Upgraded to a new W.F. Mason 2x6 Drop Tube and all I can say is WOW !

[Dave Lister]

Last year we decided that the W.F. Mason 2x4 evaporator just wasn't fast enough for us, as we only have time to boil on Saturday and some of Sunday. At 13-15 gph, 225 gallons of sap in one day is a daunting and tiring task. So I sold it to another trader member and placed an order with Bill who had it ready by last fall. We fire bricked the entire inside, put new heat shielding in the cabin surrounding the new 10 inch stack and got our wood prepared. Crossed our fingers for sap, and last weekend, we finally got it up and running.
We used a 55 gallon barrel as the float reservoir and had Bill equip it with a good sized blower.
roughly 8 minutes after striking the match, I had a full on boil. 10 minutes later I decided that the old cupola was not big enough, as the steam was so thick you could call the place a sauna. Good thing we had doors and windows we could open, which alleviated the issue. Thankfully it was pretty nice out though.

It boiled so fast, I averaged about 40-45 gph for the whole burn. That takes into account the time before boiling and ends when the bubbles stopped. I'll have to measure just how fast I can get it this weekend. The amount of sap flowing into the float box was often so much that it splashed and sprayed while it rushed in. It was crazy to think that was the same amount of sap being boiled off.

It was pretty good on wood consumption as well. I would say in the 4 hour boil we did, it went through about 3 feet x 8 feet by one row of wood which ranged between 12 inches and 18 inches.

The 2x4 used to put out thick black smoke when I fired it, so after filling the fire box with wood, I went outside to watch. To my amazement and extreme pleasure, I watched lots of thick black smoke shooting out of the stack, then 3-4 feet of flame as it ignited. Pics below.

I couldn't be any happier with this new evaporator. It far exceeded what I could have thought possible in such a compact design.
I would highly recommend it to anybody thinking of upgrading from something smaller.

Bill has certainly outdone himself on this design.

Enjoy the pics.

Tim

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6963307471_eb89f0a04c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/timandmartha/6963307471/)
We need a Bigger Cupola (http://www.flickr.com/photos/timandmartha/6963307471/) by [/url]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6817188710_3d35aba73a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/people/timandmartha/)
Evaporator and Float Reservoir (http://www.flickr.com/photos/timandmartha/6817188710/) by

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6817192072_1eb209176f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/people/timandmartha/)
Fire out the Stack (http://www.flickr.com/photos/timandmartha/6817192072/) by

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7192/6963313199_84f38fe10b_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/people/timandmartha/)
Cabin during a Evening Boil (http://www.flickr.com/photos/timandmartha/6963313199/) by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/timandmartha/]

[Paddymountain]

great pictures! it's a good feeling to be able to breeze through a bunch of sap in short order!!!
you'll need to tap 100 more trees next year!!!

[cmstearns]

what are u doning with the old evaporator:D

[Round Mtn Mapler]

nice pictures.

I'm running a new mason 2x5 but have not got to see boil rates yet...maybe this weekend.
Bill has been very helpful.

[sbingham]

Tim,
Great pictures!
I bought a 2x6 Hobby unit from Bill last year, can't say enough good about Bill, the unit, and his workmanship.
I almost went with his Drop Tube model, but decided to go with the Hobby unit instead.
Your experience and testimonial really has me thinking for next year.
What size is your sugar shack, if you don't mind me asking?
Thank you,
Scott

[western mainer]

Did you get the high output arch?
Brian

[Dave Lister]

Sbingham, I would say the size of the sugar shack is about 10 by 16, maybe 12 by 16? I'm not sure. Never measured it. It was originally an old camp bunk house that has had many uses since it last saw campers. I don't think any of us ever envisioned it being a sugar shack though. Funny how things change.

Western Mainer, what do you mean by high output arch? I am not sure we had or were aware of the option for a high output arch. The one we have holds wood about 16-18 inches long, and leaves about an inch of space between the bottom of the tube pan and the top of the fire brick, causing 90% of the fire to go straight through the tubes. I'm honestly not sure if I would want anything more high output than what I have now.

My biggest issue now is making sure i have enough sap to boil when Saturday comes around.

I know, I know....
What an issue to have.

[sbingham]

Tim - Thanks for the response, it looks like your old bunk house works out very well for you.
My arch is setting on a 12'x24' concrete slab, no building on it yet as I wanted to make sure it would be large enough.
Glad to hear a report on the WF Mason Drop Tube Evaporator.
I really like the unit I bought from Bill last year but... really have the itch to try one of these.

Brian - My WF Mason arch is the "hobby" series. I did have Bill upgrade the stack to come out the top of the arch like the "drop tube" arch, instead of out the back.
The upgrade cost a bit more money as did the blower, but both are well worth it.
I ordered my unit in the fall of 2010. In december of 2010 I seen on Bill's website that he was offering the "high output" arch.
I called him and asked a few questions, but during the course of the conversation found that he almost done building my arch.
He likely could have easily sold my arch, but I did not feel right about changing course midstream.

[Dave Lister]

Yes,
the size of the cabin works perfictly for me.
There's just enough space between the evaporator and the walls for me to have a stack of wood on either side and still have enough air space to walk between and remain safe from the heat.

[mapleack]

Great pics T.Crowley! Thanks for sharing!

[heus]

What did you ust to take those pics. Especially the last one thats awesome!

[Dave Lister]

The camera I used to take the pics is actually a Panasonic Lumix. Basically a point and shoot with the ability to play with some of the custom settings. It was about 200 bucks about three years ago with 8 megapixels. Great camera. Much like a decent SLR film camera, this allows you to keep the shutter open for upwards of 60 seconds for taking photo's of the night sky or fireworks. The shortest amount of time allowable is 15 seconds in that mode, but as you can see, at dusk, it does the job quite nicely. Granted, I had to use the timer on the camera and leave it on a railing so that I wouldn't make any movement.

[highlandcattle]

Beautiful pic. I have camera all over the place in case I need one quick!

[Tapped Out]

Awesome pix, and a maple sweet setup!

[English River Maple]

A second "WOW" from us, I couldn't agree with that statement more. We chewed through 600gal today, lit the fire at 12 noon, boil stopped at 745pm. We are amazed, and proud. Have fun with that machine, I bet it really cranks out some syrup! :o

[Starting Small]

When you purchased the evaporator from Bill, was the whole stack included or just the base stack? If not how much extra was the rest of the stack to purchase and what size diameter did you have to get. It looks like on his website that floats and valves are included. Is it reverse flow also? I am 99% sure this what I am going to go to next year for 150-200 taps (hopefully on vac) provided I can scrounge enough money together for a new evap and all that goes along with going to vacuum. Thanks,
-Dave

[wiam]

Mine came with base and 2 five foot sections. Stack is 10". This was 3 years ago so do not know I'd it has changed. Mine is not reversible. I believe it is an option. I do not think it would be worth it on a 2 x2 pan. I just drain my front pan after each boil and soak it with permeate. Next day niter scrubs off easily.