Boiling in Flues?

[zandstrafarms]

Okay, this is a question or a problem we had last year. We were running a 2x5 Smokey Lake hybrid evaporator pan system, over a homemade arch with a 14 foot stack. We had air under the fire.

Problem was, none of the gradients were correct all season. We had a float box and auto draw, but our main boil was always at the end of the flue pans next to the syrup pans. The whole unit is bricked.

THe sap never seemed to have distinct differences in each chamber like I've seen in photos, but yet we got draws and burned about 14gph. All our burns came out identical in color and similar in flavor, quite dark. Not bad, just dark.

Am I wrong to assume the biggest boil should be in sap pans? Is this boil location hurting our cook times and colors?

Also, any tips after a cook regarding keeping the levels in each pan? It has no plugs between chambers...

[Biz]

Is the flow set up right? Sap should come in from the float box and travel through all sections of the pan as you boil, ending up at the draw off. Shouldn't be any "dead ends", it is a continuous flow. You will get a noticeable gradient after an hour or so of boiling.

The way you have it bricked can affect where it is boiling. I am still experimenting with my 18/48 CDL with baffling under the flues so the fire gets redirected to get a more even boil. The gap under the flues shouldn't be more than about an inch too, so the bulk of the flame travels between the flues not underneath. Kind of a trial and error process, just move bricks and see if it improves. Dumb question, flues are near the stack side, right? Sorry, I had to ask the obvious....:emb:

Dave

[jmayerl]

Your blower is too strong and/or stack too tall.

[mellondome]

Your strongest boil should be in the flue pan... as there is more surface area exposed to the fire per Sq ft of sap surface. How the arch is bricked will make a huge difference in how it boils. Also how deep you run your pans will make a lot of difference on your boil.

[Swampmapleman]

If the pan isn't level that will cause issues. Run the pans at 1" deep. Also slow the blower down and watch the stack for colors. Add a sight window to watch flames being pulled through the flues. The arch should be tight to bottom of flues and a 2x5 smokey hybrid should get 20+ gph. Also small dry wood firing every 7-10 mins quickly. Don't leave the door open for long periods of time as the heat will leave the arch.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Your signature doesn't say what you have for a arch. Then you use the word BURNED?? Now if you meant Cooked then I understand. BUT its like describing landing a plane using the word "Crashed the plane"

OK now I heat with oil but things are similar my arch is designed with a transition from the combustion chamber to the flue pan area that forces the fire/heat/gases up into the flues. Now I get my best roiling/rolling boil in the first 1/3 of the flue section closest to the finish pan. I also get very high concentrations of syrup in that first channel of the finish pans. I think Jmayerl and biz have it right. You just might have to much heat in the wrong place and you haven't tuned your evaporator to be the best it can be. My rig is uncontrollable with to much heat and I have to dial it back a notch to allow the liquid to flow smoothly down the channels. Your evap is like a Lamborghini and yea its fast and powerful but just get it out in rush hour stop and go traffic and see what it can do.

Now please forgive me but the use of "None of the Gradient were correct all season" doesn't make sense to me. If you have sap entering your evaporator at the flue pan float box and you draw off syrup at the draw off then how can you say that. Some times what happens in the pan can be controlled by the operator and many many times you don't have any control. Now don't blame dark syrup all on the evaporator because your the one controlling it. You need to find the sweet spot with the wood, AUF, your sap, your pan cleaning regiment, when you draw off, what your sap concentrate was, how long you stored your sap, what temp you store it at, how clean your tanks are, how you store it when done the list goes on and on.

Now please I mean no disrespect I just know from experience that no 2 rigs or operators are the same. Look at the IROC car racing they take 20 identical cares and tweak them until they are all the same on paper and by computer and then they put the best drivers in them and have a race and some drivers crash and some lead the race and others cant seem to keep up.

I run my sap up tp 18% and rip it thru my evap as lightning speed and I still produce dark syrup at times. It happens and you live with it.

[mapledavefarm]

Okay, this is a question or a problem we had last year. We were running a 2x5 Smokey Lake hybrid evaporator pan system, over a homemade arch with a 14 foot stack. We had air under the fire.

Problem was, none of the gradients were correct all season. We had a float box and auto draw, but our main boil was always at the end of the flue pans next to the syrup pans. The whole unit is bricked.

THe sap never seemed to have distinct differences in each chamber like I've seen in photos, but yet we got draws and burned about 14gph. All our burns came out identical in color and similar in flavor, quite dark. Not bad, just dark.

