Thermometer Ports

[Amber Gold]

I need to have thermometer ports installed on my syrup pan. I'm going to put them in through the float box about 1.5 inches up and have them angled down so the tip is just above the bottom of the pan. I have a 6" long thermometer probe in a 4" wide float box. The probe will just make it into the syrup channel. Is this fine or should the probe tip be in the middle of the channel?

[Bucket Head]

I think the probe should make it to the center of the channel for an accurate reading.

Hopefully some folks who have the stem type therms. will chime in.

Steve

[Haynes Forest Products]

AMBER GOLD: I wouldnt put it in the float box thats not near the draw off and thats the place for it. When you say the middle of the channel do you mean at the end of the last channel near your draw off valve. That is the place you want it. I posted a possible solution earler under thermometer quick ports. My pans hace them in the valve box on the sides and they do angle down. I think that is done so you can pull the guage out when the pans are full. I have run my pans so low that the temp went wild and was in the steam not the liquid and that gets you going.

[DS Maple]

Josh,
I'm not exactly sure what your pan is like, but maybe you can see from the picture how we set ours up. In my opinion, just drill a hole through the top of the float box so that a thermometer can go through and rest just inside of the pan. We have ports and thermometers for both sides, but never use them because they create an obstacle in the pan for skimmers, scoops etc. I think that a small hole and a digital thermometer is a pretty easy solution.

[Haynes Forest Products]

D S Maple: I think we are all getting confused about the term "float box" That looks like the draw off box. Any float box on my evaporator or have seen has eather raw sap from the head tank or sap from the flue pan. Knowing the temp in those areas might be nice to know they are not crucial to the operation.
Skimming crud out of the drawoff box isnt that importan it will come out with the syrup during the draw and get filterd

[DS Maple]

This evaporator is a reverse flow design, so one day that will be a float box and the next it will be a draw-off box. When the thermometer is in it it is being used as the draw-off box. Also, the ports I was referring to are not located on the box, but but on the side of the pan itself. With the thermometers installed, it creates an obstacle in the pan. When the thermometer says there's syrup ready to be drawn out I always check with the hydrometer, and with the thermometers installed in the ports, it is oftentimes difficult to get a nice scoop of syrup to drop in the hydrometer cup. All setups are different though, so maybe this is an issue specific to this machine.

[Haynes Forest Products]

DSMaple: did you see my post on removable thermometer ports? They might make reversing flow alot quicker. Why not check your syrup from the drawoff after all that is the syrup thats most important. I think scooping syrup from the channels and trying to pour it into the cup as it cools is the hard way. If you take a sample from the valve and than pour back into the evap your cup is hot and the hydrometer then draw a full hot sample. No gloves no mess accurate test.

[DS Maple]

I did see the post, but that's not much of an issue. I'm pretty sure we have two screw-in thermometers so there wouldn't be a need to remove anything when reversing the flow. As far as testing is concerned, I like to know what's going on everywhere. Sometimes the stuff at the box won't be there yet, but somewhere else in the pan has reached the density of syrup already. I guess I just like to know everything and be in full control. On the other hand, if the evaporator was larger and say taller, I would certainly go with whatever reading comes from the syrup right out of the valve.

[Amber Gold]

Scott, that's exactly what I want to do. For some reason my pan was constructed without thermometer ports at all and I want them on there. I'm not comfortable boiling without them. With the size thermometer and float box I have the tip of the probe will end up about 1/2" to 1" inside of the channel in the pan.

Thanks

[DS Maple]

That should be fine, as long as it's in the channel. I would only worry if the reading was coming from somewhere inside the draw-off box.
Just out of curiosity, what type thermometer are you using? That digital Hanna one has been real good to us, despite us not being very good to it. (Dropped it inside the boiling syrup pan on more than one occasion.)

[Amber Gold]

Using your standard 0-50 degree dial thermometer.

[maple flats]

I have a thermometer on each side. I had to install the fittings. I punched the proper size hole so I could solder (lead free) a female adapter in place. I got a female adapter that was3/8 copper sweat x 1/2 FIP, this gave me a bigger surface to surface solder in place. I then added a 1/2 x 1/4 bushing to mount the thermometer. To solder it use an elec soldering iron or an old torch heated iron, well tinned. If you use a torch on the thin ss surface you will warp it but using a soldering iron will eliminate this problem. However, after you solder it if you get a small leak you can seal it on the outside with hi temp silicone sealant.