Hoods

[Brad W Wi]

Beside a stainless steel hood looking better than an aluminum one, any pros or cons on them? I'm planning on having one made and the alum. is quite a bit cheaper in price than the stinless. It would be a hanging one, I'm a visual person and want to see what I'm doing at all times.

[Parker]

I had an aluminum hood made for my syrup pan,,works fine but you cant get it really clean,,(like stainless),,

[Brad W Wi]

When you say "you can't get it really clean" Just how dirty is the hood?You've just got steam going up it. I've never seen either of them on a unit, so don't think this is a foolish question

[Parker]

Stainless will shine if you work at it a littel,,aluminum seems to have a dull, no shine finish,,you can get the dirt and grime off it but it dosent look great next to the stainless,, I think it is a cosmetic thing more than anything,,you probably would not notice unless you were looking for it...I just cleaned my evap. so I was looking for it,,,,

[Sugarmaker]

Brad,
You will not regret making the hood in stainless. The Aluminum will definitely work I have see a lot of them but the stainless shines!

Good luck
Chris

[ibby458]

If you go with aluminum (and there's no real reason not to) just be sure ALL fasteners and attachements are aluminum or stainless. If you used steel or possibly other metal parts, a galvanic reaction will quickly eat holes in it. I don't know if copper (for a preheater) will react or not. If it does, attach it with plastic or stainless straps should stop it.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

The more stainless, the more it impresses customers too! :) A little more investment up front usually pays off in the long run! :)

[brookledge]

When I bought my 3X12 a few years ago I upgraded the arch to have stainless sheet metal so it would never rust out but decided to save alot of money by going with aluminum for my hood.
The way I looked at it it would last just as long as a stainless hood and only be a fraction of the cost.
As was already said it is a dull look to it vs. nice and shinny stainless but it works and functions the same.
Good luck with your decision.
Keith

[Parker]

When you make your hood make sure you have drip channels on the 4 inside walls and at the base of the stack,,as the steam hits the hood-stack it condensis and will drip back into the pan and all over if you dont have somewhere for this water to go,,my stack hole in the top of the hood is 2"smaller than the stack (the stack just sits on the hood) and has a lip that the stack sits outside of,,outside of the stack is another lip that has a garden hose fitting on it, there is a section of hose that goes to the floor drain, I have my hood tipped towards the back of the evap and garden hose fittings on the hood that the water runs out of,,works very well,,,good luck