My plan

[Swingpure]

I agree with Big_Eddy. After collecting. RO'ing and boiling you are more than likely going to be a little overwhelmed at all the work and time involved. I finish, filter and bottle when I have time. Usually on a day when the sap is not running, and you have some extra time on your hands. I have been following your plans all winter and I am super impressed with your attention to detail. I hope all your plans work out in the manner you expect but don't be surprised if there are a lot of bugs to be worked out. Also, as others have said DON'T LEAVE THOSE PANS!

Thanks.

I have prepared the best I can, but lots to learn.

I thought these bubbles were bubbles of sap and I am thinking it is really flowing! Tomorrow is line check day. It was late in the day, so it was not flowing as fast as it was.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/034f...3P4z6GDs-G7dHg

https://share.icloud.com/photos/00dF...Iz0akdFlrVZ5oQ

[Swingpure]

Today was my first boil. Sap flow is still slow, but I had 45 gallons to boil and that was great for my first time ever.

Overall my plan went great with the induction elements preheating the sap. They kept up for the most part delivering boiling sap to the evaporator. I boiled the 45 gallons and came up with some nice nearup to finish. I boiled it until it was 216.5° and took it off the fire.

There were challenges along the way, which were outside the plan. An outdoor plug died, which just meant getting a longer extension cord.

The only bad thing was the ceramic blanket I was using as a gasket around the pans. I bought the pans second hand and they had a burnt outer coating to them. I tried several times to get as much of it off the pans. Today after they got hot, the gasket material stuck to the pans. It made it difficult to lift them out and some of the gasket material almost went into the boiling sap. Needless to say I will boil next time with it.

Some real nice things were the welder’s gloves that were suggested to me on another thread. They were terrific for adding the wood and lifting the pans.

I also really liked a large mesh colander that sat on the five gallon pails and helped filter out any debris in the sap.

The long neck thermometer was handy to monitor the temperature in the final pan, although near the end I used a digital temperature probe, to nail the exact temperature down.

I also liked a 37 gallon container that I added a rain spout to. I poured my raw sap into it and then filled my pots from it. This will be my concentrate container when I get the RO working.

I had hoped my fifth pan would boil, but it didn’t, so I used it as a preheat sap pan. I had put a baffle in to help with that, but I think I will remove it for the next boil.

The plywood on the ceiling worked perfectly there were zero drips. Today was a calm day, but any wind that came up, quickly cleared the steam.

I tasted the nearup and it tasted great! It was a lot of work and I never sat for 6 hours.

https://youtu.be/D7uGIDOKGYk

https://share.icloud.com/photos/03ei...fNwAXPRsYHww2g

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d7b...KzKmIOFFvUsWNA

https://share.icloud.com/photos/053k...hyNv0XcQv3EQCQ

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0f6P...SdzKdR2bb-H3mw

[Someclown]

Hey Gary, I'm not sure what size the wood in the wheelbarrow is or if you are splitting it smaller before stoking the fire but if you are not doing it already try splitting it smaller and firing more often for your next boil and see if that improves your boil, about 2-3" ,wrist size
I know it sounds odd but it does help as it takes more energy and time to get bigger pieces to burn.
Looks good for your first time. Always a good feelingi to have success after all the time and effort you put into something and have good end results. Things will definitely not always go as you plan but if you are able to adjust as things come up you are going to do good.
Hope you finished your nearup this morning and had pancakes for breakfast

[berkshires]

Congrats Swingpure! Glad to hear all your plans have come to fruition!

GO

[Wannabe]

Hey Gary, I'm not sure what size the wood in the wheelbarrow is or if you are splitting it smaller before stoking the fire but if you are not doing it already try splitting it smaller and firing more often for your next boil and see if that improves your boil, about 2-3" ,wrist size
I know it sounds odd but it does help as it takes more energy and time to get bigger pieces to burn.
Looks good for your first time. Always a good feelingi to have success after all the time and effort you put into something and have good end results. Things will definitely not always go as you plan but if you are able to adjust as things come up you are going to do good.
Hope you finished your nearup this morning and had pancakes for breakfast

Yep, and make sure the fire has plenty of draft underneath it(natural is fine). That sap should be boiling violently with your setup. Looking good and keep after it!

