1st post, 1st attempt evaporating

[fruitguy]

Live in Western NY and my family has talked about tapping the trees in our yard for a few years. So this year we decided to try it. Tapped 17 trees and as of today (6 days in) we have collected about 115 gallons of sap. Attached are the pictures of my attempt of at an evaporator over a 200,000 BTU turkey fryer.

With the gas valve about a 1/4 to 1/2 open I am evaporating little over 3 gallons per hour. The roasting pan I am using holds about 5.5 to 5.75 gallons. Is it okay to go out every hour and add 3 gallons or should I be adding it more often. Also I am attempting to warm the 3 gallons up, but it is still quite cold, takes about 9 minutes to come back to a boil.

Also my rolling boil is at 209.9f

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[wnybassman]

First year and already have a roof over your head. I am impressed! Took me 15 years to put a roof over my head. lol

Any way you can keep it at a rolling boil you are better off. If you can find a container that could drizzle it in at roughly the same rate you are evaporating and maintain boil would be very beneficial.

[fruitguy]

Beautiful building was on clearance today for $30.
Thanks for the suggestion. Have a couple engineers around, will see if they can help me come up with some ideas.

[maple flats]

Try to find a way to add sap continuously, and reduce the depth, at 1.5-2" depth it will boil away faster, but without a constant feed you'd soon run into trouble. Have fun, the addiction has taken hold, there is no escape.
The main issue you will find using propane to boil is that it costs a lot, but it does give you good control. Nice set-up for your first year.

[Run Forest Run!]

Nice set-up. :)

Making a gallon of syrup will take about 40lb of propane. That cost $20 in fuel/gallon of syrup for me last year and $26 this year. I love the convenience and ease of boiling and it's worth it for me. I have a wood burning set-up as well but only use it when I've got perfect weather and a full day of no other tasks.

Have fun with your first season. You'll love it!

[Sugarmaker]

Keep adding and boiling! "If there is fire under it have sap in it!"
Regards,
Chris

[fruitguy]

Thanks. My thought is to head to the hardware store in the morning and pick up a spigot that I can control the flow. Drill a hole in a 6” bus pan and put it on top or over my boil pan and try to meter the flow to 3 gallons an hour. Hopefully heat up the sap as well and maybe help evaporate a little more.

Thanks for all the suggestions

[fruitguy]

Nice set-up. :)

Making a gallon of syrup will take about 40lb of propane. That cost $20 in fuel/gallon of syrup for me last year and $26 this year. I love the convenience and ease of boiling and it's worth it for me. I have a wood burning set-up as well but only use it when I've got perfect weather and a full day of no other tasks.

Have fun with your first season. You'll love it!

Do you put your pans directly on the burner or keep them slight elevated above?

[Run Forest Run!]

Do you put your pans directly on the burner or keep them slight elevated above?

I have two single propane burners and a Denali three burner camp stove. With the single propane burners my pans sit on the frame and the flame burns a few inches high, right up to the pans. On the camp stove the pan sits on the grill, and again the pan is about an inch or two above the source of the flame, but the flame comes right up to the pans on it too.

I put a disposable aluminum tray above my main sap pan and put a couple of very tiny pin prick sized holes in it. The sap trickles out perfectly and is warmed by the steam coming up from the pan below it. You could probably do the same thing if you had one of the large disposable turkey roasting pans.

[jrm]

I put a disposable aluminum tray above my main sap pan and put a couple of very tiny pin prick sized holes in it. The sap trickles out perfectly and is warmed by the steam coming up from the pan below it.

Love that idea. I'm going to try that n my next boil.

Fruitguy... like your pan. Better surface area than the full size steam pans. You've got the bug. Enjoy.

[fruitguy]

I am driving my wife crazy already talking about upgrades for next year to boil off a little faster.

Heading to the hardware store for some supply’s to drip syrup today verse dumping as I did last night.

[maple flats]

The best way to fix that, if it's possible to fix it, is to get your wife involved too.

[flyzone13]

The best way to fix that, if it's possible to fix it, is to get your wife involved too.

Ill second that! My wife and kids did not know what the big deal it was for me every year to make the syrup they love until they came with to help. IMO it gave them a valuable lesson in what hard work it really is and why I love to make their syrup every year. Now I get their help every year when I need it and when I need to run to the hardware store or put in an order to CDL or Amazon I don't catch hell for it... well almost every time. The point is, if you get them involved and make it enjoyable they will see how much work it is and getting the help you need and/or supples for the process becomes easier.

[Greenthumb]

Try to find a way to add sap continuously, and reduce the depth, at 1.5-2" depth it will boil away faster, but without a constant feed you'd soon run into trouble. Have fun, the addiction has taken hold, there is no escape.
The main issue you will find using propane to boil is that it costs a lot, but it does give you good control. Nice set-up for your first year.


Welcome to the addiction there is no cure

[fruitguy]

Well after $15 at the hardware store versions 2.0. Already can tell this is going to work much better. Sap is warm going in and pretty close to getting the correct fill rate.

