Sap level in pan

[eiger99]

I have a running debate with friends that I boil on what level should be in my pan. I try to keep it low around 1.5 -2 inches deep. Others suggest 2.5-3 inches deep. My concern is the more in the pan the less heat (boil) but the benefit is potentially more per hour. Can anyone suggest a recommended height for a 2x3 pan around 6-7 inches deep. See attached photo.

Thank you

Chuck Belanger

[CityMaple]

that is what i try to keep my little pan at. usually right around 2 is good for me. if it is right or not i will leave to the more experianced.

[barrelstove]

sounds right in my experience. ive had mine at a rolling boil with 3.5 before but i had a crowd distracting me. if im watchin it close i usually run
around 2" and my setup is very similar to yours.

[SeanD]

I have a 2x3 and try to keep it under 2", but I'll go deeper if I need a bathroom run, etc. The lower you keep it, the closer you have to watch it, but it will require less heat/fuel for the boil and you'll get a slightly higher gph. I say slightly because you can only tweak a 2x3 pan so much. I got around 6gph out of mine when I was using it by itself.

BTW, nice pan. How do you handle 80 taps? Are you able to boil all day, every day?

Sean

[Dave Puhl]

As the bubble forms on the bottom of the pan the deeper the liqiud the more the boil bubble has to move through the liqiud which cools and which equals less evaporation

[eiger99]

We have since converted to oil fired from wood last year but it requires boiling after work every night and weekends. Luckly I have a few friends that help.

[SeanD]

I'm just noticing the shack in your avatar. That's got to make all the difference keeping up with the sap. I'm still outside and at the mercy of the elements - literally. This year we had the tough combo of huge runs and awful weather. I was over my head in sap and getting my butt kicked by wind, rain, and snow. I need to be more careful what I wish for.

[ennismaple]

Your best boil will always be when the sap is as shallow as you dare run your pans without burning them. If my nerves can take it I'll boil at 1.75" If my levels start to get a bit below that I start to get worried.. Over 2" and you get larger slugs of finished syrup and of course more time between draw offs - which results in darker syrup.

[Maxfields Maple]

I must be daring, ive got and old grimm 2/4.Its got the plug between the front and rear pan to add sap as needed.I run about 4inch in the moring till it boils down,from there out i run about 1/2 to 3/4 and add as needed.I can poor of about a qaurt of syrup each time.It boils much harder and faster,and when i add, it doest stop the boil.But....you must stay on top of that pan with bolth eyes and nose,couse it will change quick.I make more this way than running 2 or 3 inches.I do bring the level up if i leave for a few minuts.hoping for 20 gallons this year

[powerdub]

I have gone from 3/4 to 2 inches and have not seen any difference in the gallons of syrup made per hour. I run mine closer the 2" mark now mostly for peace of mind and the knowledge that for me it doesn't seem to make a difference at the end of the day.

[super sappy]

I was getting rammy one nite and wanted to finish up so I ran the flu pan at about 1/2 inch over the tops of the flues on the fill tube. The sight tube was bouncing so bad that I could not tell my actual ht. It was really raging back there. It seemed to go faster but the ammount of sap boiled over a 2 hour period was not noticable. I think that It seemed to go faster because I was watching it closer etc. So I went back to 1 inch where I will most likely stay. I also ran my syrup pan deeper this year at 1 ". It seemed like alot but It worked out ok. -My 1 cent -ss

[peacemaker]

i have a home made 2x6 with a 2x2 2 sect front pan and a 2x4 3 section back ... i have noticed with this if i run above 1 1/2 inchs it takes so long to make syrup my color comes up and takes two hours to make a half gal drop them down to about 1 inch to 3/4 and i am boiling off 20 or more gals a hour and continous pour for atleast 45 minutes and the other night 1 hour and a half above 11/2 its more like batch boil fill the pans drop por fill the pans drop pour ..as ss can say she isnt a pretty rig but she works well ...

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I can't really see any difference in my evaporator at 1" or 2" deep, so I usually run it 1.5 to 2", usually 2" if someone else is boiling for me when I am working.

[PA mapler]

I had been running at 2", but decided to try 1" to see if I could get my color to lighten up. The 1" was just too touchy for me, and I think I'll try 1.25-1.5" next. The syrup would go from low density to too high in the space of a minute, like if you threw in an extra chunk of wood and the fire ran extra hotter.

[jason waterhouse]

i run an 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 i ve experimented with running less didnt turn out well:rolleyes:

[Russell Lampron]

I run mine at 1" and watch it close. I run at 1.25" when I am making dark syrup because it will burn easier. I run my flue pan at 1/2 pipe or about 3/4" over the flues. We have been working on improving the gph this year and we are now firing about every 3 to 4 minutes with kindling size wood and drawing off about every 8 to 10 minutes. Saturday night we boiled off 190 gallons of sap in less than 1.75 hours and last night did 130 gallons in 1.5 hours start to finish. It was a "last boil" type of atmosphere last night and we weren't watching it as close. The electric evaporator was cranking out the concentrate at 9%.