Filtering questions for a newbie

[jwmiller]

I'm in my 2nd year of running my own small scale operating with a little over 20 taps. Last year I wasn't very impressed with my filtering results as I had a pretty decent amount of niter sand end settle at the bottom of my jars with all 3 batches of syrup I made. I used a homemade wood fired cooker until the sap was down to about 1 gallon and then I finished it inside on the stove. I filtered the sap before I started boiling it, and then again after I took it off the wood fired barrel cooker and before I brought it inside to finish it. The filter I used was a "orlon filter bag" model 66815 that I bought from fleet farm. I used a thinner pre filter for filtering before the initial boil.

Questions:
syrup boiler.jpg
is it bad/less effective to filter when its still really hot? say 170+ degrees

should I be filtering again when its a finished product? given my small scale, I'm concerned of the amount of loss I would get to the filter.

I've heard using a tshirt is another filter alternative. Is that more/less effective than my current approach?

Any help you could provide on filtering for my small scale operation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[jrm]

I'm also very small. My first year I bottled and had tons of niter left after it sat overnight. I reheated/filtered and was much better.

Since then, I get to density and immediately filter, for me that means I'm usually pulling off at 221 (which is higher than the 7 degrees above boiling, but gets me to the proper density on my hydrometer every time.)

I'm filtering through an 1 qt synthetic, orlon cone filter. I line with 3 prefilters, but I'm no longer using "maple remay filters." Instead, I am using 10" non-woven filter cones, that I purchased in boxes of 50. I put both of those into a cone filter stand that I bought on Amazon.

This setup has given me flawless syrup for the last number of years.

A couple tips... ensure that your filter and prefilters are heated/damp before filtering. I do this by letting them steam over my finishing syrup. As the first prefilter starts slowly down, pull it out and tip its contents into the next filter (and continue as needed.) I then put my prefilters into a measuring to catch anything remaining.

It is also possible that your filtering, post syrup, isn't the issue. But, if you are reheating before bottling and get above 190, more niter will form. I think this was an issue for me, being such a small timer. The last two years, I have filled a larger (dutch oven) pot with an inch or so of water. Placed my smaller (4 qt) pot into and and filtered my syrup into the smaller pot. I then heat the larger pot and wait until my syrup gets to proper bottling temp (between 180 and 190) without going over 190 and I bottle.

If you search the forums, there are lots of people who use t-shirts. I haven't do so. Before I found the cone filters, I was using coffee filters. I found it a bit harder to swap between my filters without spilling and losing syrup.

Good luck.

[FanshaweGirl]

I have 20 taps, so running about the same size. I boil on turkey fryers and finish on the stove. I've struggled with filtering for years, but this year I think I've finally got a setup that's going to work well.

I finish my syrup in a 10L SS stock pot.

I have an orlon cone filter with 7 pre-filters stacked and hanging in my filter bucket (hole cut in the bottom). This sits on top of my angel food cake pan, which simply acts as a spacer. This sits on top of a 36 cup coffee percolator, which sits on a small plastic step-stool. All of this sits right next to the stove.

I heat up water in the percolator until it's ready to "serve". When the syrup is ready I dump the water into another pot and set up the filter bucket. I empty the pot of syrup into the filter, which runs into the percolator. I use the hot water to sterilize/heat the jars. Fill the jar from the tap, put the snap lid on, and put it on the counter.

When I'm done that batch, I sit the filters in a cone shaped food sieve with a pyrex measuring cup underneath. I leave it until it stops dripping.

So far this is working quite well for me.

[Austin351]

Niter can / will form anytime you reach a boil, doesn't matter if it is sap, nearup, or syrup. To keep the niter out of your jars, you filter with the orion and a couple pre-filters (also at Fleet Farm) just prior to pouring into your jars. The pre-filters are cone shaped like your orion filter. They will go inside your orion filter to catch the larger niter.

So, you need two pots inside your house: One to finish the syrup on the stove and one to use for filtering. Have the filtering pot set up and ready to go because as soon as the syrup is finished, you will take it off the stove and pour it through the filtering pot. If your temp drops below 180 degrees while waiting for it to filter, you will need to re-heat it above 180 degrees prior to bottling but, do not bring it back to a boil because niter can form again and you would need start the process over again....

I don't typically filter sap but when I need to I use a t-shirt or sock just to catch the larger debris.

[Daveg]

To reduce the possibility of spoilage, you need to filter when the syrup is hot. It also passes through the filter more effectively. And you need to filter above 180°F.
You wrote: "I filtered the sap before I started boiling it, and then again after I took it off the wood fired barrel cooker and before I brought it inside to finish it." You can skip your second two filterings because nitre will form during the subsequent re-heatings. The hard part is keeping the syrup hot while it's filtering without the expense of water-jacketed canners and other expensive equipment. I suspended my filters inside a coffee urn ($25 on Craigslist) and I wrapped the outside of the urn with two layers of flexible half-inch foam insulation. I found out the hard way that you can't turn the urn "on" because it will burn the syrup in contact with the heating element leaving specks of carbon in the syrup.

[tpathoulas]

I'd like to add a question to this thread.
While boiling, does anyone filter throughout the process? Taking sap from pan while boiling and then dumping back into the pan to continue cooking? Would this help to make the end process easier? Or, is it labor that does not need to be added to the already laborious process?
Thanks

[FanshaweGirl]

The only time I filter in between is if I'm combining batches. I only want to bottle if I have a full pot, which is about 8 L for the one pot I usually use. I had one batch boiled down and it was only about 4 L, so I just put it in pickle jars to wait for the next batch. When I combined the batches, I sent everything through 2 pre-filters into a clean pot. It's not a perfect filter job, but it does pull a lot of nitre out, just so there's less to begin with.

[MapleMike]

One other option is to let your unfiltered syrup sit for a 3-4 weeks in a cool place. This allows all the niter/sugar sand to fall to the bottom of the container. When you finally go to finish filtering and bottling it, just stop pouring when you see the dark niter coming off the bottom. I save the heavy niter stuff and make maple sugar with it.

[BCPP]

I'd like to add a question to this thread.
While boiling, does anyone filter throughout the process? Taking sap from pan while boiling and then dumping back into the pan to continue cooking? Would this help to make the end process easier? Or, is it labor that does not need to be added to the already laborious process?
Thanks

Dont think that will help. When bottling if you heat clear syrop past 212 it will form more nitre and you need to refilter. I suspect much less than original but cant see any advantage to filtering mid process as you describe. At least double the work for minimal gain!

[donka]

I'd like to add a question to this thread.
While boiling, does anyone filter throughout the process? Taking sap from pan while boiling and then dumping back into the pan to continue cooking? Would this help to make the end process easier? Or, is it labor that does not need to be added to the already laborious process?
Thanks

I filter twice with awesome results on a batch method. It really depends on your setup and how much niter you have though. I usually run 100-150 gallons of sap through my pan 1\2 pint , kill the fire and shovel out coals, then filter it through 3-4 thin prefilter cones. I then finish on a turkey fryer, filter again with wet Orlon filter and 3 prefilter inside, then reheat to 190 and bottle. Filters easy this way and comes on Crystal clear 95% of the time.