How long to boil from cold start ?

[TerryEspo]

Well, I got the arch outside today and had my first fire in it.

Too cold out to play around, cold bitter wind, so I called it quits after seeing a boil and shut it down.

It took approx. 30 mins, as a guess to get a boil going. Approx 2 inches of cold water.

I remember reading a post before of how long it should take to get to a boil but cant remember the time frame that is a good average.

Does anyone remember how long it should take to bring 2" to a boil from absolute cold start ?

Thanks.

[RileySugarbush]

There are too many variables to say for sure. A blower and fine split wood and it could be only a couple of minutes. Bigger wood and natural draft, 20 or 30 minutes maybe.

[Ausable]

No argument with what John says. But - One of the jobs I had in my life was a Boiler Operator and from a cold start we fired slow and gradually built the fire up with a gradual rise in temperature and pressure. Steel stretches a lot from a cold start to a rolling boil. LOL - Of course we are not talking boiler tubing here - but - rather archs and sap pans. What the heck is wrong with going from a cold start to a boil in 30 minutes - outside - in a cold winter wind? Sounds pretty good to me. Dang - You need some kind of shelter or wind break........

[wnybassman]

I had to dig my rig out of the snow yesterday, it was literally just a bump in the snow when I started. I had an inch of sweet in there from about 60 gallons of boiling a few days prior, and there was a thick crust of ice on the surface. From the time I lit the match, it was about 15 minutes until the first boiling was occurring. What was interesting was each of the three front sections had a small boiling spot, but each still had ice in it as well. I really didn't think that could happen, but it did. I criss-cross a bunch of fine dry wood in the firebox to start the fire, so when it takes off the fire is pretty intense.

9198

I plan on boiling all day tomorrow and the forcasted high temp is only 16º. I already have all the fine wood stacked in the firebox and ready to go. All I need to do is drag myself out there and stuff some paper under it and light.

[happy thoughts]

No argument with what John says. But - One of the jobs I had in my life was a Boiler Operator and from a cold start we fired slow and gradually built the fire up with a gradual rise in temperature and pressure. Steel stretches a lot from a cold start to a rolling boil. LOL - Of course we are not talking boiler tubing here - but - rather archs and sap pans. What the heck is wrong with going from a cold start to a boil in 30 minutes - outside - in a cold winter wind? Sounds pretty good to me. Dang - You need some kind of shelter or wind break........

Ausable, that is such sensible advice. Two thumbs up! :D