Pan wider then evaporator?

[NY mapler]

I have a question about having my pan wider then my evaporator. I am going to build an evaporator from an oil tank that is 26" wide. I found a stainless steel shelf unit pretty cheap that will work as a pan. The shelf is taller so I will lay it down on the evaporator, but my problem is that the shelf is 36" wide, 10" wider than the oil tank. My plan would be to add extensions on the side of the evaporator(like in the crude picture attached) to make it wide enough for the pan. I am wondering if this would work? I would add braces for the weight and insulate the extensions with either brick or a blanket. The main reason I am thinking of doing this is because the corners are already nicely made and welded. Keeping it this way would avoid cutting, bending, and welding another corner. Not impossible to do, but it would make it a little easier. Any suggestions? Would it effect the boil rate quite a bit? Would it better to fit the pan to the evaporator or could it work?
Any and all suggestions are much appreciated!

[psparr]

One thing to consider is future expansion. If you build it to fit the pan, it won't fit the nice new pan your bound to get. You won't get great heat under the "wings" ,as the heat will tend to travel towards the stack rather than outwards.
And it seems like a lot more work to build the evaporator to the pan than the other way around. A pretty pan won't make better tasting syrup either.