Pan configuration

[spencer11]

I am planning on building a 2x6 or 2x8 evaporator next season and was wondering what I should use for pans? I was thinking a raised 2x4 divided or flat rear pan with a 2x2 or 2x4 divided from pan. Any thoughts or comments are welcome.

[Ausable]

I am planning on building a 2x6 or 2x8 evaporator next season and was wondering what I should use for pans? I was thinking a raised 2x4 divided or flat rear pan with a 2x2 or 2x4 divided from pan. Any thoughts or comments are welcome.
Hi spencer11 - So for 2012 You show a homemade 275 gal oil tank evaporator.....You sticking with that? or building something bigger? If the tank is left standing upright and you cut the top off at the upper bend in the tank and reenforce and mount your evaporator pans on top of that - you will have a 2' x 5' rig. That is what I have with flat pans. Normally the Sap Pans are near the stack and the syrup pans towards the front where you toss the wood in. However - there are all kinds of set ups. My Sap pans (2) measure 12" x 24 " and my syrup pans (3) measure 8" x 36" and are interconnected. I have a tapered hole and plug between my last sap pan and my first syrup pan and the same thing between my second syrup pan and last syrup pan. This gives me the ability to isolate into three seperate sections if needed ----- Like a good boil going and whoops - I've run out of sap. You want to save your almost syrup so you isolate and scoop the contents from the sap pans into the first syrup pans and when close to scorching the sap pans - flood them with water. Boil the contents of the three syrup pans down some and isolate the last syrup pan and scoop the contents of the first and second syrup pan into the last syrup pan and flood them with water --- You got the idea - this also works for the last boil of the season. Hey! Guess I'm rambling a little - but - being able to isolate your pans when you have too and not loose syrup is right handy-------Mike------

[spencer11]

That's also a lot of the stuff I was wondering to about when I run out of sap. I do plan to stick with the tank for this year and have already cut the top off. And made a door. I just didn't know if it was worth it to put a divided rear pan on or could I just go with a flat open pan, or does it not matter? I am going to have a divided front pan though. I have steam table pans from last year that I might use if I can't find cheap enough pans but I have a lead on a 2x4 divided pan very cheap.

Spencer

[B.D.L]

I think if the back pan is divided you would be able to make lighter syrup because the sap coming it wont mix with the higher concentrate that is about to enter your front pan,no divider in the back would be like a single batch evap which tends to make a darker product feeding your continuous flow front pan.
Sap as it gets higher sugar content keeps its self separate from fresh incoming sap with a divider .

[spencer11]

Ok thanks thats what I was wondering. Does it matter which ways the dividers go. I've seen both front to back and side to side?

Spencer

[B.D.L]

front to back will let you reverse the flow in your syrup pan so sugar sand don't build up that is if the front pan is four section ,side to side is called cross flow,it works just fine but you cant reverse the flow,when you get build up you need to clean the pan.
Reversing the flow in and drawoff sides on the front pan will keep the sand/niter moving side to side not collecting in one spot that can burn a pan.
I think reversing is not needed if your operating on a small scale,with some time between boils to clean the pan when it needs it.

[spencer11]

ok i think i am going to go with (2) 2x3 divided pans, or a 2x4 and a 2x2 syrup pans that are divided.

spencer

[SeanD]

Spencer,

There's been some conversation about the benefits (or not) of reversing flow. A lot depends on how much sugar sand you build up. Some people get more than others. The size of the front pan makes a difference too. I have a 3' front pan and I get a real benefit from switching sides. Some people with 2' front pans see less of a benefit.

Although I'm a small producer and have days between boils, I also benefit from the reverse flow on long boils. I was building up a good layer of sand after a few hours, so in a 6-10 hour boil, it's good to just switch sides and not have to stop and switch, flip or clean the pan.

One last thing to consider is the layout of your evap. in your shack. If you have the evaporator off to the side and are not able to get to the other side comfortably, then go with a cross flow so you are always drawing from one side.

All that said, if I could do it over again, I'd probably go with a 4' sap pan and a 2' front pan so that when I make the jump to a flue pan I only have to buy one pan. With two 3-footers, you'll eventually have to replace them both when you expand.

You can't go wrong either way. People love their setups no matter what - especially if it was a labor of love. There are pros and cons to both. You are going to make good syrup either way.

Have fun,
Sean (from your sister town in the flat lands)

[B.D.L]

you can get a 2x3 flue pan if you like drop flue,like the Leader American.

[spencer11]

i am picking up(or planning on it) a 2x4 divided pan, that is galvanized for $50. i have heard that galvanized pans are bad to boil on. but i have heard that they are fine and thats what they used before stainless. and i really need a pan on the cheap for this year.

spencer

[B.D.L]

My cousin uses a galvanized pan and I swear I could taste the galvanized in the syrup.

[spencer11]

Well I'm gonna try it. Hopefully there are no sideffects. I just need a cheap pan for this year and it's a good opportunity.

Spencer

[SeanD]

Galvanized is still used in syrup making, but it is being phased out. I have galvanized sheeting on my arch and I can see where the heat is affecting the galvanization. You don't want those metals in your syrup. I used a galvanized wash tub my first year when I didn't know any better. Later I read about the dangers and I couldn't sleep after that.

The next year I had a local voc. school bend and weld up a 2x3 stainless pan for me. It was some kid's class project. I just had to pay the $150 for materials. A couple of years later, I took my own welding course and made two new pans, but I still have the old one. I even put 3 dividers in it to make it a reverse flow.

