Draw Off?

[Featherfoot Farm]

For small scale boils (less than 100 gallons) is it advisable to boil it down to near finished consistency then draw off the entire contents of the evaporator and finish inside?
OR...
is it better to draw off a little at a time if so, how much draw off is good? I've got a 2x3 W.F. Mason evaoprator.
Thanks.
Dan
Featherfoot Farm
Aurora, Maine
70 taps
11 chickens, 4 kids, 3 horses, 2 goats, 2 dogs and a few mice

[brookledge]

If when you boil you don't care about color then it doesn't matter but if you want to make the lightest syrup that you can you want to get it boiled down and off as fast as possible. That is why you see some of the post saying they run their syrup pans real shallow. When I first started making syrup on an open fire pit with a large pan I would keep adding sap in all day and at the end of the day drain off and finish it with propane. The syrup tasted the same just is usually darker. I think it is whats best for you. If you draw off small amounts a time might have to reheat it before filtering or you can draw off larger batch and get it to go through the filter easier because it stays warmer
Keith

[RUSTYBUCKET]

We average about 100-120 gallons on each boil. We drawoff a little at a time as it approaches finish stage and finish it in a big stock pot on a propane burner. I believe it makes a lighter product, if color is your concern.


Russ

[steve J]

I am useing the same evaporator and thaks to bill Mason advsing me on a modification I could do I am boil very well now. I draw off a small qty into a coffee pot every 15 to 20 mins I also have a prefilter in the coffee pot to catch niter. I save all of this in a staniless steel pot and then do the final finishing on a turkey frier burner. And its working great