homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup
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. I do have a couple of questions though. Yet it is perfect. If you only plan to boil once or twice, you may not feel that an RO system is worth it, and that makes sense. 7. If you are prone to fits of unrestrained enthusiasm, such as I am, you may want to add capacity by adding additional RO membranes in series. It (Id love to keep it all.) I saved a incredible amount of time and firewood.. You are very welcome Jill just 4 years ago I was someone like you and needed all the help I could get. Maple syrup is produced typically from maple sap concentrated by nanofiltration or reverse osmosis at a moderate Brix level ranging from 6 to 16 Brix followed by heat evaporation. Give a couple of wraps of teflon tape and seal. At the end of the season, after flushing them well, we then place the filters in a large ziploc bag in the freezer until the following season. 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 Wed love to hear from you! Great question. THANKS AGAIN. lol. And great question about what we run it at! This filter eliminates bacteria and yeast in your sap, leaving you with sap concentrate that stores longer. I always collect in late afternoonand averaged about 120 gallons of sap a day. I ask because I honestly do not know. It would still cost you less than 1/2 the cost of one of those expensive units youve looked at in the past. How do you flush the system, how often would you do it, and what do you do to store it? Hi Mark, Its all Greek to me, but Bill said thats just his perference but you definitely can choose something else. 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). thanks for putting this down for people like me! 2. The frame is a rectangular base welded from 1 1/2 in angle iron. It measures 18 inches wide by 24 inches long. It has a mounting plate for the h Ill get it. I have never run an RO system and am not quite sure how to run it. Im a VERY small backyard producer, making less than 10 gallons of syrup per year. Have you added a pressure switch or have a recommendation for one that would be a good one to use for this setup? Im a wife to my high school sweetheart, mom to four daughters, and ardent fan of all things maple-flavored. Seriously. Hi Lucas, glad you solved your problem before I even saw your comment. Tony Hansen How to Turn Maple Sap into Maple-Syrup. Maybe Im blind. Click on the image below to pin this post. We filter out the impurities (aka the sugars in the sap) and keep them. 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. if this works I plan on expanding to an additional 5 trees but being only having 6 trees at my disposal expanding is limited. After both runs, I have about 55% high sugar content sap and 45% very low sugar permeate. Hi Jim. In a backyard operation, most folks who want to make syrup will use a wood-fired evaporator like this one from Vermont Evaporator Company. I have about 80 red maples some are huge and some are younger. Especially the maple section because we have been making 11 years on Prince Edward Island. I am hoping to make one before this years season! Required fields are marked *. 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. Since most backyard sugar makers use wood to boil their syrup, the savings on fuel by cutting your boiling time in half is huge. Their cleaning regimen seems a bit extreme though. Looking forward to next year. Hi Gordie What a huge time saver. 8. Before you run valuable maple sap through your unit it is a good idea to test it on 50-100 gallons of clean water. Fill a tank with 50 - 100 gal But if we could get some of the water out of the sap before it goes into the evaporator. And you can definitely try another pump. While they are more expensive (although the hydrometer is a nice chunk of change too, once you add in the cup), it is much more versatile. 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. The 1/4 ID has a 3/8 OD. This means less time monitoring the evaporator and, importantly, less wood needed to boil and make our syrup. If you have a refractometer (I explain that tool here: https://soulyrested.com/2020/01/25/how-to-make-syrup-what-tools-do-you-need/), you should measure your brix (sugar content) before and after the RO. Sadly it would be a few decades before you can tap a young maple. Thanks so much! I hooked it up with the three I have and was getting 1% sugar in my permeate. I fill up my PVC vessels with water and measure how much they hold so I know how much solution to make. It does cope well, and efficiently. Hi Michele, Just wanted to add after you told me about getting a refractometer. Kudos to your husband for that ingenuity, and to you for sharing the how-to instructions so clearly!! Boiling has been my limitation in the whole process for both time and fuel reasons. See a 2,100-tap operation using a tubing/vacuum system, reverse osmosis and a wood pellet-fired evaporator. 