Burnt Sap Line on Steam pans

[valleyman]

Just two days ago I said I had enough for now but the sap was running so well I just couldnt pass up another boil. Friday, and Sunday, (my wife isnt thrilled with me but the sap was a callin' me.)

I'm surrendering to the fact that I'm not gettinig any fancy grade this season. I boiled fresh sap from bucket to pans yesterday and I still got beautiful dark amber (again).

Another design flaw in my block evaporator is that my pans sit deep into the fire box and I always get the burnt sap line 2-3" up and after hours of boiling I can see the foam release some of the burnt sap and it starts to color my syrup. Short of a mid season design change, any of you have any quick fixes to keep my pans from getting the burnt sap line.

Thanks for any suggestions

[RileySugarbush]

If that line bothers you the only thing to do is keep the sides of the pan cool. Set the pan on top instead of dropping them in. Or drop them half way and keep your sap deeper so the level is above the hot area. If you ladle from one end to the other you can probably leave the first couple of pans set deep since you don't get as much burning with more dilute sap.

With the pans set in it is best to run them deep anyway since the sap on the hot sides will help with your efficiency.

If you really want fancy syrup this isn't the best way to do it, but it makes some of the best tasting medium to dark amber around. Go with your strengths!

[Peepers]

I'm working on my block arch right now to get my kitchen sink pan up and out of the fire this year. I run in batches so last year between batches I would scrub the you-know-what out of the pans with a copper pot scrubber to get that burnt stuff off. Towards the end of the year I just left it on and found that I actually like the darker syrup better. Most everyone else I know likes the light stuff tho so time to rid myself of the scorch line.

Saps not running here yet so I still have a few days to complete my improved block arch. My "real" job got in the way tonight tho.

Every year is an experiment... :)

[Haynes Forest Products]

Can you get some fire blanket and put a layer on top and the sides of the pan area so it holds the pan up a little and sheilds some of the heat away

[valleyman]

My buddy is a plumber and he said they use fire blanket often. I'll let him know I NEED some and see if he can help out.

That material will withstand an arch fire for hours on end?

Another mapletrader at one point suggested the commercial ceiling tiles , you know the ire retardent ones. I used it on my first boil but it started burning a little towards the end and I was concerned with the health of my syrup (and myself) so I stopped using it. The pans were still deep but that material was great to snug up the top.

[RileySugarbush]

Peepers,

If you are cooking in batches you still will make darker syrup just due to the fact that the product is hot longer. Keeping the sides cool might help lighten it a bit but it's going to slow you down too.

I prefer dark syrup and have a hard time making it now that I am using a flue pan. This year we are going to spend one day recirculating our syrup to see if we can make some high quality dark early in the season. TWe are going to draw off near syrup and add it back to the flue pan and let it go through again. Anybody ever try that?

[valleyman]

Still being new a 2nd year novice, I will outline my technique here. Is this considered the batch method? And how can I lighten up the syrup?:confused:

What if I reversed my technique and keep fresh sap going into the front two pans which always boil the hardest and let the finishing happen in the rear pans nearer the stack? I'll have to extend my copper feed line to reach the front pan but if it'll help I'll try it.

Thanks

[valleyman]

OOPS. Forgot to ouline my technique.

I have four pans and a sap feed tank. And a remote finishing propane burner.

(#1 rear most-fresh sap, #2 next, #3 next #4 final Front Pan)

I put about 2" in all pans. Fire her up. Once a good boil develops. I take sap from the 3rd pan and scoop into #4.

Scoop #2 into #3.

And #1 freshesh into #2.

Then I open the valve and let #1 fill again.

Repeat until 20-40 gallons are used up.

Then I disconnect feed line, Add water to #1 then #2 #3 and scoop all finished sap out of #4 when its all around 216º and add water to the final pan.

Then the batch goes to the propane

[RileySugarbush]

I did it much the same on my 4 pan setup. See the video here:

http://web.mac.com/jabushey/iWeb/Riley%20Retreat/Sugaring%202006.html

I'd ladle back to front just like that and if you want to keep it as light as possible, keep pulling it off the last pan into your turkey fryer before it is done. Save it up and finish it all at once. Also, run it as deep as you can in the pans that are sunk down in with hot sides. Faster evaporation and less burning on the sides.

[valleyman]

Thanks John.

[valleyman]

Great video clip. That's the boil I'm looking for. Very nice!
I got my work cut out for me.

Sounds like I did a similar thing. I ran some duct from the back through the lower level block and into the fire box. I haven't tried it yet. I've been running a low volume fan thru the front. Looks like I should follow thru and try out my forced air too.