how many gallons

[Round Mtn Mapler]

How many gallons will I need to start boiling in a 2 x 6 mason evap?

And can I do a test fire with just water?

[cpmaple]

Round Mtn Mapler is that drop, raise, or flat pans and yes you can test fire with water use the water just like it was sap but have enough on hand so you dont get into trouble. cpmaple

[rossibuilders@gmail.com]

I wouldn't, by time you really get it going it would nt be worth it. keep hose running. fill it to get floats dialed then drain it dont waste wood. tanks empty fast always leave plenty reserve to cool her down so you dont burn pans.

[Round Mtn Mapler]

Round Mtn Mapler is that drop, raise, or flat pans and yes you can test fire with water use the water just like it was sap but have enough on hand so you dont get into trouble. cpmaple

flat pan.

I just finished bricking the arch... It took us 4 hours 85 bricks (1/2 bricks) and two buckets of mortar.

I have 2 plus cords pine slab stacked and drying and 1/2 cord maple split and drying.

[Cardigan99]

Round Mtn. I've got a 2x6 raised flue and I generally figure 7-10 gallons on shutdown but the lowest I'll let the head tank go is 25 gallons. I've got a mark on the tank @ 25 gallons called the "Oh $hit" mark.

[Brent]

It will take about 40 gallons to fill it the first time.
When you get to boil sap I wouldn't start until you've got 80 to 100 on hand.
On our previous incarnation with a 2x6 we would stop adding wood when the overhead tank got to about 20-25 gallons. With pine you may be able to go lower than than.
That was a 2 x 6 raised flue.

[SeanD]

I have a Mason 2x6 with my own flats. I average about 19 gallons/hour with a very good natural draft and a mix of wood, firing every 6 min. I think it takes about 8 gallons to put an inch in both pans, so to make the math easier - call it 10 gal. in the pans to light the fire and 20 gal. per hour after that. From there you can figure your length of boils. If you collect 50-60 gallons in a day, you are looking at a three hour boil or so. You could also push it to the next day and get a much more efficient 6-hour boil. Basically, just divide what you collect by 20 to see how long you can boil.

There's nothing wrong with doing a test boil for an hour or so with water. You can figure out your rate, but you'll get a better sense of how things are going by just watching how well the back pan boils. It's hard to get a back flat pan to boil, so if it keeps its boil for most of the time between firings as cold water is coming in, you are getting the most out of your setup. If it sort of simmers and never gets going or if it only boils in the front of it for a couple minutes, it's time to tweak the bricks under your pans - usually closing the distance and pushing that heat right up against the pan.

That's where I'm at with mine. To get the back pan really going, I have to really fill the firebox and the stack had to be glowing. I'm going to try slowing that heat down as it races toward the stack by squeezing that distance down with bricks just before it leaves the pan.

Sean

[lakeview maple]

I have a Leader 2x6 with a drop flue pan,I try to have at least 80 to 100 gallons to start ,otherwise with the forced air it seams like your just getting going and your shutting it down,I have a half of a 55 gallon barrel that my main tank empties into .When the main tank is done and all I have left is the barrel Im done firing the arch. Works for me and ,thank you God no burnt pans.Good luck and hope it helps ,Al

[Brent]

Reading Sean's response I have to ask, is your Mason flat pans or with flues. The fill will change somewhat with the depth and number of flues. The Phaneuf had 11 flues 7-1/2" deep, which of course will mean nothing if you've got flat pans. Sorry if I assumed wrong that you had flues in yours.

[Tweegs]

I won’t start my 2X6 up without at least 100 gallons to process (150 for the first of the season run).

I charge the firebox for the last time when I have 1.5 times my evaporation rate left in the tank.

So if I’m cranking along at 30 GPH, I charge the last time at 45 gallons left in the tank and let her coast down from there. By the time she’s cool to the touch, I’ve got somewhere near 20 gallons left.

[maple flats]

On my 3x8 I have a mark on my head tank site tube for 18 gal remaining. That is all I need to cool down. I do use AOF and it burns completely, but as long as I don't add any wood after I get to the 18 gal things are good. I boil at 3/4-1" and after the boil essentially stops about 15 minutes past last fueling I dump the remaining sap into the pans (usually about 8 gal). I shut off the blower about 2-3 minutes after that 18 gal mark. To start up next time, my pans are at about 1/2- 3/4" after the previous shut down. I load the firebox, verify sap flow from head tank but than leave it shut off. I then use a 500,000 BTU weed burner torch to light it. Usually fully lit in about 60-90 seconds. I then open the valve to supply sap.
I was taught that you need about 3 hrs evaporation minimum for first boil. I boil at about 65 gph so I start at 200 gal. These are raw sap numbers, this next season I'll have 8-10% concentrate so numbers will change, but I will no longer need 3 hrs because feeding concentrate will need less further concentrating to protect it from freezing.

[cpmaple]

I have a 5x10 evap with a 7' raise flue and 3' divided front pan it takes me about 125-145 gals to set the pans at correct depth that i like. Then i wont fire it up till i have bare min. of 600 gals on hand. My last fire is around 130 gals in my holding tank and by the time it cools down i most of the time have anywhere from 10-20gals left in the tank. Which is good so i know but i always have supply water ready just incase of an emergency and also have a bypass directly into my flue pan for a back up incase something happens with the float. cpmaple

[adk1]

Interesting. I have a 2x6 and a 200gal tank. SO what you are saying is that in the early am (pre-run time) you need to alrady ahve 100gallons of sap in the tank before firing up, and in hopes that the sap will run durign the day..interesting...

[maple flats]

I found with my AOF, things burned so much more completely that I had far less heat left (translated, fewer coals built up) to continue the boil after the last firing.

[adk1]

I wont have any AOF or Under this yeah, probably not for a few years yet. Would need to replace the entire from of the evap to get an insulated doors.

[Tweegs]

Interesting. I have a 2x6 and a 200gal tank. SO what you are saying is that in the early am (pre-run time) you need to alrady ahve 100gallons of sap in the tank before firing up, and in hopes that the sap will run durign the day..interesting...

For me, 100 gallons gives a couple of hours run time. Less than 100 gallons it seems like I just get everything up to a good boil and I have to shut down again. Use quite a bit of wood building up a steam, too, which in the end seems like a waste.

With just 100 gallons in the tank, I may wait until later in the day to fire up, on the chance that I can continue boiling the day’s run of sap.

[shane hickey]

All operations are different with different circumstance I wont fire up unless I was have 4000 gallons otherwise I light them up just to cool them back down.