Custom 275 Gallon Oil Tank Arch

[SSS2017]

So I picked up my oil tank last weekend and my neighbor who is a fabricator will be doing the welding on it for me. I want to do this right the first time so if anybody wants to chime in with their pros and cons please feel free. Take a look at my crappy sketch:) Also attached are pictures I found of what I want my finished tank to look like.

Some basics:
- 275 gallon tank
- I will get a custom 26"x4.5' flat pan since I boil in batches.
- I'm going to line it with 1" fire blanket and then fire brick as well.

Questions:
- I got the 2" pipe from the guys house I removed it from so I'm thinking of having my neighbor weld that in the cavity that will be sealed off from the back to the front to introduce more air to the fire? Good idea or no? I will also have a cleanout in the front that I can keep open for airflow as well.

- How much fire blanket do you typically use for a tank this size.

Thanks in advance!156301563115632

[antelope76]

I have a similar setup and I used a half roll of the blanket but did not insulate the front door istelf.

[psparr]

I would go bigger on the air pipe. Everything else looks good.

[SSS2017]

I have a similar setup and I used a half roll of the blanket but did not insulate the front door istelf.

Where did you order from and what constitutes a half roll? I've been looking on amazon but I won't really get exact measurements until I cut it open this weekend. Thanks

[SSS2017]

I would go bigger on the air pipe. Everything else looks good.

Thank you. As far as going bigger, I wasn't even going to put anything from back to front but I figured more air can't hurt so I thought I'd use the materials I have on hand. What would you suggest from back to front? Again, initially I was only going to be getting air from leaving the front cleanout door open.

[psparr]

A roll is 2' x 24'

[SSS2017]

Thanks. I just ordered a roll of 3/4" think. I went with 3/4 just because I'm putting fire brick on top. Having a tough time locating an 8" pipe with a collar that attaches to the drum like the 55 gallon drum kits have for their 6" pipe

[RollinsOrchards]

Why does everyone stand the oil barrel upright? Lay it flat on it's side and make yourself a 36 by 48 pan. You want that fire just as close to the pan as you can get anyway.

I suggest 8 inch insulated chimney pipe. That had twice or three times the draft that the 6 inch plain stovepipe had.

Make the pan fairly deep. Sap would climb the sides on our six inch pan and jump out running down the side of the barrel making a burnt mess.

[SSS2017]

Why does everyone stand the oil barrel upright? Lay it flat on it's side and make yourself a 36 by 48 pan. You want that fire just as close to the pan as you can get anyway.

I suggest 8 inch insulated chimney pipe. That had twice or three times the draft that the 6 inch plain stovepipe had.

Make the pan fairly deep. Sap would climb the sides on our six inch pan and jump out running down the side of the barrel making a burnt mess.

I'm no engineer but I was under the assumption that it's stood up so structurally you don't have to do much other than an angle iron frame around the top opening to sure it up. Laying it on it's side with that much weight on it I'm sure you'd have to do some more engineering to get it to not collapse on itself with that much heat and weight from the pan and sap.

[SSS2017]

Took a while... but my arch is almost ready to go. I helped my neighbor finish it up today, got it home and got the first coat of hi temp paint on. Getting closer!1715117152171531715417155

[Stiets]

Looks really good. Post some pics once you get it fired up. Just finished up my new oil tank arch for a 2x4 smokey lake pan. 17156
17157

[SSS2017]

That’s awesome! How’s that blower working on the front? That’s all I have to do yet, cut in the auf opening.

[Stiets]

That’s awesome! How’s that blower working on the front? That’s all I have to do yet, cut in the auf opening.

Thank you, sorry for the rotated photos. So far so good with the blower. I originally planned to have the blower come from the back. But when it came down to crunch time, the front it was. Only did a short test boil with water last weekend. Will let ya know after tonight. Heres my grates. 2" angle iron with old fence posts cut to fit. 17158

[CR101]

I also have an oil tank arch very much like the ones displayed on this post. When I built mine I ran a 2" pipe from the rear of the tank into the firebox and then teed it into 4 laterals each 3/4'' to the very front of the firebox. At that point used an elbow and a 45 to direct the air flow up and back through the grate into the fire. The 2'' pipe is connected directly to a 105cfm blower from a hot tub. The blower is attached to a speed controller. Some of the positives from this setup have been that the blower is completely out of the way when loading wood into the firebox and directing the airflow back and up allows me to load wood without having to adjust the blower and I don't get a face full of smoke. The blower is running at about 1/3 output most of the time and I boil off at about 14gph on a 2x4 flat pan. I did try running at 100% and ended up burning a lot more wood with a cherry red stack and only increased my rate of evaporation by about 10%. Also noticed that I can burn almost any type of wood, in any condition with small adjustment in air flow with almost no ashes to cleanout.

[Pokegama Pointe]

Thanks. I just ordered a roll of 3/4" think. ? Where did you order it from?

[SSS2017]

? Where did you order it from?
Amazon.com

[SSS2017]

Thank you, sorry for the rotated photos. So far so good with the blower. I originally planned to have the blower come from the back. But when it came down to crunch time, the front it was. Only did a short test boil with water last weekend. Will let ya know after tonight. Heres my grates. 2" angle iron with old fence posts cut to fit. 17158

What did you use for your mortar? Refractory cement?

