Cdl 18x48 combo pan set up

[Backyard boiler]

Hello everyone I was looking for some advice on sand to pan clearance on the combo flat/flue pan? I’m coming from a flat pan that originally came with the rig and decided to upgrade the pan and try a bucketro this year. Any advice would be appreciated.

[ecolbeck]

I believe you can bring the sand to within 1/2" or so of the bottom of the flues.

[1ruralmailman]

on evaporator,which is the same one i run it between 1/2 to 3/4 inch from bottom of the flues.she boils like a fiend set up this way.:D

[Backyard boiler]

Perfect I’ll play with that depth of sand, do you do anything special at the base stack area? I made it ramp down slightly just before exiting the stack

[ecolbeck]

I would keep the sand height the same as it transitions from under the flues to under the stack.

[slammer3364]

I have a 18x48 D&G what do you mean build the sand up to pan clearance. I am intriuged

[Backyard boiler]

Slammer, when you brick the rig your supposed to put sand in it to build up the ramp and keep it flat from ramp area to stack exit area to tighten up the space between Brick and pan it keeps the heat directed across the pan

[slammer3364]

Do you mean to put sand under bricks to make it closer to pan? Does this improve evap rate?

[1ruralmailman]

mine has sand loose right under the flues constant depth to the stack.it does help evap rate as it forces the heat to pass through the flues to get up the stack.

[ecolbeck]

There are two versions of this pan. The flue version has been discussed. If you have the flat version the sand height should be set so that the cross sectional area beneath the pan is equal to the cross sectional area of the flue. To do this find the area of the flue (pi r squared) and divide by the width of the pan. That will give you the gap between the pan and the sand.

[Backyard boiler]

Hey guys having a little trouble making syrup and getting good boil in syrup pan , Iv tried a couple small things one thing at a time with no luck. I went from having 8ft of 7in stack to 6ft and it made a slight difference closing the draft door doesn’t seem to make a Huge difference. Iv boiled about 260 gallons of sap I’m going to talk with cdl tomorrow and see what they have to say just wanted to reach out here first. Flue pan is boiling great 1980819807

[ecolbeck]

S
Hey guys having a little trouble making syrup and getting good boil in syrup pan , Iv tried a couple small things one thing at a time with no luck. I went from having 8ft of 7in stack to 6ft and it made a slight difference closing the draft door doesn’t seem to make a Huge difference. Iv boiled about 260 gallons of sap I’m going to talk with cdl tomorrow and see what they have to say just wanted to reach out here first. Flue pan is boiling great 1980819807
Having used one of these pans I can attest to how challenging it can be to make syrup on them. I would keep your stack as tall as possible and keep the draft door all the way open. I would also get the foam under control. The syrup section is large so it’s hard to keep things flowing. Keep firing consistently every five minutes. Keep the sap level steady. If you lose focus even for a few minutes the gradient will suffer. Do you have a thermometer on the pan?

[Backyard boiler]

I do use a thermometer usually runs about on 3-4. I do also maintain my foam better I just tuck a picture for reference. I’m wondering if I need to make a slight wall of brick in my fire box.

[ecolbeck]

How deep are you running the pan?

I did not have a brick wall on my setup. I layer bricks on top of Insulation and that gave me about 1/2” clearance to the flues.

[Backyard boiler]

I have fire blanket than bricks. I used sand from ramp up to base stack to give it about a 5/8 of a inch from sand to pan clearance

[ecolbeck]

That sounds good. These pans can be tricky to run and many people finish their syrup inside. How deep are you running the sap?

[Backyard boiler]

Running about a 1 1/4 to 1 1/2. My flat pan set up was syrup a lot this set up seems to be off Justin enough it should be boiling harder in the syrup pan especially with ro’ed sap

[ecolbeck]

I don’t think there is a relationship between whether the sap was ROd and the boil in the front of the pan.

Is your wood of decent quality and finely split?

[Big_Eddy]

How full are you filling the fire box? I recall a couple years back someone with the same rig having problems. It worked better if he added less wood and kept the fire smaller and low in the firebox, but fed it more often. The goal was to have the heat go up first then back, rather than under the wood and straight back.

Try small,wood and a small hot fire rather than stuffing the firebox full

[ecolbeck]

I agree with this. I think that if the firebox is too full, then unburned wood can act as a radiant barrier, physically shielding the front pan from the heat of the fire for a short period of time. The firebox on that arch is so small that it’s easy to overstuff it.

[Maple Lady]

I have a small evaporator, only 18X36, I had my first draw off yesterday. I was having trouble at first, it would climb to 5 & 6 then drop back down. I would put 3-4 pieces as close to the door as I could and criss cross as much as I could, trying to get a couple pointed up towards the pan. The stack had to get up to 1000 for it to reach 7. The very first draw was very very small, like a 1/4 cup, then the second one was pretty good, for me anyway. The second draw was only about 5 mins after the first. I filtered right into an insulated coffee urn and bottled it right then. I got roughly half gallon, 1.75 litres. I also shut the draft door to about half way.

[Eberzin]

Sometimes just adding air under the fire can change the boil dramatically.