As for family they seem to be having a better time coming out and hanging out around the pot verse collecting. That is fine with me. My daughter who is in the 1st group of picturs turns 11 tomorrrow and brought home some syrup making books from school for us to read.

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[Run Forest Run!]

Looking good!

[fruitguy]

Thanks for your suggestions it made a big difference

[wnybassman]

If you put that warming pan on a tilt to the back, and hang it off the back a tad, most of the condensate that forms on the bottom will run to the back and drip off behind your boiling pan, and not in it.

[fruitguy]

Will do

thanks

[Jolly Acres Farm]

Fruitguy,

Welcome, now for a fair warning, Maple madness is addictive....... in all seriousness, enjoy and have fun. Maple trader is a great wealth of information.

[fruitguy]

I am really enjoying it so far. I have about 300 invested in everything and would not even be close with out this site. Started
Reading every post I could. My niece is coming over with her three little kids tomorrow. This really does bring family closer

[barnbc76]

Hey fruitguy, enjoy it only gets better. This is my 4th year and we always have family come to help and neighbor's that want to check things out too. Guys here have all kinds of ideas, sometimes even good ones, lol it's all good.

[fruitguy]

Saturday night in my makeshift shack. 60 gallons of sap done going to finish it into syrup tomorrow. Plan is to get it close tonight and finish in the morning inside. Then start boiling sap again tomorrow.

[JesterV]

After years of expensive LP we changed over to natural gas two years ago. Had the guy who ran the gas for our dryer run a supply line out the back of the house. Use flex line to the burner. I'd guess natural gas costs maybe 1/3 of LP. No tanks to change.

Live in Western NY and my family has talked about tapping the trees in our yard for a few years. So this year we decided to try it. Tapped 17 trees and as of today (6 days in) we have collected about 115 gallons of sap. Attached are the pictures of my attempt of at an evaporator over a 200,000 BTU turkey fryer.

With the gas valve about a 1/4 to 1/2 open I am evaporating little over 3 gallons per hour. The roasting pan I am using holds about 5.5 to 5.75 gallons. Is it okay to go out every hour and add 3 gallons or should I be adding it more often. Also I am attempting to warm the 3 gallons up, but it is still quite cold, takes about 9 minutes to come back to a boil.



Also my rolling boil is at 209.9f

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18069
18070

[fruitguy]

Just wanted to update this. Year one has lead to year two. Only real change is a Smokey Lake 2x3 divided pan. Should speed things up for me.
19704

[FanshaweGirl]

I put a disposable aluminum tray above my main sap pan and put a couple of very tiny pin prick sized holes in it. The sap trickles out perfectly and is warmed by the steam coming up from the pan below it. You could probably do the same thing if you had one of the large disposable turkey roasting pans.

Ok this is the solution I've been looking for! I use two turkey fryers with pots. I know the most efficient way is to keep the level low and slowly add more, but coming up with a cost-effective method has eluded me. I had a small roasting pan sitting around, so I've got that dripping away now. I'll get a bigger one next time I'm in town. :D

[Galena]

I have two single propane burners and a Denali three burner camp stove. With the single propane burners my pans sit on the frame and the flame burns a few inches high, right up to the pans. On the camp stove the pan sits on the grill, and again the pan is about an inch or two above the source of the flame, but the flame comes right up to the pans on it too.

I put a disposable aluminum tray above my main sap pan and put a couple of very tiny pin prick sized holes in it. The sap trickles out perfectly and is warmed by the steam coming up from the pan below it. You could probably do the same thing if you had one of the large disposable turkey roasting pans.

Karen, that is a brilliant idea for prewarming cause I have just been dumping in cold sap and of course killing the boil in doing so, your solution is so simple and clearly works! Now, how do you support the weight of the disposable aluminum tray above the sap pan? Do you have it sitting on a cooling rack or something similar?

[FanshaweGirl]

I've been giving this aluminum pan thing a try for the last couple of hours. My wide pot, I have a circular BBQ grill that fits on top, pan sitting on that. I have two pin holes in the pan. My narrow pot, I have a wider pan on it and it's just sitting by itself. I have one pin hole in it.

I am finding that there is condensation forming on the outside of the pans, and it drips back in the pot. I don't really have any way to warm up the sap between the cold storage buckets and putting it in the pans.

[The Bee]

Hi,
I boiled outside for a while and my suggestion would be to block all 4 sides of you block pan holder. keep the heat in cold out. Maybe even recess the pan into the blocks. This is a addiction you getting into. Have fun Larry

[fruitguy]

New year and added to the addiction. Gas fired Smoky Lake evaporator and switched taps over to bags this year. Image is of the 26 taps in our back yard and the new setup2107421075. If I add the front yard we could have about 65 to 70 taps, but I think my wife would kill me as we just give the syrup away to family and friends.

[Sugarmaker]

Very nice upgrade to your collection and evaporation systems!
Regards,
Chris

[DrTimPerkins]

Nice addition. Best of luck with your season.