Our new CDL 18x60 evaporator.

[EBG18T]

Got everything running tonight. I really like this new CDL 18x60 drop flue evaporator. I had a few PMs looking for pictures. Figured it would be easier to just make a post.

Based on our calculations tonight we hit about 25GPH evaporation rate which we were happy with. :-) Will be adding a fan shortly to see if we can bump it up.

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[ecolbeck]

Nice looking setup. Is the front pan reverseable? How many flues and how deep are they?

[wnybassman]

Awesome evaporation rate for a rig that size! The best I can do with my raised flue is about 16-17 gph.

[EBG18T]

Nice looking setup. Is the front pan reverseable? How many flues and how deep are they?

The front is not reversible.

Here is the pic of the flues, they are 5 inch.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180307/e6cb19671689dc1bd7fb9af1e865b8dd.jpg


Awesome evaporation rate for a rig that size! The best I can do with my raised flue is about 16-17 gph.


We will boil again Friday night, so I will be able to have a bigger sample to average out the GPH and try to get a more accurate number.

Once I finished bricking & putting in ceramic blanket I ended up with about a half inch air space below the flues the natural flow thru the fire box last night was amazing.


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[EBG18T]

Awesome evaporation rate for a rig that size! The best I can do with my raised flue is about 16-17 gph.


We boiled again Friday night for a couple hours. Used up what sap we collected before it snowed and temps dropped. It appears we were running in the low-mid 20s GPH which I am more than happy with.

We might have the just right combo of air, insulation, wood and stack length.


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[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Wow, I have the exact same rig, bought last year and I love it. I however have probably only ever gotten 12-15g/h out of it... I am usually doing too many things at once and probably don’t pay closeness enough attention to my fire...

[maple flats]

Wow, I have the exact same rig, bought last year and I love it. I however have probably only ever gotten 12-15g/h out of it... I am usually doing too many things at once and probably don’t pay closeness enough attention to my fire...
Get a timer you can hear and set it, then refuel every time it goes off. Fueling often enough, having dry wood, having door open as little time as necessary and splitting the wood so it is small enough (wrist size) are all ways to get good boiling performance. I use a timer with an adjustable volume control, it can even sound off at 110 DB, but I don't need that one, unless I am tending something outside. This is the one I use https://www.thermoworks.com/Extra-Big-Loud Depending on what other noise you have in the sugarhouse you can find a volume that is right. I think there are 5 levels.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Yeah, a timer certainly makes sense. I’ll try it next Saturday when I boil again.

[EBG18T]

I am reloading wood every 7 min, have a small fan and using about 50:50 hardwood:softwood of 2-3 year season wood.

I really believe the 7 min loading with good airflow is the key.

I am really lucky, my neighbor comes over to help & my wife keeps us fed so we dont lose efficiency.


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[Motoman89]

Hi, I bought the same unti 2 years ago amd it is much better than my home made unit. I have a few questions for you and am wondering about getting some pics. First off how deep are you running your syrup pan? Secondly does your flue pan really boil all the way through? Could you post a pic when you are really rolling please? I am having trouble getting mine to boil throughout. It boils like crazy at the front but not much at the rear. I also found i have to move the spacer from just in front of the chimney to the front of my rig and pushmy pans back to get my syrup pan to boil hard. Any trouble with yours? Thanks.

[Motoman89]

Here are two pics showing my setup and boil. This was after adding bit of defoamer. I even have the back 12" of my fire box blocked with a steel plate to try and get as much air flow up to the syrup pan at the front. Any thoughts here or should I go back and try the original setup as per the manual? My wood is a mix of hard and soft that has been in my lean to for twp years so it is dry.
Thanks.

[EBG18T]

Hi, I bought the same unti 2 years ago amd it is much better than my home made unit. I have a few questions for you and am wondering about getting some pics. First off how deep are you running your syrup pan? Secondly does your flue pan really boil all the way through? Could you post a pic when you are really rolling please? I am having trouble getting mine to boil throughout. It boils like crazy at the front but not much at the rear. I also found i have to move the spacer from just in front of the chimney to the front of my rig and pushmy pans back to get my syrup pan to boil hard. Any trouble with yours? Thanks.

I run my pans 1/4 inch above the opening between the float the rear pan.

I get a pretty solid boil across the pans. But if i put too much wood in my front pan boil slows down considerably. I usually keep it about 2/3rds full with wood.

How much space do you have between the bottom of your flues & the insulation? How much stack are you running?

I also notice my boil is not as good if either of my sugar shack doors are open. Not really sure why. My cupola is wide open though and I get lots of steam roll in the shack but once it warms up the steam rolls good out the cupola.

It is really hard to get pictures of my boil. My phone fogs up super quick.

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[Motoman89]

Just wondering how long your pieces of wood are that you are using? I am using smaller pieces and keeping them right at the front with the rear 1/3 of the grates blocked off.
Thanks in advance.

[ecolbeck]

Just wondering how long your pieces of wood are that you are using? I am using smaller pieces and keeping them right at the front with the rear 1/3 of the grates blocked off.
Thanks in advance.

I wouldn’t block off the grates at all. I have the smaller version of your rig (18x48) and I get close to 15gph on it.

[EBG18T]

I agree. I wouldnt block off the grates at all. It ranges from 16-24 inch long. I only fill 2/3 high.


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