Reversing flow and sugar sand

[miboss]

Being new to all things maple, what/when is the best time to reverse flow to prevent sugar sand build up? My boils last between 2-4 hours, should I do it half way every boil or should I just reverse flow between boils?

Also, what is the best way to check if you're getting a build up? I felt around my sweetened pans this morning, I didn't feel anything gritty being built up in the corners or edges, I felt a couple spots that were a little sticky, all others were as smooth as the mirrored stainless steel.

[SeanD]

If your boils are that short, you really won't need to reverse at all. As you found, the draw off channel, didn't have niter building up too badly on it. You are better off giving the pan a simple cleaning in between the boils as needed.

[maple flats]

If the draw off channel has no sugarsand, just reverse the flow for the next boil. Some seasons I can even go 2 boils before making a change. The sugarsand will always start first in the channel that feeds the draw off.