Getting more out of my 2X6

[backyardsugarer]

Just wondering if anyone knew of any other mods I could use to increase my GPH. I just got a bunch of new trees to tap. I currently have a blower and a steam hood with a pre-heater. Do they make piggy back pans for the smaller units. I do not want to get a bigger rig at this point as my shack is cozy as it is Thanks

Chris

[markonsite]

Chris, I am trying to do the same thing. Did you get a noticeable increase when you added the pre-heater? I don't have one yet but am thinking of installing one.

Thanks,
Mark

[Fred Henderson]

I would think that a 2x6 would do better than 200 taps. What kind of stack temps are you running? :D

[markonsite]

Fred, I am averaging 25gph. I usually collect sap every other day which gives me approx 250-300 gals. Will the pre-heater increase the evaporation substantially?

Thanks,
Mark

[archangel_cpj]

I would bet that a pre - heater would give you a booste of say 15 - 20 percent maybe as high as 25 but I doubt it. Preheaters are easy to do and there is no reason that you shouldnt have one think of putting 100 - 150 degree sap into the pan instead of 35 degree sap what a difference. blower is good idea too and the hood is I dont like hoods as I like to see the pans but they do increase efficiancy. With good wood and blower a well insulated arch etc I think 35 gallons per hour is max. I have a friend who has a blower and drop flue pans and he beefed up his grates to run on wood and coal mix lot flatter boil as the coal stays hot and the wood gives the flame. might try that myself some day.

[brookledge]

You can buy a steam a way for your 2X6. It would boil an additional 15-17 gal per hour, but with the cost of them it would be cheaper to buy a used 3X8 than a piggy back. The cost for a piggy back is over $3,000 unless you can find one used and even then they hold there value pretty well.
Keith

[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

markonsite, if you have a pre-heater, it is best to have the hood because it will make the pre-heater work at best efficiency. Because the hood will keep the steam around the pipes longer...resulting in sap temps. nearly boiling if the situation is right.

[Parker]

If you put a pre heater on your set up put a damper in the steam stack after the preheater coil,ajust the damper so the steam just about comes out between the hood and the pan,,then you get max. temp around your preheater coil,,if you do this you will have to wacth for vapor locking,

[Fred Henderson]

Maybe an RO should be considered. It won't increase the evap rate but it would increase production and let you keep you small cozy SH.

[maplwrks]

A preheater hood will gain you 10%
A Steamaway will gain you 75%
An R/O will gain you 400%
These are not my #'s, They were taken out of a Leader catalog

[Jim Brown]

maplwrks; You are right. I have a raised flue W/S 2x6 with a full stainless hood and with holding 650 degrees in the stack base I can get max 28 GPH I just bought a Leader Steamaway for it and hope to get near 50 GPH with that . As our taps increase we will get a HERO RO and turn it up to 80% All you have to do is do the math and we will be able to turn the 2x6 into a big finish rig.80% from the RO-into the Steamaway-there goes another 50%-into the rig at 200 degrees and out comes syrup at the rate of about 5 gallon per hour.Looks good on paper anyway. only time will tell.
Thanks
Jim

[markonsite]

Thanks for all the help everyone, my questions have been answered!

Mark

[Fred Henderson]

Go for the RO now.

[backyardsugarer]

The temp of my sap going in runs about 140 degrees and I would say that has increased my rate by about 10%. My 2X6 handles what I have easily now but The land I am going to lease has about 2,500 taps! I know I can't keep up with that this year, but I want to make as much syrup as I can with the old girl.

Chris

[Parker]

I get around 5-7 gallons an hour with my 5x16,,,and that is burning a lot of wood,,,,

[Russell Lampron]

Chris,

The best way to increase your efficiency now would be to get an RO machine. An additional 2500 taps is going to produce alot of sap. With my 2x6 and RO I am processing about the same gph of sap that I would if I had a 3x10 or 3x12 evaporator and I am using alot less wood.

Russ

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

You would probably see 3 to 4 gph max increase with a preheater on a 2x6 depending on sap temp and possibly a little less if the temp is low. I think 20% is overstated, but you might push 15%, but 10% is a more realistic #. :?

[oneoldsap]

PARKER: She needs some work!

[powerdub]

Brandon, I don't think 20% is out of the question. I am sure we picked up at least that much when we added the pre heater. Even more when we added the blower and double insulated the arch. You can almost put your hand on the side when it is going full tilt. Almost bieng the key word here. We get between 75 and 90 GPH through it depending on the weather. I think it is only rated at 55 GPH.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Scott,

That is a good rate for a 2.5 x 8. Mine is similar to yours, but the biggest kick in my gph rate was the airtight front. It makes a ton of difference, so hard to say how much the preheater added for me as I added both of them at the same time, but I would guess the airtight was the majority. I went from 35 gph to 50 gph. With the water meter, I can monitor it better this year and try different things to maximize rate.

[myazel]

If the goal is to get more to the fire which is why we put on blowers how does the airtight front make things better?

Mike

[brookledge]

Without an air tight front the blower will usually blow smoke and embers out of the cracks. On mine the blower is hooked to a reostat so I can slow it down alittle when I open my door.
Keith

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

With the airtight front, it makes the arch airtight and produces higher combustion. The goal is complete combustion with an airtight. I don't get complete, but I never empty ashes either other than a little on top of the grates before I fire up each time.