2x4 or 2x6???

[spencer11]

i am planning to tap up to 250 trees nex year(probably more like 150-200 due to $$) i am making a new evaporator and was wondering if i should make a very high effencity 2x4 of a 2x6. the 2x4 would be a little cheaper to. i could make a 2x2 flue pan wih 10-10" flues and a 2x2 front pan..or a 2x4 flue pan with 10-7" deep flues and a 2x2 front pan? i dont plan on getting over 350 taps..probably wont even get there, but my thinking was that i could always extend the 2x4 and make it a 2x6 right? thanks

spencer

[Gravel]

Build a 2x6, if you build a 2x4 you will wish you built a 2x6 halfway threw the season, even if you build a 2x6 you will wish you built a 2.5x8, you tap 250 you will wish you tapped 300, I guess no matter what you do it wont be big enough, at least not if you are like the rest of us maple nuts!!

[Maplewalnut]

i dont plan on getting over 350 taps..
spencer

Ahhhhh, how many of us have said that. Seriously, Get some pics from ZMan. He fabricated an arch as you are talking about and I think has a 2x4 pan now but can increase to 2x6 when hes ready

[spencer11]

well i was planning on only 40 taps this season and wound up with 95, planned to have another block arch and made a oil tank one with steam pans. but on our 10 acres there are only around 150 maples and i cant find a great bush near me so i think 300 would be my max..and having to go to college in 4 years i dont know how im gonna keep doing it while im there? but i know what you mean by wishing i had more of something, happens to me all the time. so any tips on building a 2x6..like an airtight door, mesurments, how to make a base stack mount, any pan designs? i have acces to my friends race shop that has pretty much anything i would need to build it.

spencer

[steve J]

Well I did not get pushed very hard this year but last year with my 2x4 with a blowers I was over matched with 210 tapes so forget the 2x4 go right to the 2x6 and put a blower on it too.

[spencer11]

what size stack should i put on the 2x6? 12"??

spencer

[RileySugarbush]

For home made, search for the frame and sheet metal design posed by Davey Jones on here. Mine is similar and works great. 2x6 is really the smallest continuous flow flue setup that works really well. Smaller rigs work, but are harder to run evenly.

[wiam]

what size stack should i put on the 2x6? 12"??

spencer

Mine came with 10"

[spencer11]

so i looked some pics on here and they all look great. now i have some..more questions.would it be best to just spend the money once on 10" stainless stack? and for a 2x6 12' of it or should i use more how much of a slope should i have for the rap up to the stack? and should i have the rear wall slope up at a 45* angle to the ramp? how big of an ash/draft door? how to hook up a blower, AOF and AUF? what kind of blower? how to insulate? thanks

spencer

[Indiana-Jones]

You might check out my photo page to get some idea of an oil tank arch and get some of your questions answered. Someone here made a statement that a guy would be better off to get a set of plans and weld up the whole thing using angle iron and forget the oil tank. After my tank build, I think that a squared up angle set of plans would have been easier, quicker and required a whole lot less thinking. The cost difference.. all depends on how good you can scrounge, but not much.

Air over fire is worth the time, trouble and expense. I'm thinking that it saves wood and time.

This is my first year with my 24X60 and only my second year total, so I'm still learning too. One thing that I learned is that moving up to bigger rig is kinda like a second job. You need 200 gallons of sap in storage to make it worth firing it up. That is a lot of buckets to get every night after work. Next year there is some tubing in my future.

Some of your questions can't be answered till you know what kind of pans you will have.

Good luck

[maple marc]

Spencer, I moved up this year from a 2x4 to a 2x6, both Leader WSE. It's useful to think about it in terms of gallons per hour. The 2x4 evaporated 17 gallons per hour, the 2x6 does 30 gph. These were stock units with a 10" stack. Guys with blowerss and pre-heaters do a lot better. My 2x6 seems a good match right now for my 100 taps and 37 gallons or more of syrup. An average run is 270 to 300 gallons of sap. Think about how much sap you want to process in a boil, then think about your expansion plans. Also consider that a 2x6 is much more efficient than a 2x4, which wastes a lot of heat up the stack. You'll use the same amount of wood per hour with each boiler, but evaporate much more with the 2x6. And the 2x6 is really not going to cost you that much more. So......"Make no small plans"--Daniel Burnham

Marc

[spencer11]

thanks for all the help guys.
indiana, i do plan on building one from the ground up, i can get steel pretty much for free. do you know where i can get plans for a 2x6 or do you have any?? i will defentally take a look at som of you pictures to try and get some ideas.

spencer

[500592]

I would try to look at a few commercial 2x6 arches and have you got a Releaser yet

[spencer11]

i will try and stop by some friends sugar houses and no i havent gotton a releaser yet but am getting a free gast vac pump

spencer

[Bucket Head]

A 2x6 allows for more expansion in the future. Even more expansion if you should get an RO someday. There are quite a few guys on here with 2x6's with an RO in front of it and they have a very impressive number of taps. My 2.5x6 is homemade- you could take a peek at my photos too if you wanted. Making the arch longer is a good idea. That way if a 2x8 or 2x10 set of pans find their way to your place you can put them on. Go bigger now and save yourself a HUGE amount of work and possibly aggravation in later years. It really pays off to think and plan ahead in this business.

[smokeyamber]

On going bigger one thing that caught me out was the amount of sap you need to fire it up. I was boiling on a barrel arch last season and now with the new 2x5 setup I needed way more sap in storage. Also adjusting to boil rates was fun... new world entirely.

I would definitely go 2x6, but don't make it too efficient to start with you number of taps you may run into a case of not having enough sap... thus starts the vicious cycle ... more taps... :mrgreen:

[spencer11]

i was thinking about having it do around 40 gph. to much for up to 250 taps? i dont think it makes much sence for me to boil during the week since i get hom from school at 3..i dont really want to boil all day everyday. and i have soccer friday and saturday 7pm or later so i figured i would boil before then. i was gonna make a 4' flue pan with 10-8" flues and have a 2' syrup pan. how deep should i make the pans? and should i make a drop or raised flue pan? and what about float boxes and floats and valves and all that? thanks

spencer

[500592]

I think that 40 gph is a little high unless you air tight front auf and aof plus a little deeper flues like 10 inches but maybe not

[spencer11]

im planning on making the arch front as air tight as i can get it. andy info on making a door thats pretty air tight?(just so smoke dosent come out) and have AUF and AOF. than maybe make it with 7" flues?

spencer