Protecting my evaporator in the driveway overnight

[Ntatar]

Still refining my process and working in the driveway with my 2 x 3 Mason... This coming week will be the first time when I could leave the evaporator out overnight. Any tips or tricks for protecting the evaporator in the driveway after shutdown and cleanup is done? I would bring it inside like I do on the weekend, but that means going into the garage which is right underneath of everyone’s bedroom and I’ll be sleeping in the doghouse if I wake everyone up .

[Russell Lampron]

Cut a sheet of plywood to cover the pan and a smaller one for the preheater pan if you've got one. Bring the blower if you've got one inside and you should be all set. Put a rock or something heavy on top of the plywood so the wind doesn't blow it off.

[raptorfan85]

I always do like Russell said, sheet of plywood ontop. No issues with it, I do prop one end up a little to let any steam out that forms until it slowly cools off. That way it doesnt condensate and drip back into the pan.

[maple flats]

When I had a 2x3 on my patio, I made a hood that sat down on it, with a 6" steam stack with an elbow and a screen over the end of the elbow. That hood was only for use after shut down, I did not have a way to hold it up and no gutters for condensate, almost all condensate ran down the sides and down the outside of the arch, I made the hood about 2" oversized. I emptied the preheater pan into the 2x3 pan and then took the small pan inside.

[lulugrein]

I let it sit overnight for the first time last year. I emptied the preheater pan into the big pan. I covered my 2 x 2.5' pan with a few strips of heavy duty aluminum foil. Opened the corners up to let steam out. Then put a piece of plywood over that (raised up a couple of inches with spacers) so critters/branches wouldn't drop in. I didn't like the idea of plywood directly over the pan. Worried about chemicals dropping in. Yes, some condensate from foil drips back into pan until things cool down. As an aside... after the foil was put on it made the coolest popping sound like that of rain drops hitting the foil. We kept looking skyward (lack of sleep and maple infused cocktails may have played into our wonder:-).