My proceedure the last 5 years or so has been to RO all sap and send it to the head tank. I have a site tube for the level in my head tank. The important line for my rig is at 18 gal. (I have a line at 5 gal, 12 gal and 18. Above that I have lines at "about 50 gal , 100 gal and stop filling which is at 145 gal.) When I get to 18 gal, I add wood for the last time. at about 12 gal I send the rest into the raised flue pan. (my syrup pan is 3x3, the flue pan is 3x5). Then as soon as the flue pan is again boiling hard, and the head tank is empty (the RO was cleaned a while before that 18 gal mark) I drain the pre-heater into the raised flue float box. Then a bout 2-3 minutes later, I draw off 2 pots of concentrate from the raised flue float box, and it immediately fills back in from the flue pan. Each pot (about 2-2.5 gal) gets dumped into the flue pan. By the time I've done that 2x the contents of the float box has been boiled well enough that it's safe to finish the shut down. I then shut off my auto defoamer dripper, and remove the flue pan float and cover the box. (I have a cover for everything, made out of SS.) I then close the valve feeding the syrup mpan, if the nlevel is under 1", I add some from the flue pan, I like to leave the syrup pan with 1.5" in it at shut down, even though I boil at 1". I then cover the 2 float boxes on the syrup pan, at any given time one is a float box the other is the draw off box. I then check how many coals are still going in the firebox, if necessary I use a fireplace rake to level the coals. At the end, maybe 15 minutes before all coals are burned out, I shut off my AUF/AOF blower, cover the syrup pan, close the cupoloa doors, shut the ball valve on the draw off auto draw. If I was also bottling I may finish that, depends on the time and how tired I am coupled with how much sap I expect the next day. I then do things like drain my tankless water heater, change the filter papers, Check the syrup pan for niter and some other tasks. If it needs to be cleaned I pump any syrup in my draw off tank over to my finisher. Then when all coals are burned out I drain the syrup pan into my draw off tank, and pump 5-6 gal of permeate into it and let set over night. Usually by morning the niter is all loose and I drain the syrup pan, rinse with hot permeate (my tankless water heater), then I pump the contents of the draw tank, that was drained from the syrup pan back into the syrup pan. Times when the permeate didn't do a complete job, I use 1 gal white vinegar, heat the bottom of the syrup pan using a weed burner torch to about 100-110F. In about 20-30 minutes it's clean, and I do the drain and complete rinse, then pump the contents of the draw off tank back into the syrup pan. and I'm ready to resume boiling, all of my sap flows directly to the sugarhouse.
Ifr my vacuum is at 25" or less, I go fix leaks, if at 26-27" I set up the RO and start all over again.
Back when I had 2 remote leases I then drove to collect sap and haul it back, fixing leaks if needed then hauling the sap back to the sugarhouse.
Last edited by maple flats; 04-14-2021 at 08:25 PM.
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.