I bought a Smoky Lake auto draw about 5-7 yrs ago, it was their simplicity model. I also ordered a second temperature probe so when I reversed the front pan flow I only had to remove one wire on the auto draw and attach another, It worked extremely well. At first I adjusted to get proper density by starting using 219.3. Then as syrup was drawn off I used a murphy cup and hydrometer to verify and I adjusted as necessary. It worked well, but then 2 or 3 seasons later I bought a Marcland Baro/boil meter to partner with it. Huge improvement. That meter gave the barometer reading where I was and the temperature of boiling water at the Barometer reading. I used that to set the auto draw and it was perfect. Once I had that meter, I discovered how often the barometer actually changes. Some days it was quite steady, but much more often it changed every few minutes. Once I discovered that fact, I tested more often and adjusted as needed. That was huge! From then on, until I sold my evaporator my density was always perfect.
Now I have ordered a new evaporator and I will be getting back into maple syrup production. I need to check to see if I sold that meter, if yes, I will get a new one. The first one was $200, now hopefully I won't need to find out how much the price has changed in 5-7 years. I'll hazard a guess it's significant to say the least.
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.
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