Pans for yet Another Block Evaporator....

[NhShaun]

Plans to build a cheap air tight block arch.. I have done tons of research on the matter and have that all figured out. The block arch is cheap, easy to store, and easy to expand for my early season instead of being stuck with a certain size arch.. Then someday i can build a real arch of any length to fit my purchased pans.

The real question is what pan set up...for 75-150 ish taps(Pretty broad but planning for future growth)

With the block arch i can just extend it if i need to add another pan.
So I'm aiming at a 2x4, 2x6 or 2x8 with Pre heater pan set up or perhaps longer down the road.

I would like to be able to fill and walk away from the evaporator once in a while to do other things(Leaving the pre heater trickling). To not have to worry too much about the continuous flow issues and being around for frequent regular draw off would be a plus. So i guess more of a batch boil..Boiling time and fuel aren't really an issue as i plan to take the entire month of march and maybe April off at my off grid cabin and have an endless supply of dry wood.

I have found 2 different guys locally on CL selling New 2X4x8" 3 section(Front to back dividers) flat pans With S/S fittings for around $500 with 10"x2' pre heaters $425 without.

As i am low on funds due to a motorcycle accident on Columbus day and no insurance and can't work.. $400 is all i can really afford right now for a pan and want to make a purchase before rush time.

But in a month or two, i would like to pick up either another 2x4 or 2x2 flat for my front pan.

So the question is..

Because i plan to "Batch boil" i will purchase either two 2x4 or one 2x4 + 2x2 pan......Should they both have dividers or just the rear? or neither?
If i do that, should i connect the front and back pans with shut offs and leave them open while boiling??

I plan to get the syrup as close as i can to correct density and then draw off/filter and finish in a stainless pot on a propane burner.

I have searched these topics and read as much as i could about them, but still not too sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[BreezyHill]

Shawn, Sorry to hear that you moved to the those that have wrecked a bike group, but we are good company.

I run a 2x6 air tight with preheater and hoods. Rear is a raised flue and front has 4 sections. My youngest holds the boiling record at 43 gallons/ hr boiling. We run an RO now to get more out of the rig as we are bringing the entire farm back into production. I used to do batch boiling and draw off 1-2+ gallons per time. Then tried continuous flow and that is fine as long as things go as planned. This doesn't always happen so I built an auto draw off unit and find I am tending back to batch boiling more often as the center section of the finish pan hit density quickly when the draw off side is pulling off.

I would go with a compartment finish pan so that you have the ability to pull more finished product off before the product from the back pan dilutes your product and you have less worry about the front pan scorching as you are pulling off with the blocks retaining a lot of heat.

I put a shut off switch for my air under fire into the auto draw off if the temp gets to high or the center is over density. I am thinking of hooking up a flood valve also that the PID will control if the temp hits a preset high temp to eliminate the concern of a burnt pan. Fairly cheap to do a $45 in supplies and some drilling and welding work.

So now you have some ideas to kick around while you are recuperating.

Get well Soon!

[SeanD]

If you are going to batch boil, there's no real need for dividers, but they will be good to have down the road when you do go to a continuous flow.

As for connecting them, I'd opt against it while you are batch boiling. Once you get close to syrup, you'll have no way to draw it off while it's over the heat. You'll either need to slide it off the heat, which will be hard for a 2x8 set up, or you will need to lift the pans off the heat and drain them which will be very hard with a 2x4 by yourself and impossible with a 2x8. At an inch deep, each 2x4 pan will have about 10 gallons in it, if I remember right. That's over 80 lbs. plus the weight of the pan.

It seems like your best bet is to go with the continuous flow. It's a lot easier than it seems and it's much easier to do alone. At 75-150 taps, you could have 150-300 gallons of sap to go through each day during the good runs. You'll need to fire that arch every 6-10 minutes, so I don't think it will be a good idea to leave it for a while to do other stuff.

If you'd rather have the more relaxed pace you mention, cut down on the number of taps a bit and then you'll be able to keep up.

Sean

[NhShaun]

Shawn, Sorry to hear that you moved to the those that have wrecked a bike group, but we are good company.

I used to do batch boiling and draw off 1-2+ gallons per time. Then tried continuous flow and that is fine as long as things go as planned. This doesn't always happen so I built an auto draw off unit and find I am tending back to batch boiling more often as the center section of the finish pan hit density quickly when the draw off side is pulling off.

So now you have some ideas to kick around while you are recuperating.

Get well Soon!

haha thank you, i am not to thrilled to be in this fallen group. But luckily my bike is fine from the crash.

