Steam pan boiler question

[Wannabe]

You guys boiling with 6" steam pans, how deep are you running the sap in the pans?

I made a jerry rigged evaporator kind of like this, http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?11965-275-gallon-fuel-oil-drum-evaporator, but I have one more pan cut in the back and another 5' of stack.

With the pans set down in I figured I'd have to run the pans pretty deep. With good natural draft and dry popple it really rips (at least the first 3 pans do). If I kept the 'firebox' even half full I was constantly boiling over the sides of the pans when I was trying to keep it at about 4" deep. If I went easy on the firing the first two pans would still boil alright and it wouldn't boil over, but I know the rapid boiling would be better.

How low would you think would be 'safe' with the pans set down in like that?

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

[berkshires]

I keep my sap really low, like under an inch. But I'm not on a block arch, and my pans are only set about an inch down in my arch.

Even so, 4" sounds way too deep to me. Have you tried going shallower? Do you get a lot of scorching on the sides if you do?

GO

[RileySugarbush]

Back when I ran on a block arch with steam pans, I set them down in and ran as deep as I could without losing too much to splashing. Had to run quite a bit lower when I added the drop tubes.

I always got scorch on the sides, and it never hurt the syrup taste. Black flecks of burnt syrup filtered right out.

[Wannabe]

Back when I ran on a block arch with steam pans, I set them down in and ran as deep as I could without losing too much to splashing. Had to run quite a bit lower when I added the drop tubes.

I always got scorch on the sides, and it never hurt the syrup taste. Black flecks of burnt syrup filtered right out.

Okay thanks John. Yeah I was wondering if you could run them lower without ruining the pans, so I could make them boil harder without hopefully splashing over the sides so much. I didn't mind splashing over at the start of the boil but was dreading it later in the day when the sugar was starting to concentrate so I backed off on the amount of wood during firing. I had the top inch or two of the pans scorched pretty good too but like you said the syrup was still great after filtering. I'll try running it lower and just deal with the scorching,, if we ever get out of this deep freeze and the sap starts flowing again..

Thanks for the input guys, anybody else chime in if you have run low in your steam pans set down in the fire.

This is a great site for anyone wanting to learn about syrup.

[mol1jb]

I have run steam pans for 3 years now. First was the 55 gal drum evaporator and this year is an oil tank evaporator. They are scorched all over but thats what happens to em when they are run hot at a lower level. I have run them as low as 3 in this year and have gotten the best gph results but also the most scorch. Made some great syrup though.

[Wannabe]

Thanks guys, I ran the front two at around 3" this weekend. I could fill the firebox about 2/3 full and it wouldn't quit boil over. Went through the sap faster and made some good syrup, a little darker than the first batch (whether running lower had anything to do with it?). Like you guys stated some more scorching too clean off but the increased evap rate was well worth it.

Now if I could only speed up the filtering...

[maple75]

I have been using steam pans for the last two years. I was using then on a 2' x 5' wood stove (with steel plate top). The top is now badly warped so I have been considering cutting it off and placing the pans in the fire. I am sure this will improve the boil rate and reduce the amount of wood used but was worried about burnt tasting syrup due to the scorching.
The pans I have are only 4 inch deep, will those pans be too shallow to prevent boiling over or splashing?

[Wannabe]

Hey maple75, I have not been able to taste any burnt syrup taste at all (or has my family). It sure seems like a person should, but you don't. I haven't ever used 4" pans but I'm sure if you had a raging fire going it would boil over some and you'll get scorching on your pans. It would be a night and day difference though I bet if you got the steel plate out of the way and let the flames/heat get right at your pans. It will speed up your process a lot.

[maple75]

Thanks will try it, I am in the process of cutting the top out now. I made a frame out of heavy wall rectangle tubing to support the pans, it will also keep some heat away from the sides of the pans.