Sap chiller I hope this link works.
All upgrades and improvements seem to come with their own problems. Last year I installed a reverse osmosis system in my sugarhouse. It increases the sugar concentration in maple sap from 1-2% up to 8-10%, reducing the time and energy required to produce finished syrup. However, it also raises the temperature somewhat, producing an excellent growth medium for various microorganisms, especially if the weather is unseasonably warm. One particular bacteria changes simple sugars to long chain polymers, resulting in what is called “ropey” syrup. It won’t flow through the pans properly, it foams up and boils over, and can burn the pan. There isn’t much use for the finished product, animal feed, or cheap tobacco flavoring.
Refrigerating the sap in storage will nearly eliminate the problem, and make better quality syrup in any case. If you have money to spend, you just buy a refrigerated milk tank and be done with it. If you have less money, you buy a commercial glycol chiller, and circulate the chilled glycol solution through some sort of heat exchanger in your existing tanks. If you are an absolute bottom feeder in the equipment department, like I am , you get really interested in something like the systems shown in the attached article.
I hope some of you will read this, comment and maybe give some useful advice. The article is mostly about adapting cheap window AC units, but he does mention the idea of a mini-split. The important part to me besides cheap, is to start with a sealed system, keep it sealed, and not have to do any actual AC service type work.
All upgrades and improvements seem to come with their own problems. Last year I installed a reverse osmosis system in my sugarhouse. It increases the sugar concentration in maple sap from 1-2% up to 8-10%, reducing the time and energy required to produce finished syrup. However, it also raises the temperature somewhat, producing an excellent growth medium for various microorganisms, especially if the weather is unseasonably warm. One particular bacteria changes simple sugars to long chain polymers, resulting in what is called “ropey” syrup. It won’t flow through the pans properly, it foams up and boils over, and can burn the pan. There isn’t much use for the finished product, animal feed, or cheap tobacco flavoring.
Refrigerating the sap in storage will nearly eliminate the problem, and make better quality syrup in any case. If you have money to spend, you just buy a refrigerated milk tank and be done with it. If you have less money, you buy a commercial glycol chiller, and circulate the chilled glycol solution through some sort of heat exchanger in your existing tanks. If you are an absolute bottom feeder in the equipment department, like I am , you get really interested in something like the systems shown in the attached article.
I hope some of you will read this, comment and maybe give some useful advice. The article is mostly about adapting cheap window AC units, but he does mention the idea of a mini-split. The important part to me besides cheap, is to start with a sealed system, keep it sealed, and not have to do any actual AC service type work.