Milk filter advice
 

Morning all:) For years I've been gravity filtering goats milk with Ken Ag. 4-9/16 inch filters. They work great with small amounts of goats milk. Well they don't work worth a hoot on three gallons of high butter Jersey milk. They clog up quickly, and this chore is getting annoying. I know I need to buy a bigger strainer $$ and larger filters. Jersey folks what works for you??? Please be specific on the type, size, company, I'd rather not spend a fortune on this problem. If you know of a better way please release that info, I'm 10 hours away from evening chores.....Topside

I've always either used these from Jeffers
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/...H4&pf_id=16671
or cloth (white handkerchiefs cut in fourths, cheap, washable) with a ss strainer from Hoeggars.
It helps when the milk is straining slow to lift the strainer a little and tap it down on the mouth of the jar a few times, sorta unclogs it temporarily.

Cliff what size strainer do you use? What size filter? Are you filtering Jersey milk? How much milk? I do lots of tapping here these days, yes it does help.

topside,
I don't strain the milk inside the house, I strain it through the milk bucket with a piece of teacloth rubber-banded around the top of the milk bucket as I'm stripping it out. This keeps dirt and manure out of the milk from the start. If I do happen to have a restless cow try to stick her foot in the bucket and get clots of debris on the cloth that I don't want the milk filtering through, I pull off the material and pop it out before proceeding.

Francis, what exactly is a teacloth? I sure like your idea a lot...just need a little more help...thanks

Francis is that a fancy name for a singe fold diaper?

I can't tell you exactly what Francis is using......but a "teacloth" is a dish cloth for drying dishes. Usually not terry cloth~ terry cloth dry's great but it lints bad~ so a tea towel is usually just a small cotton towel.

OK maybe I got the "tea cloth" wrong. What I use is the same material as a white hankerchief is made of. I'm pretty sure it's 100% cotton but doesn't have any lint on it like a bath towel. My wife keeps a drawer of them for me that she buys bulk at the fabric store and puts a hem on them to keep them from tearing. Once I use them, I drop them in a bucket of bleachy water in the mud room to keep them from souring and smelling up the place and she throws them in with a load of whites when the time comes.

I have a portable milker and I use a inline filtering system like this but sized for cows.

http://www.caprinesupply.com/shop/?p...2bbeb8a52c06f4

So glad you asked TopSide. I had not even considered my goat filters not working for the cow. I got about 9 months to get it sorted out though, lol. :)
Please let me know what you do find that works.

Topside, those are the filters I use. The work well for me and I am milking a Jersey. No clogs. I wonder if you are filtering your milk after it has cooled to much or if perhaps you have a sub clinical mastitis happening. Those are the only 2 reasons I can see it would clog or not drain fast enough for you.
I have tried using cloth, but I was not happy with how sterile they probably weren't getting even though I boiled them after washing.
Trisha

Francis, thanks for the update. I learn something every day...now I'm thinking...Topside

Trisha, milk production has never dropped, 6.5 gallons per day since calving. I think because my stainer is so small that there is little head pressure on the milk to help force it through the filter. Even goats milk run though slower after the first 1/2 gallon has been filtered. Trisha what type strainer do you use???? Thanks,,,Topside

You could try getting the filter wet with water before pouring the milk through.

The cream kind of 'fuses' to the filter fibers, but not as badly when it is already wet.

Topside,
I am with Trisha, use a california tester to check for mastitis. The only time we have issues is when the cows have mastitis. We use the the big pads in the step saver first. Then the pads you use in a stainless milk can strainer on tp of the bulk tank.
Bob

I have a 4 qt stainless steel strainer that I got from Caprine Supply. I thought they had the best one at the best price. I can see that if you have a smaller one it might filter slowly. What size strainer are you using?
Production doesn't always drop with a sub clinical mastitis. Cows aren't quite as sensitive production wise as goats are. They will keep on milking a bunch of milk often through stress and illness. Just a thought at least. CMT is a good start, but if you have a local lab that can do a scc for you, even better.
Also, are you straining you milk right away or is it having a chance to cool down before you strain it? That makes a HUGE difference. The cream starts to separate and is a real bear to strain if that happens.
Trisha

Getting the filter wet is introducing "foreign" bacteria from the water. I would not recommend it.

