End of Year Syrup pan Sweet

[TapTapTap]

I realize that some guys boil down the sweet on a finishing setup. But I assume that others like me don't because our operation isn't great for that kind of production and the last pan might not be our premium product.

So I was wondering what others do. I noticed someone on Craigslist was advertising thiers for $20. I thought that was a great idea but I see it's still posted so might not have sold. I'm assuming anyone that's set up to finish is maybe done for the season.

Ken

[DrTimPerkins]

Many people will "chase the sweet" with water, which just steepens the gradient and gets a little more syrup out of the evaporator, but still leaves a good bit of sugar behind. This works well if you're using the "sour sap" method of pan cleaning.

We boil until we're out of concentrate, then close off the front and back pans, transfer all the contents of the back pan into the front pan (ends up pretty deep). Feed water into the back pan (with the valves between front and back still closed) and boil. The front pan contents are scooped around to mix them thoroughly. Keep boiling until all the contents of the front pan reach the syrup stage. Draw off all of front pan as syrup. This way you don't lose sugar much at all. This works better if you're going to clean with permeate and acid.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Same as Dr. Tim except we don't push it right to syrup. Keep stirring and we shut it down when it hits 218 and then use the finisher to get it to syrup. This method is obviously easier to do with oil than wood given the cool down period needed but I'm sure anyone could figure it out with a little trial and error and water nearby in case it was needed!

[MillbrookMaple]

I'll add to Dr. Tim. I fill 5 gal buckets (about 6 buckets for my 30x8) from the back pan, close off the valve between, and fill the back pan with water. I then feed the front pan through the float box a couple gallons at a time as I draw off. I do run the front pan deeper than normal in this case to prevent catastrophe. I also draw off heavy (2 points) at the beginning so that when I run out of sap what little "thin syrup) is left after everything cools down balances out to almost perfect density if not a point heavy. If your sap was good during the last boil you will just have a little darker syrup which some customers prefer. I run oil so it is easier to control if things start to get thick too fast so you probably shouldn't run your arch full tilt in your case. I found at my concentrate level I have about 10 gallons of syrup left in the evaporator when I end the season, totally worth getting!

[wiam]

Do as the good Doctor. Easier with oil. Used to do it on my wood fired 2x6.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Our 2nd to last batch before finishing out the pan was LT 37. The pan contents finished out at LT 40 so perfectly good syrup. We also don't keep pulling until the sap goes bad and the sugar content is way down to below 1.5%. We were done middle of last week and I know some guys on vacuum that kept pulling whatever they could through yesterday in our area. We knew the pan contents were good, the slightly lighter syrup was a surprise though.

[TapTapTap]

Thanks for the responses. I run wood so it's challenging to do a final syrup pan boil since I can't shut and cool down quickly.
Ken

[wvfdc4]

I saw the same Craigslist ad but told myself it wasn't worth the time (need sleep) and it was time to move on to Birch. I did basically what Dr. Tim describes, but shut stopped feeding wood when I put the last of the sweet into the pan. Ended up with 6-7 gallons of near-up that I finished on propane. Worked for me though next year will be different because I will be running my own 2x4 instead of running someone else's 2x6 like I have the past couple of years.

[Ms Ellis]

Hello Maple Trader community, can you tell me how to post a question to the larger maple trader community? I have started a thread or post twice but can't find my posting. Do posts or new threads sit for a while with a moderator before they are posted?
Any help would be appreciated. I'm new to this site.

Me Ellis

[DrTimPerkins]

Do posts or new threads sit for a while with a moderator before they are posted?
Any help would be appreciated. I'm new to this site.

New “ Traders” cannot start threads until they are on for a while and post replies to other threads. This helps to prevent and screen out spam.