After 3 disconnections, the tubing may be scarred and leak. I have no idea what to expect it to look like while running. My questions are. Because here our family has started living a more sustainable life, focused on simple joys. Never mind. We are always looking for fresh content and new ideas. 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. Hi Jim. That top will not spin unless the line is cut. Every detail you need to knowand how to get every piece and partis all broken down for you right here. Do you run the permeant through in reverse to flush? I have additional questions regarding cleaning and storing the filters : (Id love to keep it all.) Ive had this bookmarked for a while and finally made mine. Im sure youll notice lots of time savings this year! Thats just the one Bill chose. Thanks for your help. The only problem I run into is getting the pump primed and pulling in the sap, but a little elevation does the trick! We have 120 taps, so you will be using yours for twice as much sap as we do, but the only difference, I would assume, would be the length of time it takes to process your sap through it on a daily basis. Some of them are in series like yours and some ROs are set up in parallel. Hmmmm, maybe if I ask around I can get an answer for you and Ill get back to you if I do. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE NEEDLE VALVE ON THE LINE. Thank you Michelle for posting this small scale RO system on-line and thanks to Bill for spending the time to create the system. Its just reversed. I have quadruple-checked everything and cant seem to find the problem. So happy sugaring and thanks for the simple RO. how do you wash your ro system after each use ? And a pleasant way to describe your knowledge. According to Leader Evaporator, it is a process through which a semi-permeable membrane is used to separate water from salt, sugar, minerals, and other impurities. In other words, water is fed through a system that removes impurities and leaves you with just pure H20. I cant wait to hear what you do with the permeate, and or what you use it for! (Read about Ray Inghams ro experiences below.). You know the ones that that filter out the impurities and leave you with wonderfully pure drinking water? ), If you wanna read more about why we ro,go here. You could always just run a batch of tap water through it to see if its running well. I DO NOT HAVE THAT ON THERE. It cost me about $350 and was well worth it. Do the limbs of the trees hold up well? Hi Gordie Hello Michelle, I am in the process of assembling my RO. Im curious as to what effect that would have. Happy sugaring!! Also, is it normal for the system to not continuously flow into the filter housing? How do you find the pump? Listing Hi Michelle, Im up to $541 ordering the recommended parts on Amazon and am attempting to reduce the cost. Thanks for that suggestion. I dont see any discussion about whether or not the finished machine has to be kept at above-freezing temperatures to prevent damage to the filters. Thanks again for the help. Hi Mike, I built mine last year(2021) and ran into the same issue. I had a few doubters when I said I was going to do this. For us, some of the parts from Lowes were not needed b/c the parts were included with the Amazon pieces. 1. Attached is a pdf of the components you'll need. I have no particular relationship with the suppliers or brands listed, they just happened to be Do you want 24 V or 120V near all that water? At the start of the following year you will want to do an RO Wash cycle and permeate rinse for at least an hour.. Sap can be put through the system repeatedly and becomes more concentrated with each pass through the RO membrane. It works quite well, but we have found that we go through a ton of wood processing maple syrup every year. I am building an RO fashioned after one of my neighbors here in WI. 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. Professionally, my mission is to help you do the same. Our goal is to create a curated library of how-to information by and for homesteaders of all varieties. How do you adjust the pressure; is that what the needle valve is for? Thanks for any suggestions. I put my sap into a 50 gallon drum and recirculate for the day. It was capable of running raw sap from 2% up to 14% by running it thru multiple times. Hope that helps! Funding for this project was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM170100XXXXG167, I only have 40 taps, but if this works I will tap more. just goes to show attention to detail is vital. Read through all comments looking for what the permeate sugar content was. We run it at 60/70. My primary limitation is sap storage. I have never run an RO system and am not quite sure how to run it. Thanks. Alan. Me? Works like a charm! Click on the image below to pin this post. RO Maple systems enhance the syrup Am I correct? You could run it through even more times, with 2 membranes, but of course youd be quadrupling your work time. By morning I would have 30 40 gallons of sap to boil down. Do you still have to filter the syrup prior to bottling? Our evaporator is heated by a wood fire and it usually takes around 50 gallons of sap