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Thread: Fi l ter when made or when bottled?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Oakville, ON
    Posts
    144

    Default Fi l ter when made or when bottled?

    Just curious about what others do.
    We run the outlet from our finishing pan through a gravity filter that has 3 orlon prefilters and a felt main filter. The syrup flows into a 3 gal container that we then refrigerate until ready to bottle.
    At bottle time we heat the syrup up to about 190 and then place in bottles. Never had any sediment in either the bulk containers or the bottles.
    I've seen on other threads where some are filtering as they bottle (not sure if they filter off the evaporator as well).

    I'm just wondering what others do? Is there an advantage of one over the other?
    2023 - 130 taps, 90L from 4,000L as of mid March
    2021 - 84 taps, 50L from 2100L
    2020 - 100 taps on buckets, 21L syrup from 2700L so far (FEB 26-Mar 13) and then the pandemic hit! End of our season!
    2019 - 62 taps on buckets, 95L syrop from 3215L sap
    2018 - 62 taps, collecting by hand, 90L syrop from 3200L sap
    2017 - Lapierre Waterloo Small mini pro with 40 taps
    2014 - 2016 40 taps making one or two batches on a 2x6 flat pan over an open arch as it would have been done in 1900

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Mapleton Twp, SW Ontario
    Posts
    361

    Default

    I do both..... cone filters off the evaporator and cone filter into my coffee urn bottler.. Not sure if I really need to??, but I have had some sediment in the past, so I figure better safe than sorry.... It doesn't slow my process down any.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Canaan NH
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    373

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    I filter syrup from the evaporator by pouring it into my canning unit using 4 pre-filters and 1 felt. At the end of the night, I heat the syrup in the canning unit back up to 195 and then bottle it.
    Boulder Trail Sugaring
    150 Taps on Vacuum
    Homemade 20"x40" Hybrid Pan - 15 gph
    Homemade Steamaway - 10 gph
    Waterguys single-post RO

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    MA
    Posts
    588

    Default

    I used to filter off the evaporator, store until end of season, and then reheat and filter again into the canner. Lately though I’ve just been using prefilters to catch big stuff off the evaporator, storing, and then reheating and filtering properly into the canner. That way I’m only handling and cleaning the cone filter at the end of the season.
    60ish taps on buckets
    D&G Sportsman 18x63
    Turbo RB15 RO Bucket

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Northeast Vermont
    Posts
    649

    Default

    we filter right off the evaporator, then store it in 5 or 10 gallons containers. at the end of the season, or if we get a slow period between, we'll can/barrel it all. once and a while we'll find a tiny bit of nitre in the bottom of the canning pan (last quart or so if we don't cut the heat early enough)... if that happens we put that aside for our own use.
    Awfully thankful for an understanding wife!

    “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
    - Vincent “Vince” Lombardi

    Good luck to all!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Wakefield,New Hampshire
    Posts
    504

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    I have always filtered right off the evaporator with 4 or 5 pre filters inside a felt cone filter. Store it in 5 gallon containers until the end of the season then reheat to check brix and adjust if needed and bottle. The last couple seasons i followed the same practice but would reheat to check brix then pour through the top of a Smokey lake steam canner with 4 pre filters and a flat filter. This certainly made my syrup a lot more clear and filtered the 2nd time around much faster through the flat filter. Makes for a lot of filter cleaning which is a pain as i don't have running water or electricity where i sugar.

    Most responses were using gravity filtration. Is there is no need to filter right off the evaporator if you will run it through a filter press? I picked up a short bank 7" Wes fab filter press used over the summer and was hoping that would eliminate my need to deal with sloppy cone and pre filters anymore. I just finally sweetened my pans, so hopefully i'll make some real syrup to try it out.
    6th season solo sugar maker in a young sugar bush of mostly red maples
    320 taps
    2x6 self built arch, Flat pans w/ dividers
    New 12x16 sugar house
    CDL hobby 250 RO

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Grafton, Ohio
    Posts
    27

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    I filter off the evaporator through a flat filter setup in a basket. The syrup goes into stainless steel pots. We draw off a bit heavy. When we are ready to bottle we reheat the syrup and check density and make our fixes, then I run it through my filter press and into our Smoky Lake steam bottler. We bottle into glass.
    Dale

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Wakefield,New Hampshire
    Posts
    504

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Crooked Cellars Farm View Post
    I filter off the evaporator through a flat filter setup in a basket.
    Dale
    Does this include a flat filter and pre filters? Or are you just trying to get out any of the bigger stuff that may end up in the pans to prevent the filter press from clogging up quickly?
    6th season solo sugar maker in a young sugar bush of mostly red maples
    320 taps
    2x6 self built arch, Flat pans w/ dividers
    New 12x16 sugar house
    CDL hobby 250 RO

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Grafton, Ohio
    Posts
    27

    Default

    Yes, flat filter and 4 prefilters. It is mostly to get the big stuff out but it has seemed to work real well for us this year. This was the first year we've done this. We just got a filter press this year from Smoky Lake as well. And it works great. Very little sediment noticed in our filter cakes. I don't think you necessary need to do it this way of using a filter press but in theory we could filter alot more syrup with less clogging.
    Dale

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Grafton, Ohio
    Posts
    27

    Default

    I also have a few "spare" sets of the filters/prefilters, as we tend to make more syrup than those filters can handle in 1 stretch.

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