4X2 Hobby Evaporator Question

[bunkerchump]

Hi all,

I made the leap this year and bought a 4X2 Mason Hobby Evaporator with a divided pan. I put castors on it so I can wheel it in and out of the garage (no sugar shack this year). I bricked and cemented it and lit a small fire to finish curing the cement (I assume this was necessary). I move it really carefully so as not to shake the cement loose.

My question is how important is it to get the evaporator 100% level? If its off a bit, will it mess up the evaporation process? Will some areas of the pan possibly be over-done? I wasnt sure if I should invest the time to level it off perfectly, or if it doesnt matter that much, I'll get it close enough without spending that much time and effort.


Thanks,

[Starting Small]

I say get as close as you can and then just boil. As long as you keep a constant trickle from your preheater it will push the sap forward even if it is not 100% level. Close as you can is good enough in my opinion. Have fun,
-Dave

[slammer3364]

Yes you want it as level as possible.I have a 18x48 and run about one and a hlf inches of liquid,constantly monitoring the depth. If you are not level there is a real posibility of scorhing as, Dave said keep a constant trickle in from pre-heat. Good Luck Slammer

[miner1]

I have a 2X3 divided pan and this is my first year with it. When its time to quit boiling for the day how do you close it down till the next boil. I'd like to leave the pan "sweet". But what is the best way to maintain the sugar gradiant in the pan? How do you shut down? How do you keep the syrup in the pan from mixing? Do you draw off some "near syrup" and add it back upon restart? How long is it safe to let the pan set between boils? I'd hate to spend all day sweeting the pans and loose the syrup cause it sat in there to long. My first boil last weekend ended with a batch boil, because the sap is slow right now and I didn't want the syrup sitting in the pan for several days. I know these answers are in this forum somewhere, I just have trouble not getting sidetracked when searching this forum, so much information, its hard to sort through.