ajschnitzelbank
04-01-2018, 12:18 AM
I’m new to sugaring, and MapleTrader has been a great resource, so I figured I’d add my experience in hopes it will help someone the way so many posts have helped me.
Build take one: Bought a 55 gallon drum from craigslist; burning paint smelled awful, wonder if it was carcinogenic.
Take two: Bought an unfinished 55 gallon drum from local company. Used a six-inch deep steam pan. Only evaporated one gallon per hour – WAY too slow. Lots of soot around pan, probably because I cut the hole a little too big. Burn created tons of coals in the arch.
Take three: From the ground up:
Foundation is some pallets I picked up for free locally. The idea is I can move it around with the tractor from storage to the driveway. Also raises it up so I don’t need to bend over as much. I bolted the arch to the pallet. Price: $0 for pallets, plus a few nails, and $8 for stainless hardware from Lowes. Tools used: crowbar, hammer, drill, screwdriver.
Barrel is an unpainted one from a local company. Price $30.
Legs and door are from a barrel stove kit from Tractor Supply. Price $50. Tools used: angle grinder to cut holes (cutting wheel plus sanding flap wheel, true for all following angle grinder use), drill, screwdriver, wrench.
I lined the bottom of the barrel with firebricks I had lying around.
I bought a cast iron grate to get air under the fire. Price: $50 from Amazon. Tools used: wrench.
Angle iron used to hold pan. Price: $10 for angle iron from local welding supply, a buck for the hardware. Tools used: angle grinder, drill, screwdriver, wrench.
I used ceramic blanket insulation at the back of the pan. I had a hard time cutting the hole to be perfectly tight, so I cut it a little long and utilized the insulation to tighten it up. I used part of the barrel cut out for the pan hole to create a bracket to hold the blanket. Price: $14 for insulation from Amazon, a buck for hardware. Tools, angle grinder, drill, screwdriver, wrench.
Stack is a six inch connector I cut up to connect to the back of the barrel, a 90 degree pipe, and two three-foot sections. Price: $40 for pipe from local Ace, plus a buck for the hardware, and a few bucks for stainless sheet metal screws from Lowes. Tools used: tin snips, angle grinder, drill, screwdriver.
Pan is a 20x30” flat bottom stainless welded three channel from Vermont Evaporator Company. Came with brass valve, needed only Teflon tape to install. Price: $270 on sale at an open house, normally $320.
Pre-heater is a half width steam pan. I used some 1 ¼ inch aluminum angle to hold it in place. I cut some short pieces to make brackets to pinch the evaporator pan to hold in place. The ball valve to let sap out is stainless and weldless. Price: $28 for pan from Amazon, $7 for angle aluminum from Lowes, $4 for stainless hardware from Lowes, $27 for valve from local brewers supply place. Tools used: angle grinder, drill with step drill bit, screw driver, wrench.
Total price = $544. Add in the previous failed barrel arch attempts and the cinder block evaporator I built the year before that… well a bunch more money.
Takeaways:
It took a few attempts, but I’m happy with what I built. It’s totally possible for other first-timers—I’m fairly handy, but haven’t ever really done any metal fabrication before this.
The barrel evaporator made by Vermont Evaporator Company is VERY nice. And although I initially thought the $900 price was steep, I no longer think that. I saw it in person, it’s very nice. It has a big door with a good sized air inlet. It has tall legs. It’s painted nicely. And it converts to a woodburning grill, how neat! Plus, the people who make and sell it are super nice and helpful.
If you can’t afford or don’t want to bother with a sugar shack for a permanent instillation for something like a Leader Half-Pint, I think either a homemade barrel stove or the Vermont Evaporator Company Sapling is a great option.
1840518404184031840218401
Build take one: Bought a 55 gallon drum from craigslist; burning paint smelled awful, wonder if it was carcinogenic.
Take two: Bought an unfinished 55 gallon drum from local company. Used a six-inch deep steam pan. Only evaporated one gallon per hour – WAY too slow. Lots of soot around pan, probably because I cut the hole a little too big. Burn created tons of coals in the arch.
Take three: From the ground up:
Foundation is some pallets I picked up for free locally. The idea is I can move it around with the tractor from storage to the driveway. Also raises it up so I don’t need to bend over as much. I bolted the arch to the pallet. Price: $0 for pallets, plus a few nails, and $8 for stainless hardware from Lowes. Tools used: crowbar, hammer, drill, screwdriver.
Barrel is an unpainted one from a local company. Price $30.
Legs and door are from a barrel stove kit from Tractor Supply. Price $50. Tools used: angle grinder to cut holes (cutting wheel plus sanding flap wheel, true for all following angle grinder use), drill, screwdriver, wrench.
I lined the bottom of the barrel with firebricks I had lying around.
I bought a cast iron grate to get air under the fire. Price: $50 from Amazon. Tools used: wrench.
Angle iron used to hold pan. Price: $10 for angle iron from local welding supply, a buck for the hardware. Tools used: angle grinder, drill, screwdriver, wrench.
I used ceramic blanket insulation at the back of the pan. I had a hard time cutting the hole to be perfectly tight, so I cut it a little long and utilized the insulation to tighten it up. I used part of the barrel cut out for the pan hole to create a bracket to hold the blanket. Price: $14 for insulation from Amazon, a buck for hardware. Tools, angle grinder, drill, screwdriver, wrench.
Stack is a six inch connector I cut up to connect to the back of the barrel, a 90 degree pipe, and two three-foot sections. Price: $40 for pipe from local Ace, plus a buck for the hardware, and a few bucks for stainless sheet metal screws from Lowes. Tools used: tin snips, angle grinder, drill, screwdriver.
Pan is a 20x30” flat bottom stainless welded three channel from Vermont Evaporator Company. Came with brass valve, needed only Teflon tape to install. Price: $270 on sale at an open house, normally $320.
Pre-heater is a half width steam pan. I used some 1 ¼ inch aluminum angle to hold it in place. I cut some short pieces to make brackets to pinch the evaporator pan to hold in place. The ball valve to let sap out is stainless and weldless. Price: $28 for pan from Amazon, $7 for angle aluminum from Lowes, $4 for stainless hardware from Lowes, $27 for valve from local brewers supply place. Tools used: angle grinder, drill with step drill bit, screw driver, wrench.
Total price = $544. Add in the previous failed barrel arch attempts and the cinder block evaporator I built the year before that… well a bunch more money.
Takeaways:
It took a few attempts, but I’m happy with what I built. It’s totally possible for other first-timers—I’m fairly handy, but haven’t ever really done any metal fabrication before this.
The barrel evaporator made by Vermont Evaporator Company is VERY nice. And although I initially thought the $900 price was steep, I no longer think that. I saw it in person, it’s very nice. It has a big door with a good sized air inlet. It has tall legs. It’s painted nicely. And it converts to a woodburning grill, how neat! Plus, the people who make and sell it are super nice and helpful.
If you can’t afford or don’t want to bother with a sugar shack for a permanent instillation for something like a Leader Half-Pint, I think either a homemade barrel stove or the Vermont Evaporator Company Sapling is a great option.
1840518404184031840218401