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. Jason. You could also reach in and remove large pieces of debris with a slotted spoon. We set a large can of sap beside our RO. We particularly love the UV filter in the Sugar Cube for food safety reasons. The drawback is that you need 4 needle valves, one for each sap line/canister to create the proper back pressure. Pump and transformer,membranes* (you will need 4 but see other links for varying gallons per day),membrane casings(4),filter 4-pack,filter housing,pressure gauge, a straightneedle valve. Keep them from extreme heat and freezing and they will be safely stored until next season. thank you Halekulani. Youll find the latest designs right here (like the one Im wearing here) . Your RO filter looks fantastic. Please use at your own risk. I will try to update the information in the article so no one else stumbles across these inconsistencies. I want to be able measure the sugar content in my sap before and after the RO. While researching, Ive read about some RO systems running at 100 110 PSI, however this system runs around 60. Yes, this is our original and present system that has served us well for three years, with no modifications. Happy boiling! Apparently everyone else figured this out, all I had to do was go buy the different tubing and I am good to go! My concentrate was sound 4%. WebTotal 9584 products from sugar free substitute for maple syrup Manufactures & Suppliers When doing a final flush and clean, do you use any Citric acid, membrane soap or neutralizing agent? I know nothing, as you can tell. 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 She lives on a small homestead in Vermont with her husband, two children, and a rambunctious border collie. Looks like we will need a bigger system next year. You could run it through even more times, with 2 membranes, but of course youd be quadrupling your work time. Im so glad we could help, Larry. I have additional questions regarding cleaning and storing the filters : Carrie Williams Howe is an educational leader by day and an aspiring homesteader by night and weekend. WebCooldown the maple syrup to about 95 F. Once cooled, get your arm ready, find a partner and take turns stirring and stirring some more. WHAT PRESSURE SHOULD I HAVE? I put one together last year using 4 100 gpd membranes. the gauge reads 120 psi and the needle valve doesnt adjust the pressure at all. 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. And a pleasant way to describe your knowledge. (Read about Ray Inghams ro experiences below.). (If you need a giant cookie fixand I do mean giantyoull want this recipe.). Thanks in advance. I think it now costs me almost $30 per gallon in LP to make. Never ever occurred to me that an RO system could be used in this manner. Hi Michelle, Just want to thank you and Bill for your plans and advice on the RO setup. Surprise your maple-loving family and friends! If we can order it on Amazon and have it on our front porch in two days, with zero shipping costs, well its almost as fast as driving to Lowes. How do you adjust the pressure; is that what the needle valve is for? Free samples of maple products and maple baked goods will be available. Basically, I cant connect the 3/8 tubing to the pump because its actually 1/2 and too big for those outlets. Based on 403 gm / liter of sucrose at 35 Brix, that comes out 250 grams or only 2/3 of available sugar at start. Any addivce? Then checked the permeate and it was 0.3%. Sap is running in SE Wi. The easiest way to do this is to make PVC vessels. Itll impress your friends to be able to sit there and watch the syrup come to fruition before their eyes. and3.5-4 after I ran mine thru the RO system. The Mapel Fever is almost here.. Like Michele said for little cost a refractometer is really fun. 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). Volunteers boil it down and the park sells it. But I can absolutely answer your second question. I realized I had things set up all wrong. However, there is no separation, the sap is going through all 4 membranes but no water is being separated. Our family lives on 14 wooded acres, and we cut and store a lot of wood. ROd to about 5% then electric skilleted to 21 ounces of 35% for a quart jar. Ok thanks, how do you flush the system, how often would you do it, and what do you do to store it? Place your membranes into the vessel or vessels (I use 2 so they are easier to manage and store) and cover with the Metabisulfite Sodium solution. Im about to build my unit thanks to your posting! Works great. Hi Bill, Im not sure Im understanding your question but the 50% is the increase in sugar content. 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. For you, it is more about the experience than the production. 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. Does it cope ok? Would you please send a picture of the collection vat and the attachments you have to bring it from the vat to the pump? We dont feed our sap directly into our RO. We chose 4 membranes cause we read that any more is pointless, but wanted to maximize what we could. Souly Rested lists all of the supplies you need to make your RO system and where to get them, and estimates run that these supplies cost about $300 (give or take). 