Reversing flow on Leader 2x4 Drop Flue

[PerryW]

I'm trying to give advice over the phone to someone who has been boiling his first season on his leader 2x4 drop flue. He made about 5 gallons of syrup and has not reversed the flow, do I had him drain the front pan and he found lots of buildup on the drawoff side. He has cleaned the pans and is ready to boil again.

It sounds like he can reverse the flow on on the FRONT pan on this unit, but he has to pull the pan and physically rotate the pan 180 degrees and reinstall it. Also, there are no valves to shut off the flow from the back pan, so he has to drain the whole thing???

Has anyone solved this problem by installing valves or plugs to make the reversing easier?

Any ideas?

Am I missing something?

[maple marc]

Perry,

I have a 2x4 WSE and it took me a couple of times to get it figured out. Here's what I do:

Buy a couple of rubber plugs at the hardware store. I found plugs that fit the connector holes perfectly. From inside the syrup pan, plug the hole that leads in from the back pan. Then, working quickly with a bucket underneath to cath any spills, loosen the clamps on the connector between the two pans. Remove completely the clamp on the syrup pan end, then rotate the connector up so that the back pan cannot drain. Sounds more complicated than it is. At this point you can choose to drain the front pan through the take-off valve or leave sap there. Draining makes it easier to lift and rotate, and you may want to give the pan a quick blast with a water hose to remove scale. There are about 5 gallons in the front pan. Remove the take-off valve (after plugging if you choose not to drain), disconnect the bracket holding the float box to the front pan, then rotate the front pan 180 degrees. Reconnect, dump the sap back in and you are back in business.

A little trick to handle the gasket between the pans: run a length of coat hanger wire the length of the gasket. This makes it like a hotdog on a skewer--stiff and easy to handle and reposition after the rotation.

I made 30 gallons on my 2x4 this year, in 10 boils. I think I rotated twice. One of those times I cleaned out the front pan with a garden hose.

Let me know if you have any more questions.