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View Full Version : Auto fill from Raw Sap Tank to Pre Heater Pan



Maplesapper
03-03-2014, 08:52 PM
Would this work ?

When you fill a pop bottle; and invert it into a bowl of water, it gurgles until the level of water in the bowl reaches the bottom of the bottle.
This is due to the vacuum created by inverting the bottle. The bottle is air tight now.
Take some water out of the bowl, creates an air gap, and a small amount of water falls out of the bottle to restore the level in the bowl.

Could you duplicate this on a Maple Sap scale.
Is it possible to get an air-tight seal a 55 gallon drum, put a drain at the bottom of it, and run a copper line to the top of the sap pan.
When the level in the pan drops, the same principles would apply?

Thoughts;

Maplesapper
03-04-2014, 08:35 AM
It works !!!

Was trying to find a way to automatically add raw sap to my preheater, so I could scramble around doing other things.
Line out needs to be 1/2" or greater or you end up with one monster hamster water bottle.

SmellsLikeSyrupNH
03-04-2014, 08:41 AM
The guy I got my evaporator from took copper tubing and wrapped it around his stack, then fed that into his preheater pan, the other end was a 5gallon bucket that filled the copper tubing.....he put nozzles on either end to feed the pan and the tubing, and it certainly preheated the sap before hitting the preheater....

Jerome
03-04-2014, 09:17 AM
It would work you will need at least a 3/4 inch pipe with an uphill slope to the tank. the problems you will have is no control on how much sap is added each time it "burps" and not being able to add more sap to the tank without disassembling the whole system.
you would be better off with a float valve like this one. http://atkinsonmaple.com/IMAGES/FLO050.jpg