to cook down into one gallon of syrup. Luckily, there are other options for obtaining a reserve osmosis set-up. Thanks for sharing your DIY project. Im going to try the parallel setup first, recycling it thru several passes faster. btw, if you dont already have Amazon Prime, I highly recommend it. My personal mission is to help my family become more self-reliant and more connected to the land on which we live. I had no Idea what it was going to do when I built it.. His pump is pushing up to 140 PSI Or does it not matter? RO device ran from 7:50 to 10:15 a.m. removed 3.8 gallons from a 5 gallon bucket at 50 watts Mark & Colleen Falardeau, backyard sugarmakers who built this RO system, explain, It cost us roughly $300 to make our RO and it takes sap from 2-3% sugar content to 7-8% in one pass! Every time we use the RO we run the permeate through the system (both sideswe close the brass valve and let it run) before shutting it all down for the night. Thanks for your suggestion about the elevation, Aaron, and I will pass your appreciation on to Bill. 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. Everything I ever write about maple gets added to that one board. Hope that helps. Heres our Reverse Osmosis set up. Thanks for all the hard work you do to spread the sweetness! Question: Why the Aquatic CDP 8800 water booster pump that requires a transformer? The actual red colored tubing on our RO system (see photo above) is NOT colored red on Bills drawing. On that unit I used all 3/8 lines and 3/8 fittings and Happy sugaring! This makes me so happy to hear! The whole point of boiling sap is to evaporate water and be left with a thick, sugary maple syrup. Do the filters NEED to be kept in the fridge? About - Build Your Own Reverse Osmosis System For Maple Syrup Hope that helps. Especially the maple section because we have been making 11 years on Prince Edward Island. The amazing beauty of this Ill use a 5 gal bucket for permeate (for cleaning system) and waste the rest on the ground. 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. Hi Larry. Hi Dick. And Id love to hear about your alternations if you find great success! Thanks again for this post! And finally, do you replace your filters with any regularity? I ask because I honestly do not know. Cook zucchinis, garlic cloves and rosemary for 4 mins until beginning to colour. It does have an ID of 3/8, but it should have an OD of 3/8. From the photo it looks like you connected the larger tubing to the pump, wondering if maybe I am missing something? Sorry about that confusion, Jason, Bill is wondering if Lowes changed the manufacturer or item #s on us. Ill try to remember to get back to you! Guessing that was the major design consideration. The other line is carrying the permeate, or tree water minus the extra sugar you have filtered into your ROd sap. Reverse Osmosis in the Maple Syrup Industry The maple industry utilizes this technology to separate a large percentage of the water from maple sap. 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). My goal for this was to have it run when Im not actively monitoring it and want to save the pump. , Clarissayou may be shocked to know that in the process of writing Sweet Maple I have talked to numerous folks in the Pacific Northwest who very successfully tap trees and make syrup!! Surprise your maple-loving family and friends! WE BUILT THE RO SYSTEM AND IT SEEMS TO RUN EVERYTHING RIGHT THROUGH WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING. 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. Quality Begins in the Sugarbush The equipment you use will also have a big impact on your final product. I found that leaving out in the sun and wind did more than just rinsing with water daily. Please use at your own risk. I made my first syrup this spring and quickly came to the realization that ROing the syrup first is essential to cut down the time spent boiling. Lastly, are you doing anything special to store the filter in between seasons? You have an awesome informational site. Try setting you brass valve (petcock) to around 70-80 psi. This my first attempt at this. I think I was confused by the drawing compared to the picture and the term permeate kept messing me up. A friend is using this system and says it works great. The line with the needle valve is the line that carries the ROd sap that then is boiled. WebPlace maple syrup and mustard in small bowl and stir with fork to combine. Volunteers boil it down and the park sells it. The authors homemade PVC hangers for collecting syrup. a maple syrup producer records the amount. The floorboards creak, the barn roof sags, and the rocky land seems unforgiving. Michelle, I have most of the parts, but have a few questions on how to run the final system. Thanks for your info. if this works I plan on expanding to an additional 5 trees but being only having 6 trees at my disposal expanding is limited. That is insane return on my investment!. of pure water an hour. I just ordered all the parts :). Hi Bill, Im not sure Im understanding your question but the 50% is the increase in sugar content. WebTotal 9584 products from sugar free substitute for maple syrup Manufactures & Suppliers Or if youd like to read through the process we go through to actually bottle our maple syrup,go here. Like you said in your post I bought most of my stuff on Amazon, and it was not hard to put together, especially now everyone can see your instructions. That is insane return. 