Comparing a centrifuge to a maple syrup filter press

Comparing a centrifuge to a maple syrup filter press

Summary

                                                                  FNE15-823 2015 SARE Grant

            The 2015 maple season was late and short so my research was postponed until 2016. The objective of my grant is to compare the effectiveness of a centrifuge to a filter press for the filtering of maple syrup.

Preliminary work that was done was proving that the centrifuge could be used to filter syrup. The SARE Grant does not cover the cost of purchasing equipment so I called the centrifuge manufacturer to ask for a donation of two centrifuges. He sent one to have me prove my theory first and would send the second only if it worked. A reasonable request, I thought, If it doesn’t work why send two.

            When the centrifuge arrived, assembly was required. It was a little intimidating with a three phase converter so I had someone with more experience put it together. Once the wires were connected it didn’t look so hard after all.

            The centrifuge does make the syrup clearer. Whether it’s better than a filter press we’ll have to find out next year.

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