This kit is indeed awesome! Thanks and happy sugaring!! Weba maple syrup producer records the amount. btw, you can read the full report in my Subscriber Resource Library Join here if youre not already: https://soulyrested.com/snag-free-ebooks/. Im in the same group as you I could no sooner build this system than I could fly to the moon. Hope that helps. Listing just goes to show attention to detail is vital. But first, let me applaud you. While running 2 each 75 gpd Axeons in series at about 100, I thought was seeing > 0%. I got it all through amazon, eventually (after returns for having the wrong size fittings thank you Kohls). While researching, Ive read about some RO systems running at 100 110 PSI, however this system runs around 60. 10. And finally, do you replace your filters with any regularity? Every detail you need So I asked Bill to walk me through exactly what he did to make this sweet contraption. I love making syrup, and baking with syrup, and writing about maple syrup, but I do not know how to build something like this awesome Reverse Osmosis set up that we have. Our maple season can be very short and using your RO cuts boiling time down considerably. 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. I am excited to get this working and I am determined to figure it out. * For your membrane, you can choose the one linked above, for50 gallons per day, or upgrade to one for100 gpdor150 gpd. This post may contain affiliate links and/or advertisements, which means that Homestead How-To earns advertising fees or commissions if you click on a link or make a purchase. Our family makes anywhere from 15 to 25 gallons of syrup each year. 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. IS THAT MY PROBLEM? Michelle, I bypassed it after testing permeate coming out of each membrane and working properly now. (Sorry, bad pun. The stuff I order is the same as your part spec. How long does it take for a 5-gallon bucket of sap to go through the system? Youll find the latest designs right here (like the one Im wearing here) . And Id love to hear about your alternations if you find great success! I only have 3 100 gpd membranes as one is on back order. Suggested uses (non-specific recipe uses): Use birch syrup to enhance sandwiches, using a hearty bread like sourdough or peasant bread makes the experience even better. I would run the RO over night and extract about 7 gals. 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. Thanks in advance. The easiest way to do this is to make PVC vessels. Your RO filter looks fantastic. So happy sugaring and thanks for the simple RO. I wish we had tap-able trees here, but I doubt that oaks are on the list! When searching maple trader, some were using these. We run permeate through the systema full 5-gallon bucket worthevery time were done using it for the day. The plywood base is roughly 3 foot by 3 foot. Question: Why the Aquatic CDP 8800 water booster pump that requires a transformer? Hope that helps! The Mapel Fever is almost here.. Like Michele said for little cost a refractometer is really fun. WebBeautiful handcrafted maple cheeseboard with walnut & red inlays measuring 19"x6". I just received all the parts recommended ( I went for 4 100GPD filters) and it cost me just under 500$. And, yes, the refractometer is AMAZING! I would boil this down in less than 3 hours in my 24 pan. Excited to start using this. Hi Gordie 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). Remember maple sap is almost pure table sugar / sucrose. How do you clean this system? N ow that I have gone to a small backyard evaporator I plan on building one because I do know what an RO will do for me, I just did not want to lay out th money for even the small ones that most of the Maple company make. Psalm 34:8. We wont cover the full instructions for building your system in this article, but this set of instructions from Souly Rested offers great guidance on how to do so. Hi Michelle, and it is exactly like your Hubbys setup. The 1/4 inch tubing works fine into the pump, no need to convert. Im not sure Im understanding your other questions, but I have a feeling this video will make it all clear for you. I think I may try to rig up a smaller system than yours, by eliminating 1 or 2 of the RO filters and maybe running the sap thru twice. Heres our Reverse Osmosis set up. I only have 40 taps, but if this works I will tap more. Im retired and a one-man band. Sadly it would be a few decades before you can tap a young maple. Maybe some day we will upgrade to that fancy-shamancy gorgeous thing. Thank you in advance for your time as well as your assistance. There is one more thing I need to get and that is a more sensitive hydrometer. The results indicate that producing syrup with sap concentrated by RO does not have a significant impact on syrup chemical composition or flavor. Hope that helps. Taste and see that theLordis good. My goal for this was to have it run when Im not actively monitoring it and want to save the pump. Thanks for the great instructions. As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn commission on qualified purchases. Thats why we own this one: https://amzn.to/2X0X9cM Both are fine choices, depending on what you want. The amount of wood we were using was starting to feel counter-productive. Taste the maple syrup, cream and buckwheat pancake mix, all available for sale. If so, I hope you love it. That is insane return. I will share your story with Bill (cause hes never on my blog :)). Thanks for the instructions and parts list. Oh, boy, any technical questions I have to run by Bill. WebHomemade Maple Syrup Reverse