Am I wrong to assume the biggest boil should be in sap pans? Is this boil location hurting our cook times and colors?

Also, any tips after a cook regarding keeping the levels in each pan? It has no plugs between chambers...

Without having the ability to keep your syrup pan contents from mixing with your flue pan contents when you shut down each day is a huge disadvantage with the all in one pan design if your trying to make light syrup.

14 gallons per hour is all I'd expect to boil on a 2x5 Vermonter style pan no matter what Smokey F**e says.

My opinion.... Take the auto draw off and sell it in the classifieds and buy a finisher. Your going to need to draw off most of your syrup under density to keep the syrup moving in that Vermonter style pan to get it to work anything like you expect it to, that's where the finisher comes into play. Keep in mind you have a glorified flat pan not a true 2 pan system that a lot of guys here have that draw finished syrup off the evaporator. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just saying they don't work the same.

[mapledavefarm]

Your blower is too strong and/or stack too tall.

Stack is too tall? Please explain.

[markcasper]

Stack is too tall? Please explain.
you shouldn't need 14 feet of stack, 10 feet would be optimum. I always heard 2 feet of stack per foot of pan length, you're probably drawing too much heat right out from under the pan. Not sure why you'd have that much stack?

[markcasper]

Without having the ability to keep your syrup pan contents from mixing with your flue pan contents when you shut down each day is a huge disadvantage with the all in one pan design if your trying to make light syrup.

14 gallons per hour is all I'd expect to boil on a 2x5 Vermonter style pan no matter what Smokey F**e says.

My opinion.... Take the auto draw off and sell it in the classifieds and buy a finisher. Your going to need to draw off most of your syrup under density to keep the syrup moving in that Vermonter style pan to get it to work anything like you expect it to, that's where the finisher comes into play. Keep in mind you have a glorified flat pan not a true 2 pan system that a lot of guys here have that draw finished syrup off the evaporator. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just saying they don't work the same. True, but there should be plugs in a Vermont style to minimize mixing, or am I missing something here? I had a small vermont style 30 years ago and there were plugs on each side between flue and finish pan, and a plug in the front flat pan divider.

[BRL]

We have a 2x6 hybrid and it is at Northwood Stainless Steel right now getting revamped. He is blocking off the hole between the flue and syrup pans and adding 1" tri-clover fittings and a valve so we can keep the 2 from mixing between boils.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Well good to see you back Bob. from the very start zandstrafarm asked questions and stated he gets about 14 GPH so why do you have to come back on the site and your fist post has to slam Smoky Lake Maple Products. It has been so nice and peaceful on here. Almost serine not an ill word. I just don't get it.

[Ed R]

Zandstrafarms, My Vermonter rig is reversible and if your smokey lake rig is reversible you need to have one plug in it during boiling or you will have mixing.(Is there just one opening from the flue pan to the front syrup section in a smokey lake hybrid set up?) I am with Mapledave, I draw off light and finish on a finisher. I also have more stack than twice the length of my rig, one just to get it out of my building, and two it boils way better that way(I have limited air under fire but a large ash pit under my grates). Your biggest/tallest boil should be in the flue pan next to your syrup pan. My suggestion to you is to go watch a larger rig boil, especially if you can find one with open pans and no steam hoods, this will give you some ideas as to how your rig could boil and how you might tweek it. Also tell us more about Your arch set up, because that has a major impact on how the pans operate.

[jmayerl]

Well good to see you back Bob. from the very start zandstrafarm asked questions and stated he gets about 14 GPH so why do you have to come back on the site and your fist post has to slam Smoky Lake Maple Products. It has been so nice and peaceful on here. Almost serine not an ill word. I just don't get it.

Glad you will say something chuck, I had a very "nice " response typed up last night but decided to erase it and send the original poster a nice long pm with some answers and my contact info if he wanted further help.....peace out mapletrader for awhile, I'm done dealing with keyboard aholes.

[Ed R]

I forgot to ask, Is your flue pan divided?

[BRL]

Well good to see you back Bob. from the very start zandstrafarm asked questions and stated he gets about 14 GPH so why do you have to come back on the site and your fist post has to slam Smoky Lake Maple Products. It has been so nice and peaceful on here. Almost serine not an ill word. I just don't get it.

