Evaporator Startup

[Amber Gold]

I filled my evaporator up for the first time today and noticed two things: the float leaks a bit, even when liquid is up to level. Is this a problem? Also set front/rear floats to so the pin is in the top slot in the float and the front pan is 1" deep and the rear pan is 2". Are these normal operating depths for pans? I thoughts depths of less than 1" is ideal.

Thanks

[3% Solution]

Hey AG,
Snowing down there??
The way I always look at the float seal and the level is this; It's a very rough way to control a liquid, it's not a shotoff. While your boiling it will be calling for sap so you will never know the difference.
As far as the deepths go, it's what you feel good with.
I run my pans at 1.25", but that's just me.
I am sure some other folks will chime in here.

Dave

[leavralph]

I run the level in both of my pans about 1 inch. You just need to be paying attention as things change fast but have never had any problems.

[Russell Lampron]

Josh,

The level in the rear pan sounds a bit high, I run mine about an inch over the flues. Until you get used to how it boils and what happens when you do a draw off you should run the front pan about 1.5" deep. I run mine at 1" and know that I get into trouble real fast if I run it less than that.

Did you get the problem with the pump figured out?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Mine is a drop flue, so I run the entire evaporator 1.5 to 2 inches. If mine were a raised flue like yours, I would probably run the rear pan at 1 inch and the front pan closer to 2 inches.

[danno]

Agree with Jeremy - make sure all valves (valves between the pans and valve between head tank and flue pan) are closed when you are done boiling. My last evap used to have leaky floats - this was not a problem when I was boiling, but came in the next morning a couple of times to find 50 gallons of sap on the floor that had overflowed the flue pan. Also had come in to find the syrup pan completely diluted with 8" of sap.

This was an annoyance - cause I don't like to shut down the valves while the arch is cooling for fear of scortch. I used to just flood the pans and close the valves.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Josh - I'd give yourself some leeway on the levels until you get some hours under your belt. I thought the feed system on that unit was constricted and you have modified it with a blower. I push foam into my float boxes all the time and the float thinks there is more liquid in the pan than there actually is there. Some blowers send more heat the the middle of the syrup pan than the outer edges and you'll have syrup in the middle of the pan before there is syrup at the drawoff. I'm thinking of tapping next weekend. Good Luck! Bruce

[maple flats]

I used to flood the pans for cool down too, but last season I started just raising 1/2" extra after my last fueling and shut down. The next morning I still had over 1/2" in both pans. I run mine at 3/4-1 in the front pan and about 3/4 in the rear (raised flue). In years before I added enough to raise it to 2.5-3" but find I like my new way better.

[DS Maple]

As others have said, don't worry about the floats not stopping sap. That's what valves are for. D&G make some of the nicest floats that I have seen and they would probably stop liquid, but when you're boiling you obviously won't need to stop it. Pan depth is really a factor of what you are comfortable with. I would start deep rather than shallow and learn a little about how the machine performs. Yes, you will make more light syrup by running the pans shallow, but if something goes wrong you really have to ask if the increased revenue from lighter syrup is going to make up for the new pan you're going to need.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Im always tweaking it as I go dont try to set your levels on a cold evaporator. You need the sap boiling to get an acurate reading. Sap boiling takes up more space than cool pans. As everyone has said start slow and if your unfamiler with the rig go heavey with the sap and slowley adjust the floats till its humming along. Dont over and then under adjust BABY STEPS then when you get it right count the holes or scratch a line on the float stem. Once you have it right and its rock solid perfect leave it alone.
If things go crazy and the levels drop or flood then you know its something else.........sticking lever, running out of sap, vapor lock, not paying attention you have to trust the floats BUT VERIFY. and never allow others to tinker with the controls unless they have written the check for the pans.

[Amber Gold]

I got a test fire with water in last night and under operation with the pin connected to the top slot on the float, the front pan is about 3/4" and the back pan was about 1 3/4"-2". I'd like to run them shallower when I get more comfortable, but I'm at maxed out on both floats with those depths. Does sap have a different density which will cause the float to rider higher resulting in a shallower pan depth?

Russ, with my limited electrical experiance the problem is in the motor starter switch. My electrician friend who helped with the electrical wired it and is on vacation this week until Thursday. I looked at the switch and it looks like everything is wire properly. I'm going to have him look at it when he gets back.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Yes it does thats how a sap Hydrometer can detect sap content. I never change my float setting from start to finish as sap density changes.

[Marion]

Can anyone give an enthusiastic newcomer with 150 bucket taps, a wood fired "Hobby Special" evaporator and a dire lack of knowledge the "Maple Syrup for Dummies" guide to starting up?

I boiled syrup last year in a large corn boil pan over a propane burner so didn't have any floats etc and really do need some help to get started on my new set up. Any assistance would be appreciated before I ruin my Xmas present!

[smitty76]

Welcome aboard. You came to the right place for info. Hard to cover all aspects here in one shot but alot of info and help here. The first thing I can recamend is haveing a safety bucket. That is a clean 5 gal bucket full of sap some were handy incase you have a low sap level in your pan and need to cool and add sap to your pan in a hurry. And whatch for freezing add lines from your bulk tank to evap when it is cold out. That is when you need the safety bucket. We all are chomping at the bit to get boiling but be sure you have all you need to get going. you will find that even with all kinds of advice you are going to fugire alot of it out by just doing it, trial and error. good luck, Smitty

[smitty76]

make sure you have a good thermometer and set your floats so that you have at least an inch of sap or more over the bottom of the pan or flues. As you get more experienced with your rig you can fine tune your floats and drawoff temps to be more productive.

[Grade "A"]

Keep an eye on your syrup pan when you start up. You can have syrup in the middle channel and not buy your draw-off when you first start, after it gets flowing you should be ok. Like Smitty said, a bucket of sap can be a pan saver. I would run about 1.5" of sap/syrup untill you feel good with it, then drop the level by 1/4" at a time. 1" is good for us, 3/4" you have to keep a extra eye on it. The first couple of time boiling can make you tence but you will get use to it quickly.

[Amber Gold]

On my 2.5x8 how much sap should I wait for until I run my first boil? I collected about 30 gallons yesterday and it looks like I'll get another 150 gallons or so today and some more tomorrow. I think my pans hold about 50 gallons of sap. I was thinking of boiling late tomorrow afternoon with whatever I get at that point. I'm guessing I'll have 250-300 gallons. How many gallons of sap will it take to establish a gradient and get a draw-off?

Thanks

[maplwrks]

It will probably take all of the 250-300 gallons

[Dill]

How about my 2x4 what should I build up for sap before startup? 50 gallons? 100? At least there is snow around if need be.

[Amber Gold]

I've heard people starting up 2x6's with 130-150 gallons. I'd say 100 gallons would be fine.

[Russell Lampron]

I like to have 300 gallons to sweeten the pans on my 2x6. That way I can get the pans sweet and draw off 2 or 3 gallons of syrup.

[maple flats]

I have always used the figure of 3 times what the evaporator will hold. My 3x8 only holds about 30 gal the way I run it. I like 90-100 min. I will boil tomorrow for first time this season as i have 160 at sugarhouse plus any that ran after noon today. Only have 200 taps going into tanks now, other tanks will be set tomorrow. On old tubing i tap one day and set tanks the next. I know, i could make valuable syrup from the first drip but I don't!

[NH Maplemaker]

Dave, I'm with you on that!! Would rather see anything from line on the ground, not in the tank !!

Jim L.