steam away?

[CrossBroMaple]

looking for thoughts on using a pre heater and steam away in combo? I figure it would have some advantage but is it worth having both?

[Sugarmaker]

Hi,
I do have both, but as noted I really dont see a lot of improvement, if any.
Regards,
Chris

[CrossBroMaple]

thanks, a steam away is on my wish list to purchase after this season and I was really wondering if I should keep my pre heater, trade it in or sell it...?

[BAP]

thanks, a steam away is on my wish list to purchase after this season and I was really wondering if I should keep my pre heater, trade it in or sell it...?
I would keep your preheater if you already have one. It will help some and you won’t get as much for it as you paid.

[nymapleguy607]

I have the preheater in my hood from before I had my steamaway. I don't hook it up as it would require raising my feed tank even higher. I don't think you would have that much of an increase in efficiency, when sap is in the steamaway we are not trying to have it boil. Air is pumped in to bubble the sap, It doesn't matter if the sap is hot or cool, it still will bubble. The bubbling is what breaks the surface tension of the sap and releases the water vapor as steam. So short story long is if you have the height to still feed your preheater, try it. But don't expect any measurable improvements to the GPH. The biggest gain will come from the steamaway itself.

[BAP]

Actually you do need the sap to get hot to make the steam away work best. The hotter the sap is, the more steam (water) it will drive off. Cold sap won’t put off much water.