I'm not sure if you are talking to me but I'm not bashing smoky lake? We have made a lot of great syrup with our rig, we just want to try this out to see if we can improve it. With a pre-heater and hood we run 25-30 gph. Ours boils extremely hard in the front part of the flue pan (before our hood we needed a deflector to keep the sap from jumping out) to a good boil in the back. We have a homemade arch.

[BRL]

Here is a before pic with the deflector and one with the hood.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/BrianL_01/20150404_112211.jpg (http://s90.photobucket.com/user/BrianL_01/media/20150404_112211.jpg.html)

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/BrianL_01/273E2A65-1E74-4D3F-A5A0-1510CF007DBD.jpg (http://s90.photobucket.com/user/BrianL_01/media/273E2A65-1E74-4D3F-A5A0-1510CF007DBD.jpg.html)

[mapledavefarm]

Well good to see you back Bob. from the very start zandstrafarm asked questions and stated he gets about 14 GPH so why do you have to come back on the site and your fist post has to slam Smoky Lake Maple Products. It has been so nice and peaceful on here. Almost serine not an ill word. I just don't get it.

Is there a rule here that says I can't be honest? Just stating facts. Do you have any experience boiling on a Vermonter evaporator?

[johnallin]

Is there a rule here that says I can't be honest? Just stating facts. Do you have any experience boiling on a Vermonter evaporator?

No but I think there is a rule that we keep it civilized and not resort to rudeness. You've broken that one to pieces....

[lpakiz]

You can and should be honest. No rule broken there, but the name-calling we can do without. Why do you post a hostile and uncalled for comment every time Smoky Lake comes up? Is there some problem?

[RileySugarbush]

MapleDave,

Do us all, and yourself, a favor and drop the attacks and rude comments. We are all aware you are unhappy. No need to get another thread deleted.

[Big_Eddy]

Okay, this is a question or a problem we had last year. We were running a 2x5 Smokey Lake hybrid evaporator pan system, over a homemade arch with a 14 foot stack. We had air under the fire.

Problem was, none of the gradients were correct all season. We had a float box and auto draw, but our main boil was always at the end of the flue pans next to the syrup pans. The whole unit is bricked.

THe sap never seemed to have distinct differences in each chamber like I've seen in photos, but yet we got draws and burned about 14gph. All our burns came out identical in color and similar in flavor, quite dark. Not bad, just dark.

Am I wrong to assume the biggest boil should be in sap pans? Is this boil location hurting our cook times and colors?

Also, any tips after a cook regarding keeping the levels in each pan? It has no plugs between chambers...

On a drop flue pan, it is absolutely normal for the fiercest boil to be at the front of the flue pans where they butt up against the syrup pan. The flues drop down into the flame path and are hit by the hottest flames as they pass from the firebox under the pans. As the flames travel between the flues, heat is extracted from the flames as they make their way to the base of the stack, cooling them slightly.
The flat bottom of the syrup pan has far less surface area than the flues, so even though it's located directly over the firebox, it still boils gentler than the flue pan.

Gradient
Being able to see the gradient in your pan is NOT important to operation. If you put sap in one end and steam comes off, then syrup will come out the other end. A visible gradient looks neat, but it really doesn't do anything to help you. It doesn't affect the evaporation rate and it really doesn't affect the grade / taste of the syrup you're producing.

Darker syrup is much more likely the result of sap quality or longer boils (i.e. deeper sap depth, slow or irregular firing).

If you still want to focus on building a visible gradient, here's what you need to do
1) Keep the sap depth consistent
2) Fire consistently
3) Run shallow

* Sap depth consistency has the largest impact on mixing. As the depth increases and decreases, sap moves back and forth in the pans, causing mixing.
* Inconsistent firing also has an effect. If you boil hard for a while, then let things cool off, while you're boiling hard, the depth in the pans will drop ~1/4" or more below the float box shut off depth, then when you slow down, the float box will add sap until the level rises back up to the shut off depth. This up and down action moves sap back and forth in the pans, again causing mixing.
* The shallower you run, the "faster" sap is moving from the float box through the channels to the draw off. There is less opportunity for the sap to mix backwards, as the sap needs to keep moving forward to replace the steam that was evaporated further forward.

There seems to be a lot of concern (from many folks) about mixing between boils. IMO - it's overrated. In my pans at least, when the pans are cool, everything is still. There's no mixing going on. Assuming the sap depth is in the normal range (1-2") there may be a little bit of back or forward motion while the pans cool down (while more evaporation takes place in one section or the other and the levels balance), but overall it's negligible. Less sap means less mixing, but if you're under 2", I wouldn't worry about it.

