McKenney Maples
03-05-2018, 11:34 PM
It’s my first year running my new 2x8 raised flue smoky lake pans (6’ flue pan SSR) and mason arch. After my fourth boil I feel confident enough to give a review for anyone that might be considering a similar unit. I also purchased a hood set, parallel flow preheater and Great Lakes Guardian auto draw with the pans from SLM. I’ve purchased several pieces of high quality equipment from Bill Mason, this arch is no exception. I’m currently only running AUF but the system seems to balance out nicely keeping the stack temp 800-1000. The preheater outlet runs between 170-190 which is acceptable for me. The rig gets 60-70 gph without doing much more than consistently firing. I was able to achieve ~80 gph in the 3rd hour of a 4 hour boil. I set a timer for 60 minutes and measured my bulk tank to within 1/16” before and after. I focused on firing with small wood at shorter intervals keeping the stack temp in the 975-1050 range. That said all rates are processing raw sap without syrup production being deducted. My sap was running 2.0-2.1% so syrup production doesn’t really change my numbers all that much. The auto draw off has worked flawlessly so far with the Murphy cup providing a continual sanity check. The hood set also works well at drawing steam from the front pan, I only had to crack my coupla to help keep some airflow in the shack. There has been very little visible steam leaving the coupla during my boils, then again I haven’t tested this system in a variety of different weather conditions. Overall I very pleased with how the rig operates and how well the pans and arch come together.