First Evaporator - End of Boil Techniques

[Chickenman]

I do about the same as RedMapleCreek does. If I think the sweet is going to freeze due to really low temps, I will put a drop light with a 75 watt incandescent bulb in the firebox to keep from freezing. If I drain the pan, I filter it through either an old clean t-shirt or filter paper to catch the niter so does not go back into the pan.

[Kubota]

All great stuff here! Thanks a bunch. Really good points that I hadn't thought of, especially with draining the sweetened pan into containers, storing cold, and restarting the next boil with sweet from last time. I would have probably started the season very frustrated trying to boil the end of the pan down each weekend on propane and then starting from scratch the 4 days later.

Next is finishing/bottling techniques! I have some ideas on that and I'm sure that will be trial and error. Last year I finished/filtered/bottled after each batch boil, sometimes twice a weekend. This year I pan to try to finish/filter/bottle fewer times in larger quantities, getting it as close as I can off the evap.

We are giving out 4oz bottles to everyone (140) as favors at our wedding this fall. Bottling 140, 4oz bottles is sure to be fun! Pressure is on!

[RC Maple]

It makes for some extra work but l always start with a clean pan and filtered sweet. My pan is a 2x3 divided pan and it doesn't take too long to go out the following morning and drain and filter the sweet in the pan, give the inside of the pan a wipe down, and clean out the ashes in the firebox. I keep the sweet in the 5 gal bucket I drain it into in the sugarhouse as long as it isn't going to be too warm (made that mistake once). Starting the next boil I dump it all back into the pan and begin trickling in sap once the boil gets going. I have tried to keep the sections separate to maintain gradient but didn't think it was worth it - it happens quickly enough.

[Ed R]

I am going to drain my flue pan from now on during a prolonged cold snap even though its a pain. Ive always just put a light under my flue pan but last year after a week plus lighting event I developed ropey syrup in the flue pan.

[ddociam]

My experience last year and the class I took at the superior sweetness convention is going to change my approach to leaving sweat in the pan between boils. My wife came down with an infection in her spine just as the season started. I should have just punted but I couldn’t.. So everything took off and my ro was working but between my day job and taking care of my wife I couldn’t boil as often as I needed to. As the season progressed and the temps warmed I began to notice that defoamer started to have no effect on the foam in the boiler. I noticed that the draw off syrup tended to string out as it came out of the spigot. This was my first experience wit roapy syrup. (Deer feed).
So this year I’m planning to not let my sweet set more than a few yours. I plan to stop and clean things up before I start a new batch.
An addendum: after the season my wife needed care for a couple months. I discovered I have high blood pressure. And I’m now on another medication.
If I come on this kind of a situation. I think I’ll just scale way back. This year will be a whole new ball game.


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