Building 1st arch.... BIG ??????'s Need help please

[Rosser's Ridge]

I have a steel tank 45" dia x 50" long. I have 2 pans 24" x 48" with 3 divider runnin length wise and can be piped together. my options are:
1) cut top of tank and use 1 pan? Why or why not? (least favorite idea)
2) cut tank in half length wise, fit both pans on 1 half ( side by side or front and back?) with slight over hang? why or why not?
3) cut tank in half length wise, weld halfs together and place both pans end to end? Why or why not? (favorite idea)
Now cutting tank in half to use both pans only leaves me 22" in depth to fit fire brick, ash chamber, grate, and burning chamber. now how great off a lose is there by eliminating grate?
what size stack 8" or 10? why why not? Same ratio as a fireplace 10:1? How tall? I keep reading 12' ??
Front damper, same sq in as stack or slightly less to create a "blower" effect?

Too many idea's and not enough info to build wisely on 1st attempt.
Got sub zero temps all week and through next wknd so iLL have a lil time to digest any and all advise.

Thanks and good luck to all who reply.
Rosser's Ridge Maple Products est 2013

[SeanD]

In general, your gut is always right. You are putting your eyes on this problem every day, so you know best. Go with option 3 - assuming you have the taps to run a 2x8. Remember, with flat pans you don't have to worry as much about minimum tap numbers that you sometimes see for pan sizes.

The 22" firebox is okay, but you have to have grates. If you burn right on the bottom of the barrel, the ash will choke the fire out within a few hours. What if you cut the very bottom of the firebox area out and laid the grates in place? You'll keep the 22" and still get air in from below. You'll have to make legs anyway, so you could raise the whole evaporator up higher to give you more clearance for an ash pan/drawer below.

For stack diameter, I think 8" would be okay, but I only have a 2x6. Ten inches is probably a safer bet. For the height, you want a minimum of double the arch length, so if you go with the 2x8, you'll need 16' of stack. That's pretty tall if you are outside without support, so tie in some guy wires to keep it steady when the wind blows.

Sean

[sugar ED]

I have a steel tank 45" dia x 50" long. I have 2 pans 24" x 48" with 3 divider runnin length wise and can be piped together. my options are:
1) cut top of tank and use 1 pan? Why or why not? (least favorite idea)
2) cut tank in half length wise, fit both pans on 1 half ( side by side or front and back?) with slight over hang? why or why not?
3) cut tank in half length wise, weld halfs together and place both pans end to end? Why or why not? (favorite idea)
Now cutting tank in half to use both pans only leaves me 22" in depth to fit fire brick, ash chamber, grate, and burning chamber. now how great off a lose is there by eliminating grate?
what size stack 8" or 10? why why not? Same ratio as a fireplace 10:1? How tall? I keep reading 12' ??
Front damper, same sq in as stack or slightly less to create a "blower" effect?

Too many idea's and not enough info to build wisely on 1st attempt.
Got sub zero temps all week and through next wknd so iLL have a lil time to digest any and all advise.

Thanks and good luck to all who reply.
Rosser's Ridge Maple Products est 2013



Hi Rosser's Ridge,Just a thought ? If ur tank is round 45" (not oval )I'll call ends, by 50" long (I'll call sides)... I would agree with both u and Sean on # 3. However, maybe not in haft, maybe 12" to 14" down ends ( for the rear section ) leaving the 31 or 33 (haft) for the front fire box -put in grates.both fire door and ash/vent door in on end of large haft ,WELD together haft's,cut stack hole in small haft ,far end... Maybe,(make more oval ,less round )- cut up the side, right next to both ends and now both sides (8 cuts - 4 in large/front haft and 4 in rear haft ,,to be bent in and re-welded back to ends ) to narrow down to 28" give or take .Bend extra (side metal)inward and back even to cut in ends (weld)(leave 21 to 22 inch hole in both haft's to heat pans ) . (this is to fit 24" pan and allow room for fire brick sides .... now both pans can work end for end 96" angle iron down both sides ,24"across-ed front and rear, to set pans on.... sorry I get carried away on this stuff lol... I made mine and it work so sweet ! bunt intended . But u don't need that much room under rear/flue pan -say twice to 2/3 as much as ur stack size ,minus ur fire brick too ... by the way, Welcome to the sugar bug / flu ,it comes around this time of year ! If u need more info just ask ,there's a lot of good people /advice on this site ! Good luck ! Ed

[psparr]

10498Something like this?

