Continuos flow tutorial

[supersapper]

Can someone tell me the basics of getting a 2-6 continuos flow rig up and running? I have batch boiled for 5 yrs and am moving on up. Looking at how to get started and what to do when out of sap or decide to shut down for awhile. I appreciate any help with this.

[adk1]

Do you mean that you have a 2x6 evap now? What kind?

[Sugarmaker]

Can someone tell me the basics of getting a 2-6 continuos flow rig up and running? I have batch boiled for 5 yrs and am moving on up. Looking at how to get started and what to do when out of sap or decide to shut down for awhile. I appreciate any help with this.

Fill with sap to 1.5 inches.
Fill 1 or two 5 gallon buckets with sap and set near the rig.
Boil while maintaining sap near the 1.5 inch level.
Make sure float system is functioning.
Fire every 5 to 8 minutes depending on the wood and consumption.
Syrup will get more dense near the draw off. It will be less dense near the incoming sap. That is the gradient.
Continue to check temp and density at the draw off point and draw syrup in small batches, maybe a pint to a quart at a time. When syrup temp drops about .3 deg F stop drawing off. Wait till temp comes back to syrup. Draw small batch and repeat as many times as required.
Stop firing when you are down to maybe 30 gallons of sap.
Make sure there is enough sap in the pans at the end of the boil to allow complete cool down of arch.
Have fun!
I batched syrup for 30 years. I had to learn continuous flow too:)
Regards,
Chris

[Super Sapper]

When drawing off remember to just crack the valve or you will get surging in the pans. I crack mine open just enough to get a flow that is a little less than 1/2 a pencil width. You will have to adjust yours to the boiling rate of your evaporator.

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

Another thing you will need to do is to set up your sap tank above the evaporator float box so sap can continuously feed into float box. Your float box will have a certain sized hole to receive the sap line. Use a copper, or stainless fitting to fit into that opening. Make it to you can take it off with ease and then you can use water pipe back to sap tank. The line into the float box should have a shut off before the float box, and one just outside of sap tank. That way you can shut sap off at the arch if you need to. You can use the valve to help float box work better too. I had to open my valve half way for my old float box to work. If open full blast, it would give too much sap.

That will be the hardest thing to figure out and regulate. Maintaining that 1-1.5 inch level at all times. When you get in tune with your float box you will be able to watch it a little less so you can focus more on the other 10 balls in the air (filtering, drawing off, firing, canning, etc).

Good luck,
Ben

[Paperman]

Being as I am building a front pan to go with my rear flue pan I too will be a first time CF user. Is there any need to draw off early and pour back into the feed tank to help set the gradient?

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

No need to recirculate. When you start the season you will have all 2% sap in everything, tank, pans 1.5 inch deep like mentioned. Then start the fire roaring and once it starts boiling good and you see the level in the intake float box start to drop to 1.25 inch you start to begin using the float box. Open the valve from the feed tank 1/2 to 3/4 and set your float so sap is peeing strong into the float box (adjust as needed). Bring the level back to 1.5 inches in the pans everywhere and continue to fire. It will take some time to get to syrup. But the lighter, fresh sap inserted into the float box will push the heavier syrup around to the draw off location. Test it once you see syrup bubbles with a test tube and hydrometer. When you are at syrup make sure the sap is coming in still and until you get the hang of it good wait to fire until your draw off is complete. After you draw off, check sap level in float box and fire til next draw off. repeat, repeat, repeat....Have Fun.

Ben

[supersapper]

I need to clarify abit. I will be using a 2-6 flat pan with two dividers. No float box or auto draw.I have a 100 gal storage tank on a stand high enough so I can feed from it. A thermometer at draw off end. Pretty basic but it is what I have now. I plan on drawing off a little early and finish later. Not an all out continuos setup but -------

[Sugarmaker]

I need to clarify abit. I will be using a 2-6 flat pan with two dividers. No float box or auto draw.I have a 100 gal storage tank on a stand high enough so I can feed from it. A thermometer at draw off end. Pretty basic but it is what I have now. I plan on drawing off a little early and finish later. Not an all out continuos setup but -------

Ok this helps to understand your rig. I would call this "smaller" batch flow ascompared to a big pan with no dividers. Question can you block off the last partition in the pan? Your going to see some gradient in this syetem but not as much as a system with a hard boiling flue pan. Point being if you neede to make smaller batches you could block one partition and get all that syrup to almost finished stage then draw most of that off and repeat the small batch process.

If you dont want to try the small batch process Then lLet the sap trickle in or be adjusted at the point entering the pan opposite the draw off. Then boil like crazy and watch the temp and bubbles and color. Keep the sap depth as mentioned. What your going to get is a lot of syrup ready at the same time maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of your total pan. That means when you do draw off make sure you have sap to refill that area. A picture would help too.
Have fun!
Regards,
Chris

[supersapper]

Ok this helps to understand your rig. I would call this "smaller" batch flow ascompared to a big pan with no dividers. Question can you block off the last partition in the pan? Your going to see some gradient in this syetem but not as much as a system with a hard boiling flue pan. Point being if you neede to make smaller batches you could block one partition and get all that syrup to almost finished stage then draw most of that off and repeat the small batch process.

If you dont want to try the small batch process Then lLet the sap trickle in or be adjusted at the point entering the pan opposite the draw off. Then boil like crazy and watch the temp and bubbles and color. Keep the sap depth as mentioned. What your going to get is a lot of syrup ready at the same time maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of your total pan. That means when you do draw off make sure you have sap to refill that area. A picture would help too.
Have fun!
Regards,
Chris
That is exactly what I will be doing. I need to see how this will boil. It is a homemade arch based on info off this site. Thanks for all the info. This is definatly a work in progress!!!