Sap splashing out of drop flue pan

[kiteflyingeek]

Finally got a chance to boil in my new Smoky Lake pans (2x6) last night. Found that it boils like a maniac! How do you keep the violent boil from splashing sap all over the place? Now I understand why folks have commented about getting sap in the hood gutters ;-)

I won't be adding a real hood this year but I am hoping for some suggestions to keep the splashing sap in the pan. This is only happening at the front of the 4 foot drop flue pan -- there's a good boil going on in the rest of the pan but right at the front is violent especially right after I fire it. I have a ramp from the wood firebox that ends just past the front of the flues -- if that makes any difference in the answer.

--andrew

[lpakiz]

Kiteflyinggeek,
I had that trouble and lots! What helps most is a digital temp gauge in the stack. As long as I stay at 800 degrees or under, no problem.
Look on EBay for PID controller and also a K type probe rated at 1500 degrees minimum. You should be in for around $30.
Get the largest, SINGLE readout you can, and enough cable length on the probe to reach where you want it to reach.
Nice problem to have, right?

[kiteflyingeek]

So, you are saying that my fire is a bit too hot, right? I'll experiment with less wood when I fire and see what that does. I will also play with the air intake on the ash door to see if just slowing the burn a little will do the trick.

I don't have time/money this year to add a controller. But playing with a controller as part of this addiction sounds fun.

--andrew

[maple flats]

That is why I had my custom pans made with 24" sides (mine is raised flue so I'm 14" above my 10" high flues, for drop flue the comparable would be 14" sides. At this point I suggest you get a good hood. On my original pans I made a hood and built splash deflectors to minimise the loss, but while that helped considerably, I still lost some sweet. While slowing the boil will help, that is not the best solution. The deflector I made just covered the forward 2' on a 3 x 6 raised flue pan, where the boil was extreme. try something similar, either in SS or even aluminum. Make it like a little hip roof to set over the front third of the pan. On mine I had the open end bent down with a lip about 1.5" wide and it angled down about 45 degrees. Then as the sap jumped it hit the deflector and went back into the pan. I found that after it got 2' back on my pan, very little ever jumped high enough to escape the confines of the pan. I then added short deflectors along each side, that went down the inside wall of the sides of the pan, went out under the hood, and back in (crimped real tight) and then just angled up at about 45 degrees towards the center. I made 2 of those, one for each side and they were about 24 maybe 28" long and were installed thru the hood access doors on each side. They were just slid up against the front deflector. They were a pain but I found they worked quite well. When I later ordered a new pan set, I had the sides made taller and now I have no sap jumping out.

[kiteflyingeek]

Thanks, Dave.

The pan does have 14" sides on it (drop flue) so I'm not sure why your 24" sides would be much different than what I have. What am I missing?

I was kind of afraid that I'd need the splash guards :(. I'm going to start by experimenting with burn rate (because that is quick, cheap, and easy) and then I'll see about adding guards and/or hood. But doesn't a hood just mean the sweet goes in the gutter and out the drain? So I'm still losing sugar just not making a mess, right?

--andrew

[Jeff E]

Here is another approach. I never want to say it is boiling to hard. I want to boil as hard and fast as is reasonable. If you taper your ramp a bit so the hot gasses are not blasting the front of your flues, but coming up to the bottom of the flues, your boil will be more uniform, your boil rate wont suffer. I would experiment with the ramp and go for a uniform, serious boil throughout the back pan.

[mellondome]

Your ramp should expose 1/3 of your flue pan to the firebox. Also, you should restrict the space under the stack. This will slow down the speed the heat flows the past the flues, giving a more even boil.

[maple flats]

If you have 14" above the flues, it is right. I always boil as fast as possible, try to find a different solution. Maybe your ramp as the 2 replies above suggest. Look at that for sure.