How many dividers should a flue pan have?

[m_hoogendyk@hotmail.com]

Just finished my home built drop flue pan. 24"x52" with five 4" drop flue x 1.5" wide. My question is how many dividers should I put in it 1 or 2? They can't be evenly spaced so wich section should be the biggest?

[Big_Eddy]

Depends on the location of the inlets and outlets and if you ever want to be able to turn your pan around.
You need at least one so that some kind of gradient and flow will develop. More dividers means more gradient within the flue pan, but more than 3 sections isn't going to add a lot.

Lots of Flue pans have one divider, 2 sections, with sap entering at the Front of one side and exiting the front of the other side. Only way to reverse flow is to move the float box to the other side or use a collection of tubes and valves.

I put 2 dividers in mine (3 sections) Sap enters the back on one side and leaves the front on the other side. I can turn the pan around and the float box and syrup pan connections stay the same. I made my middle section narrowest to make it symmetrical. I'd speculate there's an advantage that way due to a wider inlet / outlet are but I don't know if there is any real benefit.

[maple flats]

All 3 of my evaporators with flue pans are and were 2 sections (1 divider), add sap front one side, outlet front opposite side front.