Bubblemaster 1.0!

[Russell Lampron]

Well I built and installed a bubbler in the flue and front pans , all plumbed in and ready and waiting for sap. Anything else I should look for, do I need to remove it when I stop boiling to keep the sweet from plugging the holes? It took awhile to drill all the holes in each pipe and keep them even at 1 inch apart and all facing the same direction, but Im really satisfied with the results of the build. Now I just want to see the results.

You don't need to remove it when you are done boiling. I remove the one in my front pan when cleaning and switching pans but have never removed the one in my flue pan. As far as I know none of the holes have plugged up.

[Russell Lampron]

My Bubblemaster 1.0 is now almost 4 years old. I am still very happy with the results from using it. I had many visitors tell me that my syrup was the best that they had tasted last year on Maple Weekend so I know that it isn't having a negative effect on the flavor. It was 3 seasons ago when I last made some dark syrup which is the only draw back from using the Bubblemaster. My customers like dark syrup and so do I but they will buy Amber when they can't get Dark especially after they get a taste of it. I prefer making the lighter syrup that I make now as to making all dark and commercial before.

I boiled all of last season without cleaning my front pan and I made 188 gallons of syrup. Without the Bubblemaster I would have changed the front pan about mid season. It was getting a little dirty near the draw offs but still wasn't burning on. The flue pan cleans up much easier now too.

I tried boiling without using the Bubblemaster last season and noticed a big decrease in my evaporation rate. It seems that blowing cold air into the hat sap has the opposite effect and I actually gained some efficiency. It is hard for me to figure out what my evaporation rate is because I never know how many gallons of concentrate I am boiling and usually get the evaporator up to operating temperature and have to shut down.

[lakeview maple]

Ive made 35 gallons of either Light and delicate or Amber Rich so far, Ive pulled the front pans off like normal and there is really nothing there to clean. The front pan had very minimal niter and it cleaned up in 15 minutes. Im very pleased with it so far and my defoamer use is down to almost nothing , no build up in the pans at all its great.

[adk1]

So is the addition of air basically to keep agitating the syrup so nothing falls out of it?

[Russell Lampron]

So is the addition of air basically to keep agitating the syrup so nothing falls out of it?

It's to keep the nitre that is produced from building up on the bottom of the pan and burning there. The air is directed to the bottom of the flues and pan so it also cools it a little too.

[johnallin]

I want to bump this tread back up. Lots of interest lately on air injection lately and there is a wealth of information here - Thanks to Russ at Red Roof.

[Russell Lampron]

Thanks for bumping my thread John. I was thinking of doing it myself but just haven't thought about while I was here.

[johnallin]

Thanks for bumping my thread John. I was thinking of doing it myself but just haven't thought about while I was here.

You're welcome

[maple flats]

My 3x8 has a 3x5 flue pan with 10" deep flues. Anyone have experience using a bubbler with the deeper flues? It seems every year most of my syrup is Dark. I make a great flavored dark, but get little or no Amber and no Golden. Most years the only very dark is the end of season finishing off the pans, but with the weird weather this year, I made one batch of very dark, then it went back to dark. I have a great market for dark but very little for very dark. Even in my very dark I get great flavor. My thought is if a bubbler can get me some amber, after packing some amber, I might be able to use some amber to blend carefully with very dark to get more dark. I have blended B in the past (on a 2x6 that did make light) into light to get dark sucessfully, I'm hoping to do that again. I'd need a lot of amber, because it takes very little of the darker grade to change a lighter grade a full step. The last time I did it, I was going from light amber to dark amber by adding B. I think I had about 10 gal of LA and only needed about a pint of B. At that rate I'll need a lot of amber to use up much very dark.

[Russell Lampron]

My flues are 7" deep but the theory is the same. The air bubbles blow the nitre off of the bottom of the pan to keep it suspended so that it doesn't burn and discolor the sap. It should work with any depth flue.

This season the sap has been like first run sap all season here and other than 12 gallons of amber the rest of my 117 gallons of syrup has been golden. Wish I was a bulk packer with that kind of syrup.