Cost to convert wood to oil fired evaporator 2x5

[tgormley358]

Hi, i'm a newbie, got hooked last 2 years on wood-fired evaporators loaned by a friend. I'm going to keep at it and double my taps next year, to around 75, and it's time to buy my own equipment. I'm most interested in going to oil-fired to save time feeding wood, and want to be able to boil nightly during season in 2-3 hours, so I'm thinking i want a unit that can do 20-25 gph of sap. I don't see that many used, smaller sized oil-fired units on mapletrader, so i'm considering converting a wood unit to oil, and wondered if anyone could ballpark the cost to do that. I've gotten in touch with my oil guy but i'm not sure he has any experience with evaporators.

For comparison, i have a quote of $4,100 for an oil-fired Lapierre 19x48 Mini Pro, which is estimated to boil 17 gph. Thanks.

[mountainvan]

I converted my 2.5x10 last year for roughly $1,600. I did all the work myself, plus had an oil tank and got another for free. $1,200 of that was the oil burner. You should be able to convert a small rig for much less.

[maple flats]

I converted my 2.5x10 last year for roughly $1,600. I did all the work myself, plus had an oil tank and got another for free. $1,200 of that was the oil burner. You should be able to convert a small rig for much less.
Mountainvan, Did the oil set up prove to be as efficient as you were led to believe? I'm considering converting my 3x8 to oil, which should be similar to what you had to do. the processing of wood with my set up is rather quick, but in season, the handling seems to take too much time. Besides, I like the idea of being able to run the last bit of concentrate into the evaporator, shut down, cover the pans and lock the door. Right now depending on the wood I'm burning it takes 1-sometimes 2 hrs for for the coals to be gone enough to cover the pan and leave. Besides I understand the boil is very constant since you are not opening the doors every 8-9 minutes and that would be a big plus too. On the other end, it takes 20-25 minutes to attain full boil with my HP AOF/AUF but I hear oil is faster there too. Any time saved can be used in the woods.

[mountainvan]

Switching to oil was good for me. Boiled 90 gals an hour,vs 70 with wood. I never got with the firing every 5 minutes, always distracted by something else. I used .67 gals of oil for a gallon of syrup. Flue pan is full boil in 5 minutes and drawing off in 30 minutes, if I kept the gradient from the boil before. On and off is simple, which is especially nice when having to go collect sap in a hurry.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

While there are plenty of people who prefer to stay wood for a more traditional approach or for other reasons such as having the resource available, I don't know anyone who swapped to oil and missed using wood. Quicker start up, shut down and have someone fill a tank vs. cutting/splitting/stacking/firing with wood. I would definitely look in to upgrading your 2x5 before getting a mini pro. 10 SF is a lot more than 6 SF and you should be able to do it for less. Even if it was the same price, you have a lot more surface area with the 2x5.

[tgormley358]

Thanks all for your thoughts. It confirms my thinking as far as going to oil. I'm gathering more pricing. Wish I was handy enough to convert one myself but I'll stick to what I know - overhauling sugar shack also this off season.

[maple maniac65]

There is a carlin 301crd for sale on Craigslist nh location concord nh. The guy wants a 100.00 for a almost brand new oil burner. I bought one and am going to convert for less than 500.00