First boil results and questions

[DMF]

My wife and I attempted our first boil yesterday on our new 2x4 arch. We boiled into the night but could not finish syrup. We are boiling under our front deck and it got to the point where we could not maintain temperature in the pan. We had 200 degrees all day but at night the temp dropped even though we were still boiling...?
In the end. We drew off what we dared from the front pan, added fresh sap to the whole thing and shut it down for the night. Right now we have an inch or so in each pan and a cold arch. Should we add what we drew off last night to the front pan when we start?
Also, we tried to maintain 3" in each pan based on the recommendation of the builder of the arch and pans but I'm wondering if this is too high?
Help is appreciated!!!

[Big_Eddy]

Add it back, light the fire and keep going. I'd recommend 1 1/2" deep unless you plan to walk away, then I'd increase it back to 3". It will boil s lot faster at 1 1/2". Only time to run deeper than that is if the sides of the pans are exposed to the flame path. i.e. steam trays.

[Dave Puhl]

Lot of answers needed...I would get a maple syrup producers manual if you don't have one,yes 3'' is deep, I run 1.5 or less on my 2x6.when you start out for the first cook it might take a better part of a day to sweeten the pans.is your wood dry,split fine,have high btu content,wind,temp,humidity all have effect on the boil rate...is your cooker insulated and bricked...egg timer for a 5 minute or so refill on wood...empty the raw sap..take what you drew off and put in in the syrup pan to 1-2'' deep put the rest in the flue pan...now if you are going to run at this level don't walk away from it...for shut down and to cook the next day i just let the fire die out and open the door for cool down if I am in a hurry leave whats in the pans and fire up next time...there is a lot of good info on this site also as you know...good luck

[DMF]

Arch is fire brick lined. Pans are flow pans. Wood is slab wood cut to 19" and I am splitting them into 3" wide pieces. Mixed with oak and pine but probably more hardwood than soft. Not seasoned enough to run in a house wood stove, but definitely seasoned more than I put in my outdoor boiler. The slabs were killed in summer and I cut them up to length a month ago, cross stacked them in a windy southern exposure area.
I will try to run shallower today.
I am running with the door cracked open in order to get it burning hot.

[DMF]

How do you check the depth of your pans with all the steam billowing anyway??

[Sugarmaker]

Youu will develop a trained eye to look through that steam at some point and check your depth. A dry clean piece of wood can be a quick depth guage.
Sounds like your doing good. You should not have to have the fire box door open. Infact that may be drawing in cold air and reducing your boil. If you want air put it under the fire. Your wood is the right size but it might not be dry enough. that will slow your boil a little. I would lower the level to 1.5 inches and see how it does.
Yes add the sap from last night into the pan where you plan to make syrup.
Cool winds on the arch and pans are going to effect your boil.
Did you have fun? That's what counts!
Regards,
Chris

[DMF]

I'm down to an inch, boiling like mad but temp reads under 200 (160 or so)?1355213552

[Fireguy]

It will get there, we promise.

[psparr]

Soon you'll need to pull off what you have and finish in a smaller pot.

[Dave Puhl]

Your boil looks good...dry wood very important....is the thermometer next to the draw off valve.one other thing, level left/right. front and rear..let us know how it turned out..

[wnybassman]

If you are boiling..............and your thermometer reads under 200º....................me thinks there is something wrong with your thermometer. lol

I would guess the probe is not submerged enough for an accurate reading though.

[barnbc76]

Is it possible your thermometer is off? I had that problem from using a cheap one...i had to buy a new one...

[Sugarmaker]

Yes make sure your thermometer is near the draw off port. And watch the bubble and color through out the front pan. Syrup has been know to start to get thicker at the hottest point in the arch. here is a picture of the look of light syrup when its almost done.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee170/Sugarmaker/making%20syrup%20Feb-2013/CIMG2641.jpg

Here is another shot:
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee170/Sugarmaker/Maple%20related%20pictures/Maple%20_sugarhouse%20and%20Addi_Marley/DSC03719.jpg

If your at 200 F it will take you a little while to get to syrup.
Regards,
Chris

[DMF]

Well, I called a local guy. Him and his dad came up to see if they could help. They brought their thermometer; ours was not working right. He had a spare blower he loaned us; made a big difference! We got up to 220 3 times and drew off. Not sure how much we got yet. We are going to heat it on the stove later to filter and can it.

[Sugarmaker]

If your thermometer was accurate then your probably at or slightly above syrup. Nice job! Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Regards,
Chris

[DMF]

We got about 2 to 2 1/2" worth in this pan. Reheating it now to filter and bottle (canning jars) it. 13557[ATTACH=CONFIG]13[ATTACH=CONFIG]13557

[NHguy]

good work! hope you had fun. dont heat it over 185 or 190 for filtering or bottling, you will trigger release of more niter

[DMF]

OK here's the recap:
If you remember, this was the set-up we made to boil this year:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/DeerMeadowFarm/Maple/030416_zpsrky7izxj.jpg (http://s17.photobucket.com/user/DeerMeadowFarm/media/Maple/030416_zpsrky7izxj.jpg.html)
Photo above was taken Friday night after adding an additional length of stack and a 90 facing away from the house as recommended by the folks here on the site. I sent a picture to my buddy who helped me set the rest of it up the previous night. His comment was "Don't forget to put pool noodles on the edges of the metal roof panels"
Saturday morning we started to get the fire going and guess who ran into the metal roof?
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/DeerMeadowFarm/Maple/First%20injury_zpsbp1cnlon.jpg (http://s17.photobucket.com/user/DeerMeadowFarm/media/Maple/First%20injury_zpsbp1cnlon.jpg.html)
I sent the picture to my buddy. His reply? "POOL NOODLES!"
Noodeled up:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/DeerMeadowFarm/Maple/Pool%20noodles_zpsjbcep483.jpg (http://s17.photobucket.com/user/DeerMeadowFarm/media/Maple/Pool%20noodles_zpsjbcep483.jpg.html)
Saturday we boiled 30 gallons with no syrup. It was a cold day...
Sunday we called a local guy who makes syrup as I mentioned above. He helped us out tremendously! In the end of the day we ended up with just under a gallon after boiling approximately 78 gallons of sap total.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/DeerMeadowFarm/Maple/first%20batch%203_zpsnjmiux5e.jpg (http://s17.photobucket.com/user/DeerMeadowFarm/media/Maple/first%20batch%203_zpsnjmiux5e.jpg.html)

[psparr]

Nice. Only way to learn is a nice gash to the forehead. Your well on your way to the addiction.

[Sugarmaker]

Nice job! Syrup looks good. You learned a bunch! Hope you heal quick! Enjoy!
Regards,
Chris