Batch pan vs continuous flow

[jrako724]

My family is looking for upgrade from a batch system to a continuous flow system. We have an opportunity to get an entire cooker that is the same size as what we currently have but my dad is very hesitant because he wants to upgrade to something faster than we have. Is a continuous flow system faster than a batch system or the same speed? Also what other advantages can someone list for me to show him? Thanks a ton in advance.

[Jim Brown]

The first question I would ask is how many taps are you presently running and how many do plan on having?
Jim

[jrako724]

We ran 190 taps last year and have 350 total and are getting more buckets for it. The pan size is about 3' wide by 5' long. 4" deep.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Since a batch pan must be shut down to take off the entire batch of syrup and a continuous flow can continue to boil while syrup is drawn off, I would say a continuous flow would be slightly faster. If the pans are the same size and are all flat bottomed, I think that difference would be insignificant. If you want to speed up, increase surface area with bigger pans or preferably a flue pan.

[danno]

3x5 flat pans gives you 15' square feet of cooking surface - unless you want to live in your sugarhouse, that does not sound like enought to me for 350 taps.

Figure a good run on 350 taps is going to give you 350 gallons of sap. You should be able to boil 50 gallons an hour on a conventional 30"x8' evaporator with a 5' flue pan, 30"x30" syrup pan - that right there is 7 hours of boiling plus start up and shut down.

I'd say for 350 taps, I'd be looking at a conventional 30"x8 or 3'x8. And if you are planning on adding even more taps in the future, I'd even consider bigger.

Unless you are thinking an RO in the future, than maybe a 2x6.

I know I never planned on tapping more than the 6 maples in my backyard;) See how that's working out.

[Mountain Winds Farm]

Isn't that the truth , we started 3 years ago with 50 pails and a 2 x4 flat pan cooking outside.This season I expect to be over 1,000 taps on a 4 x12 ,on vacuum ,so much for a hobby

[brookledge]

Is the pan partioned off? Does it have flues? Also you say it has 4" sides. I think you will find it will boil over. most syrup pans are a minumun of say 8" or more. Keeping the level at about 1 1/2" give or take depending on your comfort zone.
Keith

[3rdgen.maple]

Too many taps for any flat pan setup. Go get a flue pan. If you are on buckets or gravity I wouldnt be afraid to run a 2x6. Heck I ran around 800 on mine last year and wanted more. However it was the worse year for sap ever. But get a flue pan setup you will be in awww watching it boil.