Barrel Evaporator...Worth it?

[sr73087]

I have 8 taps and have been boiling on turkey fryers the last few seasons and it works but its time consuming and expensive with low gph. I have lots of dry split firewood from trees I cut down on the property at hand, so my fuel is sort of free. Do you typically see a much higher gph rate with the barrel evaporators? Also, where do you normally find the barrel itself and should I be concerned with what was in it originally?

[chestersugar]

I am sure people with more experience will give better answers but I started last year and also went the propane route and it seemed I was always going to buy more gas, this year I made a barrel from a old rainwater barrel I had. It was much quicker on its maiden boil last night even though I still have to add the finishing touches and fine tune it. That being said it did cost around $100 for the hotel pans and door kit and took a good 8hrs of work, long term it will pay from savings on propane.

[Tappy Sap Master]

I used a turkey fryer as well my first year, too costly. Then I built a barrel evaporator the following year and I would get about a 5 gph boil on a good day. You can find them at a feed store and no don't worry what was in it. You might want to start a fire in it to burn off the paint on the outside, it will smell really bad if you don't. I lined the bottom and back with red brick and added sand on the bottom. This is just the beginning and you will get the bug real fast! Good Luck!

[billyinvt]

Because of the nature of this addiction, I think the rule is,
1. figure out what you think you need
2. Double it
3. Then you'll only have to upsize once more in the next few years.

[johnpma]

I'm up in W-Mass and I'm building a new barrel unit now. I bought the US Stove door kit off of "flea-bay" :) for $48.00 free shipping. Cut up a steel barrel I got from work. Bought some angle stock to weld up my pan support, going to enclose the pan support section with heavy sheet metal, and bought a divided 2' x 2' pan with a preheat pan for $300.00 on craigslist be into it for less than $500 in the end.

I plan on blanketing the inside, and bricking the lower section with red brick.....not sure what the sand does

[smokeyamber]

You are on your way... I did the progression. I enjoyed the barrel setup and for your number of taps it's perfect, once you crank it up with some dry wood and get the chimney glowing you will love it... For outdoor boiling it was nice and portable so I could bring it inside. batch boiling is much more relaxed than trying to draw from the arch ( something I have not perfected yet)

Instead of sand in the bottom I would advise Perlite... it insulated really well and you can re-use it for years. I still use it in my arch for fine tuning heights in the firebox and ramp area... just cover it with bricks or arch board so it doesn't blow away...

Enjoy the addiction...

[tcross]

if you have 12-15 cinder blocks laying around or know of anyone with some you could have, make an arch out of that. I did that my first year with around 35-40 taps and it worked well.

[johnpma]

What is the purpose of the sand or perlite? How close do you want your flames to the pan?

Ramp???? Please explain Pretty Knew to this myself

[sams64]

I started on a turkey fryer, went to a block arch, and then a built a 2' x40" evaporator. I am now working on building a shack and plan to upgrade to 2' x 6' next year.

The big difference about going from a turkey fryer to a wood fired arch is the amount of your time required. With the turkey fryer I would load up the pot with sap and go add sap every half hour or so. With a wood fired unit you have to be standing by it from the time you light the fire, until about an hour after you stop adding wood. If you plan to stay with 8 buckets, you may be able to make the same amount of syruop on a turkey fryer with less of your time, but higher fuel cost. if you plan to do what everyone else does and keep adding taps every year, a barrel, block or other arch is teh way to go.

Sam

sam

[jbelany]

I too am new to this process. I acquired 2 barrels and a barrel stove kit from the local metal yard. Some solid cement blocks on the side and under the barrel helped contain heat. I also used for pieces of 1 1/2" angle iron to support the bottom of the pan. For me first experience, it worked quite well!

12775

[lpakiz]

Jbelany, if that picture is from this year, my weatherman has been lieing to me. Again.

[On the ledge]

Jbelaney nice pic that's why being small and doing it for fun is great. No pressure just enjoying a day boiling!

[wobbletop]

I cheaped and didn't bother with the door kit... just used some hinges and self taping metal screws. Seemed to hold up already. I'll be adding some insulation to the door this year to stop any warpng.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo1DPamHQ68

Link to my build... http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?25452-Another-budget-barrel-build

[psparr]

If you run your sap lower, you'll boil it off a lot faster.

[jbelany]

If you run your sap lower, you'll boil it off a lot faster.

Thank you, I need pointers like this! I didn't find this site until summer, well after boiling. I love what I learn from others through reading or suggestions.

This was last years picture. Snowshoed out to my trees 3 days ago, and now we have 10 more inches of snow. At this rate, I may have to buy a snowmobile for syrup season.

[BlueberryHill]

If you search around you should be able to find a free or super cheap drum. Companies that use them are always heppy to get rid of the empty ones. Shops that do a lot of auto oil changes, Commercial Print shops, Machine shops, etc. Just go to the shipping/receiving dock and ask for an empty steel drum and you would probably find one pretty quickly. Or do a google search for a local drum recycling company. If a steel drum gets a hole poked in it they just scrap them. But it would still be great for you.