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! Large commercial operations use a 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. Thank you. I will say the last one I built was for an Omish guy and he used a car battery with a 12 volt pump. Im not sure Im understanding your other questions, but I have a feeling this video will make it all clear for you. We chose 4 membranes cause we read that any more is pointless, but wanted to maximize what we could. Then see what the system does under various operating conditions. I literally know nothing about this unit aside from what you read here. 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. 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 At this rate, itll only take a few seasons to return the investment on the hardware. 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 Michelle, * For your membrane, you can choose the one linked above, for50 gallons per day, or upgrade to one for100 gpdor150 gpd. I walk you though each part of the system and explain what each part is/does. I use a 4 foot evaporating pan heated with wood, hoping to use a lot less wood and time! The stuff I order is the same as your part spec. I can, however, connect the smaller 1/4 tubing to the pump, the OD is 3/8. 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? Rev O did 0.03 kwh per gallon water removed Its all Bills work. 3 PVC pipe works well I made 2 40 canisters because they are easier than one long one. Youll also need some tubing and connectors, as well as another valve. I and two others donate sap to our county park district to boil down. Im blessed to live in an old farmhouse, by a mountain lake, on acres of stone walls and sugar maples. Im in Wisconsin, and I have a brother who also makes syrup in Vermont. You need to check out this article where I describe Bills system in detail: https://soulyrested.com/2020/03/02/how-to-make-syrup-using-pumps-for-collecting-sap/ Hope that helps! It will cut your fuel costs in half, if not more. And finally, whats the function of the clear line filter? What causes air bubbles to come out of 1 RO filter the rest of them are ok.. Ive built and used your RO system for 3 years now. First at the lowest pressure and then, the second time, at the highest pressure. Have you done any upgrades to your present listed system at all? 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. even read about storing the filters in permeate. So we persoanlly choose to boil our sap with propane. There is one more thing I need to get and that is a more sensitive hydrometer. 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. What pressure do you run at? So weve actually never tried to run it in an unheated area. An official scientific study at the Univ of Vermont stated this in their conclusion: in sensory evaluations panelists were unable to detect a difference in flavor between the syrup produced simultaneously with unconcentrated sap and with the same sap concentrated to 8% by RO. just goes to show attention to detail is vital.. You do need the needle valve. I just received all the parts recommended ( I went for 4 100GPD filters) and it cost me just under 500$. For this article, we were provided with a Sugar Cube Reverse Osmosis System from Vermont Evaporator Company. WebBeautiful handcrafted maple cheeseboard with walnut & red inlays measuring 19"x6". After filtering when do I need to process. I also list, below, every single item Bill bought to build our system. This kit is indeed awesome! I just finished building my RO, and it looks just like yours, because i followed yours except I only put 3- 150 membranes in my system for now. It saves that much more on fuel costs. ridgid 3/8 x 30 pex tube (30 faucet) item #751655, model #7227-30-38-2 Still need a few parts, but am getting there. Thank you so much for sharing. I got a 0 to 10% refractometer that resolves considerably better than my old 0 to 32 job. 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. Im pretty sure sugar maple trees would grow here, but in zone 8, would they make syrup? Sadly it would be a few decades before you can tap a young maple. 3/8 needle valve, also put in just 2 400 GPD membranes. Happy boiling! Their cleaning regimen seems a bit extreme though. 1/4 T (youll need 4 of them) Sharkbite item # 835039, model #25427Z, 1/4 male x 1/4 quick connect 90 (youll need 5 of them) Sharkbite item #83500, model #25433, 1/4 male x 1/4quick connect straight (youll need 8 of these) Sharkbite item #835025, model #25413Z, 3/8 x 1/4 male quick connect (just 1) Sharkbite item #835028, model #25416Z, 3/8polyethylene tubing (25 of it) item #879277, model #98634, 1/4polyethylene tubing (25 of it) item #814305, model #98584, 3/8 quick connect ball valve (just 1) Sharkbite item #835049, model #25438Z, ridgid 3/8 x 30 pex tube (30 faucet) item #751655, model #7227-30-38-2, *NOTE: the red lines in Bills drawing represent clear tubing connecting the filters in sequence above. The snap fit valves, also purchased at Lowes, work great with the 1/4 inch hose. Hi Bob, I just asked Bill. 