Half pint 2x3 pans: any tips and tricks for new hobbyists?

[Page Meadow Maple]

When I bought my Leader half pint evaporator, I had this fantasy I would be drawing off syrup from the big pan through a filter and straight into bottles. While it absolutely speeds up the boiling process, it does not eliminate any steps or pans. I boil my sap until I have about an inch in the pan, but it is still not the density of syrup, so I still need to boil down on my old turkey fryer. In addition, I bought the supreme pan so there is lots of liquid below the draw off valve so I have wait for the pan to cool and then lift it up and pour it off into the fryer/finishing pot.

I would love to hear how others use there 2x3 pans! Am I missing something?

[buckeye gold]

Are you filling your pan and boiling it all as a batch? These pans are made to be a continuous flow. You only need to fill the pan to 1.5 to 2" over the pan level (above the channels or flues as they are known). Then once that comes to a boil you add sap at a rate that maintains that level at the opposite back corner from your draw off valve. You should not need to ever lift and dump your pan unless you are stopping production or cleaning. You monitor your syrup/sap temperature at the draw off valve to indicate when syrup is made. Then draw off only what is finished or draw off a greater amount of near syrup and only finish it the last few degrees on a finisher. search continuous flow maple syrup and you should find some more info and videos

[nysap]

I have a 2x4 so our steps will be very similar. If you'd like to draw syrup off in the process you described the answer is simple. You boil until your out of sap then leave the sweet or (syrup not up to density) in the pan until the next boil. Next time you boil within an hour or two, as long as you are continuously adding more sap the divider at the draw off will have a limited amount of syrup ready to be taken off. In a 6 hour boil, I will typically draw off 3-4 times at about a quart a rip. Drawing off in this manner on the small pans we have, you will get several small draw offs a day. After your done for the day, plan on leaving an inch in the pan and when you do your next boil, you will be drawing off more syrup in an hour or two. On the first boil of the year, it takes a 100gal of 1.5-2% sap to get to the first drawoff. After the initial draw, they will be much more frequent.

It sounds as if you are trying to batch boil or finish the entire process in one sitting. You can batch boil or you can do it the way I described. Batch boiling will always require finishing the syrup in another pot.

Once you get the system down for taking the small draws and leaving the sweet in you pan, the only time you will need to boil the syrup in a separate pot will be after your last boil of the year.

Hope this makes sense!

[HawkeyeMike]

This is a similar thread to one I started a couple weeks back. Good info, good advice. For me (on a Leader Half pint, 50 taps), I can only boil twice per week. I'm just too worried about leaving the near-syrup in the pan for 3-4 days between boils, so I boil in batch. Which means shutting down the system and moving the pan off the evaporator (safe and easy to do if I have a buddy out there...scary and maybe stupid to do if alone), drain into a pot, and finish on a turkey fryer. This whole topic is the single troubling task for me in an otherwise fun and relaxing hobby.

[maple flats]

Page and Hawkeye, As long as the pan has boiled and concentrated for at least 3 hours, do not worry about leaving the contents in the pan. It has enough sugar not to freeze solid unless the temperatures will fall to low teens or colder. Even then, many put a cover over the pan and simply put a 60 watt light bulb in the arch, under the pan, that will give to protection down to below zero.
I know it at first seems scary, but you will do well if you follow those suggestions. If you try to finish it as a batch boil you are not using the capabilities of the pan to your advantage.
Run the pans about 1.25-1.5" deep and keep adding sap at the far corner to maintain that depth. Once you get familiar with the pan, reduce the depth to 1-1.25" and it will go even better.
When a pan is left fully sugared, you will get a slush form on the surface but it will not freeze solid and cause damage if kept within the guide lines I stated above.

[Page Meadow Maple]

Thanks for all the advice. Extremely helpful! I will try the continuous boil approach this year. I think the biggest issue was that I did not appreciate that I would need to boil 100 gallons before the first draw off. My sugar content was very high last year, as I have all huge sugar maples in yards and roadside +3%, so maybe I can get away with a little less sap.

Thank to all who replied!

[Troutman10]

I need to do transition away from the batch boil this year as well. When should i stop adding sap and how do i know my sugar content is high enough to be "sweet" and leave it in the pan for a couple days? Any help is appreciated.

[Sugarmaker]

I need to do transition away from the batch boil this year as well. When should i stop adding sap and how do i know my sugar content is high enough to be "sweet" and leave it in the pan for a couple days? Any help is appreciated.
Small rig: you may not get totally away from batch boiling. Keep adding sap. If you stop adding sap you are in batch boil mode. Boiled sap should be able to set in the pans for a day or two without knowing the sugar content.
Regards,
Chris

[Troutman10]

So should i make sure to have alot of sap before i sweeten the pan then make sure the sugar content is high enough to leave sweet for a couple days? Also, how long is too long to leave the sweet in the pan?

[eustis22]

I stash 100 gallons of sap before starting my season. You will see the channels darken as the gradient is established. One the gradient is established you will be able to continuously draw off small amounts of near-syrup (hence the term, "continuous") for finishing. If the temps remain coolish you should never have to empty the pan except to clean out the bottom. I just dumop into a 5 gallon bucket, then clean, then dump back in. the next boil the gradient re-establishes itself thru the addition of more sap.

[bigschuss]

So should i make sure to have alot of sap before i sweeten the pan then make sure the sugar content is high enough to leave sweet for a couple days? Also, how long is too long to leave the sweet in the pan?

This is my 3 or 4th year on a small 2x4 evaporator so maybe I can help. You will definitely need to have 75 to 100 gallons of sap available to sweeten your pan. Then, once sweetened, it's going to take another 40 gallons or so of sap before you can draw off your 1st gallon of syrup. On small evaporators with just a few dozens taps it can be tough sometimes to get that much sap to "feed" the evaporator. If your pan is sweetened and you then have a slow or nonexistent run sometimes your forced to pull the sweet out of the pan and finish on a fryer or something or risk losing it. The sweet can sit in the pan IF IT'S COLD for maybe a week in my experience. That's if it's cold and partially frozen. If it warms at all though you need to be careful, as you'll lose your sweet. It get's a funky smell and you have to toss it...and then start all over.

[maple flats]

If you get to the point where you can start drawing off syrup the sugar % is high enough to protect the pan a day or even 2-3. You only stop adding sap at your last fueling so the latest added sap boils good. Even then, if you have a big accumulation of hardwood coals, you may need to add a little after you stop fueling. Just make sure you still have a boil in the pan to kill the micro-organisms. If you had an inch of depth, as you stop fueling some add enough new sap right at the last fueling to bring it to 1.25". When it then gets done cooling down you will still have about 3/4" in the pan. Then cover it to keep anything from getting into the pan. I made an aluminum hood when I was boiling on a 2x3, it had a 6" vent stack with an aluminum screen to keep bugs out. I only used that after my last fueling.

[Troutman10]

Thanks for the help guys! Maybe I'll be adding some more taps.

[unclejohn]

ive got a half pint and use it for batch boiling, which may not be the highest and best use of its features but it works for us. in order to facilitate draining the pan, i found someone nearby who welds stainless, and welded handles on the corners, just some stainless rod bent into loops. keeps the hands from burning as we transfer sap to pots.