We saved so much time in not splitting a bunch of extra wood, not having to boil for extended periods of time. Order Wavey Maple Cheese Board online from Urban Stead Cheese. HI Michelle, Any addivce? But no, Bill made the unit intending to take the filters out at the end of each season to clean and store and reuse the next season. just goes to show attention to detail is vital. How often do filters/membranes need to be cleaned? Vermont is the country's largest producer of maple syrup. Heres our Reverse Osmosis set up. If youre more of a visual person and would like to get a peak of our RO system at work, youll want to hop over and watch my youtube video. I will more than likely build it. We always, always run the sap through twice, even with the 4 membranes. The floorboards creak, the barn roof sags, and the rocky land seems unforgiving. Thanks in advance. Thank you very much for this system. It wouldnt much less expensive 115V direct plug (i.e., not needing a transformer) be a simpler and effective option? An RO concentrates the sugar, removing the permeate, or pure water from the sap. Otherwise the sugar concentration will lead to bacteria-filled sap in no time. Carrie Williams Howe is an educational leader by day and an aspiring homesteader by night and weekend. Skillet did 3.84 kwh / gallon of water removed. The amazing beauty of this I got a food grade 55 gallon barrel, but too late to have time to clean it out, so for next year thats the goal. Remember maple sap is almost pure table sugar / sucrose. If the weather is going to be particularly warm, we can take this smaller amount of sap and pop it in a cooler or the fridge so it doesnt warm up too much. so many great questions Katharine! The 1/4 inch tubing works fine into the pump, no need to convert. So we persoanlly choose to boil our sap with propane. Large commercial operations use a Surprise your maple-loving family and friends! Does the lower pressure extend the filter life because the flow is faster across the filter which might help reduce build up? Feed your Family: How to Start a Vegetable Garden from Scratch, this set of instructions from Souly Rested, Sugar Cube Reverse Osmosis System from Vermont Evaporator Company, How to Prepare your Vegetable Garden for Winter (Fall Garden Checklist). Costs for home producers are relatively high Given that i have the same equipment, I am surprised to report that my yield is far below the 5 gallons in 45 minutes you declare ( more like one), I wonder if you might speculate where Im going wrong? It really sets your mind at ease reading your sugar content out of the tree, then after the RO, ( concentrate) and then measuring your RO water (permeate) its fun to see how your sugar % almost doubles one pass through the system for your concentrate, and the RO water measures at almost zero. We run it at 60/70. I ran a test by dumping some sugar in a 5 gallon bucket and it seemed to work correctly based on the tastes of the concentrate and the permeate since I dont own a refractormeter. [68] In 2019 it led with over 7.8million litres (2.07million US gallons), followed by New York with 3.1millionL (820,000USgal) and Maine with 2.2millionL (580,000USgal). Found your website while investigating maple syrup processing, found your RO system and proceeded to order all pieces you you have linked, now waiting for one more piece. After running your sap through your RO (you can run it through twice if you want) you want to IMMEDIATELY process it. The stuff I order is the same as your part spec. Its just reversed. If I use a cheaper RV pump that can get up to 60 PSI would I run into trouble? Haha. By concentrating the sugar in the maple sap, a sugarmaker can save as much as 90% in fuel since he or she will have to boil the sap for a much shorter time. Your tubing from the sap to the pump and then pump to filter you I use pruning shears. Taste the maple syrup, cream and buckwheat pancake mix, all available for sale. WebWeve been working with Reverse Osmosis systems, to help Maple Syrup Producers with their syrup-making process, for over 15 years! But the good news is there are 31 varieties of trees that can be used to make syrup (no one seems to know this so many folks think its sugar maple or nothing) and every single state in the U.S. has at least one native tree that is good for making syrup. Notes from the reverse osmosis system build we are planning: Ideally, we run RO inside lose 3% efficiency on RO for every degree drop, and systems are rated at 77 F. DIY Reverse Osmosis Filter for Maple Sap Notes from the reverse osmosis system build we are planning: maple; maple sap; maple syrup; Post navigation. Hi, love what you have come up with. I love the way you do things here! If you