Squirrel cage blower and sap tsunami!!

[SmellsLikeSyrupNH]

I picked up my new to me evaporator a few weeks back and set it up and just was not happy with my boil rate. No matter how small I cut my wood, or tightened up the arch to stop leaks, it just never got a FAST boil. I went online and bought a squirrel cage blower on ebay, $44, and got it in. I decided to test it out on Saturday and installed it with a Variable speed fan control switch. The only problem with that is the fan only worked on 1 speed....HIGH!!! It was too strong!!! It was shooting my sand from under my pan out the chimney pipe. I filled the evaporator with water and it certainly boiled faster, it also got my whole back pan boiling, which i didn’t think was possible. With the high speed it also made it TOO HOT!! It started to melt the solder on my rear pan...I didn’t have enough liquid in it to keep it cool, as I just didn’t know what to expect. I figure out if i reduced the air intake on the fan it slowed down the volume out the output. I tested it again with water and it seemed to do the trick, it was no longer blowing ash and sand out of my pipe, the boil rate was great, and the back pan was boiling even faster than the front which I was amazed with and very excited.
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I was able to get 75 gallons of sap over the weekend, I couldn’t believe I got that much, and was glad i figured out the air flow issue with the fan, cause I certainly needed it. Last weekend it took me 10 hours to boil 55 gallons, last night starting at 5 I was able to boiled 40 gallons in 4 hours. HUGE IMPROVEMENT!!!
Some pix of my steam clouds!
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I have about 35 more gallons to go through tonight, and I’m just really happy with how its all turned out with the stove. I have to feed it about every 15 minutes, so that’s not too bad.

[SmellsLikeSyrupNH]

Forgot the picture of my sap sacks LOL I was amazed to see this much sap in 24hours....I emptied these on Saturday morning and this was Sunday.
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[BlueberryHill]

nice! looks like you got a good boil going there.

[lpakiz]

Smellslikesyrup,
The way you restricted the air flow on the intake is a very motor-friendly way to do this. If you ever put your hand over the vacuum cleaner, you have heard the motor speed up. This demonstrates that the motor has LESS work to do when it can't get full air. Easier on the motor and infinitely variable, by mounting a rotating flat sheet over the intake. Use a small, strong compression spring on the mounting bolt, and double-nut the bolt, to pre-tension the bolt, yet prevent the bolt from loosening.. That will create tension, to hold the flap where you set it, yet allow you to easily change air flow.

[SmellsLikeSyrupNH]

Smellslikesyrup,
The way you restricted the air flow on the intake is a very motor-friendly way to do this. If you ever put your hand over the vacuum cleaner, you have heard the motor speed up. This demonstrates that the motor has LESS work to do when it can't get full air. Easier on the motor and infinitely variable, by mounting a rotating flat sheet over the intake. Use a small, strong compression spring on the mounting bolt, and double-nut the bolt, to pre-tension the bolt, yet prevent the bolt from loosening.. That will create tension, to hold the flap where you set it, yet allow you to easily change air flow.

This actually does not make the motor work harder, it actually slows it down. I know what you mean about the vaccum cleaner, but this does not do the same thing, as I was also worried about it burning out the motor. It literally just slows it down and reduces how much air its blowing out. Honestly I would rather use a dimmer or speed control, but this fan just doesnt allow it, had i known that before i bought it, I would of found one i could speed control.

[SSFLLC]

You have the blockage on the out put and you need to put it on the input side of the cage

[SmellsLikeSyrupNH]

Im not sure what you mean....the output has free flow and works great, the input is where ive reduced the air intake.

[maple flats]

You might get more control if you make a damper and screw or rivet it in place. Make it like a tear drop. Then you can adjust the air flow as needed and you can adjust as conditions change. Just be sure not to get the mounting screw to interfere with the spinning squirrel cage.

[SmellsLikeSyrupNH]

Thanks Dave, that is a great idea.....i will take a look at doing that. the duct tape certainly works, but its not ideal...its red neck engineering at its finest though!

[maple flats]

actually the adjustable inlet flapper can be any shape, but it should be flat. At one time before I had AUF/AOF I used a squirrel cage blower with a flat rectangle that I slid to regulate the air inlet. I made an S channel with a long leg that I fastened to each side of the opening parallel to the other, then I took the flat pc. of sheet metal and bent a 1" lip for a handle. Then I just slid the pc back and forth to change the air available to the blower.