Rhythm of Drawing Off

[Tucker08]

Last night I finished my first batch of syrup on the new arch. Drawing off syrup is a new experience for me and it went very well. My question is this. Do you folks take a larger batch and loose a degree on your thermometer, or do you draw off smaller batches and maintain +7 (or whatever it is that day) longer? If I go to the point of drawing off to the loss of a degree than it takes me about 12 to 15 minutes before it comes back again. Would I get more syrup more quickly by drawing off smaller batches, and keeping gradient?

[heus]

I'm not sure you would get more syrup, but you would probably get lighter syrup.

[Tucker08]

I'm not sure you would get more syrup, but you would probably get lighter syrup.

Sorry I meant "syrup more quickly" rather than "more syrup more quickly."

[ennismaple]

Many, small drawoffs are better than large drawoffs every 12-15 minutes. We try to get ours running so the auto runoff opens once a minute. If we get batching the time between runoffs goes up and the temperature fluctuates more.

[moscowmule]

im using a homemade 3x7 flat pan with three channels for the first time this year. so far the pattern has been that it takes between 5-6 hours to get a draw off and when i do get one it is huge! i mean between 2-3 gallons then maybe another 2 gallons shortly there after. anyone have any thoughts as to why this is happening rather than lots of short frequent draw offs? i;ve also noticed that it is difficult to get it to draw off unless i keep it pretty low in the pan, 1 inch or under.

[PerryW]

The shallower you run, the more frequent (and smaller) your drawoffs will be. If you get tired of taking off syrup too often, just run a little deeper. My take-offs seem to range from 20-40 minutes on my rig. (usually longer for the first takoff)

I start drawing off when my hydrometer floats above the hot test line. Then Id continue filling and refilling the hydrometer cup as I am drawing off and mentally average the reading. If I notice a lot of too-thick syrup going into the filter, I will compensate by letting some too-thin syrup run in at the end. I always err in the direction of making the syrup too-thick because it's easier to add water in the bottling process than removing it.

[moscowmule]

hiya perry.
am i correct in my understanding that the deeper you boil in the pan the darker your syrup comes out? ive been boiling a bit deeper than i probably have to on this pan since it is a new beast and i am trying to learn its tricks.

[1hardmaple]

How will I know when to start drawing off? My first pan with dividers and I can't seem to get the hang of drawing off it seems like I'm still batching it off all at one time. When will I know it's ready and how often do I draw off will it be finished at draw or do I just get it close and finish in a smaller pan? Thanks for any info

[maple flats]

Last night I finished my first batch of syrup on the new arch. Drawing off syrup is a new experience for me and it went very well. My question is this. Do you folks take a larger batch and loose a degree on your thermometer, or do you draw off smaller batches and maintain +7 (or whatever it is that day) longer? If I go to the point of drawing off to the loss of a degree than it takes me about 12 to 15 minutes before it comes back again. Would I get more syrup more quickly by drawing off smaller batches, and keeping gradient?
When I had a 2x6 is when I started drawing at a constant draw. Once I got the desired temperature I opened the draw valve very slightly, and let it run. In between refueling and checking everything, adding some defoamer in the flue pan and everything else, I kept an eye on the temperature. If it started to rise I opened the valve slightly more, if it dropped I closed it a little. If it dropped too much I shut the valve. I call it continuous draw, but my best was anywhere from 30-50 minutes before I lost temp and had to shut off and wait to get temp again. Try it, you will like it. I still do it, but using a 3x8 and feeding in concentrate rather than raw sap, the flow is faster and thus easier to regulate.
I own a auto draw, bought it used 2 yrs ago, but have not yet even tried hooking it up. I bought it as part of a package deal with several other items I needed.