According to everything I've read on this subject, I go by the statement that professional taste testers (yes, there are professional taste testers) can not distinguish any difference between RO'd sap and non ro'd sap. However there needs to be some details that must be adhered to. First, the flues pan and syrup pan ratios must be correct for the sugar percentage attained in the RO. If up to 8-10% nothing needs to change, but as the concentration goes up from there the flue pan gets shorter and the syrup pan gets longer. As an extreme example the sugar operation in Eden, Vt goes to about 35% concentrate. There they have 7' x 20 evaporators (yes more than one, 2 now but in a couple of years they will have 4 side by side as they get close to their goal of 200,000 taps.). The flue pan is just the back 4' long, the rest is flat pan to give the syrup enough time to develop the proper flavor.
Not to any similar scale, back when I had new pans made for my arch, I changed the ratio. My old pans were a 3x2' long syrup pan and a 3' x 6' long flue pan. My new set, (because I was also getting an RO) I had them made as a 3' x 3' syrup pan and a 3' x 5' flue pan
Last edited by maple flats; 04-28-2019 at 08:03 AM.
Reason: typo
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.