Steam pan

[Wood burn]

Hi guys I'm building a evaporator out of a 275 gallon oil tank and would like to know what you guys think about using steam pans to boil the sap in .

[whalems]

Lots of people have done it with success.

[psparr]

For the best results, keep the sides of the pans away from the fire. It will scorch the sap at the waterline, give a little off flavor and youll lose sugar.

[G&D MapleSurgaring]

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Last year I made this set up and worked well. It was hard to get the syrup out of the pans when it was ready and it boiled about 6 gallons a hour.

[RileySugarbush]

For the best results, keep the sides of the pans away from the fire. It will scorch the sap at the waterline, give a little off flavor and youll lose sugar.

On the other hand, with heat on sides you will get a much better evaporation rate, the burn lines aren't that bad and the darker syrup tastes fantastic!

[DoubleBrookMaple]

On the other hand, with heat on sides you will get a much better evaporation rate, the burn lines aren't that bad and the darker syrup tastes fantastic!

True....

I got a burn rate of 8-9 gph with 3 pans, A copper coil preheater around the stack helped and the flavor of a couple of my batches was complimented on. Of 5 batches, I got two of Grade B and three of dark amber. 6.25 gallons of syrup from 325 gallons sap. Here is a photo of the pans installed on my block and fore brick arch, and a link to my YouTube videos in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wBc7CQGscA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOI_SceenKM

8045

[Wood burn]

I like the dark syrup much better is this caused by scortching on the pan . Last year I made 4 gallons of syrup 3 light and 1 dark .

[RileySugarbush]

You can make lighter syrup with a steam pan dropped in with hot sides. All of the scorching gets filtered out, and it is not nearly as burnt as when you burn a spot on the bottom of the syrup pan on a continuous rig. I've done both!

You get darker syrup in such a rig partially because it is run as a batch and the sugar stays at high temp for a very long time compared to a continuous flow pan. If you want lighter syrup, use fresh sap and stop after a few hours and pull most out of the front pan and finish separately.

I have the opposite problem, with my rig running at 45gph, it is hard to make darker syrup, which I prefer. This year I recycled drawn off syrup back in to the float box for a couple of hours so it was hot longer and made state fair winning dark amber!

A rig like this can make fantastic syrup!

[campus189]

I am doing the same thing as you are :)
I planned on using steam pans as well.
Every time I read a post here, I end up changing my design.lol

80888089

[Shepp]

For the best results, keep the sides of the pans away from the fire. It will scorch the sap at the waterline, give a little off flavor and youll lose sugar.

Im wondering if you double up the steam pan or put one in side the other so there is an air gap between the side walls it would prevent scorching . My wife has these baking pans called air bake pans that work the same way to prevent scorching . I might try this and remove most of the bottom of the outside layer so the bottom of the pan holding the syrup still gets all the heat.
I also bought a weldless bulkhead fitting and valve to make drawing off easier. You can get them from home brewing equipment suppliers.

[happy thoughts]

Im wondering if you double up the steam pan or put one in side the other so there is an air gap between the side walls it would prevent scorching . My wife has these baking pans called air bake pans that work the same way to prevent scorching . I might try this and remove most of the bottom of the outside layer so the bottom of the pan holding the syrup still gets all the heat.

Tried that, doesn't work. You'll end up warping the outer pan. Your wife's baking pans are not subjected to direct and intense heat like that found in a wood fired evaporator. Haven't tried cutting the pan but that seems like a waste of a good and expensive pan. It also won't prevent soot from forming on the bottom or even the sides as smoke will still be able to reach the sides.

Best defense I've found to keep scorch on the inside of the pan out of the syrup is to keep the sap level as constant as possible. Try not to fill above the scorch line.

[optionguru]

8104I did the same exact thing, it worked well. I used 3 6" deep pans last year and got about 7 GPH boil rate. Make sure you put in a baffle to direct the flue gases up closer to the pans. This year we're adding a preheater and better insulating with additional fire brick. I'm hoping to get the set-up to 8 or 9 gph. I'm also considering adding the copper drop tubes to the back pan. Feel free to email with any questions.8103

[Shepp]

After scorching my front steam pan last year I cut the bottom out of my old pan and inserted a new one in it. Had to hammer it in with a rubber mallet. It worked great. The sides did not scorch. Just as I suspected.

[handtapper]

I have used both and I'm going to take a different stance. The steam tray pan evaporator whether blocks or oil tank can make great syrup. Picture what colonist used. With that said they are dangerous unless more effort is put into it than its worth. Moving the hot sap/syrup around can be pretty tricky. You could put in a drain and pipe all of them together etc but consider that a used half pint can be purchased for 700 off season fully bricked. Even if Ihad a oil tank, stack, cut off wheels, grates and steam tray pans in my backyard I'd scrap them and buy a half pint. I got about 8gph on my old one with light modifications and was very happy with it. I then sold it for 50$ less than I paid for it. You will have a hard time finding someone to pay a fair price for a steam tray unit when you want to upgrade.

[handtapper]

I'd like to add I'd rather be making syrup on a steam tray set up than not at all. I just want to warn against investing heavily in one.