Hybid pans

[On the ledge]

Does anyone have one of Smokey Lake's high output pans for half pint evaporators, or have an opinion on them.

[FDA]

Never heard of a Hybrid half pint pan, where did you hear about it ? do you have pictures ?

[maple flats]

I'm not familiar with them, but I suspect a hybrid pan is a syrup pan and flue pan in one. Other companies do that on smaller size rigs too, maybe up to 2x4 or so. I would imagine having some flues will increase the boil rate as it does on bigger rigs but I might question a "high output" half pint. You might however gain a gal or 2 of boil rate/hr.

[On the ledge]

There's one posted in the classifieds, it has drop flues his web site says it can do up to 20 gph but Im a little skeptical.

[On the ledge]

There is a picture and description on Sugarbush info under custom fabications on the classifieds

[FDA]

There's one posted in the classifieds, it has drop flues his web site says it can do up to 20 gph but Im a little skeptical.

This classifieds ? I didn't see it but i didn't go through all 95 pages or back 3 years either.

[ClarkFarmMapleSyrup]

Its on sugarbush.info
It is a pan with drop flues and syrup channels all in one 24x33 pan to fit a half pint.

[Josh Nickles]

There's one posted in the classifieds, it has drop flues his web site says it can do up to 20 gph but Im a little skeptical.
I can't find it on his website. I don't know anything about this pan but I have worked with Jim twice now on pan sets and I would certainly not be "skeptical" of anything at all. If it has flues in it it will certainly gain you more then two gallons per hour and would likely be closer to 20. Of coarse we can get into how someone fires vs the next guy, but that has been thoroughly covered.

[maple flats]

The reason I guessed maybe 2 GPH gain is because there isn't much room for flues on a 24x33 pan. It seems the flues portion would lose over 2" each side before a flue could drop, more likely 2.5-3" to allow for edge support and room for even half brick. That leaves 18-19" for flues in width x maybe 22" max, more likely 18" long for the rear support and the rear channel. I see no way for a raised flue arrangement since there is little chance they have 2 float boxes. Next, when I had a half pint my rate was 6-7 gph when everything was perfect. Flues on such a small area, while a big help will not more than triple the rate. Just my $.02, I actually hope I'm wrong. If I'm correct on the guessed area for flues is right it means about 2.64 SF of flues are giving 14 gph boil rate without a pre heater nor AOF. Not likely, but again, I hope to be shown to be wrong! This would indicate my 3x8 without other enhancements should get 4.3636 times (the half pint area divided into the 3x8 area) the 20 gph or over 87 gph. I've neven seen that before preheater and AOF were added, not over 75 then and more often between 65-70.
Dave

[Josh Nickles]

I follow your math and see your point. Could there be a difference in design from manufacturer to manufacturer? I don't know who built your pans but I get 35-45 gph (depending on how I feed it) out of my 2'x6' pans with a homemade arch.

[spencer11]

here is the pan on the sbi classifieds

http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=208&title=smoky-lake26quot-3bfull-pint-26quot-3b-high-output-replacement-pan&cat=9

[On the ledge]

I didn't mean to question Jim's integrity,I'm just trying to do some research. I have a half pint and wish I got something bigger, this pan seemed like a simple solution being that my sugar shack is small and a 2x4 would make things tight. I know there are lots of variables ,what kind of wood ,blower or no blower, etc. If I could get 15 gph I would be happy. I was hoping someone on this site might of had one and be able to some feedback.

[Josh Nickles]

Finally, an explanation from Jim the manufacturer here: http://www.sugarbush.info/forums/showthread.php?p=13649#post13649

[YAZER]

As a previous owner of a half pint, sold it in March and still have not found a 2x4 or similar evap... The boiling as most know is super slow, even a half pint with a 'turbo' would have a hard time getting 10gph, this pan I can see getting well over that. It appears that the flues as Jim said would be in the firebox so loading would need to be done carefully, I would guess the back brick wall would need to pushed back farther probably a few inches from the smoke collar adapter so that the fire would get thru all the flues before exiting out the back , using smaller wood and firing more often this pan would seem to boil very hard and be worth the $1200.. I can seem to remember the long frustrating hours of boiling on the half pint how nice it would be to have some sort of flue pan, as it didn't matter how intense your fire was there never seemed to be this rolling boil on your flat pan. When I purchased this I bought a scoop and skimmer and some of the defoamer the same day, to this day I still laugh about buying the defoamer because it is certainly a waste if you are doing batch boils on the half pint.
Try finding a used 2x4- impossible and with new hobby evaps in the range of $3000, I would risk the chance on this pan. Almost wish I still had my half pint to try it out.. However I not looking back and hope to find something before the cold weather hits..

