what size evaporator

[sweetwater sugar shack]

What would b a good size evaporator for 225 taps want to upgrade from my oil tank

[Daves Maple Farm]

We had same setup and went with a Smokey Lake 2x8 in stainless. Now running almost 400 taps with an RO on the same unit. Doing just fine.

[sweetwater sugar shack]

What is the gph

[Sugarmaker]

Yep 2 x 8 or 3 x 8.
Regards,
Chris

[sweetwater sugar shack]

A 2x6 would not cut it

[wiam]

A 2x6 would not cut it

I think that would depend on the 2x6. I boil less than 3 hrs per day with 1000 taps concentrating to 10-12%

[WESTMAPLES]

im running a leader WSE 2x6 evap with no preheater or RO yet and it keeps up with the 300 plus taps I have, but sugaring to me is a job, and if I spend 8 hrs boiling a day its a pay check for me and my business. I plan on keeping my 2x6 till I have 1500 taps or so with the addition of a preheater and a proper size RO. but that's my opinion and the direction im going.

[sweetwater sugar shack]

Boy that would b nice last year I only had 140 taps I could keep up but had some long nights

[rayi]

What ever you decide to go with go one size higher. There is nothing worse than having a new evaporator and it's too small next year or you are boiling forever. Some one here on the Trader once said that you should figure how many hours you have in a day to boil then mathch that with the amout of taps

[sweetwater sugar shack]

Last year I only had 140 taps I was able to keep up but had some long nights

[sweetwater sugar shack]

Where in Westfield are u located

[heus]

225 taps is just fine for a good 2x6 with a flue pan. If you plan to go over 300 go for a 2x8 or 2.5x8 like others said. I honestly wish I still had my 2x6 now that I have an ro.

[Gary R]

Buckets or high vacuum? That is a huge difference. I wouldn't go as small as a 2X6. I want to be done in a few hours.

[sweetwater sugar shack]

Do not plan on adding any more maybe just add some on vac they are on gravity

[Drew Pond Maple]

Are you guys figuring 1 gallon of sap per tap?
Could you store extra sap for days that you don't get much, and boil every day?

[PerryW]

What is the gph

I tried 250 woods taps on a 2x6 in 1988 and it was too small. Sold it after one year and bought a 3x10 does which does 90-100 gph.

[BAP]

A lot depends on how your evaporator is set up. A basic 2x6 drop flu is going to do a lot less than a 2x6 raised drop combo flu with a steam hood and preheater and air tight arch with blower. In the 2x6 lineup, there is a huge variation in sap evaporation rates from the basic to fully decked out units. Same applies to any other size. You don't want to go so big that when you have only marginal runs you are waiting for enough sap to boil. You might end up with a long day or two when you have great runs.

[sweetwater sugar shack]

Thanks for the reply think I am going to shop around for a raised flue 2x6 any recommendations would b appreciated

[heus]

Patrick Phaneuf makes a great 2x6 raised flue. That's what I have experience with.

[BigAl'sSapShack@WBM]

I have an old Grimm 2X6 and I have 230 on it...but they are all buckets and gravity....if I were going to expand to much ide want a step or two up

[heus]

Just make sure you get a 2x6 with deep flues. Like Phaneufs or the big companies' higher end models.

[WESTMAPLES]

WSE flue has 37.2 sq ft with 6 - 7 1/2 inch deep flues and Phaneufs has 8- that are 7 inch deep flues. am I missing something deep flues heus ? and larger higher-end companys really? you don`t have to spend a arm & a leg to make great syrup in a timely fashion. don`t be fooled by everyones difference in opinion, your on the right track sweetwater . good luck

[Gary R]

A&A, half the price of even a WSE

[WESTMAPLES]

raised flues are nice but the start up money for my sugaring operation came out of my own shallow pocket, and im proud of what ive bought and how far ive come for my second season out . next year proper upgrades will be applied to overcome any slowness in my process

[rayi]

Money is always the limiting factor. I might suggest boiling what you can and selling the rest of the sap to make money

[Lightner92]

Going to pick up my 2x6 with air tight, raised flu from A and A tomorrow, can't wait, as I thought Altee and his crew came through. He orginally told me it wouldn't be ready till the end of March. He called last friday night and said it would be done Tuesday. $2600

[DaveB]

Going to pick up my 2x6 with air tight, raised flu from A and A tomorrow, can't wait, as I thought Altee and his crew came through. He orginally told me it wouldn't be ready till the end of March. He called last friday night and said it would be done Tuesday. $2600

I'll be there Saturday morning to pick mine up. I'm grateful that he was able to accommodate me and even customize my unit they way I wanted it.

A 2x6 properly run can get 35-40gph. Add in hoods and pre-heaters and there's no problem running several hundred taps. I ran as many as 600 a couple of years ago before I started adding vacuum and I didn't need as many taps. I had a Max flue pan though and had proper wood and fueling practices and got between 40 and 50GPH. I liked the 2' firebox because I can use less wood and do pretty much the same job as larger firebox, IMHO.

[Lightner92]

Sounds like the boys will play when the boss is gone. The son called me last night and asked if I could be there before noon because his dad was on vacation and he wanted to take off early on Friday. Gotta love it. I m excited to see what the final product will look like.