Home made barrel arch length?

[DJ Lasell]

I have made the jump from BBQ/stock pot and woodstove chaffing pans, to my first barrel stove arch.
I have a flat bottom 18 x 33 x 7 inch SS pan (warming pan off my brothers retired arch).
I got a couple runs and it tested well.
I now have about 120 taps, and gathered 75 gallons of sap yesterday.

The pan fit the barrel well, and after boiling most of the night, I boiled about 40 gallons down.
There is a small gap at the stovepipe connector, and I saw a lot of flame going out the stovepipe. (wasted heat?)
I also have a 20 x 25 x 8 inch galvanized pan.
I am thinking about welding 2 barrels together, end to end, and mounting my 20 x 25 pan (perhaps raised to allow a ball valve) on behind the SS pan.

Maybe even a third barrel to support my chaffing pans (to use as warming pans)?

Is there a reason not to add the third barrel?
Will it limit draft, or restrict the heat for the first pan?
Why aren't most DIY aches longer?
Thanks
DJ

[mudr]

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?24439-Double-barrel-evaporator-unveiling

Thats my rig. I got 7 gph with cold sap. I am thinking of doing a stack pre-heater and a basic squirrel cage blower to up that a bit for next year.

[DJ Lasell]

1163011631
Here are a couple photos of my project.
Already planning some improvements.

[brass maple]

Dj

It looks good. If you add a second barrel there are a couple of things you can do to make it more efficient. One is to put a grate in it so the wood isn't on the bottom of your barrel and and then section it off so you have a fire box area, and at the back of the fire box make a wall as high as your flue pipe and close in the area behind the fire box. Basically making like a ramp to the flue pipe. This will push the flames up higher to your pans. If you could put your pipe on top of your second barrel it would help even more because then you could make ramp even closer to your pans. Plus alow flies to touch pans all the way to the pipe. Also by putting in the fire grate you now have the option of putting in air under fire. This will improve your efficiency greatly.

My barrel evaporator is only one barrel but I did all of these things plus bricked it and it boils like crazy. With small, split, dry wood I can boil 7 to 8 gallons per hour easily. More when it's really pushed. I will post pics if I can figure out how11641116421164311644

These pictures don't show the bricking but shows the ramp. Since these pic have raised ramp another 3 inches. Didn't have pictures of pipe on the back side for air under fire.

[DJ Lasell]

Thank you Matt,
Although not shown in the picture, I do have a grate in the front, and a cinder block in the back to section it and direct the flames up towards the pan.
I realize its crude. would a smooth surface (steel) ramp do a better job?
I want to add an ash door (for more draft). but would a blower be the smarter add?

Is there a reason not to add the third barrel?
Will it limit draft, or restrict the heat for the first pan?
Why aren't most DIY aches longer?

[sams64]

A blower is always a smart addition.

Sam

[brass maple]

Dj

The ramp doesn't need to be smooth, some hobbiest have used sand, ceramic blanket, homosote insulation, etc.. mine look smooth because I didn't have the brick in it when I took the picture.
an ash door isn't a bad thing. Especially if you don't have the fan. When I use mine with the fan I don't get an ash build up because the ash goes up chimney. With out the fan you need a way to get ash out. And a way to get draft in
as far as adding a third barrel you will Probably need the fan because you will need a more intense fire to get fire to heat towards the back of the evaporator. Also might need to increase the size of chimney pipe to get more draft volume if you don't use the fan. I believe that if you used a third barrel you will need to make a ramp and bring it up really close to pans so the heat will do it's job.

The length would depend on a couple of things. 1 how much sap you have,2 is it continious flow or is it a batch boil pan.
alot of hobbiers have limited number of taps which means not as much sap, so if you built a long evaporator will you have enough sap to fire it up and still have sap to keep it going. If it is a continious pan will you have sap volume to get a gradient going so you can draw syrup off after a while.
As far as length goes A lot of it comes down to is howmuch you plan to produce by how much sap will you have. I'm sure others will also chime in and give opinions, just read them all and use all info you can get.
Also I've have gained a lot of knowledge from this site, go back in to older threads and read what you can. Lots of good things to learn on here.

Just don't get discouraged. Try what you want and if it didn't work then try something else. (You will never learn if you don't do). Good luck and ask questions if you got them