Draw off technique?

[BSD]

I'm still learning how to operate my arch and pans efficiently. I think my draw offs are going OK, but with always, looking to improve and make sure i'm doing it well.

My pans are 2.5x2 each. I have 3 drop flue pans and 2 finishing pans. the finishing pans each have a single divider, so each channel is 12" wide I also feed from my head tank with a boiler valve to gate the flow, as i don't really trust the float it came with (something to improve over the summer) My draw offs seem to be about 1 gallon each. Then there is about an hour until the next draw off ( i boil around 40 GPH without a blower), so that makes sense. Should i be flooding the back pans with sap to push the syrup to the ball valve? or just let it ride like normal? I seem to make syrup or **** near close syrup in both halves of my draw off pan and that's why i've been flooding to push it around the last baffle.

Any advise would be appreciated.

15987

[psparr]

A gallon at a time seems a bit much for a 40 gallon per hr rig. But each rig works differently. You could try a continuous slow draw. Will keep things running more evenly. Not a surge then nothing for a while.
Just my thoughts.

[maple flats]

I tried as much as possible to run continuous draw on my 2x3, 2x6 and my 3x8 until last year when I got an auto draw.
It was hard to regulate it slow enough on the smaller rigs but it can be done. On my 2x6 I got draws slow and steady lasting from about 10 minutes up to maybe 45 minutes, before I lost temperature. At 40 gal/hr you should be able to. As soon as you get draw off temperature open the draw off valve and run it slow while watching the temperature. If temp rises open a little more, if it starts to fall close it a little. With practice you can get long slow steady draws which will be best to maintain constant density.