Time to move up!

[blac]

I am leaning to a new 2x8 unit I was going for 2x6 but figured I would just go for it, my question is which rig out there would you spend your money on? This will be my last evaporator for a while and will add a steamaway or an ro down the road.

[wiam]

I would look at Bill Mason's 2x8 drop tube. I have been very happy with my 2x6 and with a blower it is way above his posted evaporation rate.

[rayi]

I've been looking at the Mason unit also but no one seems to know how easily they clean up. Any one have one that can walk us new Mason people thru that

[blac]

I have heard ( no experience) that the tubes need cleaning between boils? Wiam what are you getting out of yours? Gph

[wiam]

I've been looking at the Mason unit also but no one seems to know how easily they clean up. Any one have one that can walk us new Mason people thru that

At the end of the season I pull my tube pan and place on floor with blocks under front end.(I wish the box was as tall as the pan) I then fill as high as I can with 150 degree water from my water heater and pan acid. I let this set for close to a week and then pressure wash. I do not believe you can get this type of pan "as clean as new". I would buy one again anyways.

I got a 3" round nylon flue brush for a corn stove that I brush the inside of the tubes with. It has about a 3' handle that I welded a longer handle on. I try to brush before each boil.

[blac]

Ok so since I have last posted I have viewed the lapierre storm and the cdl traditional 2x8 I am meeting with the leader rep. on Wednesday to get their quote in my price range. Up to this point I have not been told which rig is far superior seems like a pretty humble bunch? I had a talk with a guy who runs a drop tube mason as well. I have decided raised flue cross flow so far,I did like the settling pipe at the flue pan outlet on the lapierre. On the cdl it comes with more stuff like a roof jack, stack cover an more stainless pipe and stainless sides on the arch. I guess I'll see what leader has this week and then make a decision, this is harder than buying a car lol.

[Greenwich Maple Man]

Ok so since I have last posted I have viewed the lapierre storm and the cdl traditional 2x8 I am meeting with the leader rep. on Wednesday to get their quote in my price range. Up to this point I have not been told which rig is far superior seems like a pretty humble bunch? I had a talk with a guy who runs a drop tube mason as well. I have decided raised flue cross flow so far,I did like the settling pipe at the flue pan outlet on the lapierre. On the cdl it comes with more stuff like a roof jack, stack cover an more stainless pipe and stainless sides on the arch. I guess I'll see what leader has this week and then make a decision, this is harder than buying a car lol.

Don't know if this might help. I have a Leader 2by8 with Inferno arch, standard 2 ft. syrup pan and a six foot max flue pan. There is a hood and preheater both from Leader on the flue pan. With GOOD dry hardwood I average between 100 to 110 gals. per hour. I feed it high concentrate and am making ALOT of syrup per hour. We are running a few thousand taps with this setup and plan to be near 4 or 5 thousand this coming season. I have zero doubt that this evaporter won't handle the taps. However the R.O is more the key there. I have had 3 Leaders and have liked them all. The only thing I don't like about the Max pan is that there is so much liquid in it that it is harder to make light syrup. It is more than doable but a far amount more difficult with all the extra fluid in the flue pan. It does boil like crazy. I would not be afraid at all of a CDL Intensofire or the Lap. Force Five. I don't know much about the Lap. but like the looks of the CDL. The biggest draw back with any Leader products is the price.Leaders pricing will have me buying elsewhere when upgrade time comes. However I'm very happy with it but do like the features of the others.

[boondocker]

I am ordering a 2.5x8 CDL traditional delux drop flue cross flow within the next week or two. I have been doing research for the past year or so and couldent make up my mind on what to get. Leader makes a nice rig but they are crazy on there prices. I mean no disrespect to anyone who has one or who may be buying one i just couldent see spending that much money. I checked into a Lapierre but there gph dident impress me at 30-40 gph on a 2x8. i looked into a H2O innovations and i must say there rig is top notch. Fit and finish is perfect and there stainless is like a mirror. Very well built and there GPH was right there. I was really torn between that and a CDL and i chose CDL due to them being in business longer and for tech support, they where great on the phone and it comes with everything you need except brick and rail gasket plus have a great sale going on untill the end of may. I wanted atleast 65 GPH without a hood. i wanted to burn wood and i dont use a R/O. Money was a factor but on the other hand i wanted a good evaporator.....All the reserch i have done i have found that the big 3 to 4 companys are very modest on the GPH and there is always room to enhance. The only down fall with a mason is that he uses standard mill grade stainless. There isnt anything wrong with that at all its just a little harder to clean and yea your right......its not like a mirror but other than that i know for a fact his pans boil like crazy and are a very sturdy rig. With that said, what ever choice you make wont be wrong because in the end they all do the same thing its just some do it faster. good luck regards josh >> forgot to mention.... Dont forget about phaneuf. he makes a VERY nice rig too. He was a close second for me because im only three hours from him in canada.

[blac]

Well I got my price from leader and it was almost double, I am heading up to VT in the am to look at some stuff and will probably decide this weekend. After talking to all the sales reps they almost have me convinced to add some air to the arch which probably means upgrading to the higher efficiency arch=more money.

[blac]

Going to be a cdl either 2.5×8 or 2×8 just have to decide which size.

[yards1520]

What is the price difference between the 2X8 and 2 1/2X8? I just ordered a new 2X8 CDL. pretty excited for that to come home :)

[blac]

6608 and 7400 before the early order 10% that's the difference between them, boil rates I was told were 50gph and 60gph conservatively. Seems a bit high to me without a blower but well see.