Since I'm still relatively new to syrup production and I don't use a conventional evaporator, would someone explain what "sweetening the pan" involves? Thanks in advance!Originally Posted by mainebackswoodssyrup
Since I'm still relatively new to syrup production and I don't use a conventional evaporator, would someone explain what "sweetening the pan" involves? Thanks in advance!
Two 2x4 concrete block arches with three steam trays each
Tapping in Mount Vernon since 2016, 30 to 70 taps, 5/16" tube to 1.5 to 3.5 gallon buckets, some trees on collective gravity tubing to 5 gallon buckets.
Mostly sugar maples, a few reds on 200 year old homestead
In a continuous evaporator the main evaporating pan takes sap from its initial 2-3% sugar to about 20% sugar as it flows into the finishing pan. So sap starts at ~20%sugar at start of channel to end up at 66.6% sugar at pan outlet. However, when you initially start up everything is at the initial sugar of ~3% and it takes about 6 hours for enough water to evaporate to get to syrup and then the syrup has to flow through the channels, gradually establishing the gradient in the finishing pan. Roughly 100gal of sap boiled off on our small evaporator. This process of establishing the gradient and getting to the point of continuously drawing off syrup is called sweetening the pan.
On a small evaporator like ours we dont really get to continuous draw. More of a continuous batch process!
2023 - 130 taps, 90L from 4,000L as of mid March
2021 - 84 taps, 50L from 2100L
2020 - 100 taps on buckets, 21L syrup from 2700L so far (FEB 26-Mar 13) and then the pandemic hit! End of our season!
2019 - 62 taps on buckets, 95L syrop from 3215L sap
2018 - 62 taps, collecting by hand, 90L syrop from 3200L sap
2017 - Lapierre Waterloo Small mini pro with 40 taps
2014 - 2016 40 taps making one or two batches on a 2x6 flat pan over an open arch as it would have been done in 1900
That’s a good explanation. Different from batch boiling. Our syrup pan hit 216.5 degrees before we ran out of sap. Next time! Maybe Thursday. Not much sap here today and cold for the next 2-3 days.
305 taps on 2 Shurflo's, 31 taps on 3/16" and 229 taps on gravity. 565 in all
Mountain Maple S3 controller for 145 of the vacuum taps
2x6 Darveau Mystique Oil Fired Evaporator w/ Smoky Lake Simplicity Auto Draw
Wesfab 7” filter press
We ended up collecting 570 gallons Saturday. Got the pans sweetened and pull out about 3 gallons of nice looking syrup. Looks like a good upcoming week after the Monday deep freeze.
West Sumner Sugar House
West Sumner, ME
500 +/- Taps - 2 x 8 CDL Venturi - 3 Shurflo Solar Systems - MES Dolly 300
https://www.facebook.com/WestSumnerSugarHouse
Good morning,
I’m just North of you across the border and i collected 250g last week and i boiled Friday...but i the sap was not more than1.2 %sugar.. it was good to test the equipment and do some adjustment...
I’m just curious how was your sap?
Happy season.. starting this friday we should be good for for the next 10dYs of boiling.
Cheers
Erick
Here is what sweeting the pans looks like. We only had 120 gal to boil but we will draw off next time!
Sweet Pans.jpg
2013 135 Taps 35 on Gravity, 100 on Buckets 11 Gallons Made
2014 310 Taps 75 on Sureflo 4048, 235 on Buckets, 16'x16' Sugarshack, 5" Filter Press, 2x6 Smoky Lake Hybrid Pan (SOLD) 23 Gallons made
2015 315 Taps, 17 on Sureflo 4008, 62 on Sureflo 4048, 236 on Buckets 31.25 Gallons Made
2016 New Northwoods Stainless Finisher and Steamhood
2017 325 Taps 34 Gallons Made
2018 150 Taps New Northwoods Stainless 2x6 Raised Flue w/ Air Tight Arch 40+ Gallons Made
Our sap has been good this year and running at about 3.4%
2023 - 130 taps, 90L from 4,000L as of mid March
2021 - 84 taps, 50L from 2100L
2020 - 100 taps on buckets, 21L syrup from 2700L so far (FEB 26-Mar 13) and then the pandemic hit! End of our season!
2019 - 62 taps on buckets, 95L syrop from 3215L sap
2018 - 62 taps, collecting by hand, 90L syrop from 3200L sap
2017 - Lapierre Waterloo Small mini pro with 40 taps
2014 - 2016 40 taps making one or two batches on a 2x6 flat pan over an open arch as it would have been done in 1900
I've done 3 small boils over the past 3 weekends as I only have a 55 gallon storage container and I've collected 160 gallons of sap so far. I've made just shy of 2 gallons of syrup from 80+ gallons of sap but not sure exactly as I chucked a lot of ice to save space in my storage barrel. My sap is coming in at 1.5-1.6% pretty consistently here in Gorham. I have twice as much syrup already as I did last year, but I'm still doing crazy things like rinsing out filters and equipment and "re-boiling" on my stove top to save as much syrup as I can and use it for baking. I'm guessing if we get big flows this week I'll finally stop worrying about wasting syrup on the margins...
2023 - 40-ish taps (25-30 “effective” ones), tapped mostly in New Year’s Eve. 5 gallons of syrup.
2022 - 70 taps - 12 gallons of syrup
2021 - 72 taps ~ 8 gallons of syrup
2020 - 8 taps on droplines into buckets, stove top boil, < 1 gallon syrup
A neighborhood consortium of red maple trees, a renegade group of neighborhood kids emptying 5 gallon buckets, a homemade RO, a 3 pan cinderblock evaporator near the street, and 1 very patient wife
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