First Year was a Success - What to upgrade for 2020

[bryankloos]

Hello All,

First year lurker here, now enjoying the 2.5 gallons I made this season.
I installed 10 taps late (3/10/19) in 7 trees, collected in 5 gallon buckets and boiled on a block arch with 3 chaffing dishes.
All said and done, I have 2.5 gallons of delicious (though slightly caremel flavored - scorched pans) syrup.
The kids helped tap, and boil and of course are eating up lots of pancakes.
It was a wonderful experience that I want to continue while increasing yield, efficiency, and production.

My head is buzzing with all the possibilities (shureflow, 3/16th line, RO, oil tank evap, flat pan, etc).

I will identify all maples on the property and hope to get the tap count up to about 25-30.

What should I focus on to better the opperation?

I'm a tinkerer, and like to build. Boiling was painfully slow, so I'm thinking that an oil tank evap would be a fun project this summer. I can weld and cut steel.

I'd also like to consolidate sap into one big tank, so tubing would be a benefit.

RO weems easy enough to build and implement.

If it were you, what would you prioritize and what makes most sense for me?

Thanks!

Bryan

[VTnewguy]

Start cutting firewood.

[wlatrout]

I like you started on a Turkey Fryer with a few tapes . Then I decided to go all out. I found a used 3x4 evaporator, then built a ro. [plans on line] under RO Systems. Then upgraded to 3 3/16 lines with 75 taps on small Soft Maples. Shurflo's for vacuum and 55 gal. food grade barrels. 23 taps on Sugar Maples with buckets. 25 bags on small soft maples. Yes this was a bit of a cash outlay but, done over a 2 yr. period.
The first thing would a bigger arch and a RO System. I built a 6 membrane RO unit, but you could start with less membranes and add to it later. You'll be amazed the time you will save with an RO.
I cooked 25 gal. this season.

[wobbletop]

Small RO to decrease boiling time.
Air under fire to increase boil rate if you haven't already. 3 chaffing dishes is already a good amount of surface area.

[maple flats]

An oil tank evaporator arch would be a big improvement. Just make it to hold a 2' wide pan. The length can be any multiple of 6" starting at 24" long up to whatever length you are making. Then get a used flat pan, they become available this time of year as producers decide to expand. To design it to fit a 24" wide pan, weld the top so the opening is at a maximum of 23" wide or as little as 22.5" wide. That will give you between 1/2" and 3/4" overlap. The greater the overlap the less the heat transfer. If you look at some other options like a combo pan, with flat pan in the front part and some drop flues at the back, you could advance at some point to one and see a big improvement in you gph evaporation. The greater the surface area in direct contact with the fire the greater the evaporation. If you insulate the arch you get more heat to the pans too.
The main part is to be sure to keep it fun for everyone in your family.
With a regular evaporator pan, as long as it is setting on the arch with no flames dancing up the sides and you keep at least 3/4" of sap in the pan, you will not get that "scorched flavor", that is so common with boiling in the SS restaurant pans.

[Mead Maple]

Start cutting firewood.

Bahahahaha!

With all the upgrades I am thinking of for next year this is literally the first I settled for and ultimately started making this UPGRADE as of last week. Too funny VTNEWGUY!

OP, the barrel evaporators are fantastic. I built one and loved it. Made it to accommodate a 2x4. If you can weld and cut just consider it time and fun. Brick and insulation go a long way and a squirrel cage blower will help even more. Plenty of builds on here and happy to send you info if you like


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bryankloos]

Thanks for the replies.

Fortunately I work up wood each year for heat, and I'm a couple years ahead so that not an issue, though cutting and splitting is a good point!!

Seems I'll focus on a better pan, RO and building the arch. Even if I cant get to the arch I can improve upon the block arch and with the flat pan and RO I should be way ahead of this past year.

I'll stick with buckets and probably buy a poly tank to store before RO and boils.

I'm a busy guy with a couple jobs, a wife and little kids, so time can get tight.

I appreciate the feedback and look forward to improving the system next year!

[Clinkis]

Start cutting firewood.

Build an RO and save the firewood and time! By far the best investment you will ever make.

[Bgreisch]

I have been boiling on a block arch with 3 SS restaurant pans for 3 years. I would upgrade to a flat pan to get rid of the scorching. I added a bathroom fan blowing in on my block arch this year and I went from 5 to 6 gph to 8 to 9 gph, that really helped getting thru the sap this year.