dont, drop me a line and let me know! the system is working flawlessly now. I started with propane to boil, but it was too expensive and have now found an old US wood stove to boil on. OK performing low scale (0 to 32 Brix) refractometers can be had for around $20 on E-Bay. Sorry for my ignorance. I just received all the parts recommended ( I went for 4 100GPD filters) and it cost me just under 500$. It will definitely be worth the time and (your husbands) efforts!! I built it exactly like yours so Im a bit confused. We collected over 3000 gals of sap this year in 5 weeks. I would run the RO over night and extract about 7 gals. Nope, thats all my husbands ingenuity. Hello Michelle, I am in the process of assembling my RO. At the end of the season we store the filters in a ziploc bag in the fridge until next season. Thank you, Gordie, for letting me know all of this!! Just wanted to thank you for the great instructions on building an RO. We think a reverse osmosis system is a great investment for hobby syrup makers IF you are serious about making syrup more than once or twice a year. At what pressure do we run our RO? Im not understanding every item youre referring to. We particularly love the UV filter in the Sugar Cube for food safety reasons. If you are still learning how to collect, boil, and bottle maple syrup, head over here to this article about making syrup, step-by-step or, better yet, pick up a copy of Sweet Maple. How do you flush the system, how often would you do it, and what do you do to store it? Youll find the latest designs right here (like the one Im wearing here) . (Id love to keep it all.) At the end of every season, we run 5-10 gallons of permeate through the system, then we remove the filters from their casings and mark where each filter was in the system (so we can change their position each year, to hopefully give them a longer life) Then we put them in a ziplock bag and store them in the refrigerator until the next sugar season. Im a New England homesteader and the author of Sweet Maple. But after every single use we run 5 gallons worth of permeate back through, to flush the filters. I may try that this year.. Making maple syrup is a labor of love, especially for a hobby sugaring operation with small equipment. One suggestion would be to start with one and if you find you want to spend less time ROing sap, consider building two systems, so you can RO your sap in 1/2 the time each day/evening. No, we never wash our unit. On that unit I used all 3/8 lines and 3/8 fittings and . I literally know nothing about this unit aside from what you read here. Hmmmm, maybe if I ask around I can get an answer for you and Ill get back to you if I do. Are you building your own RO for this year? Your blog is so interesting. (And all the money it saves you!!). It appears that the RO filters will be a challenge to change due to the lines set top and bottom on the casing will not allow the top of the casing to be unscrewed???? Hi Michelle, I have built your RO and have come across a problem. I just ordered all the parts :). the system is working flawlessly now. Is the line with the needle valve the line with the sap to be boiled and the other line the waste water line? I saw on line there are 400gpd membranes and housings available. How does that compare to my costs last year? Im still a little unclear on the cleaning procedure after each run during the season. I have to run the sap through twice in order to get a good reduction. My only question at this time is how do you do a backwash to clean the filters? This my first attempt at this. He wound up making twice as much syrup using almost half the amount of propane: I made 2 gallons of syrup this year, using 2.5 tanks of propane. Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trialby clicking through this link. HI Michelle Listing Compare to last year where we got about 1 gallons and used 4(!!!) Dont use rusty or corroded spouts, buckets, or other maple utensils. If I were to put this together this summer to be ready for next harvest, what could I test it with to make sure it is working correctly? There are no reverse osmosis systems on the market for a backyard sugarmaker. Id sure like to reduce my energy cost. Hi Lucas, glad you solved your problem before I even saw your comment. Im curious as to whether or not you run the concentrate thru multiple times? 