Tips for firing a air tight arch?

[VTnewguy]

Looking for any suggestions on how people fire their own airtight arch. We are plenty hot but I'm not sure turning the stack cherry red is the most efficient way to get there. Any advice is appreciated.

[nymapleguy607]

If your turning the stack cherry red, you have too much draft. All your heat if pulling up the stack, and not doing you as much good under the pans.

[wiam]

If your turning the stack cherry red, you have too much draft. All your heat if pulling up the stack, and not doing you as much good under the pans.
Depends if you’re going for wood efficiency or time efficiency. When I had a Mason 2x6 I ran my stack at 1500. Big blower. Evaporating about 60 gph. Last year I used that I made 525 gallons with a little over 6 cord. But I had more wood than time.

[maple flats]

If your turning the stack cherry red, you have too much draft. All your heat if pulling up the stack, and not doing you as much good under the pans.
Look into adding AOF. While it certainly was not my typical stack temperature, I did at times hit 1500 and occasionally 1600 before I added AOF, since then my typical stack temp likely averages between 750-850 and almost never exceeds 1000, because the fire is maximized under the pans and put into the sap. My boil rate is faster and at the same time my wood use is down.
However, I can't address firing an airtight, mine is not.

[Russell Lampron]

Turn your blower down or partially block the inlet of the blower to get the stack temp down. My air tight is new to me this season so I'm still experimenting but am pretty close to the sweet spot. I fill my firebox about 3/4 full so that the AOF can do it's job and am getting 65 gph out of my 2x6 now. I haven't been able to get an accurate stack temp with my infra red meter but think that it is less than 1000 degrees.

[VTnewguy]

We just put in AUF this year in the form of a blower.

[VTnewguy]

Turn your blower down or partially block the inlet of the blower to get the stack temp down. My air tight is new to me this season so I'm still experimenting but am pretty close to the sweet spot. I fill my firebox about 3/4 full so that the AOF can do it's job and am getting 65 gph out of my 2x6 now. I haven't been able to get an accurate stack temp with my infra red meter but think that it is less than 1000 degrees.
Okay thanks I still have to experiment with the blower setting. We usually keep it in the middle of the range.

[BAP]

The other thing to look at is how much of a gap you have under your flue pan. You want very little gap under it and at the rear of the pan before the stack it should drop down into the base of the stack. This forces the heat up into the flues and they will suck up the heat.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I believe its the old Tortoies and the Hare Once you rig is up and running at the optimal temperature you want to keep those doors shut. If your opening the doors ever time you fire and it takes 5 -10 to get back up to speed then I dont think blowing all that heat up the stack is the way to go. BUT and I say only you know how YOUR rig works so

Now my analogy is this I got a nice new truck with plenty of power and I needed more power with all the towing I do. People told me that I would get better fuel mileage with the Power Stroke Diesel. I would be fine with that bu in reality I'm getting about the same as my gas truck but I do have more power and it does get me down the road faster at a higher cost for fuel. I'm OK with that also because I have more money than time when I'm working or ripping down the road with sap.

Well Chuck thanks that didn't clear up a single thing. :confused::(

[johnallin]

I fill my firebox about 3/4 full so that the AOF can do it's job and am getting 65 gph out of my 2x6 now.

Wow you guys are rippin' at 65 gph on a 2x6. Best I've ever seen is maybe 45, burning locust with a steam hood and Leader pre-heater. Is it the AOF or the air-tight front?

[blissville maples]

Looking for any suggestions on how people fire their own airtight arch. We are plenty hot but I'm not sure turning the stack cherry red is the most efficient way to get there. Any advice is appreciated.

You want a stack thermometer you want to maintain between 750 and 850 degrees any higher than 950 is a waste of BTUs and firewood anything less than 750 you will not be at Optimal Performance

[Russell Lampron]

Wow you guys are rippin' at 65 gph on a 2x6. Best I've ever seen is maybe 45, burning locust with a steam hood and Leader pre-heater. Is it the AOF or the air-tight front?

Then arch is new to me this season. It's a combination of properly distributed air, both over and under the fire, being air tight and having a large firebox. Like Bill Mason told me when I picked it up you light it, throw in a cord of wood and draw off lots of syrup. It takes a lot of wood per firing but because of the huge gain in efficiency I'm using less overall. I've made 65.5 gallons of syrup so far and haven't used 3/4 of a cord of wood yet. That amount of wood includes a test boil before the season, sweetening the pans and finding the sweet spot. It took a couple of boils to learn how to fire and to get the blower dialed in so that we weren't blowing all of the heat up the stack. I'm burning a mixture of pine and sugar maple. I didn't murder the sugar maples, the next door neighbor did and gave me the wood.

It sure is a lot more fun to draw off 8 gallons of syrup in an hour than it was to draw off 5!

[VTnewguy]

You want a stack thermometer you want to maintain between 750 and 850 degrees any higher than 950 is a waste of BTUs and firewood anything less than 750 you will not be at Optimal Performance
We have a stack thermometer it rolled over well over a 1000. I think some of it is the airtight front. Was told from Leader that 1400 is not uncommon.

[VTnewguy]

The other thing to look at is how much of a gap you have under your flue pan. You want very little gap under it and at the rear of the pan before the stack it should drop down into the base of the stack. This forces the heat up into the flues and they will suck up the heat.
Thanks I will double check the gap. I added more sand when we were setting up the flue pan to minimize the gap.

[nymapleguy607]

Then arch is new to me this season. It's a combination of properly distributed air, both over and under the fire, being air tight and having a large firebox. Like Bill Mason told me when I picked it up you light it, throw in a cord of wood and draw off lots of syrup. It takes a lot of wood per firing but because of the huge gain in efficiency I'm using less overall. I've made 65.5 gallons of syrup so far and haven't used 3/4 of a cord of wood yet. That amount of wood includes a test boil before the season, sweetening the pans and finding the sweet spot. It took a couple of boils to learn how to fire and to get the blower dialed in so that we weren't blowing all of the heat up the stack. I'm burning a mixture of pine and sugar maple. I didn't murder the sugar maples, the next door neighbor did and gave me the wood.

It sure is a lot more fun to draw off 8 gallons of syrup in an hour than it was to draw off 5!

Now just throw on a steamaway and you will be rolling at about 90gph.