Finally happened

[BoarsNest]

Last weekend was my first boil in a new sugar shack. The previous two weeks we were furiously getting set up and ready. I sent an email to my helpers that we will be tapping the last Saturday of February. One of my friends tapped 80 trees the previous week and hauled sap up so we had about 230 gallons of sap. Friday night we fired up the arch and got everything started. I had a few chores in the pole barn so I left my two helpers for 45 minutes. I came back and they were all happy with how things were going. I heard the sap pan make a bang and about 15 seconds later another bang. I though this is not good. We looked in the sap pan and I saw a red glow reflecting off the inside of the hood. SHUT IT DOWN NOW!!! Yup.....torched the sap pan bad. I now officially know how quick things go sideways. Got in touch with a local guy that was able fit in a "hot job" today. He vapor blasted the carbon outside and in. Tomorrow I'm hoping one of my tig welders can repair the leaks.

Does that make me a true sugar maker?

[5050racing]

Same thing just happened to me last Sunday I was running the RO and had other people visiting and my great buddy that always is there helping and always stokes the best fire I smell sugar burning oh it's just a drop from the concentrate not boiling sap anymore thanks to the RO and then I see the yellow smoke so dumped more in to stop it too late at least it was only the beginning of night so not much wasted n pan really didn't buckle much,scotch brite worked fine.I never got to that point but close many times,always hear of people talk how fast it happens!

[MISugarDaddy]

Sometimes "help" isn't help. That is why only my wife and I operate our equipment...she has a financial interest in everything since she helped pay for it.
Gary

[BoarsNest]

Pan looks worse for wear, but we found only one leak . Who knows what we will find once it's in the arch and boiling sap. Hopefully nothing else opens up. My help really is pretty good, except I need to retrain every year. You would think after 8 years they would retain the important parts of the process, but they don't.