Sweetening the pans

[Swingpure]

This will be first year with a divided pan and I have read lots on this site about it. I accept that it will take 150 gallons of raw sap to sweeten the 2x4, 4 channel pan. But I need to understand it.

If I just had a flat pan and boiled 80 gallons of sap, by the end of the day, I would have 2 gallons of syrup. I understand the principle of the gradient, but if I boiled the same 80 gallons of sap in a divided pan, for basically the same period of time, at the same level, wouldn’t most of it also have turned to syrup?

I will be boiling everyday I have sap to boil. I thought I read someone suggest to plug the openings at the end of the runs overnight to help keep the gradient. When I asked my pan maker about that, it was the first he had ever heard of that. Is plugging the ends overnight a common practice?

[Pdiamond]

When I had a divided pan, I never did that. I would just shut down for the night and put extra sap into the pan so it would not boil out or make syrup while unattended. Mind you the fire was out completely but the firebrick was still hot and would still evaporate an additional 1/2" of liquid. There is a little mixing overnight, but when you fire up the next day the gradient reforms rather quickly. You'll get it figured out after your first couple of boils.

[DRoseum]

I would recommend plugging each channel divider port to keep your gradient as much as possible. Also for reversing flow the plugs are also useful, so you can pull it off into separate buckets/pots for each channel and put it back in and limit intermixing.

If your channel ports are round, you can easily make plugs out of high temperature silicone stoppers. I made stainless handles that I bolted to the stoppers with a small stainless bolt with washers on each side. Works great and keeps it all divided.

Doing this helps maintain lighter grade syrup on subsequent boils.

[bigschuss]

If I just had a flat pan and boiled 80 gallons of sap, by the end of the day, I would have 2 gallons of syrup. I understand the principle of the gradient, but if I boiled the same 80 gallons of sap in a divided pan, for basically the same period of time, at the same level, wouldn’t most of it also have turned to syrup?

I will be boiling everyday I have sap to boil. I thought I read someone suggest to plug the openings at the end of the runs overnight to help keep the gradient. When I asked my pan maker about that, it was the first he had ever heard of that. Is plugging the ends overnight a common practice?

Yes, boiling 80 gallons of sap in a flat pan or a divided pan at the end of the day will give you 2 gallons of syrup. But in a 2x4 pan that 2 gallons of syrup might be like 1/4" or so. You would never bring the level down that low unless you like living on the edge. The idea of consuming 150 gallons or so in a 2x4 pan to sweeten it is that you can maintain a safe level of sap in the pan. Once sweet, anything you add to the pan you should then be able to draw off. For example...add 40 new gallons of sap...draw off 1 gallon of syrup..without going below a safe level of sweet in your pan. Then at the end of the season, you would very slowly and very carefully bring that last 3 gallons of syrup in your pan down to as low a level as you feel comfortable, drain the pan, and finish it elsewhere.

I don't use dividers in my 2x4. I just reestablish the gradient each new boiling day.

[Swingpure]

Yes, boiling 80 gallons of sap in a flat pan or a divided pan at the end of the day will give you 2 gallons of syrup. But in a 2x4 pan that 2 gallons of syrup might be like 1/4" or so. You would never bring the level down that low unless you like living on the edge. The idea of consuming 150 gallons or so in a 2x4 pan to sweeten it is that you can maintain a safe level of sap in the pan. Once sweet, anything you add to the pan you should then be able to draw off. For example...add 40 new gallons of sap...draw off 1 gallon of syrup..without going below a safe level of sweet in your pan. Then at the end of the season, you would very slowly and very carefully bring that last 3 gallons of syrup in your pan down to as low a level as you feel comfortable, drain the pan, and finish it elsewhere.

I don't use dividers in my 2x4. I just reestablish the gradient each new boiling day.

Thanks I think I understand it now. My sap levels at the start will be more like 2” as Dr Perkins had recommended. It is getting the 2” depth of syrup which is why it takes 150 gallons. It now makes sense to me. Thank you.

My openings are not circular so if I ever decided to plug them, I guess I could use some sort of flat plate, clamped to the divider.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/051E...38dQ23aaXPHu9A

I likely will not have to do that, as I will be boiling almost everyday, trying to keep up with my sap quantities and by the time the sap cools down, to when I start up again, will not be that long of time. It should not take too long to reestablish a gradient.

I have lots to learn, but one scenario is if a several days cold front moved in and shut down the sap flow, and I was not going to boil for a few days, those could be the times I “plug” the openings.

Thanks again for the answer on why it takes 150 gallons, it is always better for me when I’m understand it.

Gary

[DrTimPerkins]

With a smallish pan it may not make sense to try to preserve the gradient. Simplest solution would be to just draw off some near-syrup near the end of the boil, then once you start-up the next day, after your fire is started and nearing a boil, dump that near-syrup back into the partition nearest the draw off. This will hasten the reformation of a gradient.

[needmoremaples]

With a smallish pan it may not make sense to try to preserve the gradient. Simplest solution would be to just draw off some near-syrup near the end of the boil, then once you start-up the next day, after your fire is started and nearing a boil, dump that near-syrup back into the partition nearest the draw off. This will hasten the reformation of a gradient.

Smokey lake says to do this in their YouTube videos. You should check those out Gary

[Swingpure]

With a smallish pan it may not make sense to try to preserve the gradient. Simplest solution would be to just draw off some near-syrup near the end of the boil, then once you start-up the next day, after your fire is started and nearing a boil, dump that near-syrup back into the partition nearest the draw off. This will hasten the reformation of a gradient.

Thank you!

[Swingpure]

Smokey lake says to do this in their YouTube videos. You should check those out Gary

Thanks I have searched through a number of their videos and have not found it yet, but that is just a reflection of my search skills. The ones I found they simply put the lid on at the end of the day.

I will keep looking for it.

I will draw some off as Dr. Perkins recommended.