Ittiz
02-25-2014, 06:37 PM
So last year I made a contraption to cook down sap I'd like people to look it. It's crazy simple, a bucket or drum well sealed elevated higher than the pan you're boiling the sap in. Two hoses going to the pan, one connected to a siphon tube going to the bottom of of the bucket the other just for air. The basic concept is this: as the sap boils down it creates an air gap in the air line allowing air to get into the bucket. Air flowing into the bucket causes sap to flow down hill into the siphon tube and into the pan until the sap/syrup level in the pan increases high enough to block the air intake. Below are some pics of the process.
The fist pic is an over view of the whole thing. The second is a close up of the seals, which are required. If air leaks in the thing will dump the whole bucket before it could boil down. The third pic is of the valve at the top which alows me to pull all the air of out the line so the siphon can begin. The fourth pic shows the uneven lines so that the sap can flow down one as air flows up the other.
The biggest issue with my system was the holes were too small. Once the sap got thick it gummed up the holes causing the sap to stop flowing, leading to sap burning. I think the solution there is to use wider openings.
The fist pic is an over view of the whole thing. The second is a close up of the seals, which are required. If air leaks in the thing will dump the whole bucket before it could boil down. The third pic is of the valve at the top which alows me to pull all the air of out the line so the siphon can begin. The fourth pic shows the uneven lines so that the sap can flow down one as air flows up the other.
The biggest issue with my system was the holes were too small. Once the sap got thick it gummed up the holes causing the sap to stop flowing, leading to sap burning. I think the solution there is to use wider openings.