I have a leader 2x4 drop flue with auf and my first 4 gals is very dark. Its dark robust on the gauge. I know early sap has been known to be dark but ive run 400 gals through it and its not lightening up. I have cleaned the pan after making 2 gals and saved the sweet. When firing back up i canted off the niter and dumped back in. Next 2 gals came out same color. The unit does 20 gals an hour and the syrup pan boils very even. all my tanks are clean. Why is my syrup so dark? Is it the small pan causing this?

Thanks
Matt