Since most backyard sugar makers use wood to boil their syrup, the savings on fuel by cutting your boiling time in half is huge. Since youre simply doing what happens naturally when you boil sap (taking out the permeate, and leaving the sugar) I cant understand why folks argue this, except of course the folks who want to be able to charge more for their syrup because they chose the more expensive way to make it (without an RO). Im curious as to whether or not you run the concentrate thru multiple times? How long does it take to put it all together? Funding for this project was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM170100XXXXG167, awarded to the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center. Its being hailed at the Book of Knowledge of all Things Maple., But maybe you stumbled here wondering what an ro system is, Ill explain, An RO system is exactly like a water filtering system. Hi Bill, Im not sure Im understanding your question but the 50% is the increase in sugar content. Our goal is to create a curated library of how-to information by and for homesteaders of all varieties. 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. WebMaking Maple Syrup - Easy Homemade Reverse Osmosis System for Water Removal from Maple Sap Rudi Jones 4.11K subscribers Subscribe 3.9K views 10 months ago On top of that, severe weather changes, or drastic weather fronts can cause sap to run freezing nights while ideal are definitely not necessary to successfully tap a tree. I fill up my PVC vessels with water and measure how much they hold so I know how much solution to make. Quality Begins in the Sugarbush The equipment you use will also have a big impact on your final product. Copyright 2023 Souly Rested | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. My only question at this time is how do you do a backwash to clean the filters? Excited to start using this. If you mean needle valve, its on the permeate side. Thank you for taking the time to share all this information. You can also follow my Maple Syrup pinterest boardright here. I just received all the parts today and hope to assemble over the holidays. The views expressed by authors on this site are based on their experiences only; Homestead-How To in no way provides any warranty, expressed or implied, toward the content of these articles. We set a large can of sap beside our RO. (Bill said youre welcome. its nice for him to know its helping others after it took him 2 years to break down and put it all on paper for me. will be compatible for the smaller volume of birch sap you will process. If nothing else, sign up and get all these goodies delivered to your door for free shipping, right away, so you can start saving money on your propane. the system is working flawlessly now. Thanks for any suggestions. Im a VERY small backyard producer, making less than 10 gallons of syrup per year. Also, is there something magic about that particular pump? I priced your unit in Canada and its around the $650 mark (for 2 filters that is $1300). See a 2,100-tap operation using a tubing/vacuum system, reverse osmosis and a wood pellet-fired evaporator. I hooked it up with the three I have and was getting 1% sugar in my permeate. Alan. Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trialby clicking through this link. I saw on line there are 400gpd membranes and housings available. Wed love to hear from you! Approaches to syrup production. So weve actually never tried to run it in an unheated area. We dont want that syrup to end up costing us more than if we bought it from another sugaring operation. Your email address will not be published. To test, i just ran tap water through. 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. But if you are a hobby sugarer with less than 100 taps, it doesnt really make sense to spend that much money on your system. a maple syrup producer records the amount. $8.99. I have to run the sap through twice in order to get a good reduction. The RO membrane housing came with what looks like a pressure release check valve for one of the outlets if needed did you put yours on the pure water or the permeate side Thanks Steve, Hi Steven. We run it at 60/70. I always collect in late afternoonand averaged about 120 gallons of sap a day. My setup is nearly the exact same as yours. Thanks again for sharing all this info.. Great to hear from you Gordie! I also list, below, every single item Bill bought to build our system. Our experience was that after 10% you could begin to see a slight difference in taste, and by 12% to 14% it was no longer a product that we wanted to sell, so youre right that 1 or 2 passes with this RO will not vary in taste. Your blog is so interesting. The easiest way to do this is to make PVC vessels. It traps all the the sap in the filter doesnt let it through. Thank you. Enjoy your sugar season!! Im elated that you found this page. Theyre the exact same filters. I think I figured it out I think actually one of the part numbers you listed isnt correct the 3/8 polyethylene tubing (25 of it) item #879277, model #98634 is too large for that pump. After filtering when do I need to process. We run it at 60-70 psi, which we regulate with the needle valve. 