sap depth in syrup pan

[Luv2farm]

What is the general consensus on the sap depth in the syrup pan? we have a 3x3 Leader Revolution pan and run straight sap into evaporator...not concentrate. Always am concerned with scorching pan when sap foams up. Thanks for any thoughts.

[325abn]

I run mine very low just over the flues. Just protect the pan is the name of the game. Always have a flood bucket at hand.

[Ausable]

What is the general consensus on the sap depth in the syrup pan? we have a 3x3 Leader Revolution pan and run straight sap into evaporator...not concentrate. Always am concerned with scorching pan when sap foams up. Thanks for any thoughts.

In continuous flow evaporators you have two main areas - Sap and Syrup. What part of the Leader Revolution do you have? The Sap is probably a raised flue set up with two sections. The Syrup is probably a total of five sections. Foaming with sap as it comes along is normal and a defoamer such as Atmos is used to control it. Scorching happens when there Is no liquid on the bottom of the pans and it can be a disaster - from a horrible burned on sticky mess that is very hard to clean to serious warping of pans. Operate where You are comfortable - the answers will range from one to two inches as it depends on the equipment and the folks operating it. Not really sure if I follow what You are asking here. ------Mike-----

[Russell Lampron]

What is the general consensus on the sap depth in the syrup pan? we have a 3x3 Leader Revolution pan and run straight sap into evaporator...not concentrate. Always am concerned with scorching pan when sap foams up. Thanks for any thoughts.

In general you want to run at least 1" and as much as 2" in your syrup pan. Start at 1 1/2" and go up or down from there. If you see a dark spot near the draw off you need to run it deeper. Check for the dark spot after you shut down. That will be where the nitre is burning on because the syrup depth is too low. I have a 2x2 pan that is not a revolution pan and run mine at 1".

[mellondome]

Im with 325abn. I run mine just wetting the flues and as shallow as I can without disaster in the syrup pan...(always under 3/4 in ). It comes down to your comfort level. The deeper you are, the more time you have to realize you messed up before it burns. The shallower you go, the faster it will evaporate.

[Bruce L]

We run our revolution syrup pan just over the depth of the "cutouts" for the syrup to draw off, that is where Bruce from Leader showed me to run it, then if you can see an airspace above your syrup level you know that you are getting shallow. As far as depth on the flue pans, defoamer is a must as the foam will give your floats a false level and disaster can strike.. Bruce started me at 2" over the crimps with our new rig, and I have dropped down to about 1" over the crimps, but I also have 40 + years of boiling experience, and no matter how much experience I still have a 5 gallon pail of emergency sap beside the evaporator

[Shawn]

Run ours around inch and a half to two inches

[BAP]

A lot of it depends on how much Guts and Glory you have. running it 1-1/2 to 2" keeps you safe, but 3/4" to 1" will produce lighter colored syrup. At that level you need to be on your toes with foaming and making sure sap is coming in. There is no room for error or your pan will burn. Best thing to do, is to start at 1-1/2" to 2" and then as you become used to how it acts, you can try dropping the level a little bit to see if it boils faster and produces lighter syrup.

[Russ008]

I start out running about 1 1/2 , the more sap I run through the deeper I run it. Also the harder the boil the deeper I run it. It takes me about a week to clean the pan when I burn a batch ! I learned how to attach a scotch bright pad to my electric sander. Remember electricity and water don't mix ! Prefer not to burn the pan.

[BreezyHill]

We run a 3/4" with flooding ability if there is a problem. This afternoon the flue flooded itself from a float seal that got out of it seat. had to pull four buckets to get it back to where it could boil and not roll over the pan edges.

Shallow boils faster as you have less to heat but it can be tricky if you are not careful.

[eustis22]

I pulled about 28 gallons of sap the last few days and now I have a question...I don't think I want to keep it in the tank for the week, even with it being cold. So I am mulling boiling it down to concentrate. However, last season, in my batch pans, I could always fill my sap pan with water after I ran out of sap. How does one do that with a continuous pan? Is it all timing?