CDL evaporator vs leader

[blissville maples]

Just wondering about others experience on CDL rigs....Do they perform as expected... Leaning towards buying a CDL versus a leader but don't want to regret that decision so I thought I'd ask how others input

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I'd talk to the closest dealer from both and see who you were more comfortable with. Or maybe you already have and prefer one over the other? Which one will answer the phone at 9PM and be willing to help you out?

[motowbrowne]

Pretty much all the manufacturers make good rigs. I don't know anyone who has been disappointed with their CDL rigs. I have met two guys with intense-o-fires that both really like them. I'd check out Thor too. They're in Quebec too and have great prices. I know several people who are happy with their Thor rigs or pans. Leader is made in Vermont and they seem to have product support that exceeds most of the other guys.

[Brian Ryther]

I would compare size rig vs evaporation rate vs price. Everyone makes good evaporators. Some are more efficient and some boil faster. What are you looking for?

[Bruce L]

I obviously put my vote in for Leader, might burn more wood than some other rigs, but out boils all the neighbours, so I can get done quick and go out checking the woods. Really performed well this year with the steam away,95 % of the boils were at night after bus runs and farm chores, a 3x14 boiling 350 gallons per hour easily is what helped us keep up from what would have otherwise been late nights boiling.

[n8hutch]

I can't speak as to what company makes a better rig but if and when I get a new evaporator and pans I would get a rig with 2 or even 3 cross flow syrup pans, and have at least one spare so I could be cleaning one every day.

[Snowmad]

My preference was towards the Leader. I looked at CDL, but I didn't like double doors and preferred the single door. I think the quality of the welds looked better as well but either way you will probably be happy with your purchase. Good luck!

[blissville maples]

Going with a 3x10.....Leader sales rep said 85gph sap and CDL rep said 110 gph....I guess looking at price the CDL rig is about 3-4000 less....I'm sure as most say they make a good rig I do t know about the syrup pan set up, I'm used to a 4 partition pan traditional front to back flow, and​ CDL uses the 2 cross flow front syrup pans.

[motowbrowne]

Going with a 3x10.....Leader sales rep said 85gph sap and CDL rep said 110 gph....I guess looking at price the CDL rig is about 3-4000 less....I'm sure as most say they make a good rig I do t know about the syrup pan set up, I'm used to a 4 partition pan traditional front to back flow, and​ CDL uses the 2 cross flow front syrup pans.

I like the cross flow setup way better than a traditional reverse flow. 85 seems a little low from a 3x10. 110 seems kinda high. Are those both natural draft with no preheater numbers? I would bet that the same guy running both rigs (assuming same setup in regards to pan lengths, blower vs natural draft etc) would be able to get very similar numbers from each rig. $3-4k is a pretty big chunk of change.

[eagle lake sugar]

I just completed my first season with my 3'x10' Intense-o-fire and was really happy with it. With dry hard wood you could expect 130-150 gph. I had mediocre wood and ran it in gasification mode and got around 120gph stoking it every 30 minutes. I have a friend with a 2.5x10 Leader Vortex with max pans and a steamaway who boils at around 240gph stoking every 6 minutes, so it really depends on your objectives. Both are very nice rigs.

[steam maker]

we run a 4 by 12 cdl with air tight front and air grates. definatly not a intenso fire but better than natural draft. didnt think we were gonna like crossflow pans either but after we started running them dont wanna go back to traditional. if i was to buy another new one i wouldnt hesitate to buy another one.

[DrTimPerkins]

Going with a 3x10.....Leader sales rep said 85gph sap and CDL rep said 110 gph.....

We've run both a Leader 3x10 (regular pans and Max pans) with a Revolution front pan and a Steam-away and CDL/Dallaire 3x10 (plain Jane...no bells or whistles) rigs. Both were oil-fired units. Calculating both for straight units (without Steam-away), I think the evaporation rates would be very similar....and right around 90-95 gal/hr. With the Max backpan the Leader rig might do a bit better, but then you'd also be using a bigger oil nozzle, so the efficiency would be about the same. We have extensive efficiency numbers on the Leader, not quite as much on the CDL. We actually had 2 complete sets of pans for the Leader rig and 4 complete CDL evaporators until about a year ago. Wood-fired would likely be a bit different results in terms of efficiency, and it would depend upon what you were using for an arch and blower options. The Leader Revolution is a bit like a hybrid between cross-flow and reverse flow. CDL is a straight cross-flow and the plumbing connections are a bit simpler. If you go with the CDL, get one extra front-pan for changing out/cleaning. They both are fine rigs....just a bit different in how they operate.

