changing direction

[maplekid]

i have a 4x5 syrup pan that came off a leader drop flue. well when we installed the arch we made it so that i can only draw from one side of the pan. do i have to switch direction every time i boil or do i just take the pan off and claen it after every one or two boils. there are pictures in the link in my signature.


thanks in advance,nate

[brookledge]

reversing flow in a syrup pan is designed to keep the nitre from building up. If you don't you will have to clean it by hand. I suppose you could drain the syrup pan and boil some water or raw sap to get the nitre to release but it makes for alot of work. I reverse flow as needed and sometimes it is every 4 hours and other times it can be every 16 hours.
But to answer your question yes you can clean them after a boil. But there may come a time when you need to clean them after a half a day. You just need to watch it to deterine when it needs to be cleaned.
keith

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Nate,

With as big as your pan is and the number of taps you have, you may be able to go the entire season without cleaning the syrup pan. I used to run at least double that many taps on a 5x7 King SS syrup pan and I didn't have to clean it for the entire season.