smokey lake hybrid pro pan question

[gatzow]

I am only 5 years into sugaring and bought a new smokey lake 2x4 evaporator evaporator with the hybrid pro pan. I was told that as I boiled, the finished syrup would work its way to the front and I would drain finished syrup every 1-2 hours. I boiled around 100 gallons yesterday and although you can see the colors changing through the different sections of the pan, I did not get any Finished syrup out yesterday. I have solid concentrate and know that I will get it out eventually, but I wanted to validate that this is all normal operation and that I am doing things right. The evaporator is perfectly level. Evaporator boiled as expected, I was just told that I would not really be draining the syrup every boil like I was with the flat pan. I would just leave whatever I wanted in the pan and with the next boil, it would just pick right back up and you keep moving forward.

Should I expect that at some point as I continue to boil I will start to draw straight syrup out and will continue the cycle until I do a big complete clean out of the pan?? Do others do complete clean outs every time you boil?

Any experience, advice, or other comments appreciated.

Thanks.

[Ghs57]

Sound pretty normal. My first raw sap run with my 2x6 hybrid several years ago now produced no syrup. Second run did. This was after running several hundred gals, but the pan is bigger. It will take you some time to reestablish the gradient on your next boil. You can draw off some concentrate from the syrup section, then add that back to the syrup section during the next boil to speed that up.

I do not clean out between runs (unless disaster strikes), just continue the process over and over until the end of the season.

Which arch do you have? I'm on a diy arch, but am looking at getting one of theirs.

[ecolbeck]

Your experience is completely normal. It takes a huge amount of sap to "sweeten" the pan, especially if this new pan is larger than your old pan. The fact that it is a hybrid pan has no bearing on the process. After sweetening occurs, you will be able to draw off syrup at regular intervals. It is also typical that pans need to be completely cleaned out at least once during the season to remove niter to prevent burning. Keep going!!

[buckeye gold]

Small pans struggle to maintain gradient and also to finish syrup. You might want to considered drawing off near syrup and finishing on a propane burner. You will make lighter syrup and quicker that way. If you insist on finishing on the pan then you will only get small draws. It's a common problem with small hybrid pans. I run a Smokey Lake Full pint hybrid and I finish on propane.

[Ghs57]

Small pans struggle to maintain gradient and also to finish syrup. You might want to considered drawing off near syrup and finishing on a propane burner. You will make lighter syrup and quicker that way. If you insist on finishing on the pan then you will only get small draws. It's a common problem with small hybrid pans. I run a Smokey Lake Full pint hybrid and I finish on propane.

This is true. When I had my 2x4 SL flat pan, I never drew off syrup. I finished on the stovetop in the house. Because you have drop flues, you may be able to draw off syrup, but it will only be small amounts at intervals. Depends on your boil rate.

[ecolbeck]

In my experience, it is very much possible to make syrup on small pans and I don't see any reason not to. I have done so with both flat and hybrid pans. It can take a lot of patience, and I certainly had my moments of doubt. However, persistence will pay off. The draws will be small but I don't see that as a problem. I draw syrup off over density and corrected later like many here on the forums. At the end of the season I will empty the pan and finish what remains on propane. Other than that I only use propane for reheating to bottle.

[Smokeshow]

I have the same setup as you and yes...you’re doing things fine. It takes me about 150-175 gallons before I start to draw off syrup. I draw off as slowly as possible once it reaches 7 and never back down beyond the 6. I finish on my stove top and it’s a setup / process I’m comfortable with.

At the end of the season, I empty the pan into a separate container and finish it on its own. If you mix it in with your syrup that’s been drawn off you will just give yourself more work filtering. Make sugar, candy or cream with what’s left in the pan.

[Ross]

Just keep boiling and be patient. We draw finished syrup off our 2x4 divided pan. 2 gallons today. We start drawing off when its on the top of 7 and continue to draw off into filters between 7 and 8 until it drops. At the end of the boil we heat it up to 180-190 on the stove, check with a hydrometer and add distilled water if it is too dense.

Good luck.