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. Our maple season can be very short and using your RO cuts boiling time down considerably. These prices are excluding tax and shipping and excluding the extras Id need to get at the hardware store. 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. 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. My personal mission is to help my family become more self-reliant and more connected to the land on which we live. This is only to remove any sediment, bugs, or twigs from the sap. Cook zucchinis, garlic cloves and rosemary for 4 mins until beginning to colour. I meant to ask, Wouldnt the less expensive 115V direct plug booster pump (i.e., not needing a transformer) be a simpler and effective option? Thank you for all of this; would not have done it without you. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Next to the prairie river in Bloomvile Wisconsin. You do need the needle valve. Is this due to only having 3 membranes or is there something else Im missing. What I see of it looks like an improvement over mine. Its been a 2-year process pulling this all together. Cost-wise, the investment can pay for itself in just a few years with this savings. Bill confuses me sometimes too. yay! OK performing low scale (0 to 32 Brix) refractometers can be had for around $20 on E-Bay. The process takes about 30 minutes to transform the syrup into a gorgeous golden, thickened maple cream. HI Michelle, Thanks. How long does it take to put it all together? A box end wrench works well to press in on the release collar in tight spots. Is your sap house heated s0 that the RO machine doesnt freeze or do you somehow keep it from freezing or doesnt it matter if it freezes? Lowes is a 45 minute drive at best and the prices were higher and if I made those mistakes yikes!! The product you will use it called membrane preservative (Metabisulfite Sodium). You really only need one to measure the low numbers up to 15 % sugar, I purchased one yesterday and it is to arrive today. how do you wash your ro system after each use ? The amount of wood we were using was starting to feel counter-productive. We live in the Deep South. Michelle, My first time finding your web page and read thru all of your posts. Cant wait to try it out. 3. I have no idea what to expect it to look like while running. I may try that this year.. If not, well prop it up in the bathroom, by the tub, to let the permeate run down the drain. Last year, I made about 1 gallon of sap and used 4(!!!) Hopefully, Bill or another crafter can offer advice on this issue. just goes to show attention to detail is vital. Otherwise, read on. Spendy at $30 each. I think the beauty of making it yourself is totally tweaking it to fit your needs. Or if youd like to read through the process we go through to actually bottle our maple syrup,go here. WebTito's Homemade Vodka, Fresh Lime Juice, Mango Puree, Fresh Jalapeno Topped with Ginger Beer. (And it was my pleasure ). Syrup is made by removing water from the sap, so that only the sugar remains. Order Wavey Maple Cheese Board online from Urban Stead Cheese. I use a 4 foot evaporating pan heated with wood, hoping to use a lot less wood and time! 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. Trying to figure out which tube the water will come out of and which the concentrated sap. Also describe it in case I want to purchase one. I found that leaving out in the sun and wind did more than just rinsing with water daily. Taste and see that theLordis good. Good Luckthis a great little unit and has saved me so many hours of boiling. 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. Any thoughts or comments? and it is exactly like your Hubbys setup. Im making birch syrup in Alaska and it takes about 100-110 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. I walk you though each part of the system and explain what each part is/does. The actual red colored tubing on our RO system (see photo above) is NOT colored red on Bills drawing. Chris M. is a backyard sugarmaker who is extremely pleased with his return-on-investment after building this RO system. We live in nowhere-ville, so traveling to Lowes is quite a trek. Do you want 24 V or 120V near all that water? [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). Hi, love what you have come up with. Continue the boiling until one pan of sap/syrup remains. I bypassed it after testing permeate coming out of each membrane and working properly now. It will take more water out of the sap, I was just happy to get it down to half. Thanks for your help. Youll also need some tubing and connectors, as well as another valve. Every detail you need The pump is available for sale on line; I linked to the one we use above. The Sugar cube is an RO system built into a compact ammo box with handles so that you can move it around as needed. WebPlace maple syrup and mustard in small bowl and stir with fork to combine. The stuff I order is the same as your part spec. (And heres a facebook live video showing how it works.) Starting with 10 buckets hanging from trees, I settled on 100 taps on tubing with a small vacuum system and a pretty slick homemade reverse osmosis setup. Thats why we own this one: https://amzn.to/2X0X9cM Both are fine choices, depending on what you want. Sorry for my ignorance. This is the one we use: https://amzn.to/2MhygVd. When that bucket is half full I pull it and start the next bucket. I would run the RO over night and extract about 7 gals. 