Newly Completed Oil Tank Evaporator

[nick3093]

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Finished up our new oil tank evaporator last week and did our first boil on Sunday. We had about 100 gallons of sap waiting for us. The first 30 minutes after lighting the fire were a little nerve wrecking as we waited for the sap to start boiling. At about the 30 minute mark we had a nice hard rolling boil and were evaporating like crazy. We calculated about a 10-11 gallons per hour evaporation rate. That made us very happy since last year we were using a hotel pan on a gas grill! The 1" ceramic fiber insulation and 45 full fire bricks we incorporated sure did the job. We could stand right next to the evaporator without getting too hot. This season has been a little slow, but we are very excited for our next boil this weekend.


2013 - 12 Taps (Bags), Modified Gas Grill, 2.6 Gallons of Syrup
2014 - 32 Taps (Bags), Homeade 2x4 Oil Tank Arch, High Hopes!

[sugarin' in the hood]

Nice build, 10-11 gal/hr evap rate sounds great!!! I hope to graduate up to that size from an oil drum evap next spring.

[nick3093]

Thanks. I wish I had more taps in to keep enough sap on hand to cook 2-3 days a week, but when I tapped this year I didn't have the pan yet or any of the supplies to even start building the evaporator. It was a last minute decision. We built it in the week leading up to our first boil. My wife thinks it is ugly and needs paint. I can't disagree, but no time to add it this year. This website was a great resource to gain information for my build. I could not have done it without all the other people who have shared their projects with us on here. Thought I would do the same.

[Twindadx2]

Hey nick3093, what are you using for a door?

[nick3093]

It is a door that was cut off an old wood stove that was sitting in a friends junk pile. It works great and the price was right...free!

[PerryW]

nice job! Way better looking than the oil drum evaporator I started with 45 years ago.