Vermont Evaporator End of year

[marathonmaple]

We purchased a 3X8 Vermont (3 pan) evaporator for this year. Wondering what you do at the end of season when the sap is all in the evaporator? How do you finish out the rig?

[Kev]

I let the evap cool enough to not burn stuff. Then I move it all to the last pan and then run water in the rest. Resume boiling, and let water in the last pan as I finnish drawing off the last batch of syrup. but thats on a 2x4 :) and its kinda deep in the last pan when I start back up.
I have tried adding water and pushing the sugar to the last pan. It just doesn't seem to work well for me.
Most years I tend to lose the last in the pan anyway. By thinking I am going to get one more run and wait 1 day to long to reboil. ROFL
So then its easy. throw it out and clean the pan.

[PerryW]

At the end of the season, I usually boil until I run out of sap. I will keep throwing small amounts of wood until I get both pans as low as possible. Then I will run as much as I dare out of the back pan into the front pan and put some water in as necessary if the flues start getting exposed.

Then I finish the contents of the front pan on the kitchen stove. I usually dump what's left in the back pan as by then, it's pretty low-quality syrup.

[argohauler]

When the season's over I drain the flue pan into 2 barrels and fill the flue pan and my feeder tank with water. I run my flue pan really deep with water.

I just pail in the sap when the float gets loose on the float pad. I make a small fire close to the doors, so there's more heat on the syrup pan. I use woodstove length wood. I get about 10 gph and it takes me all day, but I get between 40 to 50 litres off at the end. I draw enough syrup off and then when 2 people can lift the pan, we take it off the fire and put it on some skids and drain the rest off.