If you can't find an affordable alternative to that galvanized pan, I'll let you use my old pan for next season.

Sean

[spencer11]

how much would you want for your old pan?

spencer

[SeanD]

I'm not sure I want to part with it permanently yet, but I will let you borrow it for the 2012 season if you want. The last thing I need to do is weld on the two couplings. I'd be more motivated to get it done if I knew she was going back into service again.

Sean

[spencer11]

ok, thats fine. i would just feel safer if i owned it incase something bad happens to it duning this season. but if you will let me borrow it thats fine. do you think you could send me a couple pics.

spencer

[SeanD]

Sorry for the delay. I've been slammed with a few things over the last couple of days. Here's the pan. It's 18 ga. so it's pretty sturdy. It has some scale, but a good vinegar soak should take care of that. I also need to put the couplings on. Let me know what you think and I'll get on it.

If it works into your plans, great. If you find something else, that's fine too. Just don't use that galvanized pan. You'll need more, though. Eighty taps will be too much for this flat pan alone. Is this your first time sugaring? If so, keep it level and run it deep - no less than 1.5".

Sean

[SeanD]

Grrr. I'm having trouble uploading the pics. I've resized them to <90KB, so I don't know what the problem is. Send me your email and I'll try that.

Sean
woodvillemaples@verizon.net

[spencer11]

I have steam table pans and have decided not to get this galvanized pan. I plan on having 6 steam table pans with 4-4inch deep ones and 2-2 inch deep pans as warmers. I am making a frame the set the in on my oil tank arch. I should be able to get 10-15 gph with this set up. I could still us pics for the ideas for the pan I plan on making next year.

Spencer

[SeanD]

The steam pan set up is a great solution. You get maximum gph on very short money. When I did that, I made a large capacity ladle that helped move things along quickly. The only thing I'll say to watch for is the depth of your pans. The pans that sit right over the firebox are going to absolutely rip and you are going to have syrup everywhere. If possible try to go with a 6" deep pan at least for right over the firebox. I'm going to try to email you some pics of the pan. Good luck.

Sean

[SeanD]

4865
4866

Well, I couldn't email them to you b/c I can't add an attachment through the Trader email. So I figured out how to attach the pics here. The trouble I was having is that there is a limit to how many attachments you can have in your entire membership history. That's a bummer b/c to make room to attach these pics, I had to delete attached pics from old posts. Sure enough the pictures are gone from the old posts. That's kind of a bummer b/c I've learned a lot from doing searches and reading old threads. If everyone has to erase their attachments then the old posts won't be as informative w/o the picture to go with them.

Sean

[spencer11]

That's a nice pan. Who build it? Are the dividers riveted in? How much did I cost to get made? That's what I'm gonna build next year for my 2x6 arch.

Spencer

[SeanD]

Thanks. This is actually the pan that the tech. school made. 18 ga. was as thin as they wanted to go so it's a bit thick. I just had to pay $150 for the materials. They went about it in a funny way. One seam on the bottom is welded so that means they bent up three ends for sides and welded on the last. They must have been limited by the size and shape of the sheet they had.

The dividers I put in when I took a welding class a few years ago. Those were fairly easy - of course the shop had huge shears, brakes and a standing spot welder. Those are spot welds you see along the bottom and sides.

While I was in the class I made new pans from 20 ga. I bought a 4x8 sheet and brought it to class. That was enough for 2 new pans. I can't remember what I paid for the sheet. I think it was maybe $350 or $400 delivered, but that's a guess. There was a giant shear in class that made quick work of the sheet. I bent up all four sides so there are only the four welds in the corners. I'll be honest, the teacher of the class tigged those for me. Even making a sketch in advance, I goofed. I forgot to account for folding over the edges along the top so it's only 5.5" deep instead of 6". I put the dividers in the same way as the old pan.

I hope this helps.

Sean

[spencer11]

Yea this helps alot. I plan on making my own pans next year. I have a Lincoln electric 110 welder. I think all I need is a different wire and gas to be able to weld stainless. A friend of mine had a big break at his race shop that I can use to. I found a big mild steel pan out in NY. I've heard that those are ok to boil on as long as you keep them clean? Is that true?

Spencer

[spencer11]

496349644965here are some pics of what i have so far. with my pan mock up. just need some angle and start welding. i am droping the pans down in the fire. the front 4 pans are 4" deep and th last(black) 2 pans are 2" deep, those 2 are from last year on my my small block arch. hope the pics work.

[CBOYER]

If you drop your pans in the fire they have to be full of sap! if you dont have sap, sides of pans will burn and gave bad taste to your syrup

[spencer11]

i know they have to be full of sap. they are like big drop flues. i used 2 of the pans last year on a block arch and some burnt on the sides but didnt change the tast of the syrup...at least none that i noticed.

spencer

[CBOYER]

Having them full of sap reduce your efficiency. it is good to have only 1.5" to 2 " to boil on flat pan. Drop flue are full of sap, but have heat all sides. You maybe have to taste maple syrup that dont have burn to make difference..:confused:

[spencer11]

i havent tasted a difference from store bought syrup and my syrup and have had no complaints. i dont think the burnt taste gets in the syrup... i have heard the having the pans all the way full actually increases effencity. because the sides of the pan are in the fire. the bottom and all 4 sides get hot and boil which increases your gph..not much but a little.