Osmosis Water Reverse Osmosis System Canning Syrup Maple Syrup Evaporator Maple Tapping Maple Syrup Grades Syrup Labels More information More information Build your own Reverse Osmosis system for maple syrup SoulyRested More like this W Water Filtration System L 1 Heather Gilson, whose family has about 50 taps in their backyard on any given year, explains, My husband built one last year and man was it a time saver for us!! Hi Mark, Its all Greek to me, but Bill said thats just his perference but you definitely can choose something else. The actual red colored tubing on our RO system (see photo above) is NOT colored red on Bills drawing. Hi Jim. Hi noah. This video shows you our DIY reverse osmosis (RO) filter, which cuts our family's costs in LESS THAN HALF when we make maple syrup. tanks of propane. Happy sugaring! Works like a charm! Required fields are marked *. See a 2,100-tap operation using a tubing/vacuum system, reverse osmosis and a wood pellet-fired evaporator. I have about 80 red maples some are huge and some are younger. Im curious as to what effect that would have. just goes to show attention to detail is vital.. I hooked it up with the three I have and was getting 1% sugar in my permeate. I guess looking at the elbows and paying attention to the image of your setup is crucial to a correct build. I realized I had things set up all wrong. To build a reverse osmosis set up of your ownand seriously slash your fuel costsyoull need a piece of plywood, or something similar, for mounting everything, and youll need the following items, which are all pictured below as well, in the order theyre listed. Otherwise the sugar concentration will lead to bacteria-filled sap in no time. You definitely want to build it in series. 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. This my first attempt at this. so many great questions Katharine! Traditional Daiquiri. It was capable of running raw sap from 2% up to 14% by running it thru multiple times. Any thoughts or comments? Im not like you. To test, i just ran tap water through. 4. I generally have used garden hose to connect the low pressure system components together. It's universal, it's cheap and readily available. It's Thanks so much. I do have a couple of questions though. This may be a good place to introduce yourself and your site or include some credits. 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. Hi Adam. Keep them from extreme heat and freezing and they will be safely stored until next season. And you can definitely try another pump. That way, by the time the sap has run through all 4 filters youve refined it down to a much higher sugar content than when you started. WebConsisting of one sediment filter and two reverse osmosis filters, the Sugar Cube RO Replacement Filter Kit contains everything you need for the annual maintenance of your prototype Sugar Cube RO. Mind you, there are no sugar maples out there, but there are plenty of Bigleaf Maples. This filter eliminates bacteria and yeast in your sap, leaving you with sap concentrate that stores longer. Im elated that you found this page. When were making maple syrup, reverse osmosis also leaves you with pure water, but what it removes is actually what we want to keep highly concentrated sap. The other item you listed, 1/4 polyethylene tubing (25 of it) item #814305, model #98584, Is correct, but technically it has an OD of 3/8 and the ID is 1/4. Thank you for all of this; would not have done it without you. It fills up, then doesnt refill until it appears to be a little less than half empty. I flushed the system after each run. 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. This article goes over how to use reverse osmosis in a sugaring operation using a few different methods. My primary limitation is sap storage. I am going to give it a go. WE BUILT THE RO SYSTEM AND IT SEEMS TO RUN EVERYTHING RIGHT THROUGH WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING. Thanks Bill and Michelle sharing you drawing on a RO system. It works quite well, but we have found that we go through a ton of wood processing maple syrup every year. Great question. Do the filters NEED to be kept in the fridge? Wow, 3 days of banging my head against a wall 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. Good Luckthis a great little unit and has saved me so many hours of boiling. The other line is carrying the permeate, or tree water minus the extra sugar you have filtered into your ROd sap. We have 110 taps and process roughly 5 gallons of sap through the RO every 45 minutes. a maple syrup producer records the amount. I break that down in this post: https://soulyrested.com/2017/04/12/make-maple-syrup-step-step/. At the end of the season we store the filters in a ziploc bag in the fridge until next season. Ill try to remember to get back to you! WebPlace maple syrup and mustard in small bowl and stir with fork to combine. Vermont is the country's largest producer of maple syrup. Reverse osmosis is a process that can speed up syrup production by removing a significant amount of water from the sap before you put it in your evaporator. We set a large can of sap beside our RO. Assuming your sap is gravity feed to the pump, is there any suggested distance above the pump for the container of sap to be for this to work? Thanks for making me not look wrong. Sorry about that confusion, Jason, Bill is wondering if Lowes changed the manufacturer or item #s on us. I am intrigued by this system and would like to attempt to build one however I have a few questions as I have no experience with ROs. Thanks again for this post! Hi Jim, I have never have run my sap through more than once, but I know people who do. (We use the 150 gpd filters. It still takes a long time and a lot of fuel to make the syrup, so your RO system sounds like it would help with both. Recently, new membrane processes have been developed to concentrate maple sap to ultra-high Brix reaching up to 40 Brix. 