Heated Air Speeds Maple Syrup Cooking

Heated Air Speeds Maple Syrup Cooking AG WORLD Roger Meihak Forest Lake Minn was looking for ways to speed up cooking maple syrup “Reverse Osmosis is too expensive as we only cook 6 to 8 gallons of syrup per year This year I tried an idea I had been thinking about for a while ” says Meihak “It seems as though water evaporates faster if it’s aerated But in my case the water is at or near boiling and running air through the water would also cool it down To heat the air I found a stainless steel beer-cooling coil on eBay ” says Meihak The outside diameter of the coil is 5 in to fit in the 6-in stove pipe He installed it just below the damper The coil is 50 ft long to transfer heat A small air compressor forces air through the coil Meihak uses brake line up to and into the syrup pan The brake line has a few holes near the end of the line and is insulated from the chimney to the pan “I was hoping for a temperature of at least 250 F leaving the coil and at times it’s closer to 400 F so I am able to aerate the sap without losing heat ” says Meihak “This method seems to speed up the cooking as the sap evaporates more being aerated even if it’s not boiling If someone was to build a better model such as with a longer brake line perhaps U-shaped with many holes in the line but very small maybe laser cut it could work even better I think it’s also important to use an oil-free compressor ” says Meihak Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Roger Meihak 10150 223rd Street N Forest Lake Minn 55025 ph 651 433-2600

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