My little propane rig

[MidMichMaple]

Got a 12x20 steam table pan online and an angle iron double burner from Cabelas. Wasn't sure what to set it on or how to protect it from the wind, but I was in the barn and stumbled on a tool chest that happened to have a 12x20, three sided box on top. My lucky day! Never knew what that box was for, but now I'm glad it's there. Got a decent boil today, even with lots of wind and temps in the teens.

[http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l487/vboon26/Mobile%20Uploads/image_1.jpeg (http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/vboon26/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_1.jpeg.html)

http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l487/vboon26/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpeg (http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/vboon26/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpeg.html)

[Eds Constructors]

Got a 12x20 steam table pan online and an angle iron double burner from Cabelas. Wasn't sure what to set it on or how to protect it from the wind, but I was in the barn and stumbled on a tool chest that happened to have a 12x20, three sided box on top. My lucky day! Never knew what that box was for, but now I'm glad it's there. Got a decent boil today, even with lots of wind and temps in the teens.

[http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l487/vboon26/Mobile%20Uploads/image_1.jpeg (http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/vboon26/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_1.jpeg.html)

http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l487/vboon26/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpeg (http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/vboon26/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpeg.html)still new to this hobbie, what's a descent boil considered, I've never been able to make more than a couple quarts without working at it for 8 or so hours. Am I doing something wrong or is this average for a backyard hobbiest- nice setup

[seandicare]

that doesn't seem too bad to me......i was doing mine with a single burner and was boiling about 1 1/2 - 2 gal an hour.....yours seems to be around 2.25ish.

love that set up....propane is the pricey way to go though....with the single burner it was costing me about $55/gallon of syrup. switching over to wood this year.

[Cedar Eater]

Supposedly the wind actually helps with a boil by moving the water saturated air away so the more water can leave the surface faster. Some guys even put fans above their pans to move air away. Of course, this depends on whether you are heat energy limited or surface area limited.

[Cedar Eater]

A lot of people who use 20 pounders find that the propane flow seems to decrease after a while, especially with 2-burner rigs. This is because the propane gets so cold it doesn't have enough latent heat in it to boil at the max rate for the surface area. It helps to set the propane bottle in a tub of warm water, because that conducts more heat into the propane. Cool setup with the toolbox. Never saw an evaporator that has a hemi. :lol:

[Sugarmaker]

Didnt know Sears made a evaporator?:) Look out maple industry!
That is a nice set up. Sounds like your getting all you can out of it.
Regards,
Chris

[TerryEspo]

Your set-up looks nice and tidy.
Keep the sap preheated if possible and keep the boiling sap height around 2"- 2.5" if possible. That will give you the most efficient boil rate, since your on propane you want the best you can hope for. I started a few years ago with propane but had to go wood later, propane cost just killed me.

Good luck.

Terry

[maple flats]

You won't likely get more evaporation until you move up to a wood fired rig.

[Helicopter Seeds]

Seems like a good setup for a single pan. I did my finishing on one single pan the other day, just sitting on a turkey fryer burner. Beauty is you can adjust the flame down when foam starts forming. Was thinking also about shielding the bottom to retain that heat. Nice job.

[Run Forest Run!]

Really cool setup. I love that it is at chest height! I agree with Cedar Eater, put your propane tank into a tub of water. It makes all the difference! I'm able to consistently average one half gallon of syrup per 20 lb propane tank. Propane here is $9.50 per tank. It's an easy fuel choice for me as I don't have to babysit an open fire. That's important as I've got a second location that I drive to for sap collection and I'm making the syrup without the help of a 'sap runner', 'fire poker' or 'sap adder'. I'm just doing this for fun, not $$.

[MidMichMaple]

Thanks for all of the helpful hints and comments! The tool chest was a hand-me down from a brother in law and apparently he never finished putting it together. I found the same one for sale online from Sears, and the top part is supposed to be another small cabinet with drawers. So I was lucky to have the tool chest sitting in the barn, and lucky that it wasn't put together. I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise.

I will try preheating the sap. I killed the boil when I poured more sap in, so I'm sure that was a waste of propane. I also did notice that my propane flow slowed down after a bit. I will try the water trick.

I like using propane, because it is a hobby for me, and it needs to be fun and convenient or I probably wouldn't bother doing it at all. I won't rule out wood at some point in the future, but I like the propane for now. I did use wood a couple of years ago and it requires a lot more babysitting.

[ridgerunner394]

that's a nice set up, I also go propane for much the same reasons. I had a steel pan made to fit my 3 burner (one baffle where sap enters pan) and use a slow drip into the pan. The 'fresh sap' is not pre heated but drops down into the corner on the wall of the baffle. Good rolling boil on the other side - you can see the tubing in the pic. try to maintain no more than 2 inch depth helps to keep a good evaporation rate also!13133

i started putting the near empty tank in a warm bath (plastic tote) towards the end of the tank as well and it made a HUGE difference not only in allowing me to use all the propane but also kept the pressure up on the burners right to the end - a must do for these set ups!

good luck - have fun!