A very strange question

[Person25]

So I have a question. I realize it’s odd and strange, but still I’m going to ask it. I have a 2x3 mason with 3 section pan. Does anyone have any ideas on materials I could use to plug the trianglur holes between dividers? It would need to be heat resistant and provide a seal. My predicament is I can only boil on weekends. Weeknight boiling is not an option to keep up with sap production. What I would like to be able to do is on Sunday night be able to pour off the sweet from the individual sections and store them separately until Friday night when I can fire up again at which point I could pour the sweet back into their respective section, let settle so it won’t remix , then pull the divider plugs and hit it for the weekend. My issue is basically it takes me forever to get any draw offs because I have to empty the pan ever weekend and finish inside on the stove. the way I run now I basically just batch boil in a divided pan. Any suggestions appreciated.

[MarkL]

Not strange at all, to me! I have the same predicament. Luckily my Smoky Lake full pint pan has round holes; I get plugs from the local home-brew shop and put them in with long bbq tongs at the end of each night.

With the triangular holes, I'd find some food safe and heat resistant material - perhaps neoprene? - in a large stopper and trim it to fit. If you taper it you should be able to get a snug seal.

[Cjadamec]

Possibly just get some sheet metal, either aluminum or stainless steel, then use a spring clamp to hold the sheet metal in place on the divider blocking your pass thrus. You don't need a water tight seal to hold your gradient in place you just need to make it hard for the water to move.

If you really wanted to get a seal get a cheap silicon baking /grilling mat cut that up into a pieces then use the sheet metal trick above just sandwich the silicon mat between the divider and sheet metal.

[wnybassman]

Back when I was using my divided 2x4 flat pan I would just let it sit between boils, and let it mix. It didn't really take all that long to reestablish a gradient again once boiling started again. If you wanted, you could slowly draw off the sweetest you have and store that, then pour it back in near the draw-off once you start back up. Gives you a little head start on gradient again.

[bigschuss]

I use a 2x4 Mason and like wnybassman, I just let it sit and mix. On Saturday AM I reestablish the gradient pretty quickly.

However, if you're not boiling all week and temps. warm up there is something to be said for removing and storing your sweet so it doesn't spoil.

How about some kind of extra long C clamp like this:

https://express.google.com/u/0/product/2661602394038353797_16837396058207011132_7472660?u tm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=tu_cu&utm_content=eid-lsjeuxoeqt&gtim=CNq8h4Hc2MjdQxDii5CDku3bqQkY4OzpBSIDVVNEKPDy5 uMFMJSMyAM&utm_campaign=7472660&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtbnjBRDBARIsAO3zDl-iPVpIpTJsHswbjXGjd8fscwGF4xxTmmF3sCuZDg_LTGAe_wofu jwaAs9BEALw_wcB

Find somebody to then weld up two pieces of triangular steel to each side to match the openings in your pan.

[MarkL]

I would NEVER put any metal in my syrup that isn’t stainless steel or copper.

I once lost an entire weekend’s batch due to a metallic off flavor from a tiny bit of steel wool I foolishly cleaned with and didn’t get all out of the pan.


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[ecolbeck]

I agree with those who say that there is no reason to keep the sections separated. What I typically do if I need to empty a pan is draw off various grades of sweet into separate containers. Then (as suggested by others) during the next boil the sweet can be reintroduced slowly into the proper channel.

[n8hutch]

How deep do you run your pan? Only reason I ask is the deeper you run it the longer it is going to take to re establish a gradient.

[steve J]

If you don't empty pan the sweet tends to mix.
but I have found that when restarting the boiling process the center is first to boil and that is where most of the sweet is. So you need to move the boil. So I draw off a quart at a time and pour back in at the start of the middle section. I do this several times and wait a few mins and do it again. And before you know it you have moved the sweet and the boil to the last section.

[kingOFgEEEks]

I'll agree with a few above. I have a 2-1/2 x 6 flat pan, and all I do is draw off some of the sweet while the fire is coasting to a stop, and let the rest mix back to equilibrium. When I go to fire back up, I'll start the fire and once the boil starts, slowly add fresh sap to the beginning of the pan, and sweet to the end of the pan. The gradient is back in about 1/2 an hour that way, and I'm back to the races.

[bigschuss]

I would NEVER put any metal in my syrup that isn’t stainless steel or copper.

I once lost an entire weekend’s batch due to a metallic off flavor from a tiny bit of steel wool I foolishly cleaned with and didn’t get all out of the pan.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, not sure if I'd want something in my sap at full boil for 12 hours...but just to plug the hole while he removes the sap from each section for 5 minutes I think would be harmless.

[Person25]

thanks for the suggestions all. I was having a hard time finding something big enough to plug the holes between dividers, i hadnt thought of the C-clamp and ss sheetmetal! That would do the trick i think, its jsut needed for a minute or two while emptying the pan. Im aware as long as the pan is level the gradient wont mix to much if sitting for a day between boils, but what worries me is leaving the pan unattended for 5 days before the next boil, if it warms up, or freezes, bugs find it, etc as my shack is not insulated or powered yet, i feel safer pulling it off and putting it in the fridge for the week.

