Thru tube flue pan combo

[Jeffrey Hakala]

I am in the midst of building my 2x7 evaporator for this up coming season. I still need to make pans for my new rig, i plan on having a 2 by 4 flue pan and 2 by 3 syrup pan. I have been reading alot of posts about the drop tube pans and i was wondering if anyone has used a drop tube thru tube combo pan? I was thinking along the lines of what Mason does with his pans but also add some drop tubes that are vertical too. I know it would be alot of work but man I think the thing would be awesome! Best of both worlds?? The reasoning behind this is I just came across a bunch of free 1 inch copper and it has my mind working.

[wiam]

I believe the through tube concept would be defeated by having enough room under the pan for vertical tubes. The flue gases need to go through the pan. I keep the gap under my Mason back pan under 1/2"

[RileySugarbush]

The flue tube ( thru tube) design is a bit tricky to get right. It is difficult to predict how well it would work with 1" tubes. Over four feet of length there is a lot of flow resistance with that small a tube. Flow around and through would be tough to balance. I was thinking of making one but concluded that it would be much easier and just as efficient to build a big drop tube pan. I built several smaller ones many years ago. The combo sounds like a nightmare to build and maintain to me.

In the end,I decided that if I replace my pans I'd look to Mason or Schumacher to build me a longer drop flue.