How to Make Maple Syrup Faster | What Level of Sap Should be in My Pan
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- How to make maple syrup faster and understanding what level of sap should be in your pan is the goal of today. If you've seen my other videos you know that I built this barrel evaporator over the winter and now am well into my 2020 maple syrup season using it. I've learned a few things while using this barrel evaporator and will be sharing those things with you today. The key things to remember to make your maple syrup boil faster is amount and location of the heat, depth of sap in your pans and how to add fresh sap to keep the boil going. You'll see me in this video explain how I keep the wood fire burning at its hottest using a small fan as a blower. You will also see me talk about the hottest and coolest parts of the barrel evaporator and how that determines where I place the sap. Keeping the sap at the best depth possible to maximizing the strength of the boil is also a key point mentioned in this video. Be sure to pay special attention to how I built a pre-heater drip pan for my sap to help add fresh sap to the already boiling sap without stopping the boil. Hope all of you are having a good maple syrup season. Here we go!
Thanks for sharing. I really like the warming pan with the drip tap. Just the idea I was looking for. I personally found leaving the front door the the firebox open is as good as a fan. I adjust how much I leave the door open, depending on outside temp and wind, which still is a factor even with a shed.
Making backyard maple syrup is the best way to spend the month of March. I like you try to improve and get more efficient every season. I started on a home built rig and now have moved on to a drop flue setup. A little tip with regards to your fan. Move the location of the fan inlet to below your fire. Yes your adding lots of air but it looks like you could be blowing cold air to the bottom of your pans. Getting the air below the fire on your little set up will help.
Nice work! My boys and I made our evaporator out of cinder blocks rammed with earth, then used rock wool and sheet metal inside to insulate and protect. Where the round 6 inch tube exits we just stuffed rockwool. We supported the chimney internally with a long rod of rebar that comes up through a T, also plugged with rock wool. Butterfly valve is just outside stove. It boiled so furiously that we had issues with sap burning on side walls of our three cafeteria pans (would boil so intense that it would constantly splatter side walls). Now we use a large evap pan on top and it is not burning, but too much heat is escaping out uninsulated blocks that use to not be exposed that we may either drop a row of brick or insulate again/more. Nice thing about this setup is the pan holds close to 40 gallons if I put way more than I might for max efficiency. Why do this? Because I can stuff stove after getting good coal bed and next morning 3/4 has been evaporated but not burned. Still, once we insulate this may boil fast enough to not need to. One more tip: I bought a 2 KW variac (variable AC) for my plug in leaf blower. When I am getting initial fire ripping I have it close to max, then turn it way down for an hour or so before turning it off. Works nice (inlet pipe is at base of bricks going into bottom of burn area, but it may have been better to elevate it to second row as ash can plug up at times). We feed wood through a cinder block with holes facing out, and block airflow with two fire bricks. Last year the four of us made 13 gallons, even though it was not a great year. Happy enough! Enjoy your outstanding rewards...
Try extending the the cooper tube to the front pan. Take the sap from the front pan and put it in the back pan. The heat is more consistent in the rear pan than the front pan. Good luck your setup looks great.
I'm just building one now. how far up the sides can you get the fire bricks? Im assuming that you can only get them up so far before they will fall over? great video.
I have a similar setup. My goal for next year will be to build a warming box the wraps around the chimney to gather as much heat as possible before it exits the evaporator.
This has been a record season here in Shawville, Quebec. 50 maple trees, 17 gallons of syrup. 😳
Can't go wrong with that! Nice haul for sure.
Nice little set up. I used a turkey cooker propane burner last year. Probably cost more for propane than syrup would've cost, lol. Hoping to upgrade this year myself.
I like your warming tray setup. Will put something together for next season. Pulled taps yesterday. Had enough of the time spent boiling. Happy to have 11 litres of the liquid gold to hoard and enjoy. Keep at it Sandy. Spring is here soon with lots more work to enjoy
Yeah that’s a good amount of syrup you’ve got. Sure does take a while to boil but maybe one day I’ll upgrade. For Now the price is just right
@@sawingwithsandy I'm using an old wood stove I cut the top off of. Not much different than your set up. This season I was averaging 4 hours to get one litre to finish. Cold sap added to the tray certainly slowed it down. Always fun to learn along the way. We'll be pro's in no time. Had to increase production this year because my 4 adult kids found my stash. I won't have to ration my own enjoyment this year. It's in my coffee every morning
Haha have to find a good spot to hide the stash. That sounds like a good idea cutting the top off the woodstove. That may be a good idea for a second evaporator for me someday
Thanks for your vlog watching this in New Zealand..
What state are you in ?? Amazing to see all that snow in the background...
I know this is from last year. But great video man. I'm going to send this over to my father as he will be helping me out this year. I recently found out people are using a siphon from pan to pan. I think I might try that this year. I like your preheated pans as well. Good idea
Hope your sugaring season goes well!
Wicked video. I've got a similar setup and am always excited to make small improvements like this to make it just a little bit better than the year before..... that's almost as much fun as making the syrup itself.
I’m with ya there. I also like the improvements and seeing the results
Great setup! I’d be concerned about lead from the condensation off the solder going into the sap. Might wanna look into a threaded pipe instead.
You mean solder, the stuff plumbers use to join copper pipes for domestic water?
I'm hoping he used the lead free plumbing solder.
4:40 did you build an arch into the chamber?
