10 years of making sugar

[girmann]

Hey all,

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted, but I just wanted to pop in, since it looks like this is going to be an amazing run this week in CT. I’m still just making about a gallon of syrup per year on 8 trees and buckets. I’ve had a lot of fun, learned a lot, and made a ton of gifts for people. I love going from sap to syrup on the day harvesting and love to taste the syrup as it changes through the season. That first taste of syrup is always the sweetest!

I still haven’t figured out how to perfectly filter such a small quantity of syrup, so I’ve just given up and I let it settle out now and pour off the clear after a few days. Most of the filters people use is designed for much larger quantities of syrup that might trap a few cups of syrup, but that might be my whole product for the day.

My setup is almost the same, nothing fancy. Two restaurant pans over a propane fired, double burner camp stove (one to preheat and one that keeps a constant boil). I use about one 20lb propane tank’s worth of fuel every year. I boil at about 1-2 gallons an hour. This year I’m upgrading to a double 20lb tank setup to keep the tank from freezing. More tank surface area = more BTUs. I also built a wind deflector out of a plastic patio storage unit(looks like https://www.target.com/p/toomax-stora-way-all-weather-outdoor-horizontal-storage-shed-cabinet-for-trash-cans-garden-tools-and-yard-equipment-taupe-grey-anthracite/-/A-81855254#lnk=sametab) bought on clearance at the end of the season. I lined it with foam insulation to make sure I don’t melt it! During most of the year it stores all the outdoor games and furniture, but come sugar season, I clear it out and use it as a wind deflector.

Buckets are a pain and I have to haul them from the neighbor’s yard (I’ve got reds, they’ve got sugars… it’s a no brainer!), but never went to taps and tubing. It’s great exercise! Or at least that’s what I tell myself as I’m lugging two buckets at a time 300’ uphill.

Anyway, just wanted to pop in, talk about what I’m doing and cheer everyone on in the perfect weather in southern NE.

Once I set things up tonight, I’ll post pictures.

[TheNamelessPoet]

I can't wait to see! I love seeing these home setups. Makes me remember I am not crazy lol.

What did you get to attach the 2 tanks together? Do they run 1 at a time, or both at the same time? it is something I have tinkered with, I just found other fun things to blow my budget out of the water with lol.

[DrTimPerkins]

Makes me remember I am not crazy lol..

Looking at the progression of your operation over the past three years gives me pause to doubt that statement. You've definitely caught the maple bug. :lol:

[jrm]

This year I’m upgrading to a double 20lb tank setup to keep the tank from freezing.

This is the 2nd post I've read today that talks about propane tanks freezing. I've not heard of that. My initial years I ran on a homemade drum evaporator. I didn't boil last year. After shoulder surgery in late 2017, I switched to a set-up similar to yours - two steam pans on a high BTU double-burner camp stove. In 2019 added two valves to an 8qt SS stock pot and rest that across the two pans to preheat and allow a slow drip into the boiling steam pans. My windblock has been cinder blocks on the deck table behind my stove. I'm thinking this year of trying to use my modified stock pot to help with bottling at proper temp.

For filtering, I've never tried the let it sit method. I do have a 1 qt Orlon filter, and as you say it does hold syrup. About four years back, I began using 10" Cooking Oil/Grease filters, which works pretty well.

[TheNamelessPoet]

Looking at the progression of your operation over the past three years gives me pause to doubt that statement. You've definitely caught the maple bug. :lol:

Yea I have lol


This is the 2nd post I've read today that talks about propane tanks freezing. I've not heard of that. My initial years I ran on a homemade drum evaporator. I didn't boil last year. After shoulder surgery in late 2017, I switched to a set-up similar to yours - two steam pans on a high BTU double-burner camp stove. In 2019 added two valves to an 8qt SS stock pot and rest that across the two pans to preheat and allow a slow drip into the boiling steam pans. My windblock has been cinder blocks on the deck table behind my stove. I'm thinking this year of trying to use my modified stock pot to help with bottling at proper temp.

For filtering, I've never tried the let it sit method. I do have a 1 qt Orlon filter, and as you say it does hold syrup. About four years back, I began using 10" Cooking Oil/Grease filters, which works pretty well.

I have had it freeze on me once, it sucks. They always seem to frost up on the sides, but generally I try and swap them out every 3-4 hours anyway to avoid that. Someone explained it to me that it has to do with how fast the gas is being used it lowers the temperature even faster. Kind of like a can of air people use to clean out their computer keyboards.

[DrTimPerkins]

I have had it freeze on me once, it sucks. They always seem to frost up on the sides, but generally I try and swap them out every 3-4 hours anyway to avoid that. Someone explained it to me that it has to do with how fast the gas is being used it lowers the temperature even faster. Kind of like a can of air people use to clean out their computer keyboards.

Same kind of thing can happen around microleaks in maple mainline, typically around saddles. The venturi effect causes a local temperature drop which sucks moisture into the mainline and freezes. This plugs the leak, but also plugs the mainline. With the leak plugged it then thaws out and the leak develops again. This sort of leak can be a bugger to locate since it is intermittent. You have to look for frost on the mainline as you're walking along. Wish I could post a photo.

[girmann]

I like your setup!

I’ve noticed that when the temperature gets below around 25F, the flame on the camp stove will start decreasing. If you look at the outside of the propane tank, you’ll see lots of frozen condensation on the outside. What’s happening is that you can only burn propane that’s in gas form. And the lower the temperature goes, the slower it converts from liquid to gas. That’s why the flame goes down. Having more surface area helps, because it can only turn from liquid to gas on the surface. It doesn’t bubble up like soda.


