Your experience is like many of us. In my case I had to get to work because I was running late (I was a school bus driver) and I was hurrying to explain to a good friend (with a good head on his shoulders) how to run the evaporator, when a young employee asked if it was OK to light the fire, I said yes. A few minutes later, just as I was leaving I smelled burning, it seems I had not opened the valve to the front pan. I flooded the pan and as the first burned out, I drove to work. Then while I waited at the school I called to instruct my friend how to swap pans, I had a spare syrup pan made and ready. By the time it cooled enough, those 2 had swapped the pan, started up and were making syrup. I'd had them put the questionable contents from the burnt pan in a SS barrel. It turned out as commercial.
You are correct, it doesn't take long at all! You are now a sugar maker!!
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.