Drop flu dividers

[Bricklayer]

Was thinking of gettting a divider or 2 welded into our 2.5 x 6 flu pan this year. Right now it has nothing.
I'm assuming 2 dividers making 3 channels would be better then just a single divider in the middle.

[maple flats]

Many flue pans have just 1 divider until you get wider than 3'. However, in the syrup pan at 30" wide 4 dividers is good. When you add 1 divider, you would need to route the incoming sap to the front of the pan. However if you do go with 2 dividers the inlet can be in the back. On my 3x8 with a 3x5 flue pan, there is a SS tube that slides into the inlet inside the pan, then goes to the center of that section, , then an elbow and the rest of the tube, which simply rests on the top of one of the flue channels and then empties at the front of the pan. That L shaped SS tube just slips into the inlet, without anything except gravity holding it there.

[Bricklayer]

I dropped our flue pan off at the fab shop today. I decided to go with 2 dividers. Since our inlet is at the back right hand side of the pan and our outlet is on the front left.
The sides of the drop flue pan are 10" So I made the dividers 11" I have no idea how the pan is going to boil now so I figured I'd make the dividers higher just encase.
Is having 3 channels in my flue pan going to be crazy?
They don't let me run it less then 2 inches deep in the pan. Scares the crap out of them.
Any suggestions before I get it welded?

[RileySugarbush]

Good choice on the 2 dividers. That is what we have in our 2x6flue pan. There is no need to have the dividers higher than the pan sides. A little splashing across is no big deal at all and it will make handling the pan harder, and tougher to fit a preheater in a hood if you go that way. I'd make the dividers an inch shorter or the same as your side walls.

[Haynes Forest Products]

plus you will need to shove your hands down in there to scrub it clean.

[Bricklayer]

The welder called me and asked a couple questions.

To confirm that I wanted the 2 dividers to run length wise of the pan. So front to back. Answered Yes to that.
2x2" holes at the end of the dividers 1 hole in each divider. Answered Yes
And he asked me if the dividers had to be welded the full 7' length.
I figure that would be better but I don't know if it is necessary.

[RileySugarbush]

The welder called me and asked a couple questions.

To confirm that I wanted the 2 dividers to run length wise of the pan. So front to back. Answered Yes to that.
2x2" holes at the end of the dividers 1 hole in each divider. Answered Yes
And he asked me if the dividers had to be welded the full 7' length.
I figure that would be better but I don't know if it is necessary.


I'd say it is not really necessary. The dividers are there to make sure that your sap doesn't short circuit from inlet to outlet. If a bit hops over or sneaks under, it is not a huge deal. It could save you some money to skip some weld.

[Bricklayer]

That's what I was thinking. The divider will be bent with a lip on it where it get welded to the top of the drop flues. So I'm thinking a 1" bead every 6". I'll see what he thinks.

Thanks.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I'm thinking the 2x2 is a little small.