Home >> Hobbies >> Other Hobbies

How to Build an Evaporator Pan

The production of sorghum syrup utilizes evaporator pans to remove excess water and thicken the remaining juice. An acceleration of the evaporation process occurs by maximizing the surface area of the juice. Flowing evaporators work under a temperature gradient which ramps from low to higher temperatures over the length of the pan. The completion of evaporation in the sorghum syrup making process ends when the temperature of the syrup has reached 230 degrees Fahrenheit or a density of 78 or 80 degrees Brix measured on a sugar hydrometer. Build your own evaporator pans to prepare sorghum syrup.

Things You'll Need

Large rectangular pan
Steam furnace
Stainless steel strips
Water

Instructions

- 1
  Place a rectangular pan with at least 4-inch sides in a work space. The size of the evaporator can vary greatly but typical dimensions are 3.5 feet by 12 feet by 6 inches. The pan should be made of stainless steel.
- 2
  Elevate the head of the pan where the juice enters 1 inch higher than the tail end of the pan where the syrup arrives. If the juice or syrup gets too shallow, it could burn.
- 3
  Plumb in the output of a steam furnace to the underside of the evaporator pan. Moderate the heat to start the juice boiling within the first 25 percent of the length of the pan. The temperature of the juice should remain constant throughout the first 75 percent of the evaporator. As the syrup becomes more concentrated, more heat will be required to maintain the temperature of the juice.
- 4
  Insert strips of stainless steel that are a few inches shorter than the width of the evaporator along the length of the evaporator. Alternate the openings from side to side down the length of the evaporator. The path of the juice through the length of the evaporator will resemble the switchback path of a road up or down a mountain.
- 5
  Block off the final 6 inches of the evaporator pan from the steam and place a water jacket around the pan to lower the heat and prevent the syrup from burning.

Other Hobbies