OK this isn't killing me anymore

[morningstarfarm]

got about 200 taps in since thursday..took my time and assembled the tubing as I tapped..didn't come out too bad for a rookie. Have about 70 gals of sap so far, thinking with the weather outlook that I'm going to fire up and sweeten the pans tomorrow evening. Now I'm worrying about the first fire with a 2x6..have a 2x3 drop flu and a 2x3 channel pan in front..do I need to watch for anything while I'm getting her started? the flu pan really roars and I'm worring about the front pan running properly? should I draw off and put it back in the flu pan to get her running?

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Just fill it a couple inches deep and start her up. It will create the gradient on its own. Takes quite a while to get your first syrup but then you will draw at fairly regular intervals.

[PARKER MAPLE]

Ive heard the word gradient used alot and tried to figured it out for myself what it is. could some one explane this to me..i have the same type setup
2x3 rear drop flue and 4 section 2x3 front pan. thanks
m/r

[3rdgen.maple]

Rookie the best way I can explain it is like this, as the water is being evaporated the sugar content gets higher. The closer it get to the drawoff the higher the sugar content gets, as the raw sap is entering the flue pan it pushes the higher concentrate forward. Hence the word gradient. Hope that helps.

[PARKER MAPLE]

awesome 3rdgen, i got it now, it makes for like a positve flow towards your draw off, because of the temp diffences in the pan as you get futher away from the draw off... thanks

[Sugarmaker]

Gradient as I understand it is more about the syrup density then the temp. Thicker, heavier syrup is general pushed by the thinner sap. If you were to boil in a single pan you would not be able to have this but in a partitioned pan system the syrup is general pushed away from the raw sap. Having said that I have see syrup made in the center sections of a front pan on the first start up. ( This could lead to scorched pans:() This is because the side partitions may be running a little cooler and some less dense sap near the draw off has not boiled enough. The fire in the center of the front pan may be hotter and the syrup gets cooked there first. (I am talking about a reverse flow system here)
Good idea to watch all areas of the evaporator when starting to make sure you know where the syrup is being made. You can help this initial process by moving some sap or syrup to get the gradient working in your favor.

I am sure there are much more technical explanation than I have given.

Regards,
Chris

[PARKER MAPLE]

Ok i thought i had it understood, i thought that with thicker denser syrup came higher temps, for instence 219. finish syrup temp. so there for as i reach 219 the syrup is near completion. so as i draw off the nearly completed or completed syrup at the 219degree, i wait to see a drop in temp of apprx 2 degrees 217> thinner unfinished syrup. this is were the gradient is if i fallow you right. somebody please straighten me out. :confused:

is there a doctor in the house:lol:
maple rookie:confused:

[3rdgen.maple]

You got it Rookie. Sugarmaker is right also. But like you noted with a higher sugar content comes the hotter sap temps, but you can maintain a gradient in a pan without heat because the longer the sap has traveled through your pans the denser it is and the less dense sap pushes it with minimal dilution. So when it is shut down it will hold its gradient (density) throughout your pans. Man it is funny how somethings so simple are hard to explain. Take note to what sugarmaker pointed out as well you need to have divided pans to be able to do this. If not you are gonna have what we call a batch boil. Where the whole pan reaches a gradient until it reaches syrup.

[PARKER MAPLE]

ok thanks you guys for getting me back on the right tack. my front pan is a 2x3 with four sections, and draw offs on each side. so it should be as we talked about.
:D
m/r