HELP please...am I totally screwed?

[Frustrated]

I need some quick help..PLEASE!!. I just finished firebricking my new arch...and I guess I really screwed up somewhere along the way.

I squared and leveled the arch, before bricking, but now that I am done, it is out of level and out of square and racked...thus its almost impossible to get the thing level, and when I sit the pans on it there is as much as a 1/2->5/8 inch gap between the top of the arch and one corner of the pan....NOW what do I do?

I see the following options, none of which is attractive:

1) remove all the firebricks and start again...is this even possible? aren't I going to destroy the arch getting the bricks out? what would I use, just a hammer?

2) try to use it as is...I can level the pan itself, but would need to close the gap somehow between the arch and the pans...suggestions?

3) order another arch and start all over. (man that is gonna stink, waste an arch and 150 worth of bricks...blowing about $500 bucks is not how I wanted to start my first season.

4) skip the season altogether....

My hope is that somehow the collective wisdon on this board can tell what what I can do to make do this year and de-brick, reqsqaure etc for next season.

Anyone? I am really p.o.'ed at myself right now.....

[mapleman3]

well how bout if you don't want to re brick this season since it has started, can you level the pan with metal shims or something and use extra thick pan gasket to close up the gaps for now and still boil? redo the bricks in the summer at leisure?

[Brian]

If it was me ,I would through a floor jack under it and get some planking to put on the jack so the weight it spred out some,A iron bar and some planking make a good lever to level up the front. level the arch with out the pans so the pans don't get tweeked .Use a level and find some old leaf springs or something to shim it up with. I would start with the lowest corner and go from there. Good Luck!!

[mapleman3]

I guess it also depends on what size arch it is? your saying "the"pan, so I'm assuming it may be a half pint, if it is I would just level as best you can for this season, a half pint is a very forgiving arch as far as boiling goes.

[backyardsugarer]

Same thing happened to me in regards to loosing level. I got the jack out of my truck and jacked up the side that needed to be raised. I used some shims and got it dead on. As far as the brick goes. Gasket would be nice unless you have a good circular saw and can cut them where you need them in the arch. good luck.

Chris

[frustrated]

OK, I have calmed down just a bit...so I'll try to be a bit clearer...the unit is a half-pint, so we are not talking about a huge unit luckily....my plan was to work out the kinks this year on a small unit and upgrade for next year...glad I did.

The arch itself is out of square, but luckily not so much that the pan still can covers the opening at the top..so that is less of a problem.

The *real* problem is that arch is "racked"...in other words, impossible to level even with a floor jack etc,i.e. when you sit the pan ontop of the arch, the front right, and back left corners touch, but the other two don't...they are off as much as about 1/2 of an inch.

What I am thinking is that I will get some 1inch, by 1inch 90degree angle iron (not iron, sheet metal probably) and fasten it to the arch from the outside and make the new surface level, in other words sort of extend the top of the arch up a bit on all four sides and level the extensions properly so the pan will sit on the new horizontal part...I think this will work if I can round up some appropriate sized sheet-metal (does Home depot carry this stuff?).

As far as an extra thick gasket goes...I like that Idea to, but how thick can I get it? and where can I get it? what kind?


As far as fixing this for next season...how hard is it to remove the bricks w/out destroying the arch?...****, why do I need to do everything twice. I always get the experience right after I need it....

[mapleman3]

yep, ya do what you can do this year and fix it later, they do have gasket that is pretty thick in some of the supply catalogs... good luck, it will be fine :)

[WF MASON]

Are you sure its the arch thats warped and not the pan ?? Try sitting the pan on a flat surface , like counter top , bench ect, and see if it still warps or sits flat ,if it does rock back and forth, try measuring corner to corner to see how much its out of square. If the pan is soldered , most likely it an't the pan , if its welded , it could very well be the pan. Is this a new or used evaporator??

[frustrated]

It is brand new and its defintely the arch...I like the pink insulation idea...didn't even think of that? Going to head out this am and get what I need to fix it...my sap is already running and with a 1/2 pint arch I can't afford to get to far behind. (my plan is to boil everyday so I am pushing the limits of the arch with 100 taps)

This has started as a very frustrating first season, but in retrospect the reason I went for a small one was to get some experience...guess I am getting that! If nothing else, I'll make sure I firebrick the next one on a very stable surface.

Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions.

[Fred Henderson]

You can ues some fiberglass insulation. it won't burn and make it as thick as you want cause it will compress.

[MaineMapleDave]

My 2 cents worth on the insulation....

Even better than pink fiberglass insulation, which will compress to nearly nothing and is not really designed to be used to seal gaps near fire, would be a product called 'Thermafiber." Most building supply stores should have it, or a local drywall contractor probably has a bunch that you might be able to wheedle out of them.

The advantage to Thermafiber over regular pink batt insulation is that it is much more dense, and will not compress as much as the pink stuff, but will compress enough to help level your pan. It is also specifically designed as firestopping insulation, so is appropriate for this installation. It's nearly the same stuff as the pan gaskets, and a whole heck of a lot cheaper.

Have fun
Dave

[vtsugarmaker]

I also would suggest using a gasket material to level you pan for this season. You can get rope gasket from a store that sells wood stoves. This has a smaller copression factor than other insulations, although you wouldn't be able to use it along the entire side of the pan if the arch is racked. I would use the metal shims or rope gasket to get your pan level, then fill in the remaining gaps with any insulating material you can find.

You are a brave soul to boil 100 taps on a half-pint!