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Thread: Bubblemaster 1.0!

  1. #11
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    Russ do you think a air pump for a large fish tank would be enough air and filter through the charcoal and water same as fish tank? I know you said that you had it cut way back.Also 1/2 inch tubing instead of the 1 inch copper and 1/4 inch air tubes instead of the 3/8. Your thoughts would help with many that are going to go this route for next year. Thanks Keith
    Keith & Michelle
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  2. #12
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    Very neat setup up there Russ.
    Need more pics. How did the pan bottoms look after boiling for awhile? Were they cleaner than with out the bubblemaster 1.0?
    How far off the pan bottom did you place the bubble tubes?
    1st Generation Hobby Maple Producer, you got to start somewhere.
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  3. #13
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    The biggest benefit of the air bubblers for me was that I no longer use any defoamer.

  4. #14
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    yes I did read that you barely need defoamer and it knocks the amount of niter way down because you are really boiling at a stightly lower temperature and the agitation causes less niter. and cleaner pans as well. the article I read said its good for ROed concentrate as well as raw sap too. because with the raw sap it will spend ALOT more time in the pans developing color sugar flavor more niter and more chance to get carmelized sugars to form. creating darker syrup.
    may your sap be at 3%
    Brad

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  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by SSFLLC View Post
    Russ do you think a air pump for a large fish tank would be enough air and filter through the charcoal and water same as fish tank? I know you said that you had it cut way back.Also 1/2 inch tubing instead of the 1 inch copper and 1/4 inch air tubes instead of the 3/8. Your thoughts would help with many that are going to go this route for next year. Thanks Keith
    I don't know if 1/2" pipe and 1/4" tubes would be too restrictive to get air all of the way to the end. I'm also not sure if the aquarium pump will move a large enough volume of air for it to work. The only way to know would be to try it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis H. View Post
    Very neat setup up there Russ.
    Need more pics. How did the pan bottoms look after boiling for awhile? Were they cleaner than with out the bubblemaster 1.0?
    How far off the pan bottom did you place the bubble tubes?
    The bottom of the front pan looks like I just cleaned it with the exception of the area that didn't have holes in the tubes. On the draw off channels the holes start 12" away from the thermometer stem. I haven't removed the steam hood to clean the flue pan yet so I can't see the bottom of that. The sight tube is a lot cleaner than it used to be. The tubes are 1/2" off of the botom of the pan.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    The biggest benefit of the air bubblers for me was that I no longer use any defoamer.
    I still use some defoamer especially with the late season sap. The amount that I use is drastically reduced though.

    Quote Originally Posted by red maples View Post
    yes I did read that you barely need defoamer and it knocks the amount of niter way down because you are really boiling at a stightly lower temperature and the agitation causes less niter. and cleaner pans as well. the article I read said its good for ROed concentrate as well as raw sap too. because with the raw sap it will spend ALOT more time in the pans developing color sugar flavor more niter and more chance to get carmelized sugars to form. creating darker syrup.
    I must not have read that paper. I haven't read anything yet that mentions raw sap but I can see that it could help there too.
    Russ

    "Red Roof Maples" Where the term "boiling soda" was first introduced to the maple world!

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  6. #16
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    Brad, please post a link to the paper.

    Why the reduced defoamer use?

    I understand that liquids will evaporate at lower temperartures if agitated, but if the air's cooling the sap down enough to boil at a lower temperature, your thermometer in the syrup pan wouldn't work properly.
    Josh

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  7. #17
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    Here's some reading for you guys.

    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/air_injection.pdf
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  8. #18
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    Nov 2006
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    Seems like some copyright infringements of a Lincoln, VT. R and D guy and patent infringement on a Buxton, Me. manufacturer. LOL
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  9. #19
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    May 2002
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    Upper Michigan
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    I notice lighter syrup at the beginning of the season. Last year most of the syrup I made was grade B even with the bubblers, probably caused by the warm weather we had and they did not save me on that. I don't see a decrease in niter and have to change the syrup pan every 4 hours. One thing that is different is absolutely no defoamer is needed.
    I am burning woodchips and not oil so I have a little slower boiling rate and maybe the reason for not needing some defoamer. I added a third syrup pan to increase the flat pan area which probably increases the flavor and darkens it a bit.
    At the end of the season when I have a problem getting the syrup through the press I will then use some defoamer but that syrup goes into the drum unfiltered and sold for whatever I get.

    We keep tasting the syrup to see if we can detect a change but can't, if we did we would take them out and go the organic defoamer route. Just don't want to put chemicals in the syrup.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Amber Gold View Post
    Brad, please post a link to the paper.

    Why the reduced defoamer use?

    I understand that liquids will evaporate at lower temperartures if agitated, but if the air's cooling the sap down enough to boil at a lower temperature, your thermometer in the syrup pan wouldn't work properly.
    You just gotta make sure that the bubbles are 12" or more away from the thermometer stem and you won't have a problem. I've only got holes in the last 6" of the tubes in the draw off channels.
    Russ

    "Red Roof Maples" Where the term "boiling soda" was first introduced to the maple world!

    1930 Ford Model AA Doodlebug tractor
    A couple of Honda 4 wheelers
    Four chainsaws and no chickens!

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