2 x 6, 2 x 8, 2.5 x 8 ?

[borninmaple]

I have been boiling for years on a flat pan and am excited about finally being able to take the plunge and advance to a proper evaporator. I plan on running about 200 taps, storing sap during the week, and boiling on weekends. I have the potential for many more taps but most likely will stick in the 200-300 range. My preference is for open pans without hoods or preheaters. My question revolves around my nervousness over choosing the correct size. I have noticed in a few posts some unhappiness in the performance of a 2 x8 given the lack of boil at the back of the pan. Budget is not a much of a concern for me as picking the right evaporator and being happy in it's performance. As expected, I have heard mixed opinions from the dealers. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[NYScott]

I have been running a Grimm Lightning 2x8 raised flue with a preheater for 3 years. With good dry wood I have gotten all the way up to 50 gals./hr with the wood I'm burning now. (With this season being so long...my wood pile is getting way low and I had to resort to burning standing dead stuff and not really dry slab wood) I am still getting 30 gals./hr. I have 320 taps out and have had some seriously long days boiling this year. 12 and 15 hrs. Way too many when you have to get up and go to work the next morning. I guess after 3 years I have learned that I have a limit to how many hours I can tough spending in the sugarhouse. So I either

1.)Need to get a bigger evaporator.
2.)Cut back on the taps.
3.)Soup up what I've got even more.
4.)Pick up and RO.

After talking to a local supplier / retailer he imparted the simple fact that evaporation rates are directly proportional to surface area of your rig. If you have excellent draft and dry wood, you will not gain much by forcing more air into it. It makes sense to me. Hence I opted for buying a new 3x8 (thanks Fred) since NO way was I going to decrease the number of taps <g>. It will be fun to see what happens next year. Good Luck

[Three Saps Sugar Shack]

with 2-300 taps and only boiling on weekends,you have the potential to be boiling more then 1000 gallons of sap with a 3x10 evaporator your looking at 15 + hours of boiling, and your going to want to u/v steilize your sap daily for storage, if money is no object you might want to consider an r/o and a smaller ( maybe 2.5x8) evaporator and save on fuel

[PerryW]

I agree, get a 3x10. I tried to run 275 gravity taps on a 2x6 raised flue and it way too long of a boil even though I had the freedom to boil during the week. I spend less time boiling on my 3x10 on 700 taps than I did w/ my 2x6 on 275 taps.