steam hood ?

[jimsudz]

I'm building a hood for my preheater I'll have a drip pan under the preheater which will also catch condensation from the stack do I need gutters to catch condensation off the hood ? Thanks

[Bucket Head]

It would be a good idea to have one. The more water (condensate) you can prevent from going back into the sap the better. Why boil it twice? It would hepl in the long run.

Steve

[Southtowns27]

If your hood is wider than your evap, then you really don't need the gutters. The condensate will end up on the floor rather than back in you pans. However, gutters would be nice since you can then catch the hot water and route it to a bucket. If your hood is the same size as your evap, then yes, you need the gutters to keep the condensate out of your pans.

[Brent]

If you decide to make gutters, keep in mind how you are going to drain it. If you weld in a pipe fitting the ID of the fitting will be at least 1/4" above the bottom of the gutter and the condensation will have to be that deep before it will flow out. So the inside wall of the gutter needs to be well above the height of the drain fitting or it will all just drip back into the pan (or on the floor)

[markct]

when you weld in the pipe fitting you offset it to the bottom so the id is at the same level as the bottom of the inside of the gutter

[Sugarmaker]

I have gutters on my hoods I really dont get a lot of condensate off the rear hood? maybe I don't have the gutter deep enough or have a leak? Anyway I think its worth it to have the gutter around the inside. My front hood runs about 3/4 gallon per hour. But as these folks have said make it (1 inch) deep, water tight, and with a drain near the bottom.
Regards,
Chris

[markct]

sure sounds like you have a leak or poorly designed gutter, i know even before i put in my preheater i got a ton more condensate off my back hood than the front hood