3 PVC pipe works well I made 2 40 canisters because they are easier than one long one. Michelle, Out of stock Categories: DIY Maple Syrup Supplies, Packages The process takes about 30 minutes to transform the syrup into a gorgeous golden, thickened maple cream. How do you flush the system, how often would you do it, and what do you do to store it? Taste the maple syrup, cream and buckwheat pancake mix, all available for sale. A pre-made RO system like the Sugar Cube can cost up to $500, but if you are going to use it over the course of many years, youll save that much in firewood and your time to make it worth it. Separation by reverse osmosis Up to two-thirds of the water in maple sap can be separated by using reverse osmosis before the boiling process, which will Question: Why the Aquatic CDP 8800 water booster pump that requires a transformer? The stuff I order is the same as your part spec. Hope that helps. Im going to really look into RO and save some time and $$$. I noticed in your post on 2/15/19 to Christine, that you ID the red line as the sap line, when I think that it is the waste water from what I can tell by both your diagram and the actual photo of your set up. Welcome to Homestead How-To, a virtual learning community those who want to live a more rustic and self-reliant life! Hi Michael, No need to apologize I could never build one of these myself. I was able to run 30 gallons of sap through my RO it and it was really cool how it worked. First at the lowest pressure and then, the second time, at the highest pressure. How often do filters/membranes need to be cleaned? Oh, boy, any technical questions I have to run by Bill. For others who are reading through these comments for help, Ill paste your final comment here as well trying to get it working and it came down to the one-way valve and having the needle valve hooked up to the wrong outlet of the 4th membrane. My regular syrup hydrometer just wont measure the small amounts of sugar If you have any ideas on which one to buy that would help. Listing We never need to clean them during the season, but every time we use it we run some permeate through the system before shutting it off for the night. even read about storing the filters in permeate. How often have you have to change filters? Hi again Michelle, Thanks again for all the info. Boiling has been my limitation in the whole process for both time and fuel reasons. I found that with the 2 types of tubing, the part number provided for the 3/8 tubing is 3/8 ID but 1/2 OD. Your email address will not be published. I flushed the system after each run. Great article and I am ordering supplies today. Luckily, there are other options for obtaining a reserve osmosis set-up. I expected the permeate flow to be really really really low and most would just flow into the water tank. Man I wish I could have Bill on video chat! formId: '608a538fe8b3a8e1e4d62a1d', I started with propane to boil, but it was too expensive and have now found an old US wood stove to boil on. Taste and see that theLordis good. It was amazing!, Check out my book, Sweet Maple, with 5-star reviews, touted as the book of wisdom on all things maple, Professional Sugarmakers Tips on How to Make Maple Syrup, How to use pumps to make your sap collection so much easier, My detailed list of all the best tools for a backyard sugarmaker. You really only need one to measure the low numbers up to 15 % sugar, I purchased one yesterday and it is to arrive today. tanks of propane. Remove from frying pan and set aside.4. I use pruning shears. Next to the prairie river in Bloomvile Wisconsin. Thank you very much for this system. The smallest ones you can purchase are definitely a costly investment that would take a backyard sugarmaker anywhere from 4-10 years or more to recoop. . I realized I had things set up all wrong. <3. Ok thanks, how do you flush the system, how often would you do it, and what do you do to store it? Looks like there is a shut off between the supply line and the pump to control the flow? WHAT PRESSURE SHOULD I HAVE? 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. Because here our family has started living a more sustainable life, focused on simple joys. if this works I plan on expanding to an additional 5 trees but being only having 6 trees at my disposal expanding is limited. Hi, what is Bill using This item for? Every detail you need I am excited to get this working and I am determined to figure it out. Go here to read the full (ultra fun) legal disclosure about that. My primary limitation is sap storage. Sadly it would be a few decades before you can tap a young maple. How do you clean this system? Heres our Reverse Osmosis set up. 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