[Sugarmaker]

I think the guy that invented the 275 gallon oval end fuel drum Must have been a sugarmaker. I think they look ideal for a small operation. Have fun what ever direction you choose. Sounds like a 2 x 8 would be the way to go.
Regards,
Chris

[Rosser's Ridge]

Well thanks for your input. Ed's idea to not cut tank exactly in half is great. BUT i've hit a rather large snag, the tank was underground and after 40 years underground i was shocked how well the tar was still stuck on outside! So i abandoned the tank, dug through the stock pile and have enough material to build one the rivals a 2x6 Leader selling for 5 grand +all extras. We're in the middle of a long COLD spell so hoping i got time to get this built and give it a water test run.10527. I tried to attach picture of plans to this post. Let me know what you think while i may not take "your" advise, i listen to everyones advise.
The bride was less than thrilled with expanding from 25 taps last year to 200 (considering kitchen n bath are operational but far from finished), but i convinced her to go wth me to local supplier she found a couple of maple syrup cookbooks and wow, i think she's lil more excited than i am!!

[sugar ED]

Well thanks for your input. Ed's idea to not cut tank exactly in half is great. BUT i've hit a rather large snag, the tank was underground and after 40 years underground i was shocked how well the tar was still stuck on outside! So i abandoned the tank, dug through the stock pile and have enough material to build one the rivals a 2x6 Leader selling for 5 grand +all extras. We're in the middle of a long COLD spell so hoping i got time to get this built and give it a water test run.10527. I tried to attach picture of plans to this post. Let me know what you think while i may not take "your" advise, i listen to everyones advise.
The bride was less than thrilled with expanding from 25 taps last year to 200 (considering kitchen n bath are operational but far from finished), but i convinced her to go wth me to local supplier she found a couple of maple syrup cookbooks and wow, i think she's lil more excited than i am!!

Hi Rosser's Ridge
I hear ya about the advice ,there more ways than one to skin a cat ,lol . all that I've seen made worked .Just how well ,is the point ,and having fun while u do it ! and in my case without spending an arm and a leg too!
I looked over ur blueprint looks great ! The last one I made for myself was a 2'x8 (made from an old wood & oil furnace) ,however If I was to make another to fit 24' wide pans ,I would make it 26" wide,(Room for firebrick )as to let more heat hit the bottom edge of the pan (just bring ur angle iron in over brick ) Suggestion 1 lol ...
Suggestion 2 ...If u can,try to keep ur fire door down 5"- 8" from bottom of pan ....why ...to keep in more of ur heat,smoke and ashes
Suggestion 3 ... 6 to 8 inches max under grates,4 inches will work and a 4"-5" (tall) hole, for ash door .Mine has a 22" wide 36" long by 3"tall ash pan that slides in and out
I use to send the other haft to get supply's ,AS TO NOT SPEND TO MUCH ( I'm like a kid in a candy store there!) but now she worst than I am !I buy hose and taps ect., She gets fancy bottles for me to fill !
ps I'll try to find the post with my last set up ! An there's a lot to work with (info) here on this site ! I'm just waiting for the warm up and the sap to run ! Good luck and have fun !

[kiteflyingeek]

Two things I'll note from my build of a 2x6:

1. I used angle iron for all of it, including the legs under the stack; I did not use a brace and (so far) have not had any problems. I rent barn space so I have to move mine every year so there's plenty of chance to bend but so far, so good.

2. I would not keep a square corner at the back of the firebox -- the part going into the "arch" section. I have drop flues and they boil so vigorously that I have to add some shields to keep the sap inside. I did angle it back but not enougn; I went abut a foot but I'd recommend 2-3 feet. The attached picture shows my arch during build so the ash pan part doesn't have sides. 10548

Enjoy your build process.

--andrew

[kiteflyingeek]

I forgot to comment about your ash grate plans. I never tried rebar because everyone on here said they won't work. The recommendation that I went with is to use angle iron with the 'V' down -- this allows the channel to fill with ash and insulate the steel. Other configurations will put too much heat on the steel and it will either warp or burn up (or both).

--andrew

[Rosser's Ridge]

Thanks for all the input. Now its time to test the rig out. Gonna give it a water test run saturday. Sheet metal still had some paint on it, so wanna burn that off and get a feel for it before I put sap in it. Besides the fact I've never never run one or even been shown. Sill wanna make a bracket to hold a 24" x 24" preheat pan above flat pans. Gonna give slight pitch to allow condensation run off and not back into pan. I didnt angle the transition from fire box to tunnel, but its only 13" from grate to floor of tunnel. the tunnel I think I made too deep, 11". My fix for both is fill tunnel with sand and tapper it leaving about 6" of tunnel left.