Planning to aquire 2x3 Arch and Pan(s) any advice?

[Birddog]

I am about to make the leap from burning propane to burning wood. I could use some opinions. I have about 30 taps and will "probably" max out at about 50 taps of mostly red maples. I do it just for fun and anything I produce, I give to family and friends. I'm thinking a 2x3 divided pan something like the Mason 2x3 Hobby evaporator would cover me. I'm wondering if reverse flow is something I should be looking for? Should I plan on getting a blower (how much difference would it make on this size unit)? What manufacturers should I be considering? Do you think this would be the right size for my number of taps. I'm in Minnesota. Any thoughts, recommendations or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Larry

[bowhunter]

I just started last year with a Leader 1/2 pint which is 24 inches by 33 inches.... so a little smaller than a 2x3. I made 16 1/2 gallons of syrup on 47 taps ....all sugar maple. It was a little difficult to keep up sometimes. I really like the looks of the WF Mason hobby units and wish I had one myself. I don't have a blower, but it will definitely speed up your boil rate. I think it would probably allow you to burn some less desirable woods and still get really good boil rates. There's a guy in your part of the country called Smokey Maple who makes some really interesting looking hobby pans that you might consider. I'll attach a link to his website showing the high output pan he sells for the Leader 1/2 pint arch. The trick to all of the wood evaporators is the wood. Split it small as your wrist and get it as dry as possible. It's also pretty difficult to make completely finished syrup in the evaporator on these small units. A few people do it, but I finished mine on the stove in the kitchen so I could control the end point really well.
http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=208&title=smoky-lake26quot-3bfull-pint-26quot-3b-high-output-replacement-pan&cat=9.

[Birddog]

Bow hunter,

Thanks for the info. I have been looking at Smokey Lakes pans and they do look great.
If you had it to do over again would you have gone bigger with something like a 2x4? I won't be going any bigger than the number of taps you have.

[bowhunter]

I would definitely go a little bit bigger, but don't over do it. A 2 x4 is 8 ft2 and should do about 8-12 gallons per hour. With 50 taps on buckets or gravity you probably will have days with 75+ gallons to boil. A good 2 x 4 will probably handle that much sap in 6-8 hours and they don't really cost much more than the 2 x 3. I think I would strongly consider the blower if you can afford it. This gives you additional capacity and efficiency and maybe you could handle a strong day with 5-6 hours of boiling. I can tell you it's more fun if you only need to boil 6 hours vs. 10 - 12.

[sg5054]

I bought a mason 2x3 last fall and really like it.I made 16 gallons. I can't fit a larger rig in my shed. I just ordered the smokey lake 2x3 hybrid pan yesterday. $1255 shipped to my location. I had 100 taps out and had a couple times where I couldn't boil it fast enough. I'm really looking forward to trying it out. I'm already scoping out a few more houses in the area to see if I can tap them.

[Birddog]

sg5054,

Thanks for the reply. Do you have a blower on your 2x3 and do you have reverse flow. It sounds like the blower will make it easier to burn less than the best wood which would be helpful, especially if it will make it so I can burn popple, which I have an unending supply of. I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to add reverse flow.

[sg5054]

BD
No blower and the original pan was one direction. I don't recall if the new one is reversible or not. I did burn about 3 1/2 cords this past season. I didn't see a need for a blower. I learned that cut small, 12" long and small diameter stacking each layer 90 degrees to the previous worked wonders. I was told that the blowers bang for the buck wasn't that significant. I burn both hard and soft wood with a bias towards hard. I can't wait to get the new pan and just boil some water for the fun of it. I was also told that reverse on a such a small pan isn't worthwhile. I never needed it.

[bowhunter]

My half pint can be reversed but I don't really think it makes much sense on a small evaporator either. It's not that much trouble to drain the pan once in a while. I agree with sg5054 on the wood. I think he's also right on the blower if you have dry wood, but I know the guys with the big rigs swear by the blowers and quote some pretty impressive performance. I think they probably have value if you have substandard wood. Make sure you have enough stack height. I would go with 3 feet per foot of pan. I know the standard recommendation is two feet per foot of pan but the extra stack height will create a lot more draft and allow you to boil at a good rate. I'm using kiln dried pine scrap and I can't open the air inlet more than a crack or it boils so hard you can't keep anything in the pan. I don't like the idea of using defoamer.

[Birddog]

All good info, thank you. You will have to post how the new pan works out.

[Daves Maple Farm]

Congrats! Smokey Lake is hard to beat. We have a 2x8 Smokey and well pleased. Jim is very busy building so if you want one I would get it ordered asap.
Hope this helps...cheers

[Birddog]

OK - This is what I'm going to order. I've decided to go with a standard Mason 2x3, with a blower, dial thermometer and I'm also going to have him reinforce the legs and add casters so that I can move the unit around a little easier. I'm also going with the feeder-pan/preheater mounted on the back over the stack. I'm curious if anyone out there went with the caster option and if so, how did it work for you? I've seen comments on other threads but didn't see much that looked real decisive. I think I'll have up to 50 taps.

Any last thoughts anyone?

[Birddog]

I decided to just pull the trigger, I just placed my order :cool: - I'll post some photo's when it arrives and let you know how the castors work out.

[bowhunter]

Sounds like a good choice. Just remember to keep the arch/pan as level as you can after you move it. That's really important. I like the idea of the preheater over the stack. My preheater is heated by condensing steam from the pan and the condensate drips back into the pan. So a small percentage of my boiling capacity is taken up by recycling the condensate condensed on the bottom of the preheater.