[mol1jb]

Refractory cement will work well. I have some waiting for me to use this week for bricking my arch

[Cjadamec]

I finished my oil tank evaporator over the weekend just in time to get my first run of the season on to the fire.

All the steel and the oil tank was free scrap I got my hands on. I lined the interior with 1" ceramic wool and some firebrick loose laid down in the firebox. There's auf in the back of the fire box with a 4" duct pipe connected to a 6" duct fan rated for 280cfm. Put the fan on a speed control but it's running full speed. With the 8" stack it seems like it almost needs more air. Didn't have the budget for a flat pan this year so I went with 6 inch steam table pans this year. For now I'm using the front 4 pans to boil and the back one as preheat. A coil preheat is probably in the future cause that back pan will get to a boil easily. I would say I'm getting about 10 gallons an hour thru it but I didn't actually time that. It might be closer to 15 if I really get the fire right.

[SSS2017]

I finished my oil tank evaporator over the weekend just in time to get my first run of the season on to the fire.

All the steel and the oil tank was free scrap I got my hands on. I lined the interior with 1" ceramic wool and some firebrick loose laid down in the firebox. There's auf in the back of the fire box with a 4" duct pipe connected to a 6" duct fan rated for 280cfm. Put the fan on a speed control but it's running full speed. With the 8" stack it seems like it almost needs more air. Didn't have the budget for a flat pan this year so I went with 6 inch steam table pans this year. For now I'm using the front 4 pans to boil and the back one as preheat. A coil preheat is probably in the future cause that back pan will get to a boil easily. I would say I'm getting about 10 gallons an hour thru it but I didn't actually time that. It might be closer to 15 if I really get the fire right.

That’s really cool!

[Johnny Yooper]

I'm no engineer but I was under the assumption that it's stood up so structurally you don't have to do much other than an angle iron frame around the top opening to sure it up. Laying it on it's side with that much weight on it I'm sure you'd have to do some more engineering to get it to not collapse on itself with that much heat and weight from the pan and sap.
I built one laying on its side, this will be season six, no signs of any structural issues, front pan holds 40 gal., back pan 10 gal. I insulated extremely well to limit heat from going anywhere except to the bottom of the pans; working well so far.
17276

[SSS2017]

I built one laying on its side, this will be season six, no signs of any structural issues, front pan holds 40 gal., back pan 10 gal. I insulated extremely well to limit heat from going anywhere except to the bottom of the pans; working well so far.
17276
That’s pretty **** cool! I love the rollers.

[SSS2017]

1730117302173031730417305
Got the tank in it’s resting place. Got the stack on. Got the ceramic blanket all in. Got the firebrick put in with refractory cement(ugly job though). I have a 2” gap before the smoke exits from under the pan. I’m excited to get my lines run and start boiling!

[Johnny Yooper]

That’s pretty **** cool! I love the rollers.
Thanks! sometimes I don't have a helper available when I'm pulling off the large pan, so the rollers work good for that. Each season I try to add something to the game and try to improve things whether boil rate or whatever, some things work, some don't. I'm finishing the walls on a full log sugar shack now with the goal off getting the roof on before we start boiling this spring, so it will be nice to have more room and warmer place to work. You have a pretty nifty set up as well. Good luck with the upcoming season! Johnny

[SSS2017]

Thanks! sometimes I don't have a helper available when I'm pulling off the large pan, so the rollers work good for that. Each season I try to add something to the game and try to improve things whether boil rate or whatever, some things work, some don't. I'm finishing the walls on a full log sugar shack now with the goal off getting the roof on before we start boiling this spring, so it will be nice to have more room and warmer place to work. You have a pretty nifty set up as well. Good luck with the upcoming season! Johnny
That’s my concern right now, getting the pan off quickly after I draw off. My neighbor welded some stops on each side so the pan can’t be bumped in while boiling. I’m not overly concerned but I will need to pull the pan straight forward after drawing off. Luckily it’s just a flat pan so it’s not that heavy. I have another piece of steel I can place over the top when my pan is off.
Little by little things work themselves out. Last year I was boiling on a 55 gallon drum and 22”x22” pan inside my shack. Now that that is out I installed a small wood stove so it’ll be nice to finish in there in a warm building. So I added the lean to this summer where I have the oil tank evaporator. Inside I have my gas to finish in a big pot. I’m also purchasing a hand pump maple jet filter press.

[SSS2017]

1730817309
Here is the inside of my shack. I also found a nice stainless prep table and shelf on Craigslist I cut down for my counters. Lot easier cleanup now over the wood counters I had last year.

[Johnny Yooper]

1730817309
Here is the inside of my shack. I also found a nice stainless prep table and shelf on Craigslist I cut down for my counters. Lot easier cleanup now over the wood counters I had last year.
That is sweet! I got my hands on some stainless counter tops a while back; now just need to finish the shack build and start furnishing it; might post some pics in the other thread later this year after we're done syrupin'.

[SSS2017]

17419
All ready to go... so exciting! I did a test run with water and it went well. Big upgrade from my 22”x22” on a 55 gallon drum.

Thinking of tapping this week. Hopefully have some sap to boil on this guy this weekend!