Smokey Lake full pint hybrid pan reviews?

[penfrydd]

For next year, I'm debating between:

Going to 35 - 40 taps and continuing to boil on half pint divided pans or,

Buying a Smokey Lake full pint hybrid pan for the arch or,

Buying a Lapierre mini-pro.

Opinions?

[mol1jb]

Are you maxing out at 40 taps or do you have more available? If you want some room to grow I would look at the Lapierre. Other option that you didn't mention would be a hobby RO unit.

[penfrydd]

I could have 350 taps, but I'm choosing to keep it simple. I would like to cut down a little on the time spent boiling. I am considering a bucket RO. What can I say? It's late March, if my 50 gallon drums of sap ever thaw, I'll likely do my last boil this week. So...I'm just thinking about how I can do things a bit more efficiently next year.

[blaircountysugarin85]

I wouldn't wait for them to thaw just pull the ice out. I have found most sap ice is 1/2% sugar or less. The concentrate left under the ice is usually 4% or sometimes higher. I have heard it referred to as the poor pans RO. I am too debating on finding a used 2x6 evaporator or similar or making my arch a foot longer and getting a smoky lake hybrid pan. RO seems to be the way to go but I have concerns with my line freezing when I go to run it the several times a week I boil as I don't have room inside my sugar shack

[penfrydd]

They were truly frozen solid, so there was no sap underneath, no even slush. Things have warmed up. The sap is still good. Nothing buddy yet, but has to be on the cusp. If you look at the tops of the maples, there's just the slightest blush of color, so the buds are definitely swelling. I expect that this next warm spell that's due in about 5 days, will not be good sap, but that's just a guess. At any rate, I'm tired and need a good nap, so I'm done for the season.