?bulk tank SS for flat pan?

[Wannabe]

Okay, sorry if this is longer than it needs to be.

This is the very short version-- I bought my grandfathers old farmhouse and out buildings. Was digging through some junk:) early this spring and found a small bucket full of old spiles (most were cast with the 1898 pat on them). Not sure why he had them I never knew of him ever making syrup. Anyways, I got a dozen or so taps in on some maples that weren't starting to bud yet and I made about a gallon of (surprisingly for me) very edible liquid gold on the turkey deep fryer (not ever gonna cook it like that again:)).

Now to get to my question... There is an OLD stainless bulk tank in the one barn. I'm thinking of cutting down/salvaging the tank into flat pieces of SS (I hope that makes sense). (The tank won't work as a storage tank)

Does anyone have any experience of using the SS from a bulk tank and welded it up for a flap pan? Will the bulk tank metal be too thick of a gauge to make a useable pan? Or anything else I should know?

I'm going to be making some sort of barrel 'arch' for the pan for next year.

Thanks,
Randy

P.S. I think I am an addict already after one month of dabbling in this.:lol:

[O3C]

Yes it will work. I did the same thing with a flat top bulk tank lid, BUT, If I had to do it over, I would probably buy a manufactured syrup pan. Paying somebody to weld stainless, especially when you are not sure what the finished product should look like, can get expensive. This pan is not deep enough and we had trouble with it flexing over the fire and had to c clamp the corners. I would buy a new pan and then take a 275 gallon fuel tank, and build your arch to fit the new pan. Remember, when you are either ready to quit, or god forbid, move onto the next level of evaporater, there will be some other newbie that just found this new hobby, that will need this pan ! Good luck Ron { 2nd year, ready to buy a 2 x 6 }

[Wannabe]

Thanks Ron!

If anyone else has any experience doing this please chime in.

[Tater]

We welded up our flat pan from some scrap dairy related stainless. I don't know what gauge it is, but it's about 1/8th inch and too heavy (and awkward) for one person to move around. We can surpass 10 gph with our completely unoptimized arch with two computer fans providing forced draft. We were in a hurry when we made the pan (sap was already running), so it's not pretty, and we didn't keep the bottom level when adding dividers later to make a continuous flow. Now sap depth can vary a half inch or more, but we still made 13 gallons of syrup this year.

If you can weld it up yourself, and are looking to get your feet wet (or sticky) without spending a bunch of money, I'd say go for it.

BTW, welcome to MapleTrader. Also if you are looking to make syrup cheap, RUUUUUUUuuunnn! It's addicting, and it's fun, aaannnnd it gets expensive. But it's worth it, and when you look to spend your money on expansion, we'll be glad to help ya spend your money. :cool:

[Wannabe]

Thanks for the feedback Tater. I know a thing or two about expensive hobbies. Right now I'm feeding a half dozen or so hound dogs.. But there isn't much to train them on in the spring in Wisconsin. So I might as well add a different hobby to the list..:)

[Ormsby,WI Sapper]

I built a pan from the inner lining of an old flat milk tank. I used the rest of the tank to surround the arch. The stainless was .010" thick and has worked great for many years. I have some old pictures posted. The pan was not hard to do if you can bend and weld S/S. I have another pan mounted over the large pan i made and use it as a preheater up against the stack. I made a 4"x40" RO this year and the combination is great. One tote to knock down tomorrow on the RO and last cook on Friday. Andy

[Tater]

Wannabe, I hear ya on those hounds. My cousins have 7 hounds that we bear and coon hunt with. Dog food, tracking collars, gps collars, handheld tracking gps (or a couple if you hunt with a large group), lead straps, shots, registration, gas for the pickup during training and hunting season, the list of expenses never ends!

If you can afford hounds, you can certainly afford a little maple syrup equipment. :mrgreen:

[mudr]

I say keep the tank for future sap storage. Either drop $50 bucks on 2 hotel steam pans and some brick, $300 on a flat pan and some brick, or a grand on a half pint (purpose built evap). It will save you the frustration of welding and fabricating, and will keep that tank intact and useful.

[lpakiz]

I'm with mudr. Keep the tank as a useful tank and get your evaporator another way.
A good source of used SS is your local milk tanker truck repair place. The "over wrap" on a semi is like 4 feet by 14 feet, and when when a sheet gets dented a little, they change the whole sheet.

[plattmaple]

I'm also for keeping the tank for sap storage, or selling it to help pay for a pan if its too big for your plans. Stainless tanks should bring at least 1.50 a gal. Also, I'm wondering why you said it's not useable for storage?