Mounting a rheostat

[VTnewguy]

Hi guys i was just wondering where people have installed the rheostat for a blower in the sugar house? We have put in the new blower but are undecided to where to hang the control. Any suggestions? Here are the pics of the new set up.
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[Potters3]

Mine is mounted right beside the door so when I am firing it is within reach to adjust.

[maple flats]

When I had a similar blower I didn't use a rheostat, I used a sliding inlet blocker and a simple on/off switch. Once the air flow was set, it stayed, then just off or on as needed.

[VTnewguy]

Do you have a pic of it by chance? No concerns about getting to hot?

Mine is mounted right beside the door so when I am firing it is within reach to adjust.

[Super Sapper]

My experience has been to adjust the air down just enough that you can still open the door without blowing smoke and fire out. This will allow you to keep your boil when firing and not blow extra heat up the stack. If I run mine higher I do not get any more evaporation rate it just turns my stack colors.

[VTnewguy]

My experience has been to adjust the air down just enough that you can still open the door without blowing smoke and fire out. This will allow you to keep your boil when firing and not blow extra heat up the stack. If I run mine higher I do not get any more evaporation rate it just turns my stack colors.

Okay thanks. We definitely don't want to blow all our heat out of the stack.

[S.S.S]

our setup we have a dial control along side door. we are gonna move that next to fan and set it to where we want it and install on/off switch next to door in place of dial control. reson being everytime we fire up we turn dial to off and once door is closed turn dial to where we had it set but we always have to look at it to make sure its set in the right spot. its gets old bending over looking at it evertime when we could just flip on/off switch.

[wnybassman]

our setup we have a dial control along side door. we are gonna move that next to fan and set it to where we want it and install on/off switch next to door in place of dial control. reson being everytime we fire up we turn dial to off and once door is closed turn dial to where we had it set but we always have to look at it to make sure its set in the right spot. its gets old bending over looking at it evertime when we could just flip on/off switch.

Thanks for the idea! I just use a dimmer switch for my blower control, but after pushing it on/off for hours the dial tends to move a bit. Maybe I'll mount a normal switch before or after it, and that way the dimmer switch remains undisturbed.

[Bricklayer]

I have basically the same blower and adjust it by choking off the intake with a flat piece of metal. I installed it with a wing nut so I can tighten it down when I have it where I want it works great. Then I installed a regular on off switch right by the door. Put firing gloves on. Grab wood, flick switch, chuck the wood in, close door and flick switch.

[DocsMapleSyrup]

My set up is the same as Briicklayer's set up.

[softmaple]

16644. I made a pipe swing arm with the electrical cord inside the pipe and a stack temp reading.

[VTnewguy]

Thank you for the advice. I like the idea of having a damper to block the air while loading.

[needmoremaples]

Hi guys i was just wondering where people have installed the rheostat for a blower in the sugar house? We have put in the new blower but are undecided to where to hang the control. Any suggestions? Here are the pics of the new set up.
1663716638

could you post a pic of the inside? I'm very intruiged. Is your door airtight and insulated?

[VTnewguy]

It is very airtight and insulated. There is probably 6" of ceramic insulation around the door and the backside.

[Suckmytap]

Can anyone with the on/off switch setup post a picture of how they wired the switch and rheostat together to the blower?

I'm installing my leader blower and having a hard time figuring out the wiring. I have the on/off switch and power source wired to the blower already but when I tried to wire the rheostat between the switch and blower, I toasted the rheostat.

Right now my setup is: power source, switch, blower.

Trying to find the correct way to do this before frying another $50 part.....

[blurr95]

Has anyone used a limit switch to control their blower. You could mount the switch to the side of the arch, and weld a tab to the door. When the door is closed it turns the switch on, when you open the door it turns the switch off. That way you wouldn't have to remember to turn it on and off each time.

Jason

[VTnewguy]

Can anyone with the on/off switch setup post a picture of how they wired the switch and rheostat together to the blower?

I'm installing my leader blower and having a hard time figuring out the wiring. I have the on/off switch and power source wired to the blower already but when I tried to wire the rheostat between the switch and blower, I toasted the rheostat.

Right now my setup is: power source, switch, blower.

Trying to find the correct way to do this before frying another $50 part.....

I found something on Leader's site under the Vortex setup pdf pg 35. Let me know how it goes as we still have to wire our blower.