0; . I had a great season here in SW Ohio, collecting over 525 gals of sap from 68 taps. Why four membranes? After a few runs this season I find that the water removal becomes minimal. But whether youre a backyard sugarmaker who uses propane or wood for fuel, a homemade ro system will save you a boatload of time and money. Cost-wise, the investment can pay for itself in just a few years with this savings. She lives on a small homestead in Vermont with her husband, two children, and a rambunctious border collie. Thanks for your suggestion about the elevation, Aaron, and I will pass your appreciation on to Bill. That top will not spin unless the line is cut. I have assembled the RO setup like yours. We chose 4 membranes cause we read that any more is pointless, but wanted to maximize what we could. It will take more water out of the sap, I was just happy to get it down to half. . Im going to really look into RO and save some time and $$$. Psalm 34:8. After seeing loss, I checked calibration with distilled water and got 0%. Hi, Im Michelle. Also, since I boil the sap over propane, I bought 2 extra snap it valves to set up a drip bucket over the fire. Yes!! All parts were ordered from amazon.ca except for the pump which I ordered from amazon.com (the pump is weirdly extremely expensive on Canadian websites). This system is fantastic! Well, that is if youre like Bill. To find me in some otherneck of the woods, just click any (or every!) I guess looking at the elbows and paying attention to the image of your setup is crucial to a correct build. Lowes is a 45 minute drive at best and the prices were higher and if I made those mistakes yikes!! Step 4 As soon as the cream is ready, transfer it to a glass jar with a lid. For us, producing enough syrup to last the full year plus more for gifts is part of our priority. Read thisarticle right here. Hi Bob, I just asked Bill. EZ-FLO 0.170-in ID x 150-ft Polyethylene Tubing Item #879275Model #98632. All this and so much more is explained in Sweet Maple. Traditional Daiquiri. Remove from frying pan and set aside.4. Hi Mike, I built mine last year(2021) and ran into the same issue. Im not like you. Will the water be coming out of the tube marked permeate? btw, if you dont already have Amazon Prime, I highly recommend it. Or if I just used two but passed everything through twice? We have never replaced the filters. Their cleaning regimen seems a bit extreme though. Post author: Post published: February 27, 2023 Post category: simon the zealot symbol Post comments: 21 signs you've met someone from a past life 21 signs you've met someone from a past life And I have huge respect for Bill and for YOU, since youre here. Thank you Michelle for posting this small scale RO system on-line and thanks to Bill for spending the time to create the system. Thanks again for the help. Wanna know how we even do some natural ro for FREE? True story. How long are they typically good for? Thats a Also describe it in case I want to purchase one. Do you still have to filter the syrup prior to bottling? If you mean needle valve, its on the permeate side. Some of them are in series like yours and some ROs are set up in parallel. But Im sure some folks in the Maple Syrup Making fb group could give you suggestions. Also, youll get a shorter life out of your membranes if youre working them more (just a thought). I break that down in this post: https://soulyrested.com/2017/04/12/make-maple-syrup-step-step/. Maple syrup production involves the collection of sap from maple trees, followed by a relatively simple processing operation to increase the sugar concentration of the substance. . RO Maple systems enhance the syrup Im weighing up the cost of building a larger unit like the smallest commercial unit which sells for around $1450. I hooked it up with the three I have and was getting 1% sugar in my permeate. Thats why we own this one: https://amzn.to/2X0X9cM Both are fine choices, depending on what you want. 10. I flushed the system after each run. We live in nowhere-ville, so traveling to Lowes is quite a trek. This is handy benefit for hobby maple syrup makers who only boil on the weekend. Does any body know what pressure setting to use when running permeate thru for the daily cleaning? Thank you. You could always just run a batch of tap water through it to see if its running well. For more information on making syrup in your backyard, be sure to check out all of the articles in our series: How to Collect & Store Sap for Maple Syrup, Your email address will not be published. 6. Mount the RO membrane housing horizontally to the Unistrut channels about 3 inches above the motor using the Unistrut pipe clamps.There are two See a 2,100-tap operation using a tubing/vacuum system, reverse osmosis and a wood pellet-fired evaporator. This year the public can tour the farm on March 18 from 10am-4pm and March 19 from 12pm-4pm. (Sorry, bad pun. Michelle, fyi my issue was a bad membrane. I asked Bill but sadly he said no, he hasnt tried that. That is insane return on my investment!. 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