[Swingpure]

There are a lot of pieces of wood that are smaller than what was in the wheel barrow. But thanks for the observation and advice. Three of the pans boil violently, the fourth boils, but not quite as hard, the fifth pan not so much. The first boil I used some of my lowest btu wood (poplar) but eventually I will get to the maple and white birch.

Today I finished, yesterday’s boil. It all went well. Using the cup with the hydrotherm is messy. Besides the hydrotherm, I used two different thermometers, the old spoon sheathing trick and a refractometer. I think I am pretty close to my target of 66.9% Brix.

In the picture you can see the table with all of the things I had to help, including a thermos with hot water to preheat the hydrotherm.

I will bottle it this weekend.

I used my vacuum filter I made to filter it. I did wet the filters and pour it into the vacuum filter straight from the finishing pot as soon as I reached my target Brix.

The vacuum filter had two fails but ultimately did the job 100%. One of the prefilters came loose, but the other two prefilters and two primary filters stayed in place and caught all of the sugar sand. The other fail was the top pot is held down by bungee cords. On my test run it stayed in place, but this time it shifted, but did not lose it’s vacuum and the 5 quarts of syrup got sucked down quickly. So ultimately it was a success.

In the off season, as soon as I am confident I have a drill bit to go through the stainless steel, I will add the over center clamps, that I have already purchased.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/00aV...On4-wY5Ud9_Cig

https://share.icloud.com/photos/05f6...SnX3BDu5nJbMyQ

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[Z/MAN]

Glad to see you finally got your pans wet. I agree on splitting the wood a lot smaller. Also take the lids off the pots, let that steam add to your evaporation rate. Is there an opening under your door for the draft to get under your grate. I think that unit should be boiling a lot harder than it appears. Have fun!!!!

[Swingpure]

Glad to see you finally got your pans wet. I agree on splitting the wood a lot smaller. Also take the lids off the pots, let that steam add to your evaporation rate. Is there an opening under your door for the draft to get under your grate. I think that unit should be boiling a lot harder than it appears. Have fun!!!!

Thanks

There is about a four to five inch opening below the grate. The grate sits on a double layer of bricks. Most of the time the first three are boiling very hard.

When I split next year’s wood, I will go even smaller, although I have a great fire under the pans.

[Swingpure]

I boiled again today, 45 gallons and produced a gallon+ of nearup. It looks and tastes good, I will finish it tomorrow and likely bottle it and my previous boil tomorrow.

If the colour and taste is the same, is it wrong to put the two batches together to bottle?

The big thing today is my evaporator ROARED for the first time today and did it a few times, sometimes for awhile. When it first did it, I thought it was good as my fifth pan started boiling, then I noticed my fourth pan stopped boiling, then my third was affected and so were the seconded and first pans. I realized the heat was racing out the stovepipe.

It would happen after I pushed the wood in the firebox back to the end and added new wood. With the door open it increased the draft and away it would start roaring. It has never done that before. My buddy showed up one time that it happened. He said there was too much draft. I almost totally blocked the opening, but it still roared away for awhile.

I did have some baffles at the end of the evaporator, if that is the correct term, to slow the air flow and to add more heat around the fifth pan, but when that did not seem to work on the first boil, I removed its. I will add it back.

It likely added another hour to my boil due to the heat loss.

I removed all of the ceramic blanket gasket material around the pans, because last boil it stuck to the pans and gave me grief. A little smoke sneaked past the odd pan, but not too bad.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/06b5...rWDEuKL9rejWBg

[Swingpure]

My very first bottle and jar of syrup. I am extremely pleased with the colour, clarity, viscosity and especially the taste.

Having said all that, my bottling was a bit of a cluster. The tall bottling pot, did not fit under the range hood and I had to move out to the side burner on the BBQ to heat it to 180-190. The microwave which would have been above the stove was not easily accessible to I heated the bottles on baking sheets on the BBQ. Worst of all with the small quantity, I had to tip the pot fairly soon in the process so that leaves of the syrup would reach the inlet of the ball valve. As soon as you tip it, you take it off the heat.

I am thinking of going to a smaller pot and ladling it into the bottles/jars.

I am open to any better suggestions.

Oh, did I say I was extremely pleased with the results.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0191...zXBnwmud0HxMzw