Trisha, I guess I let it cool down quite a bit before straining. Milking her out takes 15 minutes, 3 gallons plus per milking. So I usually bring down three stainless pails. I milk into a 2 gallon pail then pour into the 1.5 gallon pails. I'll admit I brush her and do other chores before straining, such as feed the excess milk if any to my bottle calves, so I'm wasting time there....I've been doing a lot of reading about the topic you mentioned, and have learned a lot. On the 4 9/16 filter is just cream, yellow and feels like cream or butter to the touch. Now that you mention it a former dairyman dropped by the other day and clearly remember milking the cow and immediately straining it while he was here, and I'm postive I filtered the milk very quickly and only used two filters that session. I guess to answer your question: No I'm not straining/filtering right away, with goats milk I nearly run from the milkstand to the strainer knowing how critical it is to quickly filter and chill the milk....Thanks Trisha,,,tell me more about the need to filter quickly...I'm old but willing to listen and learn....Topside

My strainer maybe one pint size but accomadates the 4-5/16 filter nicely.

I use a coffee filter for goat and cow's milk. I pour the milk into 1/2 gallon Mason jars and the plastic permanent coffee filter fits right into the top. It sets inside the rim of a gallon jar.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_1029.jpg

I suppose one could boil the water first or buy distilled water if they were worried about it being unsanitary. It is the same good clean water that my family drinks and that I wash all the equipment in, the cows drink it too. I even use the water to dilute the rennet and dump it right into the milk for cheesemaking. I just never considered it "foreign". As long as it is fresh from the well.

I dont recommend dunking your milk filter into the watertrough.:D

We also wet our filter first if the milk is especially creamy(think springtime milk). The water is the same clean water all the jugs, lids and buckets are washed and rinsed in. Is not a problem.

I'm bringing a one gallon container right to the milkstand tonight. Once I have the first gallon in the pail I will immediately strain, right or wrong the filter will be wet. Zero lag time and see what happens. The old cow is eating good and her milk is extremely yellow as it hits the pail. She's eating her share of 18% dairy ration and thanks to regular rains very green lush grasses....Time will tell, no matter the outcome I'm going to buy a larger strainer...Seems like a sound investment....Topside

larger strainer...yes! Our strainer holds almost a gallon at a time. We have had it for years....love it. Also found that our milk strains better if we pour steadily but slowly, never letting up on the stream till the jug is full. Seems to strain faster than quickly filling up the strainer, then standing back and waiting for it to drain.

We don't milk Jerseys but find we prefer the Schwartz filters over Kendall or the Fleet farm brand.
They list the 4 and 9/16 as goat specific........You may want to find an old 6 1/2" strainer for cows.

Sammy I'm using 4-9/16 KenAG in-line filters. After doing more reading than I like, it appears that I'm using a filter that's designed to be used under vaccume, not gravity, well that could be some or all of my problem....Time will tell....Topside

So are you useing a sock type filter instead of a round disc filter? The 6 1/2 round disc fit in the strainers that used to be used on milk cans. If you can not find the disc down there let me know. I send a box your way. I also might have another stainless strain I can get rid of too. I should take pics of what we use in the morn
Bob

If it's a sock you need to push the stuff through with a pump, not vacuum. And if you're using gravity you're only using a small portion of the filter at one time instead of the whole thing.
A good SS strainer like used to be used on cans and bulk tanks is what you need.
then use these...http://www.schwartzmfg.com/clean.htm

I'm using the 4-9/16 disk.

Yep I'd say that's the problem.

Cliff I called KenAg today and yes they said my filters are not designed for gravity flow...Learn something new each day...Going to be ordering the proper filter this evening. They worked ok for goats milk, but goats milk is lower butter fat and naturally homogenized....Been in Nashville all day, boy it's nice to live in the country....Thanks everyone for you time and support....Getting older but still willing to listen and learn....Topside

We have a jersey cow with very thick cream. I have a large stainless steel strainer. I cut up old undershirts (like t-shirt material) of my husbands. I use those and have not had any problems with milk going bad, or floaties or clogging of the filter. I keep a bucket with some water with a little bleach in it. I rinse them each evening and throw them in there. When I need to wash them, I put them all in a lingerie bag and throw in the washer and dryer. When they get any sort of hole, I throw them away.

Update
 

Used the 6.5 inch gravity filter tonight...What a difference, it's not greased lightning, however what an improvement. Can't wait for my new much larger strainer to arrive....Topside