Chasing the Filter Press With Water

At the end of a filtering session, some maple producers choose to feed a small amount of water through the press to help push through any remaining sugars or maple syrup that may remain in the system.

In the below video, Jimmy demonstrates this on a Smoky Lake Filter Press with Hand Pump. His Filter Press is a 6-Filter unit.

If you have a different filter press than what is demonstrated in this video, you can still test and try this method of chasing water through the press to eliminate waste. Start with just a small amount of water and then test the sugar density of the output using a Murphy Compensation Cup and Hydrometer before putting it into your bottler. Alternatively, if you have fed too much water into the press thereby lowering the syrup density, you can simply return those sugars to your finisher/evaporator… Or in Jimmy’s case, add that lower density syrup to your coffee or tea for quick consumption.