Pure Maple Syrup Season 2025: Fall Preparations
Some things are best done early, and thoroughly cleaning the Pure Maple Syrup Evaporator is one of those things.
Below is the “after” picture of the evaporator pans and steam hoods back in place on the arch. All of the smaller gadgetry that makes this piece of equipment go, semi-automatically, is not yet remounted in this photo.
At first the evaporator control systems are disassembled in place; then the pans and hoods are removed, and cleaned by pressure washer. After cleaning, a new gasket is installed between the pans and the arch (the firebox), and the pans and hoods are remounted on the arch.
Two pairs of hands are necessary for dismounting and remounting the pans; as in some years past, Kenton was on hand to help with the process.
All of that “gadgetry” that makes up the control systems I wrote of above, is on the table after cleaning. Float boxes at the back (these manage the fluid levels in each of the three pans sequentially (Head Tank to Steam-Away, to Flue Pan, to Syrup Pan.) In the foreground are the various clamps, valves, valve handles, seals, and manifold piping. Lower right are the thermocouple and draw-off valve that together with a digital control cause the syrup to be drawn off at the appropriate sugar content.
The first thing we will do just before the season opens in spring, is to run a water test-boil, which both tests all evaporator systems for proper function, and sterilizes the equipment.
Too see what this all looks like in operation, see the post:
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