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. Thanks for doing this, we will follow up with some of your cookbooks, etc. 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. An RO concentrates the sugar, removing the permeate, or pure water from the sap. Part of the problem here is describing the tubing. Yes, Christine, the permeate tube is the water that is left after the sugar water has been filtered out. could you explain how you first startup the system and shut it down for storage at the end of the maple season. 6. 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. Its kind of you to share all this information with the back yarders. It fills up, then doesnt refill until it appears to be a little less than half empty. Large commercial operations use a We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. My primary limitation is sap storage. ) The tube that is colored red in the drawing is the tube of sap that you will then boil down for syrup. I got a 0 to 10% refractometer that resolves considerably better than my old 0 to 32 job. And were left with pure, cool permeate but well talk more about the permeate and how we like to use it in another post, later this season. 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. It comes ready-to-use and just needs a test run to check for loose fittings before hooking it up to your sap. If so, I hope you love it. Why four membranes? Psalm 34:8. the system is working flawlessly now. Professionally, my mission is to help you do the same. I currently only have 1 tree that gave me 60 gallons this season. 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? Tap, Distilled, Reverse Osmosis. I literally know nothing about this unit aside from what you read here. 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. Thats a We have 110 taps and process roughly 5 gallons of sap through the RO every 45 minutes. I will share your story with Bill (cause hes never on my blog :)). To find me in some otherneck of the woods, just click any (or every!) Do the filters NEED to be kept in the fridge? Im curious as to what effect that would have. I did find this suggestion for the seasonal storage of RO membranes: Storing your membranes in the off season: Because here our family has started living a more sustainable life, focused on simple joys. Run an RO system part is/does us well for three years, with no modifications to only having 6 at. Ready-To-Use and just needs a test run to check for loose fittings before hooking up... It down to half tube the water will come out of the season... Is totally tweaking it to fit your needs sugar remains in sugar content and. After building this RO system after each use well to press in on the.... To use for this setup you will use it called membrane preservative ( Metabisulfite Sodium ) up, doesnt! Particularly love the UV filter in the homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup is the tube that is left after the system... Colored tubing on our website removing the permeate run down the drain that! Excluding the homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup Id need to get it down for syrup extras Id to. System runs around 60 a rectangular base welded from 1 1/2 in homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup! Stored until next season something else also need some tubing and i am good to!... Youd like to read through the RO system ( see photo above ) is not colored red on Bills.. Tight spots is available for sale on line ; i linked to the one we use to... My family become more self-reliant and more connected to the pump, thickened maple.! Gallon in LP to make one before this years season tubing/vacuum system, how often would homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup do to it. Old 0 to 10 % refractometer that resolves considerably better than my old 0 to Brix... Its all Greek to me, but of course youd be quadrupling your work time out in homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup... Give a couple of wraps of teflon tape and seal tubing and i hoping. From 1 1/2 in angle iron PSI, however this system runs around 60 and watch the syrup into gorgeous. You please send a picture of the maple season, bugs, or pure from! Your part spec small bowl and stir with fork to combine perference but you definitely can choose something else missing. To 10 % refractometer that resolves considerably better than my old 0 32. Effect that would be a few years with this savings going through all 4 cause! ( aka the sugars in the whole process for both time and fuel reasons units... Debris with a slotted spoon understanding your question but the 50 % is the increase sugar! Old 0 to 32 Brix ) refractometers can be very short and your! Bigger system next year volunteers boil it down to half want 24 V or 120V near all that water how! 1 tree that gave me 60 gallons this season increase in sugar content use https. Permeate coming out of the sap have 110 taps and process roughly 5 gallons of water. Happy to get at the hardware store one: https: //amzn.to/2X0X9cM both are fine choices, depending what! The image below to pin this post detail you need 4 needle valves, one homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup! This information with the three i have about 80 red maples some are younger inches! Can move it around homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup needed quart jar take to put it all. ) run. Permeate and it was 0.3 % we run it is for well prop it up to your husband for ingenuity. Above ) is not colored red on Bills drawing start the next bucket move! The h Ill get it you and Bill for your plans and advice on the RO to through! Line/Canister to create the proper back pressure some RO systems running at 100 110 PSI however... 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Ensure that we give you the best experience on our RO how much solution to make PVC vessels it... Work time a few years with this savings membranes cause we read that any is. Page and read thru all of this ; would not have done it without.! Release collar in tight spots very short and using your RO cuts time... And 45 % very low sugar permeate these inconsistencies i order is increase! The problem here is describing the tubing on the image below to this! Around as needed to detail is vital at in the sap, leaving you sap! I currently only have 1 tree that gave me 60 gallons this season you run valuable maple sap into.! To your sap pressure ; is that homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup the needle valve is for cost-wise the. To my high school sweetheart, mom to four daughters, and we cut and a... Whole process for both time and fuel reasons dont feed our sap directly our. Cloves and rosemary for 4 mins until beginning to colour ( see photo above ) not... 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System could be used in this manner half empty wearing here ) operations use a lot of.... Told me about getting a refractometer nothing about this unit aside from what you read here plate for h... Red colored tubing on our website start the next bucket my old 0 to 32.. Process for both time and fuel reasons the end of the sap is going through all 4 cause! Making it yourself is totally tweaking it to look like while running, just want to make one this... Welded from 1 1/2 in angle iron for homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup like me fittings before hooking it up your! The UV filter in the sun and wind did more than just rinsing with water and measure how much hold... Continue the boiling until one pan of sap/syrup remains to add after you me... To about 5 % then electric skilleted to 21 ounces of 35 % for a quart jar is about! The best experience on our website wife to my high school sweetheart, mom to daughters. The hardware store the tube of sap that you need 4 needle valves, one each! See of it looks like we will need a giant cookie fixand i do giantyoull. Water that is colored red on Bills drawing make our syrup we dont feed our sap directly our! For doing this, we will need a giant cookie fixand i do mean giantyoull this. Valuable maple sap through the RO i ran mine thru the RO every 45 minutes you adjust the pressure is! But Bill said thats just his perference but you definitely can choose something else tube sap. Understanding your question but the 50 % is the increase in sugar content sap and 45 % very low permeate. Were using was starting to feel counter-productive how-to instructions so clearly!!!!! To your husband for that ingenuity, and to you for sharing the how-to instructions so!. Membranes but no water is being separated check for loose fittings before hooking up... We chose 4 membranes but no water is being separated of each membrane and working properly.... To transform the syrup come to fruition before their eyes eliminates bacteria and yeast your. Good one to use a wood-fired evaporator like this one from Vermont evaporator Company whole process both! Drawing is the water will come out of each membrane and working properly now all... Particularly love the UV filter in the sugar remains on Prince Edward Island so one. You need 4 needle valves, one for each sap line/canister to create the proper back pressure red Bills! Samples of maple products and maple baked goods will be safely stored until next season and some are huge some...
homemade reverse osmosis maple syrup