RO interest and questions

[hookhill]

Best to you all. Hope you had a good season. We had a decent season, went through 8.5 cords of wood and made 100 gallons. The season was also fast and furious and I dont think we could stand another year running that much wood through a boiler. So here we are looking into getting a RO and really know nothing about them or the process. Has anyone out there built a RO? Apparently there is a guy named Peter Harrington in Hartland, VT that made his own after being unsatisfied with any of the factory builts. Is there anyone in central Vt. with an RO willing to let us visit and perhaps share thier knowledge? Thanks.

Jim

[Russell Lampron]

If you wanted to drive down to Loudon NH I would show you my RO machine and set up. RO is the way to go if you want to cut down on the wood usage. Some producers have converted water treatment RO machines so that that they can be used for maple. I think all that you have to do is put in a different type of membrane.

Russ

[powerdub]

If you are around the Ludlow area let me know. We can get together and talk RO some. I wouldn't boil without it now.

[maple flats]

It sounds like you might need some tweaking in the set up you have. I made 78 gal and burned 3.25 cord. Is your wood split fine enough? Is it well seasoned? Do you have a hood? I split mine to just over wrist size and it is dried under a roof along the sugarhouse or under steel roofing in stacks off the ground in the woods between 2 trees. I dry it for 2 years, more exactly I have my 08 wood already drying for about 4-6 months and am cutting my 09 wood now. Most but not all is good hard stuff, like beech, sugar maple, ash and some cherry. About 5-10% is softwood slab from my sawmill. You should be able to get a better firing rate. I fire mine every 6 min, alternate fill doors, have the wood stacked next the the rig so the door is only open a short time. I fill it only to about 8" below the pans when I fill. Some people fill it too full and the hottest part of the flame is not where it should be. If you ever do any soldering remember how the tip of a well regulated flame is the hottest, the same applies to wood in an evaporator. I do not have a preheater but will be building one for 08, will pour the rest of my concrete floor and then hook up my forced draft blower. If you are just burning junk wood your rate could be as high as it will get.
Don't get me wrong, I will have an RO sometime in the next few years, but I believe you might be able to gain before that jump.