Quote Originally Posted by minehart gap View Post
John, do you think that your method of storing then bottling would be able to be done with a cone filter instead of a press? And I was a little concerned about storing the syrup in a space that is going to freeze, glad to know that this is not a problem. I still think that I will not fill the buckets all the way to allow for expansion.
It will work, but be much slower. What you have going for you is the decanting, which eliminates lot's of the sediment, and that you have the syrup nice and hot. The cone optimizers are a great idea and should help as well. Your problem is that the filtered syrup will cool since it is filtering slowly, and you can't reheat very much without introducing more niter unless you use a water jacket bottler. Even with our filter press, which is very fast, we need to warm up the syrup before bottling. I really encourage you to get a water jacket bottler. Make one if you are handy. I made ours from some cheap stainless pots, a water heater element, a coffee urn thermostat and spigot.