Draw off tank help

[DMF]

I have a 2x6 Smoky Lake Corsair evaporator with their raised flue pan on it. We will have 100 taps this season 80 or so which will be on natural vacuum (3/16 tubing). We will boil on weekends only. We have a 400 gallon bulk tank for sap. I'm thinking of using a stock pot as a draw off tank. What size do you think I should look at getting?

Thanks in advance!

[Super Sapper]

It would depend if you want it to hold all of the syrup made that day or if you are going to transfer it as it gets full. If you want it to hold all of it you would need one big enough to hold a little more than you can produce. If you are going to transfer to other pots a 16 or 20 quart will do. I either use a 20 quart stock pot and transfer it into a large one to reheat and filter.

[maple flats]

Even back to when I had about 600 taps, I drew off into 20 qt. SS pots. I had 4, as I removed one I just put another in it's place. I then dumped it into the small finisher I had at that time. Once I dumped 2 or 3 times, I brought the syrup in the finisher up to 1about 200F and then drew it off into a mixing pot, added my DE and filtered it into my bottler or a bulk container.
I now have a draw tank, which is plumbed to the filter press pump. From there I pump it to my 2x6 finisher. Then I heat to 205-210, draw into the same mixing tank I mentioned above, filtered it and either send the filtered syrup to my bottler or a SS barrel. As I get 28-30 gal in my finisher, I heat it and filter. My SS barrels are mostly 26.5 gal, but I do have a few that are 16 gal. I always try to heat it for filtering before it gets cold and I filter it. If I don't have enough to fill a drum and do not need more retail containers filled, I let it cool, and then with the next boil I heat and filter then.
I used to have to carry and dump batches of usually 2-3 gal of hot syrup, now that all syrup moves by using my filter press air diaphragm pump it is much easier (and safer).

[raptorfan85]

I bought a stainless stock pot from ocean State job lot for $40. It's 28 quart and pretty heavy duty for the price. I put a Weldless spout in it and it works great.

19298

[wnybassman]

I have used stock pots for several years. This year I put a weldless spout on one, and bought a stainless strainer the same size as the diameter of the pot. Will be able to lay a half dozen prefilters on that strainer to filter the draw offs. Filtering that way made my final filtering go WAY better last year!

[buckeye gold]

I made a three legged round stand I can clamp cone prefilters on and set it over a stainless pot, works great.

[TapTapTap]

When we went to a filter press last year we went to a Leader 13 gal ss round bottom with an outlet spigot and valve. We just pump off it direct to the press.

[n8hutch]

Old Milk pails work really well, I have 3 of them I bought off Ebay, they have 2 handles and you can put a cone pre-filter in the top of them with clothes pins holding it on. Mine are stainless steel delaval pails. Keep in mind that even 4 gallons of syrup in one of those pails is heavy, and awkward at 190°, so you want something substantial.

[DMF]

Thanks guys!