This is the 2nd post I've read today that talks about propane tanks freezing. I've not heard of that. My initial years I ran on a homemade drum evaporator. I didn't boil last year. After shoulder surgery in late 2017, I switched to a set-up similar to yours - two steam pans on a high BTU double-burner camp stove. In 2019 added two valves to an 8qt SS stock pot and rest that across the two pans to preheat and allow a slow drip into the boiling steam pans. My windblock has been cinder blocks on the deck table behind my stove. I'm thinking this year of trying to use my modified stock pot to help with bottling at proper temp.

For filtering, I've never tried the let it sit method. I do have a 1 qt Orlon filter, and as you say it does hold syrup. About four years back, I began using 10" Cooking Oil/Grease filters, which works pretty well.

[ronewold]

The physics of propane bottles is pretty fun. The propane in the bottle is mostly liquid, and a little pressurized gas at the top. It sits there at equilibrium when you aren't taking any gas out of the bottle. When you use gas, the pressure drops, and that lowers the boiling point of the liquid. When it is not under a lot of extra pressure, the propane boils around -40f. So as long as your propane bottle is warmer than -40, the boiling automatically replenishes the supply of gas in the top of the bottle. However, changes in phase (boiling and freezing) take a LOT of energy. If you are boiling water or sap, that energy comes from the fire, and when you are boiling propane, that energy comes mostly from the warmer air around the bottle, but you also get a fair amount of energy from the water freezing on the outside of the bottle (freezing releases lots of energy, while boiling absorbs lots of energy). So for a while, that frost is actually helping you. Until the bottle is really covered in frost, and then it just acts as insulation!
As you draw propane out of the bottle, the temperature inside drops, and the air and frost outside the bottle add heat to make up for that. If you are taking too much heat out and the air can't add it back fast enough, your liquid propane will eventually reach -40 and stop boiling, and gas won't flow. If the ambient air temp is actually -40, you can't use propane gas at all!
The big advantage of using multiple propane bottles is that they have lots more surface area exposed to the air, which is where they are getting the heat they need to boil the liquid.
Folks probably already know this stuff, but I just get a kick out of these processes.

[Gord]

As far as filtering goes, I only make a little at a time as well. I was having a hard time filtering, and was ending up with cloudy syrup. And I like using bottles. I switched to the thick cone filter and now get crystal clear syrup every time. I filter the concentrate coming off the evaporator in to a stock pot, then finish on propane. So the filter doesn't get clogged so fast, I reach down to the bottom of the thick cone filter as it's hanging, and pull it up from the center, kind of like making a hat. Then I pour the hot finished syrup right off the propane burner in to the "hat". As the flow starts to slow down, I push the center of the filter down and keep doing so until it's all the way to the bottom. The idea being, you're using more clean surface area, and more of the filter is being used than just the bottom. This has probably been said before, but figured I'd share it again.

[TheNamelessPoet]

The physics of propane bottles is pretty fun. The propane in the bottle is mostly liquid, and a little pressurized gas at the top. It sits there at equilibrium when you aren't taking any gas out of the bottle. When you use gas, the pressure drops, and that lowers the boiling point of the liquid. When it is not under a lot of extra pressure, the propane boils around -40f. So as long as your propane bottle is warmer than -40, the boiling automatically replenishes the supply of gas in the top of the bottle. However, changes in phase (boiling and freezing) take a LOT of energy. If you are boiling water or sap, that energy comes from the fire, and when you are boiling propane, that energy comes mostly from the warmer air around the bottle, but you also get a fair amount of energy from the water freezing on the outside of the bottle (freezing releases lots of energy, while boiling absorbs lots of energy). So for a while, that frost is actually helping you. Until the bottle is really covered in frost, and then it just acts as insulation!
As you draw propane out of the bottle, the temperature inside drops, and the air and frost outside the bottle add heat to make up for that. If you are taking too much heat out and the air can't add it back fast enough, your liquid propane will eventually reach -40 and stop boiling, and gas won't flow. If the ambient air temp is actually -40, you can't use propane gas at all!
The big advantage of using multiple propane bottles is that they have lots more surface area exposed to the air, which is where they are getting the heat they need to boil the liquid.
Folks probably already know this stuff, but I just get a kick out of these processes.
I was going to ask my dad (HVAC contractor) and I just never remember when he is over. Thanks for the info!

As far as filtering goes, I only make a little at a time as well. I was having a hard time filtering, and was ending up with cloudy syrup. And I like using bottles. I switched to the thick cone filter and now get crystal clear syrup every time. I filter the concentrate coming off the evaporator in to a stock pot, then finish on propane. So the filter doesn't get clogged so fast, I reach down to the bottom of the thick cone filter as it's hanging, and pull it up from the center, kind of like making a hat. Then I pour the hot finished syrup right off the propane burner in to the "hat". As the flow starts to slow down, I push the center of the filter down and keep doing so until it's all the way to the bottom. The idea being, you're using more clean surface area, and more of the filter is being used than just the bottom. This has probably been said before, but figured I'd share it again.
2-3 years ago at the annual meeting they talked about doing that. In fact someone was selling cone filter holders that did exactly what you are saying, I don't make enough to make it a good idea, but it was pretty smart IMHO