Old timers

[Bill'sSugarShack]

Was reading through some family history and was intriged that in the old days, evaporaters were set up with the raw sap in the the front and drew syrup off in the back. Any idea why it's reversed now a days n why?

[Haynes Forest Products]

We were discussing this a few year ago and I also wonder what would happen with mine. The flue pan on mine doesn't really boil all that hard. It would be easy to turn my evap around because its a raised flue. It does make sense because the highest heat is right at the gun. BUT will that make the density to heavy in the flue pan and run the risk of one large batch that is difficult to draw off?

[Sugarmaker]

Old flat pan Warren I learned to make syrup on drew off syrup 3 foot from the rear of the arch. (last syrup pan before the preheat pan. Had a 2 inch pipe that brought warm sap to the front of the arch then the syrup moved to the back. It worked!
Chris

[Bill'sSugarShack]

We were discussing this a few year ago and I also wonder what would happen with mine. The flue pan on mine doesn't really boil all that hard. It would be easy to turn my evap around because its a raised flue. It does make sense because the highest heat is right at the gun. BUT will that make the density to heavy in the flue pan and run the risk of one large batch that is difficult to draw off?

Pans great grand dad 1st had were 3 flat pans to start....then went to one bigger flat pan with deviders...but with both, he drew off/finished on back part of pan.
Assume the switch took place with the advent of flu pans..

[Bruce L]

This is the way Grimm ran years ago,said there was less chance of burning the syrup as there wasn't as much heat back at the stack,funny nowadays syrup is coming off the hottest part of the fire.

[argohauler]

My unlce has a 2.5x8 Grimm. When he ran the tin pans he took syrup off at the back. It had a damper back there he turned on when it got near syrup.

Now he runs stainless flat pans and takes syrup off at the firebox.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

My dad told me a story of when his family used to make syrup on the farm in Eau Claire WI over an black cast iron pot back in 1922 or some time in there.

[latewood]

Back in the late 1950's I had a neighbor whose pans(not sure of manufacturer) were set up to draw syrup off of the mid section of the arch. I guess there have been many different configurations over the years. Memory is a strange thing, but it seems to me almost every other farm made at least enough syrup to get seed & fertilizer money for the seasons upcoming crops.I also remember a few large concrete storage tanks that were cast onsite and set underground to prevent the sap from freezing. My grandfather devised a system of gathering sap using house gutters(he called them eaves troughs), to carry sap down a ravine to the sugar shack from the buckets in the bush.It saved a lot of wear and tear on the horses.The downside was it also conveyed the rain and debris along with the sap,but it was a major time saver. Gathering and boiling were done in between many other farm chores.Also there were quite a few local tin knockers who made flat pans for the nearby operations.Nowadays it is more of a specialized industry,with heavier capital investment required,but none the less a greater portion of ones income can be derived from it.In part due to all the tech advancements and labor saving equipment we now enjoy.Lets hope our future is just as bright,and we experience as much enjoyment from it as they did in bygone days.

[talahi maple products]

If anybody else has any input on this I'm curious also, I,m thinking about rotating just my syrup pan around to draw off from the middle where the heat stays more constant and away from the fire door.But swaping pans front to back sounds interesting to.

[TF Maple]

My guess would be it changed when drop flue pans came out and they were in the way for tossing in wood.