[lafite]

I just ordered the 2x4 hybrid pan from Jim. I'm looking forward to increasing my evaporation rate and maximizing my productivity this coming season!

[cadocter]

I actually have one of these "full pint" pans in the mail. I thought 15-20 gallon of evaporation from a half pint seemed a little steep at first too until I did a few calulations. Our flat pan that came with the half pint puts out around 5 gallon of evaporation an hour. After my calculations I found the new pan should produce a little over 3 times that amount. I proved myself wrong pretty quick. Mind you, this is a calculation and not real life, but I don't doubt a word Jim says. When I get the pan I plan on doing a test boil, so I'll keep you posted on my findings.

[Starting Small]

Wondering if anyone has tried boiling sap on this pan for a few hours and guessed at the evaporation rate. I will probably buy one next year because with only 50 taps I may not have enough taps. I would have the one fit for the 2X3 but of course is very close to the half pints size. http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=121&title=hybrid-hobby-pan-set-2c-2-27x3-27&cat=9

[cadocter]

I have one of the "full pint" pans. I did a test boil on it and found it to boil off about 12 gallon in an hour. Mind you, I haven't fired the rig in a whole year and never boiled with flues before. I think I started timing too early. In the last 10 minutes of the boil I started boiling off a gallon of sap every 3 minutes or so. This is the 20 gph that Jim said you could get. The only mods I made was I dropped the grates a good 4 to 5 inches and had to take a row of half bricks off of the wall that forces the heat against the pan. You will not be the slightest bit disappointed with this pan. Towards the end of the boil time the sap was boiling up over the dividers in it. Thanks Jim for a great pan and a great experience dealing with you!

[Starting Small]

cadoctor- when you start your season and boil over a period of time (hours) I would be eager to hear what your average gph came out to be. I appreciate it, sounds like 20gph would be the range. Also, I noticed you are running about 160 taps...if you could report how well the new pan keeps up with that much sap. Thanks again!

[cadocter]

Hey Starting Small, I'll keep you informed. I'm hoping 160 taps isn't going to be a mistake! I have a few producers in our area that I can always sell the sap to if I get too much. May we all be blessed with a good season!

[Starting Small]

cadoctor- Have you had a chance to use that new pan yet?
-Dave

[cadocter]

Sure have! It really rips! I have 4 gallons of freshly finished syrup as of 6 PM tonight. The only problem I've been having is I made some different grates out of firebrick with holes and it seems as if the back half of the fire box isn't getting enough air. I just moved the brick apart so there's a bigger gap between them, like half an inch or so. When we first started we were getting around 13 to 14 gph, but later in the night I get down towards 8 or 9. The other night, I was shutting down and here I had over 8 inches of coals in the firebox. I figured that was why my rate dropped so much. Anybody know how to solve this? I had boiled for a good 6 or 7 hours.

[Starting Small]

Do you have a blower on it? When i have my blower on it burns so completly there is almost no coals to deal with. So do you think 20 gph is a little steep for an estimate on the pan?

[BoarsNest]

I have a custom made arch and added a blower last year and had virtually no coals compared to the previous years. That might help you too.

[cadocter]

No, I don't have a blower on it. I think with a blower the 15 to 20 gph could be reached fairly easy. I might have to try finding a blower now to hook up to it. Do you have any problems with the blower pushing all of the heat up the stack?

[Starting Small]

No, I don't have a blower on it. I think with a blower the 15 to 20 gph could be reached fairly easy. I might have to try finding a blower now to hook up to it. Do you have any problems with the blower pushing all of the heat up the stack?

I do lose heat up the stack because I can see a flame coming out when I boil at night. To me it is worth it. I go through much more wood but boil quite a but faster. On my 2X3 we are close to 10 gph with the blower. The visible difference in the ferocity of the boil is staggering when the blower is on or off. I get my wood for free so I do not mind using more if it will increase my boil rate. One other thing is that I built a wall leaving only a few inches between the top of the wall and my pan. So whatever heat that goes up the stack is forced to touch the bottom of the pan at some point. Thanks for the update, I am debating if I should get a hybrid pan for next year or go to a bigger evaporator! Thanks!
-Dave

[cadocter]

No problem! If you have anymore questions just give a holler. -Calvin

[lafite]

I just finished a 5 hour boil (45 minutes to full boil) with my 2x4 hybrid from Smokey Lake. went through the 85 gallons of sap wonderfully. I do have a blower that helps chew through the wood.

This pan is double where I was last year on a flat pan. I just ordered a floatbox from Jim yesterday and I should have it by middle of next week.

[Starting Small]

lafite-what dao you think your gph is?
-Dave

[325abn]

I have a 2 X 4 Small Brothers Lightning "hybrid" pan with raised flue. I have pushed 25/hr running it very low. I burn oil not wood.