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. I need to get me some Sweet Maple! True story. Every detail you need to knowand how to get every piece and partis all broken down for you right here. She lives on a small homestead in Vermont with her husband, two children, and a rambunctious border collie. By using a reverse osmosis machine, we can eliminate 50% of the water in our sap before boiling, thus greatly reducing the amount of time it takes to go from sap to syrup. Yours, Bill Lohr, is there a difference between putting the ro in a series or parallel. I have to run the sap through twice in order to get a good reduction. My sap went from1.5% sugar to 4 to 5% sugar after running through my ro. Me? Michelle, fyi my issue was a bad membrane. Works great. To find me in some otherneck of the woods, just click any (or every!) I hear you could pull 50% of the water off. Trying to figure out which tube the water will come out of and which the concentrated sap. Great article and I am ordering supplies today. I just found your post this a.m. after writing Michelle this weekend with the same issues. By morning I would have 30 40 gallons of sap to boil down. I have not been able to remove much water just passing the sap thru the system. Im assembling the RO system now, and everything is going great. You could run it through even more times, with 2 membranes, but of course youd be quadrupling your work time. Thank you again for sharing your wisdom! One change I am making this year though is to use snap it valves rather than the brass needle valve, as I always had trouble with the brass valve leaking. Build a fire to boil the sap. in the sense that we keep the waste (the sugar) and toss the water (permeate). Jason. You do need the needle valve. Build Your Own Maple Syrup Reverse Osmosis Rig GardenFork 196K subscribers 652 45K views 2 years ago How to make a DIY reverse osmosis system for Okay, the 90% is for the big-wigs, using the really fancy, high-end ROs, but this sweet little DIY RO saves us at least 50% of our costs here on our little sugarbush every year, so man-oh-man is it worth it! Happy sugaring!! . Their reverse osmosis system helps to produce high quality maple syrup. Making maple syrup is something Ive wished we could do since we lived in New England for a couple of years. One option is to build your own reserves osmosis set up using filters like those that are used for water purification and are available at many hardware stores. Do you run the permeant through in reverse to flush? What a great question. The pump is available for sale on line; I linked to the one we use above. Also describe it in case I want to purchase one. Or does it not matter? Large commercial operations use a You are very welcome Jill just 4 years ago I was someone like you and needed all the help I could get. If its not a high enough pressure grains of the sugar will clog the holes in the filter and make your RO much less efficient. Hopefully, Bill or another crafter can offer advice on this issue. HI Michelle, I did a comparison run yesterday and would somebody please check my unbelievable calculations: Especially the maple section because we have been making 11 years on Prince Edward Island. You could also reach in and remove large pieces of debris with a slotted spoon. Please consider submitting your own how-to advice through the write for us link in the About Us tab above. Likewise, as much as we love sitting outside by the evaporator with friends, there comes a point where 18 hours of boiling each weekend can feel cumbersome; getting to syrup faster is not a bad thing. 5. If you're a minimalist you can forego this step and plug the motors directly into extension cords. But I like the convenience of having an off/o Glance at myResource Pageif youd like to get a glimpse of other supplies I use for maple syrup making (as well as gardening, homeschooling, homesteading topics, nature journaling, and more). (Read about Ray Inghams ro experiences below.). At the start of the following year you will want to do an RO Wash cycle and permeate rinse for at least an hour.. Also, I am getting conflicting messages regarding storage..you freeze your RO filters, correct? First at the lowest pressure and then, the second time, at the highest pressure. Thank you Michelle & Bill for sharing this information! Wanna know how we even do some natural ro for FREE? Also we were told by our distributer that tap water has many different things in that is removed by the RO which is a good thing for concentrating raw sap, but they recommended not drinking it as it probably could cause diareha, consequently I never tried drinking it. Your blog is so interesting. We live in the Deep South. Because here our family has started living a more sustainable life, focused on simple joys. lol. Have you tried running the sap through the RO more than once? A backyard sugarmaker in New England, and author of Sweet Maple. We dont often have time to boil more than once a week. And I have huge respect for Bill and for YOU, since youre here. I may even have some sap later this week to test it on here in Ohio! 18195 Conc Rd 17, Maxville ON. The process takes about 30 minutes to transform the syrup into a gorgeous golden, thickened maple cream. 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