Whats up with this sugarsand

[gearpump]

We are having a lot of trouble with weird sugarsand this year. It sorta looks like tea leaves or grass clippings. This stuff has been plugging up the elbow on the front pan floatbox on every draw off. Thank God we fire with oil because I have had to shut off the burner several times and take apart the elbow/valve and use a wire to poke a big wad of this stuff out. I was thinking it was left over from last year in the flue pan, but it just keeps coming. Anyone else having this problem?

Marty

[cpmaple]

I fired up my 2x5 for the first time last night and again early this morning and the bottom of my pans look just like that. I didnt know what to think about it i know it was sugarsand but couldnt believe there was that much. Gonna have to drain pains after my next boil and clean them. More work for us Fun,Fun and Fun

[PerryW]

My fluepan had some of that stuff at the very bottom of the flues at the beginning of this season. I guess I didn't get it all out last season. I was able to remove most of it with a dry fluebrush before adding sap to the pans. It came off like peeling paint and I was able to vacuum it out of the flues using a scrap 5/16" piece of tubing taped to the vacuum.

[red maples]

I have alot of sugar sand but mine is very very fine not that clumpy stuff.

[wnybassman]

I had some clumpy stuff that looked just like that yesterday in my small boil.

[Russell Lampron]

I haven't seen anything like that in my pans this year but I am seeing lots of crap in my filter press. The syrup pan amazingly is staying pretty clean.

[northwoods_forestry]

Seeing lots of superfine sugarsand. I'm having a tough time getting syrup through the filter press. It's pretty much jamming up the works after just a couple of gallons. It does seem to be getting slightly better as the season progresses though.

[Haynes Forest Products]

NorthWoods you are using filter aid right? I have never had it that bad that only a few gallons would get thru.

[Dill]

I got sugar sludge last night not sand.
A question I have is my filter rack is smaller than bascom's big flat filters. Should I fold them in half or cut them in half?

[Haynes Forest Products]

Cut them in 1/2 so you dont have extra syrup you end up washing down the drain. Some guys will start at one end of the filter roll it up pulling it thru the filter area and renew the filter as they go. BUT you end up with alot of mess at times.