New filter press, is there a difference?

[Shaun]

Are 2" thick plates standard between companies?

My lapierre plates are not as thick as D&G for sure.

[maple flats]

No, I believe most were about 1" thick hollow plates until D&G and maybe more introduced the thicker ones. The thicker the hollow plate, the more DE it can hold and thus the more syrup it can filter in a batch before you need to clean the press.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Josh,

I run a 7" CDL 6 bank with diaphragm pump and it has the 2" thick plates and I don't have any problems getting 50+ gallons through it unless it is late season or the sap is loaded with yeast.

[Amber Gold]

Saturday, the family and I went to VT and came home with a Lapierre 10" short bank. It was at the right price, and I liked the stand the best...simple and effective. I didn't see any major difference between the plates from the different companies. Also, Lapierre has these new hollow plates with an o-ring, so you can double the plates up without needing a paper in-between...~$100 each o-ring plate. Alternative is to buy a hollow/waffle plate kit for $200. I figure the short bank will give me about 30% more capacity than I have now, and I can add extra plates as-needed.

Thanks for the input everyone. It was helpful.

[Russell Lampron]

Good choice Josh, you've got some expandability with that press. I've decided on the Wes Fab 7" full stack with an air pump to replace mine.

[motowbrowne]

Here's what I brought home last weekend: D&G 7" press with seven 2" cake plates. It's got a flojet electric diaphragm pump. I used 3 sets of filters and did 147 gallons of syrup, basically a mix of syrup from the whole season. The first run I didn't really know what I was doing and only got 40 gallons through it, but the next two batches I did over 50 each time. I'm very pleased!
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[Russell Lampron]

After doing more research I decided to get the Wes Fab 7" full stack press with a 1/2" air diaphragm pump. I ordered it today.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Saturday, the family and I went to VT and came home with a Lapierre 10" short bank. It was at the right price, and I liked the stand the best...simple and effective. I didn't see any major difference between the plates from the different companies. Also, Lapierre has these new hollow plates with an o-ring, so you can double the plates up without needing a paper in-between...~$100 each o-ring plate. Alternative is to buy a hollow/waffle plate kit for $200. I figure the short bank will give me about 30% more capacity than I have now, and I can add extra plates as-needed.

Thanks for the input everyone. It was helpful.

Looks like a nice press. Was your old cast iron one no longer okay for the new bulk syrup regulations?

[Amber Gold]

I'm not sure if it is or not. It was just in the interest of upgrading equipment. I've had the press for years, it worked fine, and it handled most every day of syrup production.