As the bottom pans heat, they release steam to transfer heat to the pans above. The heat is more easily controlled than in the Jamaican Train method, because one source is needed, at a lower temperature, for multiple pans of sugarcane juice. This prevents the sugar from being burned and discolored.
As the workers do not have to transfer the liquid, sugarcane is not spilled and they are at a reduced risk for burns. Several years after patenting the system, Rillieux successfully installed it at Theodore Packwood's Myrtle Grove plantation.
Not long after this, Rillieux's new system was installed at Bellechasse, a plantation owned by Packwood's business partner, Judah P Benjamin.
After these successes, Rillieux managed to convince 13 Louisiana sugar factories to use his invention. By 1849, Merrick & Towne in Philadelphia were offering sugar makers a choice of three different multiple-effect evaporation systems.
They were able to select machines capable of making 6000, 12000, or 18000 pounds of sugar per day.
The evaporators were so efficient that the sugar makers were able to cover the costs of the new machine with the huge profits from the sugar produced with Rillieux's system.