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. Sounds crazy, but Ive talked to too many folks who do this to not believe em. So I asked Bill to walk me through exactly what he did to make this sweet contraption. All this and so much more is explained in Sweet Maple. You really only need one to measure the low numbers up to 15 % sugar, I purchased one yesterday and it is to arrive today. The Mapel Fever is almost here.. Like Michele said for little cost a refractometer is really fun. WHAT PRESSURE SHOULD I HAVE? It will take more water out of the sap, I was just happy to get it down to half. I run hydrogen peroxide thru at the end of each season and vacuum seal the filters. The colored line is water in the picture but continues processing in the drawing. Seriously. Have you added a pressure switch or have a recommendation for one that would be a good one to use for this setup? A backyard sugarmaker in New England, and author of Sweet Maple. But after the sap has run through the ro system, we can spend a lot less time, energy, and fuel to boil it. icon below: window.fd('form', { I always collect in late afternoonand averaged about 120 gallons of sap a day. 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 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. Thank you Michelle & Bill for sharing this information! I had a great season here in SW Ohio, collecting over 525 gals of sap from 68 taps. What a huge time saver. Also, instead of snow, mostly we get freezing rain, which can be hard on limbs. I will update the article to explain that! Webbiogen senior engineer ii salary. While researching, Ive read about some RO systems running at 100 110 PSI, however this system runs around 60. Learn how your comment data is processed. Traditional Daiquiri. Hi Michelle. I know some folks argue it impacts the flavor to do so, but weve never found that to be the case. Excited to start using this. 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. Visit our affiliate disclosure page to learn more. 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. Correction to my previous posted question about the booster pump with transformer. Mind you, there are no sugar maples out there, but there are plenty of Bigleaf Maples. I can see a little of it in the background in you video. Great for serving cheese & charcuterie as well as many other small bites. Our maple season can be very short and using your RO cuts boiling time down considerably. EZ-FLO 0.170-in ID x 150-ft Polyethylene Tubing Item #879275Model #98632. I break that down in this post: https://soulyrested.com/2017/04/12/make-maple-syrup-step-step/. I only have 3 100 gpd membranes as one is on back order. (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. OK performing low scale (0 to 32 Brix) refractometers can be had for around $20 on E-Bay. We set this little baby up right in the kitchen every night, if were collecting the permeate. Sadly, yes, you have to filter many other times throughout the whole process. 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!! We dont often have time to boil more than once a week. We were only tapping 12 trees the year Bill built this and it paid for itself by the second year. 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. HI Michelle Winter storms coming in off the ocean cause such drastic changes in weather fronts that trees gush sap even when temps never dip below freezing. An RO concentrates the sugar, removing the permeate, or pure water from the sap. 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. When its time to start up the RO again the next year, all we do is take the filters out of the fridge and use them. Thats what we boil down to make syrup. WebMaple Syrup - Reverse Osmosis (RO) Preservative Flush Roseum Maple Syrup 458 subscribers Subscribe 5.9K views 3 years ago ROSEUM MAPLE SYRUP This video The first time through, the flow rate, at 70psi, is about 3 min/gal and I get about 20% permeate. (We use the 150 gpd filters. I ended up purchasing an even SMALLER tubing with and OD of 1/4 and an ID of .170 in and this is the correct tubing for the smaller of the two tubing sizes and the fittings you have listed. Our maple syrup operation manager (aka hubby) built a reverse osmosis (RO) filter system that we run our sap through before boiling. For instance, if I planted a maple, how long before I could tap it? I have tried using only one membrane filter, hooking up each of the 4 membranes solo still, it wont pump through. Thats why we own this one: https://amzn.to/2X0X9cM Both are fine choices, depending on what you want. I got it all through amazon, eventually (after returns for having the wrong size fittings thank you Kohls). 