Maybe I am over thinking it, maybe someone can chime in on that though. Critique welcome.... Heres my process starting from 100% sap, I run my pan at about 1/2 inch, I might get a few draw offs after half a day of establishing gradient. At the end of the day, or weekend (for the reason stated above) I pull my pan, send it all through a cone filter and into a 5gal bucket. I then usually take that and finish it in the house during the week when i have time. Im finishing because I figure (wrongly or rightly) that because ive mixed all three dividers into the bucket that I hurt my final grade of syrup if i were to pour that mix back into the pan next week when i go to start a new boil, so i opt to just start fresh again with 100% sap. Im thinking by plugging the divider holes i can pour off each section and store each seperate. I never end up with light syrup, and its sort of a pride thing that i want to make come true, and my thesis is that because the sugar spends to much time in the pan it darkens. Maybe thats flawed thinking, but i do know that each time you heat/reboil sweet or syrup it gets a shade darker, so my idea is to limit the number of heat cycles and it will help me get lighter syrup. Starting the pan with an established gradient each boil would help that...i think.

It sounds like a few of you dont even worry about that, and just mix the sweet if you have to take the pan off and start it back in the pan mixed up and let the gradient just reform on its own. Those responses are what makes me think Im over thinking this... anyways I appreciate the feedback! If this all sounds confusing I apologize, admittedly reading my own post i can see it might sound like im crazy for my thought process.

[MarkL]

You might be overthinking and/or overdoing it ;)

I make about 12-18 Gal. a year. As an amateur (I rarely sell syrup, I use it for trade/gifts) I think flavor first, not color. I find it takes me about 8 hours of boiling to get the gradient and I don't want to let it go either. I plug the holes and let it sit while I'm at work. Sometimes it sits for a day, sometimes more. It's gotten frozen, it's sat during warm weather, it always comes out fine. Filtering/bottling is such an ordeal that I don't do that until I have at least 3 gallons ready. Sometimes I have a couple gallons of nearly done syrup sitting in a covered pail in the shack for days waiting for more syrup. It's never gone off or bad. I draw off as close to finished density as possible and finish inside on the stove. Then I filter and bottle.

It's never occurred to me to do what you do, that seems like even MORE work than it already is with this crazy obsession!

Mark

[bigschuss]

Allowing your sap to freeze in the pan during the week will hurt nothing. Don't worry about that one. Unlike Mark, I have had sweet in my pan spoil over the course of just 4 or 5 days. If you can boil every 2nd or 3rd day, you're fine. But waiting 5 or 6 days between boils during a warm up is a risk and IMHO a valid concern. Not sure I would personally try to remove the sweet by section and store it separately. That's a lot of work. But what you're thinking about can't possibly hurt, and you're not hurting anybody else by trying. Give it a shot and it let us know.

[Person25]

thanks guys, ill let you all know how it works out. Like Big says, I just don't like taking the chance to waste my time and have it spoil sitting 5 days... But also ive had my drawoff ball valve pop when the pan froze, only to then have the next day be a warm day where it thawed out, by the time I got to the shack after work guess what....three gallons of sweet on the floor...not fun, I didn't figure out where the leak was until I filled the pan with sap and found the brass ball valve cracked..... To Mark, youre right, it is even more work haha, I think all of us who do this are just a little nuts. I make 8-10 gal a year of dark dark like used motor oil colored syrup, sell some, gift some away, trade/barter like you do... I love it, taste is awesome, but a part of me wants to constantly improve and honestly a little embarrassing, thus my overthinking! haha

[Rock Bottom Maple]

I drain my pan (2x4) after each boil. Takes about 45 minutes. To get my gradient back. Old timers used blocks of maple. To plug pans.

[Person25]

I drain my pan (2x4) after each boil. Takes about 45 minutes. To get my gradient back. Old timers used blocks of maple. To plug pans.

Thats a good idea too! See I knew I would get some smart ideas here. thanks

[berkshires]

Im thinking by plugging the divider holes i can pour off each section and store each seperate.

So take this with a grain of salt, because I don't run a pan with dividers myself but...

Why not just have three containers ready. Open the draw-off and drain into your first container. Once you've drained 1/3 of what's in the pans, close the draw-off. That should be your sweetest. Switch to your second container. Draw off half of what remains in the pans. That should be your second-sweetest. Then pour off whatever's left into your third container. That should be your near-sap.

Then next weekend, pour the three containers back into the pan in order. They might mix a bit, but you should start out with a reasonable gradient.

Cheers,

Gabe

[Eberzin]

Try to find some material you can fit to the holes. I have an SL pan too and the plugs from brew shops are great for round holes.