Is there anyone using a pool sand filter to filter their sap? Does anyone know if there is any such thing as food grade sand or since it is just the filter medium and doesn’t pass through, that it doesn’t matter. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks
Sand filter
Is there anyone using a pool sand filter to filter their sap? Does anyone know if there is any such thing as food grade sand or since it is just the filter medium and doesn’t pass through, that it doesn’t matter. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks
A simple inline strainer is all you really need for filtering sap.
Used pool equipment would never get clean enough to be used for syrup production. You would be forced to buy a new filter and sand. For the money spent there are better performing options.
A sand filter is only good for filtering down to 20-30 microns. Your average whole house water filter is good for around 5 microns.
Sand filters require backwashing which uses a large flow of water and dumping the backwash to waste. Not something you would want to do with sap. Even a small sand filter need 30-50 gallons of water to backwash.
The sand bed in the filter will retain a lot of sap even after it is drained, you run the risk of sap spoiling inside the filter in warm weather. That would be very hard to clean out if it did happen.
Most pool sand filter housings are NSF rated for potable water and 100% silica sand is about as inert as it gets so brand new equipment should be OK for contact with raw sap but there are a lot of downsides to this type of filter.
2017 25 taps on buckets got me hooked 1 gallon of sweet
2018 51 taps on 3/16 tubing/ DIY oil tank evaporator 8.5gallons finished
2019 60 taps 7 gallons finished ended season short
2020 New 2x4 divided pan ready to get away from the headache that is steam table pans
2021 off year due to pandemic and projects
2022 back at it
VVS, (where the winter conference was held until this year) uses a sand filter. I contacted the trader member who ran the VVS sugarhouse in 2018. I'm sure he will answer this.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
The filter would need to be new and used only for sap. Neil will give you more info.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
Thanks! I appreciate your help
Dana, I just texted Neil, he will answer this when he gets a chance.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
But to answer your Question, yes people use pool filters. But many use earth pool filter. Much smaller micron filtration, It's more like a filter press. But as said must start with new and takes a lot of liquid to flush.
3x10 Dallalre, oil fired, Stainless steel.
Steam hoods front and rear with preheater.
1500 taps on vac, right to sugar house.
900 on Gravity
New Busch 3 Phase Vacuum. (2010)
Lapierre 600 Turbo with 2 - 8" posts
36 years of MAPLE ENJOYMENT!!
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We use a pool filter at VVS, works great because you can get high volume and great filtration. we were using whole house filters w/ 5 micron filters, and they were expensive and slow. I wash a tank out and then pump some permeate or tap water in and use it to flush the sand filter, you can go tens of thousands of gallons before a flush if sap is clean. we're putting 1000 gallons through ours in 10 mins, couldnt even come close to that before. i havent noticed any difference in our RO prefilters either since we got away from the whole house filters. theres a drain on the bottom of the filter too if it is going to be cold for a while i flush the sap out with water for a while, and then drain the bottom. i probably use 200-400 gallons of water per flush to get as much out as i can, i switch it back and forth between a backflush and a wash to get the most junk out of it that i can. ours is a large diameter, i believe that there are much smaller ones made. we keep ours in a heated room, i've been wondering though if i can just take the valve assy. off and drain the filter if it would be alright in the cold.
you can use regular silica pool sand, hard to get this time of year (last year we went to 3 stores to get enough) so i'd suggest buying it in the fall, plus it's on sale then! i think there are different grades, i think we had one bag that was coarser so i put that at the top and the fine at the bottom- otherwise i would have bought all fine.
i do flush it with water before use every season so that any really fine pieces wont make their way through, and to rinse the sand.
be sure to have disconnects on it when plumbing it in since you have to get new sand every year and it has to be dumped after the season.
i'd highly recommend them to any one, has saved us tons of time and energy.
7000 taps on vacuum, just trying to get a little better every year.
Thank you. We tap about 8200 trees so have a decent amount to filter on a good day. Used it this weekend for the first time and am very pleased. Flushed it with a lot of permeate to begin with and have set it up on a cart with pneumatic wheels to make it easy to move. Plumbed it so we can hook trucks up to it when they come in and just pump them off using the filter’s pump vs the Honda 2” pump we would typically use. Pool pump about 25% slower but still quick and the sap is coming out super clean. Thanks for the advice everyone.
Everyone should realize that many if not all municiple water systems use sand and gravel filters to clean the water before chlorinating.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
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