[DRoseum]

Couldn't agree more: flat pan and RO.
https://youtu.be/s106bSrcfno
https://www.sugartree.run/2019/03/custom-hobby-maple-syrup-evaporator.html

[johnallin]

You might look into a new, or used Half Pint. I spent one year on cinder blocks , then two years with a Half Pint, and the last ten on a Leader 2x6.

We made some great syrup on the Half Pint and sold it for nearly what I paid for it.

With a growing family; it sounds like your time is worth more than the $900 or so you'll save building up an oil tank arch.

[bryankloos]

Hey All,

I've made some decisions and plans for next season...

1. Lines with vac.
2. RO

This leaves me with the evaporator debate. I'd like to get something that would work and be up-gradable. I know I need a new pan as the chafing dishes caused a lot of scorch. Would it make more sense to invest in a decent pan and build up the block arch better or go with a half-pint or the like? All help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Bryan

[bowhunter]

The least expensive option obviously is a better pan on a block arch. A small evaporator such as a 1/2 pint or one of Bill Mason's evaporator's will be much more efficient (air tight) than the block arch. Your decision needs to be made understanding how big you want to get. I have a 1/2 pint and my impression is that the Mason's evaporator is better constructed and a little more efficient, but you can expand the 1/2 pint without any modification to the arch. The first capacity increase would be adding a blower and air under fire. There are two pan upgrades for the 1/2 pint that can add a lot of capacity. The 1/2 pint without a blower will boil 4-5 gallons per hour. A blower will increase that by 1-2 gph maybe a little more. Leader has a pan they call Supreme that will increase the boiling rate by about 50%. Smoky Lake makes a pan for the 1/2 pint (I believe thay call it the full pint.) that will take the capacity up to 15-20 gph. Both of these pan options require little to no modification to the original 1/2 arch.

[bryankloos]

I see myself at 30-50 taps this year.
Max I have available at my property will be 70-75 but thatch a stretch.
If all goes well I may want to tap everything in years to come.

[mol1jb]

Like anything, it depends. If you are running RO then you can get a smaller evap and be fine (2x3 or 2x4). Depending on your budget, you could buy new pan and arch or with a tighter budget buy a used pan and make a better block arch or weld an arch. If I was looking at a max of 75 taps on RO I would go toward a 2x4 pan.

And make sure you keep an eye on the classified section. Or Bascom used pans and evaps.

[bryankloos]

Could I buy a decent 2x3 or 2x4 pan now (new or used), beef up the block arch for this year, and then upgrade the arch the following year?
I want to spread this over a couple years...
I guess the question really is to I buy the pan or the arch this year, and the other the following...

Assuming I build a decent arch with blower and good pan, what GPH would be realistic?

[maple flats]

If trying to split the purchases into 2 years, either look for a used 2x4 pan or a used 2x4 evaporator. People selling a 2x4 evaporator are very unlikely to be willing to split it up, but dealers who took them in trade would be more willing to split it. A new pan will set you back farther than an entire used 2x4 in most cases.
Check the classifieds on this site often, also check craig's list. If a pan is soldered, test for lead in the solder (test kits available at most hardware stores). Also check dealers like Bascom and any others you can find.
Then customize the block arch and buy or make a proper arch for the 2021 season.

[mol1jb]

Could I buy a decent 2x3 or 2x4 pan now (new or used), beef up the block arch for this year, and then upgrade the arch the following year?
I want to spread this over a couple years...
I guess the question really is to I buy the pan or the arch this year, and the other the following...

Assuming I build a decent arch with blower and good pan, what GPH would be realistic?

I would buy the pan first and do some modification to your block arch. That is what my dad did this past season. He took his block arch and did away with his 2 steam table pans, bought a 2x3 pan and did some arch modification and had a good season. It is also easier to build an arch after you have the pans as not every 2x3 is exactly 24 inches by 36 inches and same with 2x4. I believe my 2 ft pan set is only 23.5 inches wide.

For GPH, on flat pans use the square footage as a base. So on a 2x3 ~6gph, 2x4 ~8gph. Add a blower, more gph. Add a preheater, more gph. You get the idea.

[maple flats]

Good point mol1jb, I ran into an issue when I ordered a new set of pans. The original ones were Leader and I just ordered based on what Leader's labels said they were. The originals were marked 3'x2' syrup pan ans 3'x6' flue pan. I changed the ratios and ordered 3'x3' syrup and a 3'x5' flue pan from Thor. When I went to put them on my arch, my new pans were 1.5" too long, even with the gasket between them 1/4" instead of 1" on the originals. I then measured the new ones, they were on exactly. I could not measure the old leader pans because I had already sold them. I then had to lengthen the arch 2" to make the new pans fit. Leader does not label their pans at actual size they round up (a lot).