Homemade Pan Question

[elmcreekmaple]

I will be having a pan made - do I need partitions? Does the sap flow through the opposite holes as the density rises or how does that work or do I have to move the sap along manually? It dosn't make sense to me.

aaron

[RileySugarbush]

The partitions have good size openings on alternating ends making the sap travel along a zig zag path.

It makes the pan act as if it were a very long narrow trough. The dividers make it narrow enough that syrup can't mix back to the dilute spot.

Since all along the length of the virtual trough there is evaporation taking place, the further you look from where the sap is introduced, the shallower the sap would get. Since it wants to be level, just like any well behaved liquid, the sap flows to even the depth out and that is how the gradient gets set up. As long as the pan is clean and the fire underneath is reasonable level it takes care of itself. Dilute sap in one end and syrup near the other, taken out in various draws from a continuous trickle to gulps, depending on the operator's preference.

One problem is syrup isn't always a well behaved liquid, so keep a close watch on things!

[Clan Delaney]

I just wanted to say that that is the best explanation I have ever read for why syrup will flow towards the drawoff. The notion that lighter sap pushes along the heavier, denser syrup never sat quite right with me. This however, makes perfect sense. In my head anyway. Thanks!

[RileySugarbush]

You're welcome, Patrick. Glad it came across ok.