Drawoff by Weight?

[MapleMark753]

I don't know if this idea has been tried and discarded, or not looked into...
I was considering how to do our drawoffs this coming season, ie., using a digital thermometer in the pan, taking the temp of boiling water just before drawoff with another thermometer, checking density with a refractometer and/or hydrometer...its a dance that I know others have down pat, but I don't yet. Anyway the idea is a drawoff that would be by weight of a given volume of syrup, not its temperature. Could be sized pint, quart, gallon, etc...depending on the size of the evaporator and be a simple mechanical device or electronic set up. Seems like it would or could take a lot of adjusting out of the picture and make the "deciding if its syrup" process simple. I know the laws, or at least some of the laws I've read say the syrup must weigh say 11.02, or 11.07 pounds per gallon, and a drawoff by weight might work. Might not either, don't know. Anybody have experience with this? Its bad having the maple bug even in the summer (humor!)
take care, Mark

[Maple Hill]

If your talking about diffrent size comercial containers you have to fill them full or they could ferment and they all are over sized.

[happy thoughts]

I think yours is a good idea in theory but I don't see how the process would be simple because you'd need to account for both exact weight and exact volume at the same time. That would take a lot of doing if even at all possible. What happens if the pint, quart, gallon etc. you drew off is light by weight? You'd have to reprocess it and you'd be left with a dirty container. Measuring density with a refractometer/hydrometer still seems like the easiest and most assured way to go all things being considered :)

[lpakiz]

It would be very difficult to know what a given VOLUME of syrup would be at different temps, because it expands and contracts very dramatically at different temps. I learned this first hand when I recanned syrup in a water bath canner. I filled the bottles almost full. Before they got to 185 degrees, I had to syringe out every bottle to prevent overflow.
So a gallon at room temp might be a gallon and a cup at 200 degrees.
Not that this couldn't be calculated out beforehand or figured out by trial and error.....just seems more complicated than a hydrometer.
I do like to see folks thinking out of the box. This is how new, simpler ways are discovered.

[MapleMark753]

Thanks for the responses... had not thought about expansion and contraction at different temps, or calculating precise volumes at different temperatures. Well, didn't cost anything besides the time thinking as I was splitting wood today for the upcoming season. Usually I say something to the effect of "where there's a will, there's a way", but in this instance it's not looking good for the drawoff by weight! (humor again). Appreciate the input.
take care, Mark