trying to get more GPH

[ihuntbear]

HI I have an oil fire D&G 2x6 cross flow flat pan system getting roughly 15 gph..Can anybody tell me if I'm wasting my money welding in three cross tubes 20 " long underneath four sections,meaning drilling three 1" holes at each end of the section and welding a 20 ' pipe in 1" copper or stainless pipe ...doing the calculations 12- 20" pipes would give me roughly 6.4 more square feet of boiling area..the fire should heat these pipe up..would it work????

[spencer11]

are you talking about drop tubes?

[ihuntbear]

maybe i think drop tubes go straight down and are caped.What i was thinking is going from one side of the compartment to the other like a u shape or connecting one side to the other..I think drop tubes would be to much money and time at the welding shop

[spencer11]

Here's the thread you want, I can email you the video of it boiling to

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?15373-tube-flu-pan-idea

[ihuntbear]

it seems to work pretty good but mine go sideways

[ihuntbear]

file:///C:/Users/the%20costers/Desktop/GetAttachment.jpg

here is my rig

[ihuntbear]

sorry pic didnt work

[spencer11]

his go front to back but side to side would probably work to

[ihuntbear]

i asked at sugarbush forum..One guy said it wouldnt work that the sap would boil out and gas would burn it..I dont know how that would do that as long as i have sap in the evap..i think the pipes would be full but boiling..these pipes would be in the sap pan not the syrup pan.the sap should travel threw the different compartments until the finish product...any thoughts??

[red maples]

I honestly don't know how much more GPH your going to get. maybe a few but not enough I would think there would be a posibility of sap getting stuck in a 20 x1 inch line and burning I really don't see how it would get pushed out. If it were me I wold look into a pre-heater and hood system that way your sap is hot or at least almost hot going into the evaporator. If your thinking of 500 taps for this season on a 2x6 flat pan you better set up a cot because with mine I was getting average 35 gph on a 2x6 with a 4 ft drop flue pan. (hoping for over 40 this year with improovments). and with 300 taps I was boing 6-8hrs a day.

But maybe it will work???

[jrgagne99]

Pre-heater will only gain you about 25% tops. I bet drop-tubes will give you at least 50% increase. There was a thread on that a while back where a fellow increased 100% if i remember correctly. He was using steam-table pans. You would need a ton of tubes for a 2x6 though!

[RileySugarbush]

The best possible result for a preheater would be 15%. More likely less that 10%

For a homebuilder with a flat pan, i recommend the drop tubes. There is a lot of potential gain by adding area to your pan.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Not an answer to the question, but if you are looking to make your rig more efficient then boiling 8% concentrate instead of raw sap will do the trick --- a hobby sized RO would be a good investment (and a lot of fun......)

[ihuntbear]

aren't RO rigs expensive to build or buy????i think it would be cheaper to buy a flue pan.I priced a new set of pans for 2200.00 delivered next week but I don't have the cash right now...I thought this was supposed to be a hobby not a money pit...hahahahahahah

[ihuntbear]

what if i change the ramp height..Somebody told me if i raise my ramp height it would be more efficient..right now the top of the ramp is 8 1/2 inches from the pan and where the stack is its 5 1/2 inches..thinking about changing the 8 1/2 to 5 inches that way the fire would be hitting the pan heading back to the chimney..stack is 10 inch.I also want to change the nozzle in the burner from 3 1/2 gph to a 2 1/2 gph because its burns so hot its melting and twisting the flapper in the stack..The flapper is made with 1/4" plate steel and would save me some oil..I know the more heat the better but when it starts melting and twisting things its to hot

[Waynehere]

Actually you want to expose more of the sap pan to the radiant heat from the firebox, so I would lower the ramp to expose it. When the ramp is so tight to the sap pan, the heat and flames just pass under it. Think of it like standing next to a bonfire. When someone steps in front of you, you can't feel the heat, right? A lot of the newer styles of evaporators are putting more of the firebox under their rear pans for just this purpose.

My 2 cents...

[ihuntbear]

The evap that I had before this one was homemade..Just food warming trays on top of a 500 pound propane tank..I just laid the tank on its side and cut 3 holes for trays..made a fire and watched for hours on end..Then I added a small ramp and a small fan,increased boiling time 200 % maybe more.so adding a ramp bringing fire closer to pans increased boil rate..This one is oil fired and gets really hot and the fire goes to the stack and up...Thats why i thought by bringing the ramp closer to the pans it might add heat to them better making it more efficient..Im thinking 8 1/2 inches from the top of the ramp to the pans is to much but where would the magic number be??

[Waynehere]

Not sure about oil fired, but with your old setup I am thinking the fan was the biggest item to add to your boiling rate. Hopefully someone with an Oil setup can answer you. Good luck...

[ihuntbear]

I forgot to add a one in front of the 8 when i measured my pans ..should have been 18 1/2 at the start of the ramp to the pans and 5 1/2 " at the stack to the pans...do i need to do something with the ramp to make it more efficient..My stack is 10" and the sq inches of that is 78.5..the area going to that is 21" x 5 1/2 " = 115.5 so it seems all my heat is going out the stack...it gets so hot it warped the flapper in the stack which is made with 1/4 plate steel..maybe lower the nozzle size on the oil burner from 3.5 gph to 2.5 gph and add 2" of arch fabric under the stack...will this work