Minimum sap for 2x3

[Troutman10]

I have bought a new evaporator after last season. Whats the minimum amount of sap I should get with 25 taps inorder to fire this baby up? Any help is apprecited!

[On the ledge]

I have a 1/2 pint and I have fired it up with as little as 20 gal. At 1 inch deep it holds about 4- 5 gallons of sap. My preheater holds another 4-5 gals of sap so you could probably boil with only 10 - 15 gals if you want. Just make sure you let the fire burn down soon enough and have oh s### bucket handy.

[Big_Eddy]

Continuous Flow at 1" ~ 100 gallons until first draw off.
Batch process - 70-80 gallons a batch, if you take it off a little early and use a finisher.

[Greensprings sugar]

Depends if pan is sweetened already. If not I'd have min 30 gal! Even then won't be boiling long. I have a 2x 4 supreme pan and at full boil I need 10 gal min after last firing just to let the arch cool down to 1 in in pan

[Troutman10]

I got 25 gallons so far. Expecting more sat and sun. Why does it take so long to sweeten the pan? Tell me more about this process please.

[maple flats]

Because you need to remove enough water to get the concentration you will need to protect from freezing. With a rig that small and since it has a flat bottom, you could boil less, but allow at least 5 gal after you stop adding wood for the evaporation that will occure during cool down. When the fire and all coals are out, you will then want to drain the contents and hold it where it won't freeze until next boil. This will give you some practice but with the reheating will also possibly yield slightly darker syrup.
The less time any drop of syrup spent boiling in the pan, the lighter it is.

[Big_Eddy]

I got 25 gallons so far. Expecting more sat and sun. Why does it take so long to sweeten the pan? Tell me more about this process please.

If you follow the link in my signature, I explained the process and showed some pictures. There's a second link at the bottom that might help you estimate how much sap you'll need.

[Birdland Sugarbush]

Because you need to remove enough water to get the concentration you will need to protect from freezing.

Dave - why do you need to keep it from freezing? Mine has frozen in the pan in the past...

Chris

[Russell Lampron]

Dave - why do you need to keep it from freezing? Mine has frozen in the pan in the past...

Chris

I am wondering the same thing. I have a 2x6 raised flue and once the pans are sweetened the sweet stays in the pans sometimes until the end of the season. It has survived temps well below zero many times with no damage.