That’s the part hobby diy sugar rigs leave out: the arch. That’s why it’s called an arch. You build a means to force the flames up and tight to the pans: putting way higher heat to the pans shortens boiling time per gallon and reduces firewood consumption.
So take some metal to stack firebrick on and make an arch inside. That will increase heat on the front pan as well as the back pan and potentially make higher quality syrup as well.
Thanks for the very helpful tips. I will give these a go.
Looks great. Funny though, I do the opposite. I find the back pan much hotter, I finish in the back pan. Also I used sand instead of fire bricks.
I’ve used sand as well and that does work well. I also use ashes sometimes instead as well
Super helpful. I’m on the same timeline as you for doing sap. This is my second year. I’ll try and post a quick video on the weekend and maybe share a few of my learnings. Cheers!
thanks Shane Id like to check them out
Great video I just built one yesterday
Super video. Love the set-up.
Thank you!
Really interesting, I've only see the process done on UA-cam but would be interesting to try. No maple trees down here. When I was stationed up in Massachusetts, that's when I saw first hand the raw maple liquid collecting in buckets on hundreds of trees. We were out in the field for cold weather training so I didn't get an opportunity to speak with the owner/harvester but was quite interesting to see. Enjoyed a full-watch. Have a fine Friday and upcoming weekend.
Thanks for checking out the video. We sure do enjoy the maple syrup around here. Lots of work to make it and we need the perfect amount of cold then Warm weather. Hope all is well with you.
Nice report.
Hey buddy how are ya? Looks might cold out there. I’m thinking that the bottles of amber joy tastes so much better when ya make it yourself , while eating it ya think back at the hole process. Thanks for sharing
I’m doing well thanks. Hope you’re staying healthy out there with the covid going around. The syrup sure does taste good and even better after thinking about the work. Haha happy spring
I see your firewood over your shoulder. I like to keep my wood a little smaller than the size of my wrist it seems to burn hotter.
I would like to try and buy a RO system for next year. My last batch I put in glass jars to settle out then bottle them later
Turn out great this year.
That’s good to hear. I’m hoping to do some research into RO as well. Would save a lot of boiling that’s for sure
@@sawingwithsandy
Check out the RO bucket site
Wouldn't the hottest boil come from the pan in the back of the stove. So you would use the front pan for the warming pan?
Our sap furnace get so hot...we needs a face shield when firing. We have a great draft. No forced a air.
I believe the 2" sap level tip is actually just an illusion - it takes the same amount of energy to boil a full tray once as it does to boil 2" of sap four times. Plus, a full tray has more energy inertia, so the boil takes longer to taper off.
I have the same setup. The only thing I hate doing is cleaning the pans and the end of the season. You have any tips for easier pan cleanup?
Wish I did. Elbow grease is about my only solution
Go to a maple supply place or even online I suppose and get a jug of acid cleaner for evaporater pans
Just follow instructions. I think it’s around 25 bucks for 4 litres
easy off oven cleaner on the outside bottoms of the pans
Cordless angle grinder with a wire brush head on it for burns. Just make sure you get any wire fragments out before you add sap to boil again, a magnet works great for that.
As a good alternative to firebrick, I used the old style red clay bricks since my barrel is a former oversized oil tank. I found the bricks used on the local classifieds for fractions less than real firebrick. They work perfect. If I tried to do mine with the real stuff at $4 a brick, I'd need to be dropping $500 or more just in bricks.
Great tips! Thanks.
Nice Job ,Thank You For Your Video !!!
Thanks for watching Greg
Good imformation.Decent equipment.
Thanks Terry
Put your pre heater pans above your stack and wrap your pre heater tubes around your stack.
How did your sugaring season go this year? I just finished my first year in NY. My tree budded out and the sap started stinking today
You could really notice a smell change?
@@neilv6754 yeah i had one gallon in the morning that just had a whiff of offense but the gallon and a half i pulled at night smelled like Rotten milk
Love it. Just giver. Jimmy rigging is the best
I'm with ya on that one! There's good and there's good enough haha
@@sawingwithsandy get the job done use what you have. Living in the bush that's just the way it is lol
We fill our pans almost full and just let it rip. Rapid boil and I continue to fill it until she's ready. Hill Billy style.
Why not add an oil drip to the barrel? It will burn hotter and allow you to keep more syrup in the pans
2" of sap is a solid tip. Took me 2 years and buying a pan with a 2" line etched in it😁 . Lord I wasted some time and energy.
I’m sure I learned it from someone else as well. Glad it helped ya though!
Neat sap preheater
Thanks Bryan
Neat stuff
Thanks for watching Peter
Thanks
where did you get your pans?
Hi Gary. Ordered them off amazon
@@sawingwithsandy Thank you. Did you do a video on creating your evaporator?
I did. Here it is
ua-cam.com/play/PLlIqRYdFUXsW80oUazKY60oDdg14g4e1h.html
Can you provide a link to the pans, I couldn't find them on amazon?
I disagree...to a point. What he said is true. At the beginning of the video. But I think if the sap is closer to a finishing point when adding . It turns darker. We have a 60 gallon pan and trickle the sap in from a warming pan. Never letting it go past half before refilling. And then still trickling it in so we don't lose our boil.
Show more of what you are talking about closely .Better and closer video / camera footage would be great .Following your voice would be easy while the camera shows what you're talking about precisely. Good video though 👌🏻
👍👍
Thanks Stephen
Good luck
Thanks Larry
thanks