New 2x8 Evaporator, how much sap?

[jobooie]

Hi there folks,

I have a new-to-me 2x8 evaporator, with a 2x6 flat back pan and a 2x2 front syrup pan. I'm trying to figure out how many gallons of sap I would need before I can start making syrup. There are no dividers in the pans either.

Also, how the hell would I run the sap through from start to finish? I see it going like this, correct me if I'm wrong:

1) Fill both pans to about 1.5" deep and fire evaporator up.
2) Keep adding sap to back pan to maintain 1.5" depth, while transferring from back pan to front pan to keep front pan going.
3) Draw off front pan when syrup is ready
4) Kill off fire when I run out of sap

If I do this, will I not be stuck with sap in the back pan? Does this means when I out of sap, I must finish it all off elsewhere cause I can't run the back pan dry?

Would it be better if my back pan had dividers (channels)? With the flat back pan I now have, wouldn't it all just mix to the same consistency without dividers?

Need some help on this, Newbie here, thanks.

[Jeff E]

Your description sound like the way to go.
When you have syrup in the front pan, be sure to leave a 1/2" of syrup in so you dont scortch the pan, then transfer sap from back to front. After you transfer, then add sap to back pan. That will keep your concentrated stuff, just that, concentrated.
Basically you can run all your sap through, let the fire die down, pull your back pan off and empty it all into the front pan, then put water in the back pan while finishing the front pan off to syrup.

Your 2x2 will need about 1.5 gallons of finished syrup in it at the end of the day, to keep from scortching while finishing. So if you had 70 gallons of sap, your could start you boil.

[PerryW]

Hi there folks,

I have a new-to-me 2x8 evaporator, with a 2x6 flat back pan and a 2x2 front syrup pan. I'm trying to figure out how many gallons of sap I would need before I can start making syrup. There are no dividers in the pans either.


If you are trying to finish syrup on the evaporator, you probably need 200 gallons of sap (the first time) to take off syrup. If you finish on the kitchen stove, you could start with less sap. Just don't leave the raw sap sitting around too long as it will spoil. Better to put it in the pans and fire it up and reduce the volume.




Also, how the hell would I run the sap through from start to finish? I see it going like this, correct me if I'm wrong:

1) Fill both pans to about 1.5" deep and fire evaporator up.
2) Keep adding sap to back pan to maintain 1.5" depth, while transferring from back pan to front pan to keep front pan going.
3) Draw off front pan when syrup is ready
4) Kill off fire when I run out of sap

Stop putting wood on the fire BEFORE you run out of sap. THe evaporator will keep boiling for a while after the last firing.


If I do this, will I not be stuck with sap in the back pan?

yes, but that's normal




Does this means when I out of sap, I must finish it all off elsewhere cause I can't run the back pan dry?



You can finish the contents of the front pan elsewhere, but most people just leave the sap in both pans and wait for more sap. Sometimes everything sits there a week. It will not spoil as quick as raw sap as the boiling sterilizes it.




Would it be better if my back pan had dividers (channels)? With the flat back pan I now have, wouldn't it all just mix to the same consistency without dividers?



Yes, but it should still work fine without the dividers.




Need some help on this, Newbie here, thanks.

[jobooie]

Thanks guys,

So if I understand correctly...

When I'm out of sap and the depth gets down in the back pan, I'll take the pan off, and pour it all into the front pan. Then add just plain water to the back pan so I can keep finishing on the front. Got it.

How did you figure out the 1.5 gallons of syrup in the 2x2 front pan to not scorch?

Also, if my back pan had dividers, wouldn't it make this job alot easier? The two pans are connected together by ball valves too.

[Jeff E]

I figure 1.5 gallons without figuring. I had a 2x4 flat pan and I needed at least 3 gallons of finished product to cover the bottom with a slow boil to finish it to syrup.
So a 2x2 is half that size, so half the syrup.

If you go with pulling the back pan off, have something to cover the arch up, I used to use some old sheet aluminum, so ashes dont go wild up into your syrup.

[PerryW]

Thanks guys,

So if I understand correctly...

When I'm out of sap and the depth gets down in the back pan, I'll take the pan off, and pour it all into the front pan. Then add just plain water to the back pan so I can keep finishing on the front. Got it.

you can certainly do it that way, but you will use up a lot of wood boiling the water, since the majorty of evaporation takes place in the back pan. We used a similar setup 40 years ago, but with a 2x4 flat pan. We would just dipper from the rear to the front and when we were low on sap we would let the fire go out and drain most of the front pan into a kettle and finish it on the kitchen stove. We would leave some sap in both pans though and would never lift the pan off the arch.



Also, if my back pan had dividers, wouldn't it make this job alot easier? The two pans are connected together by ball valves too.

The dividers would make it easier to make the evaporator work like a normal evaporator, where the sap follows a long path from your holding tank to the draw-off with ever increasing sugar content BUT they will not really increase your overall efficiency.

How many taps do you have?

[jobooie]

Right now I have about 75 taps in on 2 gallon buckets. That's all I can do by myself hauling out of the bush right now in 5 gallon buckets. Last night I hauled out near 140 gallons. Plus the budget kinda ran out for this year.

The bush I'm taping belongs to a friend of mine and unfortunately it's up for sale right now. Don't want to make to big an investment in running tubing cause of this, but If I ran tubing, I could tap till my hearts content on his 80 acre all-sugar maple lot.