Build a Preheat Drip Pan for Steady Maple Syrup Boils

To make your maple syrup boil faster consider building a preheat drip pan for steady maple syrup boils. When cold sap is added to a boiling evaporator pan, the boil usually is reduced since the temperature drops suddenly. This leads to time spent building up the temperature in the evaporator pan back to where the boil is strong. To avoid this time wasted, increase the efficiency of your evaporator by making a preheat drip pan that will slowly drip cold sap into the hot boiling evaporator pan. This slow drip will keep the boil going strong and only slight reduce the boil. By positioning the preheat pans adjacent to the chimney, the sap will also be preheated so that the difference in temperature between the boiling evaporator pan and the incoming sap is less. For only a few dollars and a few minutes of your time, you can put together a similar setup as the one I have here to make your maple syrup evaporator even more efficient.

[@mriguy3202]

it would be easier to move around and more reliable if you had a flex connection between the pans.

[@larrykluckoutdoors8227]

Looking good so far

[@denisd4050]

Good day Sandy. Hope the nice temperature is coming too I’m not making Maple syrup but. I just won’t the snow to melt away have good weekend

[@sawingwithsandy]

I’m hoping for the snow to melt too. Alough it’s keeping my sap cool in between syrup boils

[@SuperHurdman]

I was thinking about doing a drip system too! you have to let me know how it works! I am going to do what your doing but going to get some 1/4 copper tubing and doing some wraps of the pipe so the fluid will go around the chimney heating it up and then into the pan! If you put your copper tubing in vinegar or apple cider vinegar it will clean them up back to copper colour!

[@kevinbadboy16]

That works great!!! Just don't turn your drip down to low lol we got a little warm with 6 wraps around the chimney valve almost closed only steam till we got it figured it out but works great!

[@mcdls5]

When your wrap the pipe use a form that is smaller than the chimney so that it will be tight around chimney when you put it on. Otherwise it will not be tight.

[@brianrodemeier5786]

Great video! We have a similar setup. We had a fuel oil barrel with a 60 gallon pan. Our warming pan is over our stove pipe going outside. The stove pipe warms the sap going in. I would love to do a video. But how do I do it??? I need exact step by step directions.

[@larrykluckoutdoors8227]

I waiting to see everything work. I would had run 1 warming pan to 1 boiling pan

[@sawingwithsandy]

You’re right about that one. I’ll have a video coming out soon with the boiling. Went well but you’re idea with the two pans would definitely be better

[@fiendeng]

Great channel! And love the idea . Will certainly use something of the sorts for my first maple syrup attempt! Any advice on filter or straining before/after boiling? Is the fancy maple tree drill bit they sell at my local farm co-op worth it ? Thanks

[@sawingwithsandy]

Hi Johnson, welcome to the channel. I find the expensive drill bit broke off in a tree on me this year and after that episode I've not used one again and instead used a normal hardware store brand wood bit with the same quality hole (atleast I think so). I'm about to put out another maple syrup boiling video showing the filters I use likely this Thursday (or Friday) but what I use is a light filter to filter the sap before I pour it into my evaporator. I then use a thicker "finsihing" filter" to filter the syrup before I bottle it. This keeps the syrup nice and clean and clear as it goes into the bottle. I also use a strainer to take the foam off the sap as it's boiling in my evaporator. I hope this helps and look forward to hearing more about your syrup making. Take care!

[@upnorthwoodworks3866]

Love the idea!!! Did you get the pans on amazon? I'm also in Ontario but can't find them anywhere. Thanks

[@sawingwithsandy]

Yeah pans are from amazon

[@nickd2309]

Awesome set up I was just wondering what that fitting is called and were you got it thanks! Definitely earned a new Sub!

[@sawingwithsandy]

I wish I could remember the name of it

[@placeforvideo]

Bulkhead fitting

[@mountainviewcattle]

Looks like a great set up this year Sandy. Do you think that oxidized pipe will taint the taste of the syrup? Or did you flush it through multiple times to prevent contamination with bits of rusty metal?

[@sawingwithsandy]

To be honest I cleaned out after I made it really well with a flexible brush so it seems to be all good now. If I were to change it I’d have put one of the warming trays going to each of the evaporating trays. Ah well

[@mriguy3202]

@@sawingwithsandy you can set a siphon between the two evaporating trays and achieve the same thing.

[@codyhunt5022]

How did this work out? Would you be willing to sell the pans with the ore heat set up done?

[@mikewickman3126]

So how did your warming pans work? I'm thinking about trying a similar setup.

[@winjoda]

How did this work out? It seems like soldering *after* mounting them in the pan would burn up the gasket.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Seemed to work out. I too thought the gasket would burn off but it did t get hot enough to melt away luckily

[@koningbolo4700]

run a little vinegar through the rusty copper pipes... just in case the copper rust will come loose ...Maybe even have some vinegar sit in the pipes and the valve for a couple of days... Also I hope you didn't fry the rubber o rings while soldering...

[@sawingwithsandy]

I got lucky and didn’t cook the o rings thankfully. In the future ill take those off while soldering. Good idea using the vinegar. Hope all is well

[@rreisler88]

Where did you get that piece that made the seal into the hotel pan? local hardware store or online??

[@sawingwithsandy]

Bought that at my local hardware store

[@larrykluckoutdoors8227]

Lead free?

[@sawingwithsandy]

That’s a great point and I did use lead free solder back when I originally put that valve and fittings together but sure is a good idea to be sure for this type of use

[@billhayball8439]

better off wrapping your chimney with copper piping and utilize the venturi effect

[@stevensaunders4982]

Bill, how would that set up look and work? Thanks

[@kevinbadboy16]

@@stevensaunders4982 your preheated pan would be higher wrap small cooper tubing around the chimney about 6 times with a valve comes out almost at a boil so it don't kill it works great