the plates that will give you what you should use to mix in your syrup for a smaller amount (1/2 bank) and then double it for the full bank. DO NOT pack it in the plates just like your mom did when sifting flower. Because the DE packs down under pressure the sugar sand and niter will have room in the plates. Run the press until pressures build and the plates clog up. When they fill 100% with cake you wont have much syrup loss when cleaning or switching out the papers mid filtering.

I f I could filter 2-3 drums per filter change using a full bank 10 inch I would be buying one tomorrow. I'm skeptical of the figures the guy gave you. Its like saying I can feed my entire family with X amount of food.........YEA right send me a photo of the whole family and not from the neck up

[Maple Man 85]

I f I could filter 2-3 drums per filter change using a full bank 10 inch I would be buying one tomorrow. I'm skeptical of the figures the guy gave you. Its like saying I can feed my entire family with X amount of food.........YEA right send me a photo of the whole family and not from the neck up[/QUOTE]

I own a full bank 10" press, there are times when I can get 2 barrels through and there are times when I struggled to get a barrel. It all depends on the niter, how the press was charged and how you mix DE as you continue to filter. I do filter straight from the draw tank off the evaporator. the trick is keeping the press hot. I like to put something over the press to keep it hot so the plates are exposed to as little cool air a possible. I do agree that papers and DE are cheap but I also don't like to change papers on the fly so I push as much through the press as I can without blowing papers.

[Walling's Maple Syrup]

Instead of cutting spacers(been there, done that) for your press when you don't have enough syrup to utilize the full capacity, I would recommend purchasing a ss plate to slip in like the one pictured. They work great. Just slip in after the last plate you want to use and tighten the press like normal. This acts as a dead end and you can use whatever number of plates you want.
As far as de goes, it is helpful to know how much your press holds, but amount of de will change a lot throughout the season depending how much sugar sand is in the syrup(usually early season there is less sugar sand so it takes more de and as the season progresses and trees thaw out there is more sugar sand so it will take less de. With normal syrup, we generally filter about 500 gallons with one bag of de.
I have an extended 10" press(10frames). After every boil, hot condensate water from the preheater is run through the press, then dumped back into flue pan. This saves sweet from press and makes it easier to clean. Picture keeps loading upside down. Can't figure out on phone. If an admin could fix it, that would be great
Neil20180827_185148.jpg

[Alex Davies]

Instead of cutting spacers(been there, done that) for your press when you don't have enough syrup to utilize the full capacity, I would recommend purchasing a ss plate to slip in like the one pictured. They work great. Just slip in after the last plate you want to use and tighten the press like normal. This acts as a dead end and you can use whatever number of plates you want.
As far as de goes, it is helpful to know how much your press holds, but amount of de will change a lot throughout the season depending how much sugar sand is in the syrup(usually early season there is less sugar sand so it takes more de and as the season progresses and trees thaw out there is more sugar sand so it will take less de. With normal syrup, we generally filter about 500 gallons with one bag of de.
I have an extended 10" press(10frames). After every boil, hot condensate water from the preheater is run through the press, then dumped back into flue pan. This saves sweet from press and makes it easier to clean. Picture keeps loading upside down. Can't figure out on phone. If an admin could fix it, that would be great
NeilAttachment 18776

Thanks Walling's.

I like the SS plate idea.

I'm curious how much your 10", 10 frame press can hold? Mine looks fairly similar to yours... Only it has 8 frames... How much DE do you generally have to put for a batch?

Thanks everyone for all of the advice and info!

[maple flats]

I can only speak for how much my 5 bank 7" press uses. Early in the season I pre-charge with about 1.5 cups DE (later in the season I may need to use 2 cups) in about 3 gal of 200+ F syrup. That coats the papers. Then I draw about 6-6.5 gal from my finisher and add about 1.5 cups DE, when that syrup has been filtered, I draw another 6-6.5 gal and do the same. I repeat until the finisher is empty. I do any where from 16 gal for my bottler up to 26.5 gal into a drum, or 26.5 x 2 into drums or some combination. That all depends on how much I had in my 2x6 finisher.
Then as I pack retail containers from a barrel I filter again but only if the syrup does not look perfectly clear. My exception is when I bottle bourbon barrel aged syrup. That always needs filtering again because bits of the char in the oak barrel get mixed in the syrup.
The amount of DE you need varies with the season, and year to year.
You do not fill the hollow plates to filter the syrup. You start with a precharge amount to coat the papers , then you use less/gal after that, each time blending the DE into the syrup and then pumping it thru the press. It may seem confusing but after you use it 2-3 times you will wonder how you ever got by without a filter press. The only time the hollow plates get full is when it is time to change the papers if you have more syrup to filter.
Look in the Proctor Maple Research site, they list a whole bunch of publications there, look for nd print out the one about "using a Filter Press", it will explain the procedure to you. In my early years I printed it out and made up a folder with the procedure in it. I used it 3 maybe 4 times, then I only used it when I was filtering after a few months of no filtering. I have not needed to refer to it at all after 5 or so years.
Some producers count how many cups it takes to fill the hollow plates, I have never done that. If the press gets full (all hollow plates are full) the pump will not move more syrup. At that point either clean the press and start over or save the rest of the syrup if you can until a future filtering session. If you are filling a barrel and have more syrup, you should clean the press and start fresh, if you are just sending it to your bottler, you may chose to hold off until you again have lots of syrup to filter. You are just over thinking this.

[Walling's Maple Syrup]

I will check my notes when I go to sugarhouse tomorrow and let you know. I filter in 25 gallon batches(about every half hour when boiling). On the first 25 gallon push, I always add half the de I plan on using for that particular boil(usually between 40-50 cups on first batch). After that, I just space out the remaining half for the remainder of the boil (normal boil is around 200 gallons). Another thing I have always done is double up the first 4 paper sets. It seems that most of the time when a paper is blown it is here.

[Alex Davies]

Once again,
Thanks everyone for your input.

I just finished reading the proctor filter press operation pamphlet... should have done that first.

Just a few quick questions in relation to that...
My press doesn't have a pressure gauge installed yet. Is this completely necessary?

Also, it has a ball valve located between the pump and the press, but no bypass route back into the unfiltered syrup tank. Is this completely necessary?

Thanks again!

[Haynes Forest Products]

The gauge can help you decide when enough is enough NOW I run mine till the flow is down to a dribble if its getting to the end and the needle is bouncing of the peg.

The bypass is a nice feature for transferring syrup and I use it when im bottling gallon jugs as a way to slow the flow.

[JoeJ]

I first used my 7" short bank filter press in 2004 and it was mostly a frustrating experience each season. When I expanded to 3,000 taps in 2014, I bought a 5 plate 10" press and decided to figure out how to use it properly. That meant figuring out how to properly add the correct amount of DE and when to add it. I stacked my hollow plates, measured the DE, wet it and filled the plates. The first 14 cup precharge puts a coating on all the papers and each additional 2-3 cups addition adds a new filtering layer. My hollow plates are full after about 70 gallons of syrup. If the syrup is good, meaning not early or late syrup, The press will keep filtering until I have put 100- 120 gallons through it. If the evenings boil has been only 60 - 70 gallons of syrup filtered, I just leave the syrup in the press and before the next days filtering, I put the press under my steamaway drain and heat up the press with the 195 degree water. If I have filtered 80 or 90 gallons of syrup in one boil, I clean the press.

I went to a local kitchen supply store and bought a plastic container that holds about 60 cups of DE. When I start with a clean press, I fill the container with 56 cups of DE and as I filter I know the press plates are full when the container is empty and there is no chance of plugging the press with too much DE.

Joe