Batch or continuous?

[Tyler]

Guys, I'm going to be purchasing 2x3 evaporator very soon and am contemplating on whether or not to get a continuous flow baffle pan or a flat batch pan. I have been boiling on hotel pans previously so I'm familiar, obviously, with batch boiling. My question is, with 20 or so trees tapped does it make a difference? I feel as if I would still batch boil even if I had the baffled pan. Thanks for all of the help and guidance.

[psparr]

You will probably end up batch boiling with 20 trees. It takes quite a bit of sap to sweeten the pan. Just a suggestion. Get a pan that you could add a rear pan when you get bigger.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forum Fiend v1.2.7.

[steve J]

I havew boiled on 2x3 and now use a 2x4 with a blower but the reality is you will probably be batch boiling but with the dividers it allows you to easily draw off syrup as you go I would recommend the dividers.

[Loch Muller]

I would definitely go with the baffles and try continuous. When I boiled on my grandfathers old 1/2 pint pan I did batches because that is the way he always did it. When that wore out and I upgraded to a 2x4 mason evaporator I started doing continuous, but I had 205 taps in. It still might work for you even if you only have 20 taps. My 2x4 took about 60-70 gallons of sap to sweeten the pans, a 2x3 would probably be 45-55 gallons. The big advantage of continuous saves you a lot of time and fuel/electric finishing off syrup that is way below density. Just make you last draw, let the fire die out, flood the pans a little bit to keep the sap from getting too low, and put a cover over it and you are set.

[jrgagne99]

See if you can have extra dividers put it. Most 2x3s have two dividers that make three channels. The more channels you have, the easier it will be to establish a gradient. Maybe a five or six channel pan would be enough to do continous flow.