What does it mean to "sweeten the pan"?

[Page Meadow Maple]

Just moved from turkey fryers in the back yard to a 2x3 hobby evaporator. Did my first boil of 53 gallons of sap. Had to pull it all off the evaporator and finish on stove top because the level in evaporator went too low before any sap reached full syrup stage. Reduced it on the stove top and got 14 beautiful 12 ounce bottles of amber, so that is great. I suspect, however, that I did not sweeten the pan, but not sure what that means. Can anyone explain this concept for a small pan like mine? Thanks!

Note: Added more taps yesterday and expecting a bigger volume of sap these next two days, followed by a cold spell.

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[wnybassman]

You do what you did, but instead of letting sap level get too low you maintain sap level and just shut things down when you run out of sap. It is able to sit there until you get more sap. How long it can sit there depends on the weather. I've gone two weeks in real cold weather, and a few days in the 60's. You try to bring everything to a boil before shutting down to sterilize the sap.

[eustis22]

a 2 X 3 will need about 100 gallons of 2% to establish the gradient, which is a level of increasing density from sap to syrup as it travels thru the channels to the drawoff end. This is refered to as "sweetening the pan". Once this gradient is established, the heavier syrup will "pile up" atthe draw off end so that you, in theory are drawing off syrup each time it reaches the proper density. It differs from batch boiling as you draw off small amounts continuously as you boil vs the contents of the whole pan.

[Page Meadow Maple]

Thanks to you both for the explanations. I got 100 gallons yesterday. Boiled about 60 gal yesterday and left that in the pan. Will continue the process today. Let you know how it goes!

[Sugarmaker]

Page,
If you haven't figure it out? Your pans are now sweet! So the next time you boil the sap in the pans is maybe 12% sugar not 2%! Good job!
Regards,
Chris

[Page Meadow Maple]

Ahh, okay. Next question. I've boiled 100 gallons of 3.2 brix sap. The liquid is amber and sweet, but no where near syrup. The liquid is shrinking, maybe 3/4 " deep in the pan. It seems to be equal density across the the three pan sections. I don't understand when or how I will be able to draw off small amount of syrup, as the half pint manual suggests.

It is too warm today for sap to run and will be too cold the next few days. Do I just take it all out of the pan once it cools and finish on the stove top?
? ?

[Sugarmaker]

Your doing good. What you describe is normal. adding new sap slowly at one corner and taking off finished syrup at the other corner(draw off) is the goal. BUT these rigs are small and getting this to flow out continuous flow of syrup may be a challenge?
Keep getting it closer to syrup and you may have gto taking the whole batch and finish on the stove, Others with similar evaporators will be along to chime in.
Regards,
Chris

[Big_Eddy]

Ahh, okay. Next question. I've boiled 100 gallons of 3.2 brix sap. The liquid is amber and sweet, but no where near syrup. The liquid is shrinking, maybe 3/4 " deep in the pan. It seems to be equal density across the the three pan sections.


To build a gradient and get a continuous flow the level needs to stay the same. Pick a depth (1") and add sap at the inlet corner continuously at the rate it is evaporating. Always at the same corner and gently, not by the bucketful. As the water evaporates at the other "end" of your pan, sap will need to move forward to replace it. Each bit of water is replaced by a bit of more concentrated sap from just upstream. As you boil, the concentration at the inlet stays the same (raw sap) because you keep adding fresh sap there, but the further away from the inlet you are the more concentrated it gets. A "sweetened" evaporator is sap density at the inlet and syrup density at the outlook.

Follow the links in my signature for some more explanation.

[Page Meadow Maple]

Thanks, Big Eddy. I will check out all your posts for a deeper understanding. Last night, I had the reservoir pan on slow drip into the corner farthest from the draw off valve. When I got to the very end of my 100 gallons of sap, the thermometer in the draw off end shot to 219 and the liquid at that end was much thicker. I could not draw off, however, because heat was still going and drawing off would have left too little in the pan, leaving the pan at risk of burning. As the fire died down and the liquid in the pan continued to evaporate, the liquid quickly thickened and bubbled in all three compartments. This is a view from last night.

Today, I will test the cold liquid in the hydrometer against the cold red brix line. I will heat up, filter and then bottle. I don't expect more sap for 5 days or so. Do I set some thick, nearly syrup stuff aside and pour it in the draw off side on the next run or just bottle it all and start from scratch next week?

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[eustis22]

When I draw off on my 2X3, I open the spigot on my preheater pan to full at the same time the syrup spigot is opened so I maintain the same depth as I am drawing until the temp at the syrup end drops back down, then I close both spigots simultaneously. I do not see how you are feeding new sap into your pan?

[johnpma]

When I draw off on my 2X3, I open the spigot on my preheater pan to full at the same time the syrup spigot is opened so I maintain the same depth as I am drawing until the temp at the syrup end drops back down, then I close both spigots simultaneously. I do not see how you are feeding new sap into your pan? I do the exact same with great success

[Sugarmaker]

You need to check the density before you think about bottling! You may not have syrup now since it blended back together with the sap that was just coming into the pan.
Regards,
Chris