FORCED DRAFT ON LEADER HALF PINT

[the old guy]

LAST YEAR I SHOWED MY KUBOTA SALESMAN HOW TO MAKE MAPLE SYRUP. HE BECAME HOOKED AND BOUGHT A LEADER HALF PINT EVAPORATOR FOR THIS SEASON. HIS PROBLEM--HE COULD ONLY GET A BUBBLY BOIL. SO HE WENT TO RURAL KING AND GOT A SMALL FAN TO SET IN FRONT OF THE DRAFT DOOR. THIS HELPED BUT I WAS WONDERING WHERE WOULD BE THE BEST PLACE TO SET THE FAN? THERE IS SURELY A BETTER WAY TO HAVE A FORCED DRAFT ON HIS RIG. ANY IDEAS?

[maple flats]

I think he has some other problem. I had a half pint a few years ago and it would boil as fast as any I've seen. Is the wood dry, split fine, added every 7-8 minutes and FILL the firebox to the top, push it as hard as you can? Are the fire brick installed correctly with a wall a few inches from the rear extending up til only about 1.5" from where the pan bottom will be? Is there a pan gasket on top of the arch to seal between the arch and the pan? How much stack does he use? I had all of these and also used 9' of stack which was braced to support from wind damage. If all of these are done he should boil well even w/o a blower but a blower will even help. If adding one I would make it hook up to the draft door opening and also see if he can make a tight seal with gasket for the door. The fire will be white hot if things are right even w/o the blower however.

[super sappy]

I used a forced draft on my old 1/2 pint . I t was a barrel type arch. I had to rig up some heavy grates .I used some angle iron and some old bed springs.the grates were above the draft door.Then I got a square floor duct ( square to round ) and placed this over the draft door.I used the exhaust port on a shop vac for the blower. My stack was at least 12 foot long wired to everything in the yard for stability. It did not win any beauty contests but boiled like a champ.

[MaineMapleDave]

That's pretty much what I do with mine. I don't get a great draft, because my stack configuration has 3 elbows in it, but I do get a good hot fire going.

Even with all the draft in the world, perfect wood, perfect firing, you'll only get about 5-6 gph evaporation. That's been my experience, and I checked with Leader to see if that was right--they told me that 6 gph was about the maximum you could get from a half-pint, even with the "new" arch style.

[the old guy]

HEY MAPLE DAVE

YOUR PICTURES ARE REALLY GREAT. BY USING AN OPEN FAN, DIRT AND DEBRIS GOT INTO THE SYRUP--NOT GOOD. BY CLOSING EVERYTHING THE FIRE GOES A LOT BETTER, TOO I THINK HIS WOOD MIGHT NEED TO BE DRIED A LITTLE MORE.

THE OLD GUY

[MaineMapleDave]

Forgot to mention that I used some of the stove gasketing material cemented around the perimeter of the duct transition to seal it against the face of the evaporator. That way, the air is all forced through the draft opening, rather than partially coming out around the sides.