New backyarder looking for Evaporator / Filetr / Advise

[hangman]

I'm a first season 'Backyarder' located just north of Boston (not known as maple sugar country). I live in an area that at one time consisted of farm land (Apples were big). There are many old sugars lining some of the roads.

I have 15 tapable sugars with several which will be mature enough in the next 1-5 years.

I'm very pleased with my 1st year. I've gathered approximately 120 gals. Of sap & produced 3 gals. Of syrup.

I boiled in flat 12 x 24 lasagna pans over propane burners, finished on the kitchen stove/ filtered through coffee filters (very slow & inefficient)

The syrup is of good taste (rivals some of the best commercial producers)

I want to move to the next level, perhaps:
• Adding 5-10 taps (buckets) my maximum would not exceed 25 taps
• Upgrading to a manufactured evaporator.
• Upgrading filtering process.

I'm not able to boil daily (day job interferes).

In late season (sap doesn't keep well) I am forced to boil small quantities of sap (15-30 gal.) so any commercial evaporator I get would have to be appropriate.

I'm also frustrated by the time & effort of filtering, but recognize the value.

Any advise on chose of evaporator (new or used), filtering advise, & ant other help would be greatly appreciated.

Maple Dave's operation has been an inspiration to what I would like to become.

Thanks to this site and all who contribute. It looks like I'm hooked

PS Because this post covers more than one topic I will post to several

[MaineMapleDave]

Good morning--
I would suggest spending some quality time with the Bascom's catalog. They have a lot of used equipment (the inventory changes a lot, so check in with them often), and are great to deal with.

http://www.bascommaple.com/

One of the neat things about this hobby/obsession is that you can build on your experience each year. Seems to attract a lot of tinkerers, so you'll get some great ideas here.

To answer some of your specific questions.....

Evaporator: I have a Leader half-pint. I love it dearly, but admit that it's a slow boiler. Maxed out, with the addition of a fan for increased draft, I can boil off only 5 to 6 gallons an hour. They have redesigned the arch in the last few years, but Leader has told me that the boiling rate has not changed much.

Sap storage: an eternal problem for the hobbyist. I have an aquarium pump and UV unit that I use to recirculate the sap, since I too can only boil on weekends. It works pretty well--this year's syrup is some of the lightest I have made.

Filtering: it's worth it to get a good felt cone filter and a package of the cheap prefilter cones. BOIL THEM ALL before your first use, and don't let them get musty. They will filter better if they are wet when you add the syrup. Takes time, but it's worth it. I have started simply letting the syrup filter through overnight, then reheat it to can it.



Have fun.......

Dave

[lharris1]

I like the idea of filtering a little early - around 6 degrees- then finishing it out with a slow boil. Some argue against this saying that it will re-activate the sugar and make it cloudy, but we canned in glass and it was all nice and clear with no sediment. Our finishing started out anywhere from around 3 to 10 points low on the brix number and brought it up to standard with a slow boil.

[MaineMapleDave]

I actually do that, too. I'll filter the concentrate when it comes out of the evaporator, then once I am ALMOST at syrup in the finishing rig, I'll draw off and filter again.

I don't have my hydrometer here, but I'll try to describe: I'll draw the syrup off when the syrup is just about halfway between the red line on the hydrometer and the line above. I'll let it work through the filter cones overnight--I have one felt one in the filter tank, and two or three of the pre-filters, and will get each one equally full.

I figure that the mere act of reheating and bringing to a boil will get the syrup that final bit of density. So far, it's worked. I also can in glass, so can see if there's any cloudiness.

I usually can in 1/2 gallon Mason jars, then reheat and package up into smaller more attractive jars later. I'll bring it just to a boil in the kitchen, then pour it into one of those electric coffee urns (been a bunch of postings about those). That'll keep the syrup at about 190-200 degrees, and allows a lot of control for filling the smaller bottles.

Hope some of this is useful.........