Cinderblock arch with steam pans - Indoors?

[PapaSmiff]

Is it possible to build a cinderblock arch, with steam pans on top, indoors without it leaking too much smoke into the shack?

I want to expand next year to a wood-fired evaporator, but can't afford to buy one for my small operation. But I also like boiling indoors. I saw pictures of Valleyman's setup, which is exactly what I'd like to do. But can it be patched up enough so that it doesn't leak smoke?

[C.Wilcox]

I think it can be made well enough to prevent the shack from getting filled with smoke, especially if you mortar the blocks in place, but you might want to do some test set ups outside during the summer to fine tune the dimensions, smoke stack height, etc. so that you know it will work well once you move indoors. If you're planning on making up a more permanent arch I would suggest picking up a flat pan to boil in rather than the steam pans. Steam pans work great, but don't match up seamlessly which leaves space for smoke/sparks to escape. A flat pan sitting on fireproof gasket makes a nice seal.

[SeanD]

I did it last year. I had the same worries about smoke, so I lined it with ceramic blanket. The down side to blanket is the cost. The upside is that it's easy to cut and fit into the block arch. Not a wisp of smoke leaked and I was able to reuse the ceramic blanket to insulate my "real" Mason arch I got for this year. Here's a picture of it in action.

Sean

[SeanD]

I forgot to mention, my block arch is dry fit.

Sean

[SeanD]

Here's a picture of how it all went together. The firebricks are stacked dry just to keep the blanket from getting trashed by the wood.

Sean

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Once you get the fire hot and have proper draft, you shouldn't get much smoke even when you fire. I used a cinderblock arch that was dry fitted that I took down and put up every year. I worked great and would recommend once to anyone. They are cheap and if a block breaks, it is a cheap replacement. I was using standard 8" blocks.