[n8hutch]

Leader does offer Cross flow pans , they just don't push them.I know of several guys within a 2 hrs drive of me running Oil fired leaders with cross flow pans.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I run a 3x10 CDL oil fired deluxe with cross flow pans. After using reverse flow in the past for 13 years, I would hate to ever have to make syrup on a reverse flow pan again. CDL oil fired 3x10 is rated for 108 and comes complete with preheater. We never calculate the boil rate, but after RO I'm putting about 1,000 gallons of hour of sap through it and I would think we are putting least 120 gallon per hour through it with drawoff. First year of using it and I was extremely happy with how it performed. Get at least one extra crossflow pan and swap at least one of the pans every day. Helps keep scale down a ton and cross flow pans so each to drain and change unlike a reverse flow pan which is a pain. If a 3x12 will fit in your sugarhouse, go with a 3x12. CDL 3x12 is rated at 130 gph and only uses 1/2 gallon more of oil to gain another 22 gallon per hour and cost is just a few hundred more vs 3x10.

[Russell Lampron]

I have an Algier 2x6 so I can't say which one is better, Leader or CDL. What I can say is that I ran a wood fired, no bells and whistles CDL 3x10 evaporator once and was really impressed with the cross flow pans. I wish that I had them on my 2x6.

Both manufacturers make great products with after sales support that is top notch. I would purchase either brand but would probably give the Lapierre evaporators a good look too.

[blissville maples]

The 85gph and 110gph was I believe natural draft no preheat....I have an older 3x10 now and I get about 55-60 gals an HR, I think due to poor smoke stack(old leaky, not tight to arch collar) so I wanna see closer to a 100or better. I will use a blower. Sounds like everyone likes the cross flow, I can see how they would be much easier to clean. I would like an intense o fire, but the arch is like 10-12k more!!! I will upgrade arch years later......I just wanna have something that is efficient or halfway efficient, my rig now is pieces together (old arch, new pans, brick and insulation board). And the evaporation rate is low, we make 5-6 gals an HR of syrup running 9-10 %. Which disgusts me but it has worked for now we make 7-900 gals a year, until I add more taps this year.....

[motowbrowne]

Yeah, they really think those high efficiency arches are something special the way they price them. I'm sure they're really great, don't get me wrong, but I got a quote for a 3x12 intense-o-fire last spring and I think it was around $32k. I bought a very nice used 4x14 instead (not that 32k was an option) and could have bought a brand new economy car with the difference. If you already have new pans have you considered just buying an arch, or having one fabbed up? There's several guys on here running intense-o-fire clones with great results.

[BAP]

Look at H2O Innovation, they are very aggressive on their pricing. Also check out Sunrise Metals, they have some nice evaporators that are much more competitively priced. Lappierre has good equipment too.

[motowbrowne]

And Thor. My friend had an all-stainless but plain Jane 3x12 delivered to his door for right about $9000 last year. He says he's doing about 110-120 gph on it.

[n8hutch]

Regardless of what you get I would spring for an insulated air tight arch front, I like Leaders door a little better but I'm not too excited about their prices.

[wishlist]

I'm shopping for a new rig myself, so far in my research with the early order discounts CDL is offering 20% off and the others are 10% or 15% if you spend over so much money .

[blissville maples]

Deal with a smaller dealer who works with leader.....leader was giving teen percent and he threw another 22 on top of the 10.....3x10 air tight front stainless sides Patriot raised flue pans 12,000.....not too bad I don't think

[sap retreiver]

I don't have a lot of experience but I really like my CDL

[OneLegJohn]

Start with the end in mind. What are your goals?