Ro sizing
I'm looking at putting a ro in my pump house to recirculate in order to accomplish two things:
1. Not have to upgrade my 2800 gallon sap tank (Space is an issue)
2. My poor old dump truck is tired after hauling 62000 gallons of sap and I want to truck less.
Once completed this woods will have 5000-6000 taps.
My question is what size RO should I buy and what are the benefits of that capacity? Thank in advance.
Remember to keep on ticking while the sap is dripping.
2016- 50 buckets. Made 4 gallons.
2022- 3750 taps + Smartrek! Made 1300 gallons.
2023- 3750 taps after removing a pump house and connected two woods. Made 800 gallons.
Figure 500 gallons per hour for each 8" membrane to remove roughly 75 percent of the water. A normal run then could be 12 hours of processing time for one, 6 for two.
3,100 taps
60 cfm flood
HC2
5 by 14 oil
Brian
One aspect to keep in mind is that concentrate spoils faster. You may want refrigeration to protect the concentrate quality. You would not want to concentrate that much into a single batch and hold it for very long at all. Once concentrated it either needs to be cooled or boiled soon after or you lose sugar to concentrated microbes.
Proctor concentrates then cools to just short of slush forming and holds it for 2 -3 days. Without refrigeration an hour or 2 might be about the max. if the outside temp is not close to freezing and the concentrate can get cooled that way.
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.
Along with what others have said, note that recirculating will warm the sap/concentrate. The more you recirculate, the warmer it'll get. That will not improve sap quality.
Dr. Tim Perkins
UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
https://mapleresearch.org
Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu
Keep in mind the power requirements. A 6000 tap Vac pump and 1200 RO can add up if your house or other stuff are on the same service.
2.5X10 HE
600 RO
Vac
This is really helpful guys thanks for the input.
Remember to keep on ticking while the sap is dripping.
2016- 50 buckets. Made 4 gallons.
2022- 3750 taps + Smartrek! Made 1300 gallons.
2023- 3750 taps after removing a pump house and connected two woods. Made 800 gallons.
Thanks Dave and Brian. I have an insulated distillery tank which I think will help. But yes that was part of my plan. Right now I never get my tanks cleaned properly because I am overwhelming my buyers tank and ro. I'm hoping to bring 2 loads a day instead of 5 or 6. Brian you have pump stations correct? Do you concentrate before you truck?
Remember to keep on ticking while the sap is dripping.
2016- 50 buckets. Made 4 gallons.
2022- 3750 taps + Smartrek! Made 1300 gallons.
2023- 3750 taps after removing a pump house and connected two woods. Made 800 gallons.
I know someone who was trucking concentrate and they stopped. All it ever made was dark and very dark syrup. What do you think your daily routine would look like? Do you have remote monitoring for your tank so you will know when to go start the RO? Are you going to start the RO and wait for it to concentrate or leave and come back when you think it is done? Truck your concentrate then go back to take care of the RO? Lots to think about and plan how your time is spent.
First introduced to making maple syrup in 1969
Making syrup every year since 1979
3 x 10 oil fired
Revolution syrup and max flue pan
Almost 1300 taps total with 900 on high vacuum
Bought first Marcland drawoff in 1997, still going strong.
[I have an insulated distillery tank which I think will help. [/QUOTE]
Insulated tank won't help since the heat from pumping and ROing will introduce heat into the concentrate - unless you refrigerate like Proctor.
Ken & Sherry
Williston, VT
16x34 Sugarhouse
1,500 taps on high vacuum, Electric Releaser & CDL Sap Lifter
Wood-Fired Leader 30"x10' Vortex Arch & Max Raised Flue with Rev Syrup Pan & CDL1200 RO
https://www.facebook.com/pumpkinhillmaple/
Brian you have pump stations correct? Do you concentrate before you truck?[/QUOTE]
No trucking, we have 3 releasers that pump to a tank that feeds the RO. The RO processes about 1,000 gallons per hour which is recirulated until we get 12 percent or so and then boiled.
3,100 taps
60 cfm flood
HC2
5 by 14 oil
Brian
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