preheater idea

[Radnagel]

So here is my thoughts on a preheater. Been thinking about using a decent sized crock pot that has copper coiled tightly through out the pot. at the bottom the copper would come out of the pot probably have to be solder around the copper. And then the top line would run to the bulk tank. The pot would be filled with water and sap would run through the copper line. I don't think that you would have to worry about the copper in the boiling water would be a problem as water would boil at a constant rate as a compared to wrapping the line around the stack. Any thoughts or ideas or concerns on this. Thanks guys.

[Radnagel]

I meant stock pot not crock pot

[Pibster]

It doesn't make sense preheating water to heat sap.

[Red Shed Sugaring]

Good thought but you better have a BIG pot.

[mike z]

If you could somehow catch heat off the stack, you might be onto something.

[Asthepotthickens]

If you could somehow catch heat off the stack, you might be onto something.
I agree with this as well

[Radnagel]

It doesn't make sense preheating water to heat sap.

you would be using water inside the pot to heat the copper tubing as copper is the best conductor of heat compared to stainless. And water you could add to it and wouldn't be wasting sap.

[Radnagel]

Good thought but you better have a BIG pot.

my thought would be just a lot of coils through the pot that way the longer the sap ran through the coils and through the boiling water it would pick up the most heat.

[Radnagel]

I agree with this as well

yes set it off the vary back just before the stack maybe even cut it out like the pan is and let it catch heat before it goes up the stack or something this part I am still thinking on

[acerrubrum]

It sounds like you'd need a lot of copper tubing and some really hot water to get any useful temperature to your sap.
You mentioned the coil wrap around the stack, why not try that. I wrapped 20 ft. of 3/8 tubing around my 6" stack, wrapped ceramic insulation around that, and then alum. foil to keep the fibers from getting into the sap. The feed tank sits about 6 ft. above the wrap and the sap is usually about 40 degrees, when it exits the coil into the sap pan it's between 140 and 180 degrees. If I keep the fire really hot the heated sap is usually 180 or so degrees.
I've boiled with it twice now and it works great. I do have to keep something going through the coil until the fire dies, but that's easily done with a 90 fitting to divert the heated sap into a 5 gallon pail.
pat.