efficiency between wood and oil burning??

[seandicare]

happened to meet up with an old classmate that has been making syrup quite a few years. he has a fuel oil burner system, that i just fell in love with. had a good boil in minutes vs my 30-45 on a good day.

he had mentioned that i could probably convert my homemade arch into a gravity fed oil system fairly cheap and easy. looked on YouTube and it does look pretty simple.

i am wondering though, if there is a big difference between wood and oil as far as amount it takes to make syrup.

for me, i don't have a ready supply of free wood, so have to buy it....around here the cheapest is usually around $50/cord and averages more around $65-70. then i would still have to split it down more once it is here and so on......

i'm sure my back and sinuses would love me to switch over, but not sure how the wallet would react.

[campus189]

Are you referring to an oil fired unit?
Here's my two cents..
I am in an area with lots of Granola Eating, Clog Wearing, Salamander Worshiping Tree Hugger's.
They see any smoke, and they instantly feel the need to call the fire department.

I use a 275 Gallon Fuel drum as an evaporator that is oil fired.
I heat my home with propane & can't see the reason to buy wood like you for just doing maple syrup.
Also, my job can call me anytime where I have to stop what I am doing and leave immediately.

For me, I turn on a light switch and I'm boiling in less than 10 minutes.
For me to shut down it's just as easy.
I can't do that with wood.
You will have to possibly change you arch design to go from wood to oil.
My closest neighbors are 100 Feet away, so they won't complain due to me bribing them with syrup,lol

It all depends on your situation. Keep in mind that running oil is more costly than wood, as wood can be free from many sources.
I don't mind paying the extra money for the convenience for fast startup and shut down times.
Plus, I'm getting older, I am in no mood to cut, split, and feed a fire.
I am sure someone else will chime in. :)
http://mapletrader.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=14007&stc=1

[325abn]

/\ what he said! As long as oil is under $2 it's nice. Should not be any smoke if you see smoke you need to adjust something.

[campus189]

One more thing...
I have a lot of mechanical experience and consider myself pretty smart & can figure out most things..
I thought I could figure out installation of an oil furnace and adjusting it by myself.
Well, I did just that, however, unless you know someone than knows oil burner's ( Oil Tech ), you won't get a perfect burn.
Just because it doesn't smoke, doesn't mean anything, I learned that the hard way.
Hopefully you don't make the same mistake I did and think you can adjust an oil burner to burn properly by eye.
It can be done, but it won't be efficient.
I lost count how much money I spent on nozzles, gauges, equipment, ect.
If I was just smart enough to get an oil burner tech, I would have saved a lot of money.
If you decide to go the oil burner route, do the research :(
I have spent lots of hours on these forums using the search tools.
You will find lots of info here on the subject of converting over.
Good Luck

[seandicare]

to be honest, my arch isn't complete right now anyways (no insulation, block, ramp) so changing something for the oil wouldn't be much problem....

the setup i saw on youtube the guy didn't even have a nozzle...just the pipe dripping/running into the burn pan he was using....one of the videos he had the oil supply running inside a larger blower pipe to run air right into the fire......i'm sure this isn't as efficient as a full nozzle setup, but my whole setup now isn't all that efficient to begin with...lol

he was just building a stove, not a evaporator though.....

[seandicare]

campus, i like you setup, similar to mine, except i laid my tank on the side and just cut holes for the pans......

[campus189]

campus, i like you setup, similar to mine, except i laid my tank on the side and just cut holes for the pans......

Thanks, this is my second design, I can't top re designing it, lol

[campus189]

to be honest, my arch isn't complete right now anyways (no insulation, block, ramp) so changing something for the oil wouldn't be much problem....

My mistake, why I asked the question about the burner.
As far a drip tubing, I can't offer help there, others here can. :D