Barrel upgrade opinions needed

[Chris Zeger]

Made a barrel evaporator last year and quickly learned I need to do some upgrades to it. I built it on a whim late in the game last year and had fun boiling big need to get more efficient at it on a good day I was lucky to get maybe 5 gal a hr. I am a millwright and work in a fab shop so I can get any material and have all the equipment just need options on what to do. Barrel is no insulated at all no brick or nothing made a pan out of 18 ga stainless with dividers. So question is what to line it with how to get air to it and is 18 gauge to thick?

[SmellsLikeSyrupNH]

Do you have any pictures?

This is what mine looks like:
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[maple flats]

18 ga is a little too thick, but that is not where I'd start. First, get it bricked. Do you have grates in it? If not, add grates about 1/4-1/3 up from the botton and have a large air inlet draft door under the grates. Better yet, if you can, add a small blower under the grates to blow up thru the grates. Then put in fire brick from the grates up to the pan. Use full thick bricks except the top course, there use 1/2 thick bricks to get more heat to the outer edge of the pan. Have the grates and fire box just 3/4 back from the front. Behind that build a firebrick wall up to within about 1.5" of the pan. That will force the heat up to the pan. For your stack pipe, start with it full width, but then you can reduce it to 6" stack. The full width is to keep the heat spread the full width of the pan. Do not use a damper. For a stack you need at least 8' but 10 would likely be even better.
Then you should get the boil up by maybe 30-50% more.
Then , if you decide that pan size is good for you for next year, you will do better if the pan is 20 ga or even better 22. Most commercial pans are 22 but that takes a very good welder (or you can lead free solder it).
Later, if you decide to expand, you can make a more conventional arch and use that pan as your syrup pan. Then study how to make a flue pan or a drop tube pan to increase the efficiency and run this new pan behind the first pan and connect them with a pipe. Go out to the side, then elbow, go forward enough to elbow to the front pan and attach it to the front pan. If you really want to make it even better, build a float box to regulate the level in the pans.

[blissville maples]

absolutely need bricks, hard to take in how much heat is lost but it is. enough air coming in under the firebox is crucial as is the stack height, should be 2x evaporator lenght

[Chris Zeger]

I don't want to dump a lot of money in this setup I want to upgrade next year we are gonna sell our house and will build a sugar shack at my new place boiling outside right now. I'm gonna arch board and fire brick my setup as far as putting a blower on any ideas on where to start?

[flyyer]

I made a new barrel evaporator this year with some improvements. The AUF system uses a standard industrial type blower I found on e-bay. The blower has a slide gate on it and it worked great. Just slide it shut when you add wood, otherwise let it rip. The AUF header is 3" pipe.



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[blissville maples]

yes the arch board is good, so much quicker and I think it accomplishes the same as brick, obviously not in the main firebox. tell you what makes a cheap blower, an old bathroom vent fan, even new one is only 30-40 bux with some simple sheetmetal ductwork. worked good for me made her roar nicely