Converision ??

[325abn]

I am looking for a rig for next year. I need to burn oil so I can boil during the week.

What should I take into consideration with regards to converting a wood burner to an oil burner?

Thanks! :)

[brookledge]

What size is your evaporator? That is the first question to determine the size of the oil burner your looking for. Otherwise you will need to make a plate for the front of your arch to close it in and mount the burner.
Remove the grates and line the entire fire box with synthetic fiber.
And I believe it will operate at a better efficiency to add a barometric damper in your stack.
I have never done one but have seen ones that have been converted.
Keith

[325abn]

What size is your evaporator? That is the first question to determine the size of the oil burner your looking for. Otherwise you will need to make a plate for the front of your arch to close it in and mount the burner.
Remove the grates and line the entire fire box with synthetic fiber.
And I believe it will operate at a better efficiency to add a barometric damper in your stack.
I have never done one but have seen ones that have been converted.
Keith

Thanks for you input!

I am looking to get a 2 x 5. So as I understand it, it is just a matter of mounting a oil burner in the door-way of an arch. I wonder if any good furnace oil burner will work or will it have to be something larger with more output? You think it is nessersary to use ceramic blanket or will just fire brick work?

[Fred Henderson]

Ceramic blanket insulates much better than fire brick. You will have to burn 2-3 gallons of fuel an hour. I think the norm for a 2x6 is somewhere around 3 GPH. The burner should be a flame retention type and run at 3400 Rpm to be the most efficent.

[mapleman3]

I made a plate to mount to the hinge pins as the doors do.. I also layed the grates upsiddown on the floor under the evap to give the ceramic blanket a base instead of sitting on the floor...I used "water Glass" to coat all the seams and have it stick to the brick... Ceramic blanket insulates too well, the sugarhouse is alot cooler when I boil.... I left the fire brick in and kept everything .. doors, grates, draft blower all just incase I sell or have to go back to wood in a hurry.. I can be back to wood within an hour if needed. My 2x6 uses a 3gph nozzle with a carlin 301 burner. (I love the oil)

[Banjo]

Jim,
so then it's about 10:1 ratio of boiled water to oil then? Or 3-4 gals of oil per gal of syrup? What thickness and density of blanket did you use?

Just trying to build up a general knowledge here.

cheers, Andrew

[mapleman3]

Yes I ran just over 3 gals oil to 1 gal syrup... I made 82 gals at 99.8 hours run time @3gph.. (no calculator with me..) I used 1"2300deg doubled up... 1 seaon it looked untouched!!

[brookledge]

Jim
I did the math for you
3.65 gal of oil to make 1 gal of syrup.
Keith