Drop Flue Evaporator Question

[Paddymountain]

I have a 30"x8' king style drop flue evaporator, as of tonight I have boiled
about 550 gallons and only had one small draw off. Now my whole syrup pan
looks to be about the same color, it just seems like I'm not getting the sap pushed front from the flue pan, also sugar content in flue pan is 10 percent.
is that right? I'm thinking I should drain the syrup pan and finish it on a turkey fryer, then fill it up with sap from my flue pan and start over. Does this make sense? Also the first 3 times I boiled was only around 2- 2 1/2 hrs; afterwards
I plugged the syrup pan so the sweetened sap would'nt migrate back to the flue pan

[vtsnowedin]

Your getting there. Forget the turkey fryer. Perhaps your running a bit deep which will give you large draw off when it gets there. Was what you drew off syrup or did you jump the gun? The best rig for finishing syrup is right there in front of you. That's very disjointed but it's late and I don't have enough sap to draw off my rig yet. Stick with it and don't burn your pans. Good luck:)

[Paddymountain]

My syrup/sap level is 2",I'm just wondering if I need to get more fire back under the flue pan to drive the sap front and thru the syrup pan better

[tapper]

Something doesn't add up here. If your sap is as low as 1% sugar you should have taken around 5 gallons of syrup off. I am running a 30 x 8 also and take 2 gallons of syrup off during the first 250 gallons of sap that includes sweetening the pans. Are you running too much depth in the pans and is the evaporator perfectly level?

[vtsnowedin]

My syrup/sap level is 2",I'm just wondering if I need to get more fire back under the flue pan to drive the sap front and thru the syrup pan better
There is your answer. Let it boil down to one inch before you let in any more sap and things will start to progress nicely. You can't drive sap into a part of the pan that is already full. More fire is always good but the stack will suck the heat to the back so there is no need of having the fire in further then just enough to let some of the blower air come up between the fire and the doors to cool them and become your top air.

[Paddymountain]

pan is 1/8" high on draw off side, I have been checking my sugar content and it's been anywhere from 2-3 percent, so I'm sure I should have about 10 gal of syrup til now. It's there in the pans I just need to get it moving to the drawoff side and get it out. I seen on an earlier thread, someone posted about their pan locking up (no Flow) it sounds just like what happened last night

[tapper]

Paddy,
Make sure your pans are perfectly level both directions and I think you will have better luck.

[Maplebrook]

Paddymountain,
I had this same problem in my first year with my D&G. I learned I had to...
- Drop the level to 1" to 11/4"
- Plug the pans between boils
- Close up the front of my 3-sided shack to keep the cold draft off the front of the evaporator.
I notice in your signature your "lean-to". Is it open to the breezes? I searched for the answer to why my evaporator wouldn't work right. An old sugarmaker took one look at it and said close up the building if you expect it to make any syrup.
He was right!

[Haynes Forest Products]

As stated you dont push the syrup to the draw off you draw off and sap enters to fill the lower level in the Finish pan. Draw of slow and more often. Plus you need the heat under the finish pan so that is reducing the level in that area. If all the heat is in the back of the flue pan then thats the area ware the liquid will migrate to.

[Paddymountain]

Thanks for all the advice, tomorrow I think I'll try to lower the level a little at at time, also I can keep alot of heat under the front pan, As far as the breeze,that could very welll be what was wrong, it was quartering into the front corner pretty hard last night I have a tarp up on the one side but it doesn't stop all the wind ,although I live in the woods and it is protected from
most wind

[maple flats]

Yea, recheck level. Anything more than an absolute 1/4" max off will give you huge fits, and I make just mine is less than 1/8" off either way. Perfectly level is really what you need. Then just keep going. It always seems too long when starting, but then it will take shape. At the end of the season you are on the opposite end and you draw a LOT TO FINAL FINISH. In the end, if you have 2% sap you will be very close to 1gal syrup for every 43 gal sap that went in. I used to segregate sections between boils but don't anylonger because it was more bother than it was worth.

[Paddymountain]

Hey guys, thanks for the help. today we were successful. I checked my level and it was alright. when I started boiling I kept the flue pan plugged off til
I had the front pan boiled down to about an inch and the back pan was boiling good. I also put up another tarp and got things closed in a little better. I was
rewarded with 2 good drawoffs which netted maybe 3 or 4 gallon. I think I'll get the hang of this yet, but it was a little frustrating to be boiling so long and not seemingly getting anywhere

[Haynes Forest Products]

Paddy you say you had 2 good drawoffs? Are you saying that you did it all at once? Or you did small draws over time ending up with 4-5 gallons. Consistancy is the name of the game. I would draw off smaller amounts and keep the levels from constant.

[vtsnowedin]

Paddy you say you had 2 good drawoffs? Are you saying that you did it all at once? Or you did small draws over time ending up with 4-5 gallons. Consistancy is the name of the game. I would draw off smaller amounts and keep the levels from constant.

That's an interesting point but lets look at what he needs to do to change the batch size. If you are drawing off in batches instead of trying for a small steady stream then while you have the draw off open you might as well draw off everything that is syrup. It would be risky to leave half of it there as it might get past done while your taking the first batch to the filter cone. So the best way to control batch sizes is to change the level in the syrup pan so that the volume in the last section is the size you want in a batch as that whole section will get done at the same time with or without plugging off the section. If Paddy is getting two gallon draw offs he is still running his syrup pan very deep probably well over an inch.
My rig is a 3x8 just six inches wider then Paddy's with four divisions in the 3x3 finish pan. I'm getting about five quarts to a draw off running 3/4 " deep.

[Mud Turtle]

Hello. This is the first year my buddies and I are running our patched up 30"x8' Grimm Lightening (not quite the same as the old 55 gallon barrel arch) and am also wondering how much syrup I should draw off at a time. I've boiled twice running about 300 total gals of sap (about 50 gph) through the pans and drew off twice last night about 1 1/2 per draw but I was being cautious and did not bring it quite to syrup. I've been running about 1 1/2 in syrup pan. My syrup pan is very sweet and will be ready to draw again soon after start up. Any advice would be appeciated.