My plan 2022/23

Amazon delivered another package of ceramic blanket just in time prior to today’s boil. I was able to cut one piece that fits between the pan and basestack. Before it was a patchwork of pieces.

I did cut some new door handles out of ironwood. Unsure how good it will be, but it has the right name. The ceramic blanket pieces I put between the existing door and handles seem to help. I will be cutting better sized pieces for the new handles.

I guess my leg was a little too close to the firebox entrance while loading wood. It melted the lower portion of one leg of the snow pants. 8 got them 10 years ago from Canadian Tire on sale for $20, so they do not owe me anything.

I am starting to appreciate the “fireman” who loaded the wood on the old steam locomotives.

This sounds over kill, but you could put a grinding face shield on when loading the wood. To deflect the heat

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Originally Posted by Swingpure

I did cut some new door handles out of ironwood. Unsure how good it will be, but it has the right name.

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It's the only wood I have ever seen sink when put in water and make sparks when cutting with a chainsaw but I'm sure there are more types that sink but don't grow in my area that I know of
Also makes good heat in the wood stove when seasoned properly

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Originally Posted by Brien

This sounds over kill, but you could put a grinding face shield on when loading the wood. To deflect the heat

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Thanks, I was thinking the same thing. My first day I am not boiling, I am going to check them out, which should be Wednesday.

Today I have boiled longer than the other days, (7.5 hours at full boil) and I have put 103 gallons of sap in the feed tank. I will stop adding wood when I get down to 16 gallons, and still I have not made syrup. Once again it is getting close.

I have a full boil on the last three channels, a boil at the end of the first channel, I am going through the sap but no syrup yet. I still have about 20 minutes for it to happen.

In the end it almost reached 65 Brix, so I pulled it. It was not without much thought of leaving it until the next boil to maximize the sweet for the next boil. I did bottle some great tasting syrup.

Tomorrow I already know I will have my biggest collection of the season. Still not great tap wise, but I will be grateful for it and will boil again Tuesday. I will likely collect part way through the boil and have my wife watch the pan.

Wednesday I will get the suggested faceshield.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Swingpure

Thanks, I was thinking the same thing. My first day I am not boiling, I am going to check them out, which should be Wednesday.

Today I have boiled longer than the other days, (7.5 hours at full boil) and I have put 103 gallons of sap in the feed tank. I will stop adding wood when I get down to 16 gallons, and still I have not made syrup. Once again it is getting close.

I have a full boil on the last three channels, a boil at the end of the first channel, I am going through the sap but no syrup yet. I still have about 20 minutes for it to happen.

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If you are going 7.5 hrs without a draw, something is not right. How deep are you keeping the pan? Are you keeping it fairly steady, or is the level fluctuating up and down a lot?

GO

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Originally Posted by berkshires

If you are going 7.5 hrs without a draw, something is not right. How deep are you keeping the pan? Are you keeping it fairly steady, or is the level fluctuating up and down a lot?

GO

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2” deep and it is steady.

The only thing I can think of is I draw off too much at a time (approx 2.5 to 3 gallons) and maybe it is almost like I am starting all over again?

I am boiling again today.

Edit : The odd thing is I am making the right amount of syrup for the gallons I boil, it is almost like I am batch boiling.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Swingpure

2” deep and it is steady.

The only thing I can think of is I draw off too much at a time (approx 2.5 to 3 gallons) and maybe it is almost like I am starting all over again?

I am boiling again today.

Edit : The odd thing is I am making the right amount of syrup for the gallons I boil, it is almost like I am batch boiling.

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Dropping your depth to 1.5" will help with your establishing your gradient.

In regards to pulling off 2-3 gallons of sweet everyday think of it like this, you are trying to save $66 to buy yourself something nice and you started out with only a couple bucks. Every hour you make some money and after a days work you are at 62 dollars. But instead of keeping that $62 dollars for the next day you end up spending $40. Now the next day you are going to have to work all day again just to get close to you $66 goal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Swingpure

2” deep and it is steady.

The only thing I can think of is I draw off too much at a time (approx 2.5 to 3 gallons) and maybe it is almost like I am starting all over again?

I am boiling again today.

Edit : The odd thing is I am making the right amount of syrup for the gallons I boil, it is almost like I am batch boil
ing.

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2.5 to 3 gallons in a day, or in a single draw? Wow, if it's the former, I've never had a draw that size but if you have a poor gradient that could make that happen. If I ever had a draw that size my temp would spike to like 40 above and my pan would catch fire. I wonder how you manage it. Are you just opening up and dumping a ton of syrup in a minute or so or is that one long draw over a half hour?

GO

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Swingpure

2” deep and it is steady.

The only thing I can think of is I draw off too much at a time (approx 2.5 to 3 gallons) and maybe it is almost like I am starting all over again?

I am boiling again today.

Edit : The odd thing is I am making the right amount of syrup for the gallons I boil, it is almost like I am batch boiling.

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Following your thread and trying to figure out what you are doing...in the back of my head I kind of always felt like you were just batch boiling.

Again...150 gallons to sweeten a 2x4 pan. Once sweet...every 40 gallons of sap you add you can draw off a gallon. It would take you about 4 hours to boil 40 gallons of fresh sap...so a 1 gallon draw off for every 4 hours of boiling. If you're going 7.5 hours without a draw-off your pan is no longer sweet. And that's probably because you're drawing off 3 gallons at a time which you're then finishing inside.