Steam away and concentrate from an RO

[michiganfarmer2]

I cant make up my mind weather to buy a steam away for my 3x12, or buy an RO. If I decide to go with a steam away for next year, and add an RO the year after that, does the concentrate cause problems in the steam away?

[Sugarmaker]

Maybe just go direct to the R.O and save the money by not buying the steam away? Your only going to get 1 to 1.5 points increase of sugar content on the steam away. Sounds like your tap count is going up too.
Chris

[Snow Hill Farm]

Believe me, go with the RO! My operation is similar to yours and you won't regret it. The time and firewood it has saved me is amazing, roughly 80%. Obviously they aren't cheap (and I got a 25% grant) but the gain in family time and time I don't have to take from my regular job made it a no brainer. This has been such a stress free sugaring season and I've started buying some sap because of the RO, might as well utilize it!

[JD COOK FARM]

I have both. I have not had any problems running concetrate through the steamaway. I have been bringing it to 7 or 8% every day, then after the steamaway it is at 9 or 10% when it hits the syrup pan. I don't know your situation, but the steamaway gives me pure hot water the whole time. I wouldn't want to give either one of them up I can tell you that. Jay

[michiganfarmer2]

thank yuo evryone

[NE Cornfed]

I was actually wondering the same thing. Since we re-commissioned the sugarhouse, the owner basically looking for a 5 yr plan on equipment purchases. The RO and/or steam-a-way are probably around yrs 3-5.

[Brent]

Like the JD Cook farm, we're running both. Like them we run up to 7.5 to 8% in the RO and then through the SteamAway.

The guys I bought this evap from said they got 100 gallons an hour of hot water out of the SteamAwa. One member in Ohio said he got about the same. I didn't run the rig quite so hard, saving some wood, but I took out a 5 gallon pail of hot water every 5 to six minutes.

You get that for the cost of running a 1/3 Hp motor. The blower comes with the SteamAway. So the next question is how much is it going to cost to run the RO.
The biggest question is how much power you have in the sugar shack. If you've got enough to run 4 to 7-1/2 Hp more, then I'd say go with the RO. If the cost of the extra power is a big factor, get the SteamAway.

[Thad Blaisdell]

I have both and hands down the RO is the best bang for the buck. If I did not have the steamaway I would not buy one. My steamaway raises the level about 3% yes basically for free. But the RO can take me to 20% if I so desire, and I can buy an on demand hotwater heater much cheaper. I also dont think the steamaway is a very good bang for your buck item. Do what you want but go RO first for sure.

[bobbyjake]

RO over steamaway every day, except the day that the RO decides to act up. Dollar for dollar an RO is a better value, but like all high tech equipment, when they act up, it is a real issue. They just never seem to get finicky on a qt/tap day, it always seems to be the 2 gallons/tap day that it decides to take a hiatus.

There is really nothing to go wrong in a steamaway, even the blower is a standard issue Dayton motored "beast" that you can get from Grainger or have it rebuilt virtually overnight. RO's - well lets just say it starts out with the dealer not answering your phone call, not having a clue, not having the parts and maybe not even speaking the same language you do. All that assumes that you actually received a comprehensive operators manual in your language and have tried to work through the difficulty yourself for a number of hours before you start harassing them.

The biggest negative with the steamaway is that it is one more thing to clean - and a good scrubbing several times per season is a must if you want to keep it presentable and keep your grade up.

[sapman]

I'm just like J D Cook, looks like. Same size evap., steamaway and RO. I concentrate to about 13% and have no problems. Just have to be ready for the big draws at the start of boiling!

[michiganfarmer2]

again, thank yo everyone for the input