oil/fuel tank thoughts?

[krusty]

Hi gang,

Have been boiling sap for 3 years now on a 30"x30" pan supported by cinder blocks and a wood fire. I burn my sawmill slabs so making syrup cleans up the yard as well!

Every year I scrounge new cinder blocks as they do not last. Have read many of the threads on the fuel tank setup and am leaning that way as a more permanent firebox. I do find it humorous how much great work people put into them! Though I simply want more heat directed up to the pan.

Was planning to take the tank and flare out the sides from the nominal depth to about 36" so this should give me a 3'x5' pan approx. Surface area is keen for me. Dont need any form of chimney on it as I plan to have about 1" of space for the smoke to come out all around the sides. Of course when she is fired up I would expect the flames to come out as well up the side of the pan. Am not too worried about scorching as I have no issues in the past I just control the combustion rate.

Any other considerations for design? I am too cheap to use fire bricks as wood is free. Also considered adding flues but from what I understand is that evap is limited to surface area of the pan. A flue will only ensure more fire heat is transferred to the sap and get a better boil. For now I have no issues with a vigorous boil with a flat bottom.

Believe it or not the more wood I consume the happier I am. I still have slabs from 2 years ago to burn.

Always appreciate your insights.

[Rossell's Sugar Camp]

If you do not move the evaporator off the blocks and do not disturbe them they stay strong and hold for a long time. Just dont move the pan. And as far as flues go then you need a chimney to cause a draft or a blower as a draft inducer.

If wood isnt an issue then use a huge blower. You will get a ton of heat.
If you have no electricity at your sugar house then try using a 2 cycle leaf blower.

Hope i helped

[Buckeye mapler]

The pics on my flicker link at the bottom of my post has pics of an oil tank we turned into an arch. There is also a couple of pics of my first season using a 55 gallon metal barrel which was plenty big for a 2x4 pan. Very little work in it at all and it worked great.

[RileySugarbush]

Unless you have an oil tank you want to recycle, it is easier to build an arch with light angle steel and sheet metal. Square corners are good.

Search here for Davy Jones' plans. Simple and easy to build and even easier to brick.

[sommertime]

Im a rookie here. What a great site. Are there any pictures or plans for a homemade fuel tank evaporator? I searched but couldnt come up with anything. Todd

[whalems]

check in photobuckets in users signatures. There are alot of pictures of different oil tank evapotators. Good luck, Mike

[cpmaple]

Hello fellow traders,
There is pics in my photobucket of a 2x6 275 barrel evaporator that i have made.there is also so of the changes i have done in the last few day in my album cpmaple

[3rdgen.maple]

Krusty put a stack on it. Not only flames shooting out from around the pans are a potential burn hazard all that smoke rolling around in the pan will affect your grade and taste of the syrup and also let all the heat escape your arch and aid in sucking cold air into it. Your evap rate will go up your fingers and skin will thank you.

[Gary R]

Krusty, I'm with 3rd Gen. A stack is all you need.

Sommertime, here's a link to a thread I made. It's the whole evolution of my oil tank evaporator. It's not the prettiest, but it boils good.

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?t=3621

[krusty]

Thx for the guidance. I am pretty sure I can scrounge a tank for some arch material and will go with the 8" stack as it is east to find 8" stove pipe here me thinks. Spring like conditions today but unfortunately we still have a good month of winter left. Will post a pic or two once it is up and functional.