new 2'by4' flat pan with dividers, and a question

The pan finally got here Friday evening. I had put the block arch together during the day. I took the 1'by2' preheater and instead of setting it on the pan, I built up another course of blocks for it to sit on, so it gets hotter faster. I put a row of bricks along the edge of the pan so no metal is exposed to the air or wind. I also took a 32 gal container and put a spigot at the bottom of it. I attached a tube to it and let the sap drip into the preheater at the rate I have the preheater dripping into the pan.

Worked great, with no blower and no grate to lift the fire off the ground, I still had a good 8 to 10 gph, which is plenty. I just need to learn the somewhat continuous flow method; I need to keep the sap on longer before drawing off to bring in the house, this weekend I averaged 4 gals of sweet brought in the house to making 1 gal of syrup.

Also, when doing a final draw off, getting all the sweet out of the pan, do you add straight water to the pan from the preheater to push the sweet through the channels to the draw off valve? Or do you just let it sit and boil then try to tilt the pan to get it all off?

Thanks

Hello Outdoorsman, I have a 2x4 flat pan with dividers. Mason. Love the arch idea, adding a section for the preheater to get it hotter. It won't drip condensation into the syrup pan that way….For a final drawoff, ….I have used water to push the sap through from the preheater to the draw off valve and then into a Turkey Fryer. I first collected as much of the almost syrup off then used the water to push the sap through. I then boiled on the TF to finish the sap off. Took forever. The almost syrup finished quicker, and did that first.

I would not recommend boiling so low as to have to tip the pan to draw off the sweet. Your pan will be very hot, and heavy. Also, it will warp from all of the heat without any sap in it. Hope this helps, just my 2cents

I took pics but can't grit them on comp yet

You just need to boil longer before drawing anything off. I usually wait until it starts foaming uncontrollably near the draw-off, or it just starts floating the hydrometer. Those often occur at about the same time though.

For final draw-off of the season I let it get as low as I dare while killing the fire at the same time. If it looks like it will simmer too low I shovel the coals out also. I let it cool overnight and draw everything off the next day

My 2x4 is a little unusual though. Had it built as a batch pan but had it modified for continuous. Two larger compartments in the "flue" area and three smaller compartments in the "syrup" area. Works very well though.


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