My advice - get comfortable running at 1 1/2" or less, fire as consistently as possible, and close your float box valve any time you shut down to avoid flooding the pan and increasing the depth over lunch. If you're still getting syrup that is darker than you want - look at your sap storage and handling.

The 2x arch length guideline is for natural draft to ensure enough draft for a hot fire. Forced draft removes stack length from the air equation. Too much air / draft can blow the heat beyond the pans and up the stack but I don't think that is an issue here.

[Haynes Forest Products]

BIG_eddy

WELL said I agree 110% You just explained my philosophy on running my rig. I fuel with oil so there some different dynamics. When I first started running me rig when I put it together I had it all jacked up and didnt have a clue how to run the floats or depts let alone the arch. Now the trust issue once you get your rig up and running and have it dialed in LEAVE IT ALONE. I see people ready to jump off a cliff when their numbers change throught the day because "something changed" YEA its raining out silly.

I agree if you have the plug options use them if not let it settle down. When you start up yes keep an eye on things but allow it to straighten itself out maybe fire it a little less until the levels and concentrations (Gradient) stabilize. You will have a nice long set of draw offs but that will slow down and become more consistent after the bulk of last nights boil passes thru the pans.

There is a time to clean your pans and that sets everything Willy Nilly also so get used to learning the different conditions and signals and adapt.

Lastly I think people might be confused by the use of the word Gradient/liquid level and Gradient/sugar concentration. The ability to see the difference takes a keen eye and a tolerance for pain when you have a steam hood. Sugar Gradient is detected buy color and the foam/bubble make up.

[Haynes Forest Products]

BRL NO Im directing my statement to Bob/Wishlist/maple Dave they are the same person just different names and accounts on MT. He is one of the reasons so many people have left SBI and now it appears to be happening to MT

[mapledavefarm]

BRL NO Im directing my statement to Bob/Wishlist/maple Dave they are the same person just different names and accounts on MT. He is one of the reasons so many people have left SBI and now it appears to be happening to MT

I'm just being honest. I'm not Bob/Wishlist, so please keep your personal stuff personal and get back to mapletrader. I'm sorry IF I am the only one here who doesn't like smokey. I'm just trying to help the OP with their issue. That's it, so please keep this thread on topic and keep the personal attacks to yourself.

[Ed R]

Sorry op for the back and forth. Can we just call smokey lake, smokey lake and mapledave, mapledave. And stop with the name calling from now on, its way to childish. Big Eddy cudos for your synopsis.

[mapledavefarm]

Spot on! Thank you!

[Haynes Forest Products]

In post 18 you asked if I have any experience boiling an a Vermonter. The answer is YES back in 1991 I paid $500.00 for a 10'X16' building that came with a 2'X8' English tin 3 pan evaporator with complete arch,stacks, 100 pails, cast iron spiles, scoops. desk, chairs, instructions from the agriculture dept. and all the Raccoon turds you could imagine.

That 3 pan set was made up of a 2'X3' deep drop flue 4 channel with cross over flue drain pipe with internal float valve that slid into the first channel. The center pan was a 2'X2' divided with 4 dividers flat pan that was both a cross over pan and finish pan. The 3rd pan was a 2'X3' medium drop flue pan with 4 channels. This rig was the most interesting set up and was the most fun to watch operate. You talk about a well thought out design. If I could find the exact same set up in SS i would swap my 3x10 for i

The pan was reversible with just a swap out of the float valve from side to side and moving just a tapperd plug from side to side. The sap entered the flue pan in the first channel in the cent of the pan set. It would travel thru the 4 channels and then out a side box and into the center flat pan. From there it would travel thru the (2) 12"X12" sections and out the side box into the medium drop flue pan that was at the front of the arch over the fire box. The sap traveled thru the 4 channels and then out the side box into the center pan section that is 12"X12" that is the finish pan. The draw off is a side box that is right next to the flue side box transfer pipe. This rig was so smooth and easy to control but because the arch was shot and there were more solder fixes and was rusty Englisn tin I decided in 2002 to step up to a SS pan set. Now in 1991 the rig was wood fired and in 1994 we converted it to oil because it was so cheap. I would burn 4 cords of wood in a season at $500.00 verses $85.00 of #2 Diesel. The pans were old, ugly and you didn't dare clean them for fear they would look like the tail gate off a 73 Chevy truck from Michigan that had a salt spreader in it.

