A question evaporators

[gleasondaddy]

have used a flat pan to evaporate what little syrup ive done i the past. My question is, how does the channeled evaporators work?
How does the sap run though the channels and go from sap at one end to syrup at the other. Thanks.

[ackerman75]

You keep a steady stream of sap comming in the pan to maintain your depth in the pan, the new sap comming in pushes the more dense sap forward, so the closer it is to the drawoff valve the closer it is to "syrup"

[Clan Delaney]

I'm moving this thread to the Evaporators section, since it appears to be about the workings of the evaporator pan.

gleasondaddy- I have to admit, I've wondered the same thing myself. I gave up trying to figure it out, and just accept that it works. :) Still curious though!

[Bucket Head]

Despite the syrup having a higher sugar density, overall it is less dense than the sap and "almost syrup". Syrup is syrup when its seven degrees higher than what the sap boils at. So it is "lighter" than the sap. Hot air and hot water rises because it is lighter than the cooler air and water. So the "heavy" sap and almost syrup pushes the syrup along.

Early tractors and Henry's famous Model T used this principle in their cooling systems. Hot water would rise from the engine to the radiator. It would then be cooled by air passing through the radiator. The cooler water would then fall to the rad. outlet, and then head back to the engine.

It would create its own current. No water pumps on those tractors or the T's!

So, an evaporator makes its own "current" once its up to operating temperature.

Steve

[Haynes Forest Products]

As the sap Condenses down due to evaporation new sap enters the evaporator to fill the void. the sap/syrup that is closest to the drawoff has been in the evaporator the longest so it has condensed down the most. As the sap turns to syrup it shrinks in size because of evaporation. New sap is drawn thru the channels to take the place of the evaporating liquid.
If you were to take and put all the individual channels end to end you would have one long evaporator. For ease of fireing and space its arranged with flues and valves and channels to control flow and the mixing of finished syrup from the sap allowing for continous draw off syrup...........I THINK