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. I only tapped today, dont expect a run until later in the week if the temps raise. Required fields are marked *. Hi Michelle, I have built your RO and have come across a problem. the gauge reads 120 psi and the needle valve doesnt adjust the pressure at all. Im assembling the RO system now, and everything is going great. Plenty of elbow grease and lots of clean, hot water are the best cleaning agents for maple syrup equipment. Its kind of you to share all this information with the back yarders. My concentrate was sound 4%. True story. Yet it is perfect. Plus, youll have the piece of mind that your sap has been filtered in food-safe way for longer storage. We dont feed our sap directly into our RO. I am sure that this will only be first of many questions. But seriously, you cantry out Prime for totally freefor 30 days. I do have a couple of questions though. (If you need a giant cookie fixand I do mean giantyoull want this recipe.). 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. Your land sounds wonderful, and I hope your red maples give you lots of wonderful syrup this year! Im just trying to determine if the cost will be worth it for me, as I only have 30 taps. 6. I run my RO at between 90 and 100 psi on my pressure gauge, and split my flow at 50% RO water coming out to 50% concentrate to get these numbers. I may try that this year.. Cut the tubing pretty square. 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. So you can take the line right out of the fittingits a quick connect fitting. Compare to last year where we got about 1 gallons and used 4(!!!) Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trialby clicking through this link. (Easier to tell if one of the membranes is plugged as each has a separate discharge line that you can monitor). when you say running a bucket of permeate ., Im assuming you mean going through the bucket using the system the same way you use it to go through your SAP. Thanks and happy sugaring!! I just received all the parts today and hope to assemble over the holidays. This may be a good place to introduce yourself and your site or include some credits. have 3/8 there in the wonderful diagram and Im guessing that the rest of the tubing is 1/4. lol. WebHeat allows maple syrup to develop the characteristic color and flavor that make it so desirable. Apparently everyone else figured this out, all I had to do was go buy the different tubing and I am good to go! I think your pricing is not correct. 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 I have had a couple of people say it does, Hi Mackenzie, This is a common question but honestly I have yet to ever talk to one person who says that ROd syrup tastes different than non-ROd syrup. Will the water be coming out of the tube marked permeate? For you, it is more about the experience than the production. Approaches to syrup production. I wouldnt know how to even cut the plywood the size I wanted it. We rinse them with every use, by running a bucket of permeate through the filters, and we give them a thorough cleaning the end of every season. Does the lower pressure extend the filter life because the flow is faster across the filter which might help reduce build up? Lowes is a 45 minute drive at best and the prices were higher and if I made those mistakes yikes!! Put them into two separate buckets and voila, you can cut the water content of your sap by up to 50%. We always, always run the sap through twice, even with the 4 membranes. After seeing loss, I checked calibration with distilled water and got 0%. The drawback is that you need 4 needle valves, one for each sap line/canister to create the proper back pressure. Making maple syrup is a labor of love, especially for a hobby sugaring operation with small equipment. 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. Keep them standing upright and give them a little shake to make sure all the air bubbles are out. Iam going to build one as per your drawings. Any thoughts or comments? Whats the measurements on plywood board. Also, is there something magic about that particular pump? And great question about what we run it at! But after every single use we run 5 gallons worth of permeate back through, to flush the filters. Oh, boy, any technical questions I have to run by Bill. , So interesting!! Build a fire to boil the sap. WebTotal 9584 products from sugar free substitute for maple syrup Manufactures & Suppliers It was 1.5 out of tree. . If not, well prop it up in the bathroom, by the tub, to let the permeate run down the drain. I am excited to get this working and I am determined to figure it out. Step 4 As soon as the cream is ready, transfer it to a glass jar with a lid. The RO pump draws the sap in, via the tubing we place in the can of sap. Hi Marlowe. lol. containerEl: '#fd-form-608a538fe8b3a8e1e4d62a1d' Every evening during the season, when were done RO-ing for the day, we simply run the RO one more cycle, using permeate instead of sap. Thanks for the instructions and parts list. They said they could see the difference. Im a New England homesteader and the author of Sweet Maple. I built it exactly like yours so Im a bit confused. I read somewhere that there are special chemicals for that. Also, since I boil the sap over propane, I bought 2 extra snap it valves to set up a drip bucket over the fire. Maybe some day we will upgrade to that fancy-shamancy gorgeous thing. Follow up questions re: cleaning.