Divided pan question

[Pdiamond]

I usually pulled a hair sooner on my divided pan and finished on the stove in the house. You can finish on the pan and once it is set just trickle off the syrup in a small stream almost dripping but steady.

[Super Sapper]

I find that it is a lot easier to finish at syrup or just a little heavy and adjust when you reheat to bottle.

[berkshires]

One new question, do most people finish the syrup in the pan, or pull it off a hair sooner than syrup and finish it later?

Thanks

Gary

Now we're getting much further off topic (which is why it's better to start a new thread). But I'll answer anyway.

It varies a lot depending on how people like to finish/bottle their syrup, and how confident they are about their draw-off process. Personally, I like to start the draw right on or a little light. I always finish mine on the stove when I bottle, and I am not super-confident about the draw-off, and I don't mind cooking a bit inside when I'm finishing.

Here's where I'm going way off-topic. The thing about the draw-off is that sometimes during your draw the temp will spike, and I'd rather start a little under. It gives me a little more wiggle room. This usually happens when you start from a cold sweetened pan with no gradient, and the draw-off area is not the hottest part of your pan. The first syrup of the new boil can wind up being made further back (I hear it can even happen in your middle channel, which sounds like a nightmare to me). It can sometimes happen on a later boil, if you happen to have a big batch of syrup in the last pan and you don't open the draw wide enough. I hate seeing my pan suddenly foam up and having to crank the draw-off all the way open and open my in-feed all the way (and pray). Or worse, having to dump cold sap into my pan (both to keep the pan from scorching), but I've had to do both. I would definitely rather start the draw-off a little light and then gradually open more if the temp starts to go up or turn off the feed if the temp starts to drop.

GO

[Swingpure]

For this with a 2x4 divided pan or smaller, when you do your draw off, do you open the valve fairly wide open when you draw off, or do you let it trickle out.

My pan maker said to open it up and that trickling it out is for much larger pans. I don’t think I understood why.

[berkshires]

For this with a 2x4 divided pan or smaller, when you do your draw off, do you open the valve fairly wide open when you draw off, or do you let it trickle out.

My pan maker said to open it up and that trickling it out is for much larger pans. I don’t think I understood why.

I have a 2x3 and I can usually get away with trickling it out on most draws. Just be prepared that the temp will go up a degree or two and might even spike higher. I think I commented on what I do if this happens in the post right above yours.

GO