Sap Level Drop

[rfogg]

This is my first season with a continuous flow pan and a 275 oil tank arch. I have added a make shift float and am running about an inch of sap. What I noticed this weekend was that as I boil the sap level by the float stays pretty constant, but the level by my draw off will drop as the boil continues. At the end of the day yesterday when my pan started to burn I had an inch at the float and less than a 1/4 inch at the draw off. Luckily I was able to catch it and flood the pan before I burned an area bigger than an apple. I was wondering if this is normal and if there is something I can do to help keep it from happening again? Does the heat push the syrup away from the hottest part of the pan? Should I fire more on the float side? Should I just increase the sap level as the day goes on? Any info or ideas would be a great help. Thanks.

[Millsy]

I would recheck your arch and pan to make sure they are is still level.

[DrTimPerkins]

As Millsy said, check the level. Perhaps run it a bit deeper as well to start and check it frequently. One possible explanation is pan expansion. As it heats up, the pans will expand somewhat in size. The liquid doesn't, so the level will drop a little. That doesn't account for 3/4" reduction in sap level, but perhaps 1/4-1/2" in drop.