new to me 2x6

[jmayerl]

so here is a bunch of questions, sorry for being long winded but everyone on here seen to be quite helpfull. so I just bought a used 2x6 raised flue from a buddy of mine. he said that the flue pan leaks too much and is not repairable. so i am planning on buying a 2x4 flat pan to use in place of the flue pan.

1. should it have dividers in it or no.
2. last year i ran 25 taps in a batch and am not sure what the minimun taps i should have this year(i can cook 4-5 days per week since i work 2 days per week)
3. how much wood should i expect to go thru say in a 10 hr cook day(no blower)
4. anything else that might be helpful let me know.

[whalems]

What is the pan made of? (the leaking one) Stainless or english tin?

[morningstarfarm]

you'd be suprised what is actually repairable....my flu pan had a ton of holes in it...took me about 10 hours to solder them all up.. made the 50 bucks I paid for it well worth it...should get me through a few years until the upgrade bug bites me once again....:mrgreen:

[Sugarmaker]

the 2x6 with the flue pan in place could handle the 300 taps with the ammount of time you have to boil. a flat pan in place of the flue pan? Maybe dial back to 150-200 max taps?
I would agree try to fix the flue pan if possible. Unless the whole thing is rotted out? Sounds like a English tin flue pan.
wood: estimate .25 syrup per tap then you need a cord of wood for each 20-25 gallons. so 200 taps = 50 gallons syrup = 3 cord, just approximates.
Regards,
Chris

[jmayerl]

heres the funny part i dont know what the pan is made of, i am assuming tin. the front pan was replaced a few years ago. I bought the setup sight unseen for, $500. it also includes a full length hood, all the stack pipes, and 2 new base stacks, and new grates.

[Sugarmaker]

try a magnet on it generally;) = steel (TIN)
if it is rusty probably = tin
Post a picture of the worst area of the pan.
Chris

[jmayerl]

i will get a picture up as soon is i can get to the pan(3 feet of snow in the woods) i think i will be picking it up within a week.

also, i may only be able to get to tap 100 trees. will this not be enough sap to keep the rig going?

[Sugarmaker]

Oh yes 100 taps will work fine on this rig. Where you get in trouble is when you have way to many taps to get the sap boiled.
Chris

[whalems]

Is that 100 trees or taps? 100 trees would give you 200 taps roughly and that would be plenty of sap for that set-up. But 100 taps will be enough as well. and you have lots of time to boil have fun.:)

[jmayerl]

so far it looks like 100 taps. i'm working on asking my neighbor about a couple hundred more but not sure. If i run into to much sap there is a producer up the road that will buy it

[maple connection]

I have a 2x6 that I am going to cook on for my first time.
We can share the does and don't's together. I am planning on 300 taps but, I have a R.O.
Just finishing the 16 x 16 sugar shack, next project is build a hood and maybe a preheaterif there is enough time.

[whalems]

Then tap what you can. boil what you can. and sell the rest:) Then buy more maple stuff!!;)

[jmayerl]

I picked up the pans and the syrup pan is SS and in great shape, BUT the sap pan is old english tin and not in good shape. They are small Brothers pans, the rear pan has a ton of burnt on sap and a little surface rust. I only see a few small pin hole in the very rear most bottom of the pan. the flues look ok. What can I use to scrub all the gunk off with? is there a light acid or just elbow grease and scotch bright. After it gets cleaned up we'll have to see if theres any more holes but I may be able to salvage it.

[Flat47]

Don't scrub anything with any vigor. And no acid wash, either.

English Tin gets a brown patina to it over time. It's mostly niter (sugar sand) and hides a lot of pin holes and coats the lead in the solder - kind of acts as a barrier. Leave it there.

A good quick way to determine niter from rust is the feel each has. Niter will feel like really fine grit sand paper (like 400 grit) - but it'll be uniform feeling. Rust feels like areas of 100 grit mixed in with areas of 60 grit. All uneven feeling. Under good lighting and close scrutiny, you can really narrow down the areas of rust from the niter.

In the pic you posted, it looks to me like the flues all have niter patina- no problem there. The back looks rusty to me, as does the bottom of the float.

Hope all that helps. Good luck!

[jmayerl]

Quick update on the "new to me evaporator". Jim at smokey lake maple made me a great new divided flat pan to replace the flue pan. I have a float system all set up and tested. Ordered all new SS valves and fitting for between the pans. The SS syrup pan cleaned up great and looks brand new. I bought some 330 gallon totes and also purchased 250 new taps. spent the last 4 weeks collecting and buying 300 5 gallon pails from bakeries. Yesterday I went to pick up the arch and hood from my buddy (I paid 500 for it and the junk flue pan) as we picked it up with the loader the rear part of it fell apart and the grates are also all junk. Boy did I get F****D on this deal. :mad:I think my wife is now ready to divorce me for sure. So if anyone thinks they can help me get this ready to fire in the next week or two it looks like I will be selling all the sap this year and scraping out the entire arch. If I could even limp it through the season I would be happy.
Also the guy I bought it from is the one who told me I could just get a flat pan until I could afford a new raised flue. Well the arch is design with out a air gap so to make a flat pan work I am also gonna have to put a 1-2" spacer of some sort between the arch and pans, I thinking a welded up frame of 1.5" square stock will work for that.
PLEASE HELP ME!

[Dill]

Same thing happened to me 2 years ago trying to load my 2x4 with a loader. They don't go together. Are you any good at welding? You should be to patch that one together enough to use it.

[Flat47]

I think Dill can chime in with me as I say this, because we've used the same rig:

Patch it!

Get whatever sheet metal you can get your hands on and rivit it back together. After this season, re-sheet the arch with nice new stuff. If castings are broken, weld them or get them welded. The great thing about these castings is they don't bend - they break clean and it makes welding them back very easy.

ALL IS NOT LOST!

I just re-sheeted my 2x4 arch. Took 2 days and is really quite simple. I used an angle grinder and drill, bent the metal over the end of my truck tailgate, and it looks darn good and should last another 30 years or so.

Keep your chin up. If sugaring were easy, they call it cooking or something.

[Dill]

Exactly, I took that arch out a semi collapsed sugar house were it had sat for years. After struggling by hand a neighbor came over with a tractor and a chain. For 30 seconds he seemed like a god send, then everything turned into multiple pieces.
So a pop rivet gun flashing from the dump, refractory cement etc, I got it so flames wouldn't shoot out the sides and 2 days later started boiling and made over 20 gallons that way.
Don't worry about it being pretty or perfect. As for the flat pan, chip out or yank out some of the bricks so you have an air gap. Then insulate with something else. The worst part to fix is the back, but I just bent a few piece of metal down from the stack to the legs.


Glad to hear the old 2x4 is back to work again. Post some pics up.

[Flat47]

Exactly, I took that arch out a semi collapsed sugar house were it had sat for years. After struggling by hand a neighbor came over with a tractor and a chain. For 30 seconds he seemed like a god send, then everything turned into multiple pieces.
So a pop rivet gun flashing from the dump, refractory cement etc, I got it so flames wouldn't shoot out the sides and 2 days later started boiling and made over 20 gallons that way.
Don't worry about it being pretty or perfect. As for the flat pan, chip out or yank out some of the bricks so you have an air gap. Then insulate with something else. The worst part to fix is the back, but I just bent a few piece of metal down from the stack to the legs.


Glad to hear the old 2x4 is back to work again. Post some pics up.

Well said. I boiled on it just like you and I loaded it on my truck. In fact, it buckled a bit while unloading...but I ran it just like it was. Like you said, not pretty, but good enough to make 4 gallons. I'll post some pics soon.