Outdoor Steam Hood

[hodorskib]

Just finished installing my new outdoor steam hood. I have a 2' x 3' pan that came off an old Leader Half Pint evaporator. Like many other hobby producers I boil outside and needed something to protect the pan from rain, snow and wind - this was the solution. We have boiled in everything short of a Thunderstorm (and if this winter is any indication we may get the chance). The prototype for this, which was made out of galvanized sheet metal, lasted me several years but started to rust out. The new one has a few added features and is made out of 18 gauge aluminum.
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I am working on a detailed drawing that I will post to my website soon. https://sites.google.com/site/mattatuckmadnessmaplesyrup/outdoor-steam-hood

[jmayerl]

Very innovative and thinking outside the box. I give you a 10/10!

[Ausable]

Hey! Nice Hood and a good idea. Hope You have a great season. ----Mike----

[bcarpenter]

This seems like a great idea, have you observed noticeable improvements in your boiling rates with this or is it more for keeping out the elements? I have often wondered how much effect being exposed to the wind has on my boiling rate.

[hodorskib]

Before using this we were getting anywhere from 3-4 gallons per hour depending on temperature and wind. Since then we are getting consistently 6-7 gph no matter what the conditions are. So basically we are seeing around a 40% improvement.