[mapledavefarm]

Okay, this is a question or a problem we had last year. We were running a 2x5 Smokey Lake hybrid evaporator pan system, over a homemade arch with a 14 foot stack. We had air under the fire.

Problem was, none of the gradients were correct all season. We had a float box and auto draw, but our main boil was always at the end of the flue pans next to the syrup pans. The whole unit is bricked.

THe sap never seemed to have distinct differences in each chamber like I've seen in photos, but yet we got draws and burned about 14gph. All our burns came out identical in color and similar in flavor, quite dark. Not bad, just dark.

Am I wrong to assume the biggest boil should be in sap pans? Is this boil location hurting our cook times and colors?

Also, any tips after a cook regarding keeping the levels in each pan? It has no plugs between chambers...

Sorry for the smokey trolls taking this off topic. Like I said before try running you evaporator without the auto draw off and manually draw syrup under density to keep the syrup moving in the pan. Like some non smokey troll mentioned try making plugs so you can keep your flue and syrup pan from mixing when you shut down.

Did you ever get your rusty canner replaced?

[lpakiz]

[QUOTE=mapledavefarm;317315]Sorry for the smokey trolls taking this off topic.
You are the troll who is taking these threads off topic with your constant insulting of Smoky Lake.
C'mon Man! Give it a rest. Even a new puppy quits whining after 6 months.

[Sugarmaker]

I guess I dont have anything good to say about this thread.
Oh yea I do have something for the original poster. Have fun making maple syrup. Go visit some other sugarhouses and see how there rigs run. It sounds like you are doing most of the things right.
Regards,
Chris

[mapledavefarm]

Once again I want to say I'm sorry to the original poster how sideways this thread has gone. I'd also like to say thanks to the members who have sent me numerous pms of encouragement, I really appreciate knowing I'm not alone on this forum!

[Sugarmaker]

Well that was nice and positive! Glad to see you catching on to the positive aspects of the Maple Trader forum. Helping others with there equipment questions and tips on making syrup help to make this a place for new and old syrup makers to continue to improve!
Regards,
Chris

[Moser's Maple]

BRL NO Im directing my statement to Bob/Wishlist/maple Dave they are the same person just different names and accounts on MT. He is one of the reasons so many people have left SBI and now it appears to be happening to MT
Again SBI is dragged into another sideways thread on this site. Why is that? I ask again to keep past SBI problems out of discussions during a sideways thread. If you are going to post the negative, then the positive should also be mentioned. Perhaps like how SBI annually donates to the Proctor Maple Research Center. As stated before we have seen an all time high in user traffic with very few moderation corrections since July 25 2016. So again I ask to respect SBI as many SBI members respect Maple Trader.

[xyz5150]

Yeah or should I say yea, Wherever Chucky goes drama follows Jake! Hey Chucky I'll bet you your wife's next pay check that mapledave and wishlist are NOT the same person, You in? I can also tell you who JADavis is. JADavis was a sbi member once upon a time............. Drop the crap Chucky and talk maple with these good people please! Mapletrader is not the place to advertise equipment for your buddy.

[Ed R]

I hate to even chime in at this point, but I think part of the problem is terminology. A Vermonter rig is Leader's version of a all in one or a hybrid pan. The flue pan is connected\integrated into
the syrup pan with interior connections, somewhat like smokey lakes hybrid pan is. A Vermont pan set up is what I believe Haynes is describing. It has exterior pan connections. I think it is a Leader system as well but I am not sure.

[mapledavefarm]

I hate to even chime in at this point, but I think part of the problem is terminology. A Vermonter rig is Leader's version of a all in one or a hybrid pan. The flue pan is connected\integrated into
the syrup pan with interior connections, somewhat like smokey lakes hybrid pan is. A Vermont pan set up is what I believe Haynes is describing. It has exterior pan connections. I think it is a Leader system as well but I am not sure.

I was going to comment on that but than realized I would get bashed by the experts here! The more I read his posts the more I understand why pot is legal in Colorado.

[BAP]

By now the OP is probably long gone because his thread has been ruined by a couple of people who have personal vendettas and feel it is Ok to use this fine forum to perpetuate them. Let's adhere to the old saying "If You Don't Have Something Nice To Say, Keep It To Yourself. "
To the OP, please feel free to keep asking questions if you have any because there are plenty of people on here who are willing to help.

[lpakiz]

I would like to point out a couple of icons in the lower left corner of each post. One is star-shaped and the other is a triangle. Check them out.......

