How to decide on pan size?

[Dennis McGill]

OK, I'm a newby. I boiled this year for the first time on borrowed equipment. So here is/are my questions.
1. I'm building a six food arch, so am I better to have one six foot flat or divided pan, or one 4 foot flat pan and a 2 foot divided pan?
2. I'm thinking that with the 4 foot and 2 foot combo I could downsize a boil, if sap was slow, or I just didn't want to boil so much sap anymore.
Like in the near future when I'm old and tired and don't want to slop around in the woods in March.

[SeanD]

Go with the 4' & 2' setup. That way you'll be able to expand to a 4' flue pan easily and keep your front pan in the next configuration. Also, you'll be able to sell a 4' pan more easily than a 6' pan when the time comes. I don't know how many taps you are putting out, but a flat pan gives you a wide range for tap count on the low end. You could easily get away with 35-40 taps and still be able to boil regularly. It's not like a flue setup where you need a ton of sap just to fill it and boil for an hour or two. I don't think you'll find yourself downsizing at all until the last boil.

Sean

[Dennis McGill]

Thanks Sean, that's ind of what I was thinking.