[Birddog]

Sounds like a good choice. Just remember to keep the arch/pan as level as you can after you move it. That's really important. I like the idea of the preheater over the stack. My preheater is heated by condensing steam from the pan and the condensate drips back into the pan. So a small percentage of my boiling capacity is taken up by recycling the condensate condensed on the bottom of the preheater.

That's good advice - Thanks!

[Birddog]

I bought a mason 2x3 last fall and really like it.I made 16 gallons. I can't fit a larger rig in my shed. I just ordered the smokey lake 2x3 hybrid pan yesterday. $1255 shipped to my location. I had 100 taps out and had a couple times where I couldn't boil it fast enough. I'm really looking forward to trying it out. I'm already scoping out a few more houses in the area to see if I can tap them.

How big is your shed. I need to start working on a plan fo a more permanent location for this rig.

Thanks!

[BreezyHill]

Blower... yes....that is if you want to step up your boiling rate and clean out less ash, while burning less wood. Then there is the smoke...no smoke when you got enough air going in there. I added another fan to our first fan to get 440 cfm of air in a 2x6...just be sure to hook up a rheostat to slow them down when you have to pull a batch.

[sg5054]

The pan will be here...........
TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!:o:D

[steve J]

I have had a 2c3 mason without a blower and currently have a mason 2x4 with a blower. My set up is like what you describe but no casters. I have found blower can not be run on high in the 2x4 without melting down the stack so had to put an adjustable speed switch. And with yours being smaller it will be an issue. I would say for the few dollars more I switch the order to the 2x4.

[Birddog]

The pan will be here...........
TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!:o:D

So how does it look?

[bowhunter]

A router speed control cord might be a good, simple way to add speed control to the blower. I have attached a link to one at Harbor Freight for $19.99.
http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

[Birddog]

A router speed control cord might be a good, simple way to add speed control to the blower. I have attached a link to one at Harbor Freight for $19.99.
http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html
That looks like a really good solution! Thanks

[Birddog]

I just ordered the 1 inch arch board from Bascom's and I also just ordered the speed control from Harbor Feight. I see there are a number of options for pan gasket. Is there a particular option that works better than others? Also, is there anything special that I should look for for stack pipe? I understand I should go at least twice as high as my pan, but are there different types of pipe and is one kind better than another?

Thanks!

Larry

[bowhunter]

Sugar Bush Supply in Michigan sold me something they call rail gasket. It comes in 2 inch wide rolls 25 feet long for $17.50. It seemed to work well. I haven't tried anything else. I will include a link to Sugar Bush and you can look at their online catalogue in the section for Arch and Insulation. http://sugarbushsupplies.com/

The stack should definitely be taller than two times the length of the pan. The stack gets really hot on these smaller pans. I bought a heavy duty galvanized pipe from Sugar Bush. If you can afford it stainless steel would be better. I'm not sure my pipe is going to last more than 3-4 seasons.

[Birddog]

7931 Bill just sent me a pick of my Arch so it's getting close. ;) I see Menards has the 1/2 Firebricks on sale for 9.99 per 6 pack so I might just go get those. I got the 1 inch arch board, do you use anything to attach that to the inside of the arch or just set in place and place the firebrick over it?

[bowhunter]

I didn't use the arch board and I'm not sure what others have done. Bill may have some instructions for firebricking that would include installing the arch board. If not maybe others on the forum can make a recommendation. I know in industrial applications we would attach the board to the arch with small anchors, but I'm pretty sure it's not necessary on a small arch.

[steve J]

When I had 2x3 I just fire bricked it but it was some hot to stand by! Now the 2x4 has a blower and I used arch board and it very comfortable to stand near evaporator I would recommend it.

[Birddog]

Here is a photo of my new WF Mason 2x3 Evaporator with castor as it was shipped. I can't wait to get it insulated, Firebricked and do a test boil!!7986

[sg5054]

1" fire board and then bricks is definitely the way to go. The amount of heat retained is amazing.

[Birddog]

I installed the 1" arch board last night. It was pretty easy to use and looks like it will really create a nice heat barrier. I fitted it in pretty snugly so I didn't need anything to attach it. I'm renting a brick cutting saw this weekend to put in the firebrick. A question I'd like input on is whether or not it is necessary to do anything with insulation or brick under the grates (ash box area)? Another question is, should door gasket cement be used to attach the pan gasket to the Arch? I picked up a tube last night, it is rated for up to 2000 degrees.

Thanks!

[Birddog]

I wired up the blower and tested out the router speed control recommended by bowhunter. It works great. It provides an on/off switch as well as speed control. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Super Sapper]

There should be no need to insulate or firebrick the ash pan area as the incoming air will cool this. You shouldn't need to use anything for the pan gasket. Just lay it down and put the pan on top.

[Birddog]

The Arch Board and Firebrick are in, next step is to add the stack. It takes a 6 inch pipe. What kind of pipe do you all use on this size unit? For example I see a lot of 24 gage single wall, double wall, stainless duravent etc. There is a BIG range of prices on this stuff. Thanks in advance for any input!

[eustis22]

I have 8 feet of stack on my 2X3, just single wall (I'm outside)...just adding the last two feet helped with my draft....I'm considering going to 10'.

[Birddog]

10490 I thought I'd update this post, I ordered covers for my Mason 2x3 Evaporator and this is it installed in my new little shack. I'm ready to try a test boil to make sure everything works as planned. This picture gives you a good look at the casters that I had Bill add as an option that worked out really nice for me when I moved the evaporator. I need to get some shelves built in the shack and something to stack some dry wood away but more or less ready to go.

[Daveya]

Love the casters . They look like they would roll nice. I was thinking about putting turn up or down levelers on the legs before the casters. I am worried about leveling with the casters. Does it roll easy enough? Are the covers pricey? they look great.

[Daveya]

Where did you get the arch board and do you have pictures of installing it?