[fisheatingbagel]

I have a Smoky Lake 2x5 hybrid pan. There are a couple factors I've found that affect the ability to do regular draw offs of syrup. I think the smaller the pan and fewer partitions aggravate the situation.

Consistent firing is key...
Fire every 10 minutes
Use same amount of wood

Evenly distribute wood in firebox so you get consistent heat across the entire pan. I think inconsistent heating causes sap to intermix and increases time between draws





Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[RileySugarbush]

Also, keeping the sap depth content as low will help. Shallow depth will minimize mixing in the channels and contribute to an consistent gradiant. But keep in mind that as you run shallower, you run closer to the edge of disaster so pay attention.

[canaanmaple]

Yeah, my first year with one, and found quickly it takes hundred of gallons before you draw anything off! Also when you shut down for the night, you lose your gradient because there is no shut-off between the sections in the pan. So unless you figure out a way to plug the holes in the dividers while still boiling you are gonna get mixing. Smoky lake told me they have had other requests about fixing that problem with some sort of shutoff. You can get consistent draws after a day or so though if you get it dialed in. (just small trickle long draws) The flue pan will start to get more and more concentrated after a few days though. I started cleaning the pan after each sap run since I have been lucky enough to have a few days down time between sap runs when it freezes back up. The first time I ran it for almost 2 weeks without cleaning and niter build up was so excessive and color of syrup was way too dark for the time in the season. I found a piece of 5/16 tubing worked great for siphoning the concentrate sap out of the flues before cleaning.

[Kbrooks80]

I have the Smoky Lake 2x5 hybrid pan. When I shut down I will draw off some sweet to re sweeten the finish section of the pan. But I also have a piece of ss metal that I place over the hole between the flue section and the front to keep the sugar in the front. I will remove it as my temperature starts to come back up on my next boil. This really helps my gradient.

[fisheatingbagel]

I use a food grade silicon stopper from https://www.widgetco.com
I made a handle for it, and use it block the hole between sap and syrup pan

[Smokeshow]

When the pan is sweetened and I shut down I also get mixing of gradient but, 5 minutes after firing up it all settles back into the appropriate area of the pan. I also run at a depth of 2” in the pan and have never had an issue with pulling off syrup from 7 down to 6.

To reiterate, I finish on a stove top. If you’re looking to pull finished syrup off of your SMH pan I don’t think it’s the right pan for that approach.

[phil-t]

I have a Leader HalfPint - first year was last season and I thought the same as you. Then I realized that the pan had over 4 gal. of sap to start and in order to get syrup that 4 gal was going to have to get (average) to about to 2-3 gal of syrup before the first draw. That is about 100 gal of boiling with my 3.4 sap. That's in a 24X32 continuous flow pan. Once I started drawing, and it was finished syrup, I would get the expected syrup based on the sap I ran through. The draws seem to be 1/2 to 3/4 gal syrup with a long boiling periods in between. Seems that the whole last channel in the pan gets to near syrup before the draw. Anyways, I like the system and get along very well with it. I drain into a 5 gal pail every 3 or 4 boils (that's about 200 gal. of sap) and clean the pan. Put that draining back in the pan to start the next boil. My syrup is mostly light. When done for the season, I drain the pan and finish on propane. I do take my drawn syrup to the house and bring to a boil on propane, check density, filter it and bottle it.
Thinking of going with a Smokey Lake Full Pint Flue Pan to shorten my time in the sugar house.

[gatzow]

Thanks for all the comments. Boiled yesterday and all was good. Other than I didn’t get the thermometer dialed in exactly... I’ll have to work on that after the season again. It took about 140 gallons before it was ready to draw off but I pulled 3+ gallons off yesterday. Be patient and have confidence was the lesson learned.

[lafite]

140 gallons before my first draw is where I'm at. I also have a 2x4 hybrid. It can be frustrating after the initial boiling for hours without a draw. I've been using this for over 5 seasons and love my setup. I finish in a separate pan so getting close to syrup is my goal . I also draw off a 1-2 gallons of sweet when I shut down and incorporate it back into the pan when I start my next boil.