[zandstrafarms]

Jeez, I wasn't expecting so many replies, sorry guys!

And for the record, I'm a girl, not a guy ;)

We run 1in in all our pans.

I appreciate all the helpful tips! We have talked about making plugs, and will do that for sure. I'm going to tighten the leaky areas with more insulation, and look at my brick placement.

My stack was a lucky find. No one sells 10" stacks around here, but found a steel guy who had 3 chunks of 10" stack. It might be closer to 12ft..
My stack doesn't turn colors, and stack temp drops pretty quick going up.

I'm glad to know my boil location is fine though!

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

True, but there should be plugs in a Vermont style to minimize mixing, or am I missing something here? I had a small vermont style 30 years ago and there were plugs on each side between flue and finish pan, and a plug in the front flat pan divider.

these are the plugs for reversing and blocking off a vermont style 2 x 515166

[mapledavefarm]

these are the plugs for reversing and blocking off a vermont style 2 x 515166 If your opening is a round hole something like this is what you need to stop mixing between the two pans once you shut down. What does this pan of yours have for an opening in between the two pans?

[BRL]

If you have a homebrew supply store around you these would work also.

https://www.midwestsupplies.com/rubber-stoppers-solid

[lyford]

BRL, any ideas if those carboy bungs are rated to high temps, or were you thinking put those in after everything has cooled? I'm running a new SL 2x4 hybrid this year so I'm also trying to find a way to prevent mixing in between boils.

[BRL]

I'm not sure about the temp rating on those, here are some that are rated but you would have to buy 10.

https://www.coleparmer.com/p/high-purity-solid-stoppers-silicone/14669#

[Haynes Forest Products]

You can make some simple channel blocks by bending up some SS sheet metal at 90 degrees and set them up against the bulkhead/channel wall. make them with a small top bend to create a lip to grab with tongs or pliers to keep the hands out of the heat. Once the fire has died down and the boiling has stopped just tuck them up over the opening.

Once the liquid levels out between the pans and yes there will be SOME mixing of the different concentrations/Gradients slip them in and walk away. Once the liquid is level there isn't any reason the liquid is going to keep swirling around.

[lyford]

Thanks BRL and Haynes, my father had suggested something similar to what you mentioned Haynes. I think we will try that as its something we can make ourselves out of some scrap stainless we have laying around.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I can unfortunately speak from experience. Make a place in the sugar house where you will store them and number them. I believe the best way to fire up your evaporator is to yes make sure you have sap in the head tank and enough liquid in all the pans/channels and then leaving all valves, plugs or channel blocks in place you start your fire or hit the oil burner. Once the pans are about to break into a full boil I unleash the hounds.

This can be a bit risky because all you have to do is forget one plug or valve and its curtains for your pans. I have the Smoky lake auto draw off and it has the 2 point over option (like most do) and what that does is if I forget to open a valve or pull a plug and my (finish pan) only because that is where the probe is goes higher that 2 degrees above the set point my rig shuts down.

Because my rig is oil fired all I did was install a relay on the 2 point warning buzzer port so when activated it turns the power off. Yes it has saved my pans every year more than once. Some people will set the alarm to shut down blowers or set the high point buzzer to a valve that can dump sap from above and cool the pan just like an OS bucket.

Now for my disclaime. Everytime you solve one problem you create another and hopefully the problem you create is less of a problem that the one you solved. When I got my new truck 4 years ago I was backing up in my yard and because I was distracted by the dang back up alarm because it was interrupting my phone call I hit the only tree in the entire area. Bumper, tailgate, cap window and corner of cap all bent or broken and I saw it all thru the camera.


You have a auto draw off and it was suggested you forego that and go for a finish pan. I say keep the draw off and use it as a early warning system and set it to your target draw off temp and when it sounds do a quick check of the settings and dials and then draw off by hand. Its nice to do a quick check of the read out temp from across the room and then get the wood loaded or a quick tank check. I absolutely agree that you need a finisher.

[Ed R]

I would suggest calling SL and finding out if they have pre made plugs for the flue pan to syrup pans and for between the syrup pan sections. I got the actual correct plugs for my Vermonter pans from a Leader dealer, two different sizes as Ogden showed in his pic. My syrup pan port is bigger than pictured. I could have cobbled something up to work but it sure looks more professional to have the actual correct plugs, especially if you are digging around in your pans with your hands our a pair of vice grips and a visitor shows up.