Huge batch in evap now sludge

[michael marrs]

when i first had that happen to me, i got real upset, and told a buddy who has made m s in the past. he just laughed and said sooner or later, everybody burns a batch. i did however save it and i use it on ham, in the smoker. i even put it in the freezer and break off what i think i may need , thaw it and put it on. still makes you mad

[fishnhunts.on]

I feel your pain, and have been there. I am also just a hobbyist and I finally bit the bullet and bought a stainless pan and wood fired arch. I had boiled down a fair bit of sap and nearing the end of the day I left the syrup unattended to go and collect sap to continue the boil. Well a nearly brand new pan was scorched, burnt, ruined and I was heart broken and quite a few dollars lighter in my wallet. The syrup was sludge and wasted. Pick up the pieces and move on, a hard lesson learned.

[DrTimPerkins]

Sorry for your loss. Not to pick on you in particular, or anyone else who does this, but I've never understood the thinking behind walking away from an evaporator that is still hot. Now granted, it is possible to still scorch a pan even if you're standing right there, it just seems to be too big a risk to ever think about leaving an evaporator unattended. Anytime the operator here (typically me) has to step away for more that 30 seconds, it is always announced that we're "stepping out" and somebody else steps up and watches it. When it is finally shut down, we typically make 3 passes around the evaporator to make sure everything is shut off and it is ok to leave. Even as a kid, I don't recall a time when there wasn't somebody (grandfather, father, uncle) more than a few steps away from the evaporator when it was hot.

[fishnhunts.on]

Sorry for your loss. Not to pick on you in particular, or anyone else who does this, but I've never understood the thinking behind walking away from an evaporator that is still hot. Now granted, it is possible to still scorch a pan even if you're standing right there, it just seems to be too big a risk to ever think about leaving an evaporator unattended. Anytime the operator here (typically me) has to step away for more that 30 seconds, it is always announced that we're "stepping out" and somebody else steps up and watches it. When it is finally shut down, we typically make 3 passes around the evaporator to make sure everything is shut off and it is ok to leave. Even as a kid, I don't recall a time when there wasn't somebody (grandfather, father, uncle) more than a few steps away from the evaporator when it was hot.

Some of us maybe aren't as fortunate to have the help and time to monitor the evap non stop and are forced to multi task despite the known risk. With all due respect.

[katmike]

Sorry for your loss. Not to pick on you in particular, or anyone else who does this, but I've never understood the thinking behind walking away from an evaporator that is still hot. Now granted, it is possible to still scorch a pan even if you're standing right there, it just seems to be too big a risk to ever think about leaving an evaporator unattended. Anytime the operator here (typically me) has to step away for more that 30 seconds, it is always announced that we're "stepping out" and somebody else steps up and watches it. When it is finally shut down, we typically make 3 passes around the evaporator to make sure everything is shut off and it is ok to leave. Even as a kid, I don't recall a time when there wasn't somebody (grandfather, father, uncle) more than a few steps away from the evaporator when it was hot.

Certainly there's a risk, I thought a well calculated risk. I've been using this rig for 10 years and I thought I knew everything about it and it's nuances... how much sap/nearup is in the pan and how much time is generally involved in leaving it for the evening.

Well simply put... the calculated risk finally caught up. I got "burned"