Frozen sap in flue pan

[Low budget maple]

I have recently upgraded to a flue pan from my old long days with a flat pan. My shack new shack will not be complete by the new season. I am forced to play out in the weather. Will the drop flues freeze and and destroy my new toy ??? Any advise is greatly appriciated

[red maples]

newbie here, but I wouldn't think so the increase in volume and pressure from expansion due to freezing would be forced up, right. Besides do many guys have heated sugarhouses? I know some do so but many don't they would be cold inside too. if you are worried just drain it low enough so you don't worry, if it freezes. just my thought.

[3rdgen.maple]

Just put a heat lamp inside of the arch at night it is better to be safe than sorry. Being outside the wind chill factor comes into play.

[smitty76]

I have a flue pan in a un-heated sap house and it has frozen several times. After you boil in it the first time and get the sugar content up some it does not freeze completely solid, at least not for me in 0 degree weather. I have been useing that solder pan for 17 yrs now with no problems

[woodshillmaple]

The windchill doesn't really matter on non-living things. The only thing it will do is make it cool off more quickly but will not take the temperature below what the actual temperature is. For example, if it is 15 degrees out with a windchill of -5 the temperature of the evaporator will still only get down to 15 degrees.

[Low budget maple]

That you folks !!! I thought the same but as we all know stainless is pricey and I just wanted to be safe. Tap on !!

[nymapleguy607]

I plan on only completly draining my new evaporator during extended periods of cold weather. I was always taught better safe than sorry. Plus it gives me the oportunity to clean everything good.

[KenWP]

Anytime I had to leave my pan full for the night it never froze. Did get a skim of ice once. Most nights it never had time to get cold as I was back at it the next day so early. This year might be different thou so time will tell.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Just because the pans are taperd doesnt mean the ice as its forming will raise up and not hurt the pans. It takes great force to the sides of the pan before it will move up and at that time its curtains for the pans. I have never drained my pans and have gone gays before reheating and never had a problem. BUT I never set fire to my pans until the last time I used them :mad: :emb: :mad: :cry:

[brookledge]

I agree that you can leave it without a problem. One thing that I usually do to see how frozen it is, is to poke into the ice in the flues. Since the sap is concentrated so high it usually looks frozen solid until you push into it and it is only slushy
Keith

[smitty76]

BUT I never set fire to my pans until the last time I used them :mad: :emb: :mad: :cry:

what? I do not understand.

[KenWP]

Sort of like finding something in the last place you look. Only has to happen once and your done for.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Smitty Ken is on to me I was referancing that I never set fire to my pans until the first time I set fire to my pans...............And yes were talking flames shooting out of the finish pans and Im outside looking around at the coupla wondering what the smell is :mad: So what Im getting at is there is always a first time. Lets say you fill your pans and start the evaperator and you get shut down for some reason and things freeze up thats when things could go bad so we need to know all the reasons why it will and will not freeze and break things. Most new evaps have ball valves on them. When we shut them is after we have cleaned the pans and if we shut them when they have clear water coming out the valve we trap water in the ball of the valve and the casting around the valve and that can be a big freeze break without knowing untill it thaws.

[Amber Gold]

I agree you can leave the sap in the pans becuase there's room for the sap to expand up as it freezes. What worries me is if the piping or valves freeze. I have gate valves between my pans so I won't get the ball of ice (which I did get once coming out of my head tank and didn't realize that until the evaporator was roaring away and not getting any sap...oops). I can get the valve to freeze to the seat and if enough hot sap doesn't get into the pipe it will remain frozen.

Another thing that's worried me is the float and float box freezing...not sure what to do about that. Maybe plug the three pipes and pull it off and drain.

[red maples]

oh yeah amber I never thought about that! I'll have to remember.

[HHM-07]

If it is going to freeze up for a spell i put a heat lamp inside the arch plug it in and shut the door, that keeps thing from freezing and i don't have to worry about it



Dick

[red maples]

thats probably what I will too. it worked when I was bricking it...it stayed about 70F with the light in there at 30 F outside!!

[Mark]

If you have ice in the pans heat it up very slow. I had ice in a finisher and turned on the oil burner. I saw the ice lift off the pan bottom and steam form below it. I quickly turned the burner off but still got a warp in the pan. I am talking only about five seconds.

[Haynes Forest Products]

If freeze up is a problem Get yourself a flue pipe cap that will close and seal up so You dont have the cold air coming down speeding the prosess up its like leaving the door open BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[PerryW]

I let my flue pan freeze up as hard as a rock. If I know it's gonna freeze hard, I will get the sap level as low as possible (less than 1" above the flues).

Sometimes a cold snap will last a week, so running a heat lamp in my drafty sugarhouse if not an option. And if I drain it into something else; that will freeze too.