2x4Mason xl

[highlandcattle]

Ron is so pleased with this little evaporator from Bill Mason. We even called him to say what a great job it does. With all the ones. We've had this seems to be his favorite.nice size to handle himself and it sure does boil with the blower on it. Wish we knew about him sooner. Would have gotten our finisher from him. Still might. May be selling our big Leader propane unit which is only 2seasons old. Anyone using a Mason?

[bowhunter]

Thanks for the post. My next one will be one of Bill's. I've heard nothing but good things about his little evaporators.

[highlandcattle]

We drove to his place in Maine and picked it up. Beautiful drive. Yes a great guy.explained everything and we saw it and then they wrapped it and loaed it on our truck. You get the entire set up except piping and bricks. Easy enough for me to help with it. Excellent workmanship. He's always available to answer questions. Just disappointed we didn't see the moose. Always wanted to see a moose. Never the right timing....sigh...fast.even boil and we've been making some really nice syrup.

[Urban Sugarmaker]

I have the same opinion of the Mason XL as Highland Cattle. I'm really happy I chose this evaporator and Bill really stands behind his stuff. I only wish I had an RO to help me get through even more sap quicker.

[moonshine]

I have been using one of Bill's 2x4.5 raised flue evaporators for three seasons. I installed a under the fire blower and the units performs beautifully. I feed it with about 125 taps and it keeps up nicely. One thing I really like is how easy the raised flue design is to keep clean. I routinely drain and filter unfinished sap at the end of the day. I quick brush scrub with water, refill with the filtered sap, and I am ready for the next day. Makes for nice syrup. Bill is always happy to field any questions about his products.

[VTmaplehobby]

Started this season with a new Mason 2x4 xl. Cannot believe the production!!! Definitely the most cost effective hobby evaporator that I have seen! With a little tweaking we get 16 gallons an hour every time easily! Our only problem is a lack of sap to feed it, maybe this week... :-)

[silveradomaple]

I have the 2'x4' XL model as well. Awesome little unit. With the blower on, I'm getting 25GPH out of it. For the money...you can't go wrong with a mason evaporator

[Urban Sugarmaker]

I have the 2'x4' XL model as well. Awesome little unit. With the blower on, I'm getting 25GPH out of it. For the money...you can't go wrong with a mason evaporator

25 GPH on a flat pan 2x4? I could not seem to do better than 11 or 12 tops with blower and running at 1" deep. Are you running the blower full speed? If I did that my stack would melt.

[RC Maple]

Started this season with a new Mason 2x4 xl. Cannot believe the production!!! Definitely the most cost effective hobby evaporator that I have seen! With a little tweaking we get 16 gallons an hour every time easily! Our only problem is a lack of sap to feed it, maybe this week... :-)

It seems for the number of taps I have or want to have that 15-16 gph would be a good rate to boil at. What is a "little tweaking"? Do you run a blower? I believe his site says more like 9-12 gph for his 2x4 but doesn't give different numbers for the XL.

[VTmaplehobby]

We started the season with a decent blower (old power venter), and 11' of 6" stack, melted the coupler off of the pipe adapter that we installed in the back of the arch one night when we weren't running the blower. With just the 2" hole in the back and the ash door wide open we were getting the same evap rate. We burn hardwood splits and cut up hardwood pallets, the pallets burn fast but hot and keep the fire in direct contact with the pan. Stack is actually pressed tight to the pre-heater pan and usually sap is around 120* when it hits the main pan (some warping and burning of the preheater pan has happened). Sap level is usually about 1" or so, but its hard to gage. Added a homemade hood and 10" stack for steam. On the short run days of the last few weeks we could boil 50 gallons in 3 1/2 hours with startup and cool down which is 14.3 gph, but when its rolling 16 is steady.

[Ryan August]

I have the 2x4, what mason was calling the HO, blower ect, 3 pass pan. With blower going medium speed i get the 15+ gal per hour most talk about and does not take much time to get up to speed. This past weekend i turned blower up a little more and was running thru sap like crazy, definetly above by 15 GPH average and the chimney was turning red and glowing, that did not concern me to much but when the inside wall of the maple shack started to smoke and glow with amber, that concerned me and I turned the blower down and got the bucket of water fast. No more blower on high for me. Overll works as advertised

[mudr]

There are some very impressive GPHs being posted here for 2x4 evaps, but I suspect some might have flues while others not. Can you guys clarify which you have? And also (to the extent you are comfortable) would you care to share the ballpark price on these units? I am looking to upgrade within a year or so and I think Bill and Jim S. are on my short list. Thank you!

[Noah's Ark]

http://www.wfmasonwelding.com/home.html

Here is the link for his web site, it has some pricing. I have the 2x4 XL with a blower and with it on medium I am getting between 12-15 GPH. Depends on how good the wood is, temp of sap etc. I am very happy with the setup but need to build a small RO so i can keep up next year looking to add another 10-20 taps. He is very busy so order early to make sure you have it in time for next season. I am looking to rework my feed into the preheater so I can increase the temp and up my boiling. This is my second year with the unit and the unit is still like new. Great quality and a good price.

[highlandcattle]

His prices are great. We bought early last year and paid $1,400 for the 2x4 xl added a blower for $150.00 got pipe and covers from our Amish neighbor. Brick. These come with directions. This model has 4 flues. Can't beat Bills prices

[FordHeritageFarm]

Just to throw my data in here. I have a 2x4 Mason pan and am quite pleased with it. I bought a blower for it this year, for which I am grateful. With a float in the "pre-heater" to keep a constant pressure, we are getting a max boil rate of 12 gph consistently. dry wood chunks and some pine.

[mudr]

His prices are great. We bought early last year and paid $1,400 for the 2x4 xl added a blower for $150.00 got pipe and covers from our Amish neighbor. Brick. These come with directions. This model has 4 flues. Can't beat Bills prices

Flues or channels?

[highlandcattle]

Sorry. My husband corrected me. Channels. Sap moves quickly this way. Syrup has been great. He includes a copper pipe for reverse flow. You can draw off either side. He has a real nice arch with an insulated door and a handle that doesn't get hot. When the blower is set on low it really boils.

[bcarpenter]

I am a big an of Bill's evaporators too! We only have the small 2x3 hobby sized unit, but I am very pleased with the quality and service we got from Bill Mason. I exchanged many many emails with questions prior to ordering and he was very helpful with all my questions. We are looking at getting one of the finisher/bottling units for next year now that we figured out how to suck some more sap out with a Shuflo pump setup.


http://www.wfmasonwelding.com/home.html

Here is the link for his web site, it has some pricing. I have the 2x4 XL with a blower and with it on medium I am getting between 12-15 GPH. Depends on how good the wood is, temp of sap etc. I am very happy with the setup but need to build a small RO so i can keep up next year looking to add another 10-20 taps. He is very busy so order early to make sure you have it in time for next season. I am looking to rework my feed into the preheater so I can increase the temp and up my boiling. This is my second year with the unit and the unit is still like new. Great quality and a good price.