And thank you for the ideas, your set up seems much more sophisticated than mine will be probably ever. Certainly sounds efficient and your boiling must go smoothly.

[NhShaun]

If you are going to batch boil, there's no real need for dividers, but they will be good to have down the road when you do go to a continuous flow.

As for connecting them, I'd opt against it while you are batch boiling. Once you get close to syrup, you'll have no way to draw it off while it's over the heat. You'll either need to slide it off the heat, which will be hard for a 2x8 set up, or you will need to lift the pans off the heat and drain them which will be very hard with a 2x4 by yourself and impossible with a 2x8. At an inch deep, each 2x4 pan will have about 10 gallons in it, if I remember right. That's over 80 lbs. plus the weight of the pan.

It seems like your best bet is to go with the continuous flow. It's a lot easier than it seems and it's much easier to do alone. At 75-150 taps, you could have 150-300 gallons of sap to go through each day during the good runs. You'll need to fire that arch every 6-10 minutes, so I don't think it will be a good idea to leave it for a while to do other stuff.

If you'd rather have the more relaxed pace you mention, cut down on the number of taps a bit and then you'll be able to keep up.

Sean

I guess i might have to just deal with figuring out the continuous flow. The pans for the 2x6 set up i was looking at have the 2x4 pan in the rear with 3 dividers running side to side. And the 2x2 pan in front with 2 dividers running front to back. http://images.craigslist.org/00s0s_9eYzq7lNWQ_600x450.jpg

I haven't seen many with the dividers running side to side on the rear pan..

But if i do get just a 2x4 pan.. and plan to add another 2x2 or 2x4 pan to the front someday.. Would i want both the pans to have dividers running front to back?

Sorry these questions have been asked many times, but i can only afford the 2x4 pan as of right now. And don't want to get stuck having the wrong pan setup/ dividers in the near future.

[SeanD]

Don't sweat the divider direction unless you had your heart set on a reversible flow. Some say the reversible flow is not as beneficial with a 2' pan anyway. If you clean your front pan between boils, it won't be an issue. If you wanted to you could add a couple more valves and a union between the pans and just turn the pan around if you have to reverse direction.

In the end, keep it simple. Half the set ups on this site are more Rube Goldberg than evaporator. My notebooks are full of them, too!

Sean

[Big_Eddy]

NHShaun
I think you have a good plan. Does the 2x4 pan with dividers come with an outlet port and valve? With them, you have the flexibility to do anything. With the dividers in, you will find that the concentration increases towards the front (assuming you add sap only at the back). Depending on how much sap you have, you can either boil until it's all gone and pour / drain the almost syrup into a pot for finishing, or if you have lots of sap left, draw off some almost syrup and backfill with more sap - Hey, Cool - you're now boiling continuous flow!

When your sap supply overwhelms the 2x4 and funds permit, add the 2x2 in front to increase capacity. Either connect the 2x4 to the 2x2 or scoop from one to the other to use the front pan as a syrup pan.

Given your desire not to be tied to the pans, just run about 2" - 2 1/2" deep. You will give up something in evaporation rate, but you won't risk turning a days boiling efforts into a charcoal mess. You will need to stick close as you get closer to syrup, and will want to let the depth drop as you finish off each batch, otherwise your batches will be huge.

[NhShaun]

NHShaun
Does the 2x4 pan with dividers come with an outlet port and valve? With them, you have the flexibility to do anything. With the dividers in, you will find that the concentration increases towards the front (assuming you add sap only at the back). Depending on how much sap you have, you can either boil until it's all gone and pour / drain the almost syrup into a pot for finishing, or if you have lots of sap left, draw off some almost syrup and backfill with more sap - Hey, Cool - you're now boiling continuous flow!

When your sap supply overwhelms the 2x4 and funds permit, add the 2x2 in front to increase capacity. Either connect the 2x4 to the 2x2 or scoop from one to the other to use the front pan as a syrup pan.

Given your desire not to be tied to the pans, just run about 2" - 2 1/2" deep. You will give up something in evaporation rate, but you won't risk turning a days boiling efforts into a charcoal mess. You will need to stick close as you get closer to syrup, and will want to let the depth drop as you finish off each batch, otherwise your batches will be huge.

Yes the pans come with outlets and S/s Valves. So connecting the 2x2 wont be an issue which is great.

And thanks for the depth ideas, that would be nice to have a few minutes to walk away here and there. Maybe this continuous flow thing isn't as scary as i am making it out to be.

So i will be ordering the 2x4 pan this week. Custom made for a daydream.

Thank you for all the info fellas. Much obliged