I've read through several threads about filtering, but I haven't quite figured out how to adapt the ideas to my situation. I'm up to seven taps this year, and expect to get a grand total of less than a gallon of syrup. (It's all for personal use - not for sale.) I boil over a propane camp stove, in two 14" x 14" x 8" steel pans a friend welded for me. I boil a few hours a day throughout the season, adding the sap to one pan after moving some liquid from that pan to the other.

I have a wool cone filter and paper pre-filters, but I've always had trouble keeping the sap hot enough during filtering, and I've always ended up with a big mess, and I've always had some sand in the bottles.

This year, based on some other posts here, I'm tempted to let the syrup sit for a few days before bottling in hope that most of the sand will settle out in the pan. (I think I can make room in the fridge for the whole pan.) Are there any other suggestions for finishing this small a total volume?

Jack