Sap barrel set up

[erob]

Hi ya'll

Any suggestions on what would be the best way to outfit a 55 gallon plastic food grade barrel so that I can flow sap into my warming tray on my evaporator

[4 Paws Sugar Shack]

If it has a removable lid use a bulkhead fitting and pipe it in from the bottom. If you have bung holes just get pipe bushings and lay the barrel on its side in a cradle and pipe over to your warming pan.

[Super Sapper]

What I do for a head tank is cut the bottom out of a 55 gallon drum and set it upside down with a 3/4 inch nipple through the knock-out in the bung.

[aamyotte]

I have a plastic 55 gallon drum and bought a threaded pipe fitting which fit in the small hole in the lid. I plan to remove the big lid to fill the tank and when ready to boil I will lay it horizontal strapped to a skid and lift it with the tractor on a frame to let it drain by gravity to the evaporator. I have to buy some small diameter soft copper tubing which I will wrap around the chimney to warm the sap water before it goes into the pan. I will have a valve at the end of the tubing to adjust the flow rate. There is a valve at the tank to stop the flow into the tubing so that if I stop the flow I don't boil or burn the sap in the tubing around the chimney.

[maple flats]

I always like having my head tank outside and in the shade, it keeps the concentrate (or sap) cooler. I built an elevated platform attached to the north wall on the sugarhouse, to the west I have hemlock trees for shade. My head tank is butted right against the sugarhouse. A pipe comes off my head tank and enters the sugarhouse thru a square cut out hole (about 8x8") then I have my main valve and the line feeds the preheater. I have my head tank bottom about 2' higher than my pre-heater inlet and outlet pipes. Just after that main valve (1") I have a tee with a 3/8" clear vinyl hose extending straight up and out the top of the wall then back down 8-10'. That is to see the concentrate level and it vents air as I first open the main valve. After that I also have a tee (1") where I have a drain/recirculation line back to my RO. As my feed line approaches the pre-heater I have 2 valves, one sends concentrate thru the pre-heater, the other bypasses the pre-heater and goes to the inlet float valve entering the pre-heater line after it exits the pre-heater and a temperature gauge.

[eustis22]

a little frustration setting in and perhaps the forum can advise....I use two 55-gal barrels at the bottom of my hill to hold sap. I have them lying on their sides with a ball valve connected to a quick disconnect to drain them. This also allows the freezing to always take place at the top away from the outlet valve. I use a 1/10 HP pump to empty them into the barrel in my truck bed to get the sap up into my storage tote. The 3/4" line with the 1/10 HP pump takes 20-25 mins to empty a barrel. I would like to speed up this throughput so accordingly I have a 1 HP water transfer pump with 1 inch outlets. What I cannot find is adapters to attache a 1 inch ball valve to either the buttress outlet or the npt thread. I think the slow throughput is a function of my 3/4" diameter hoses vs the 1/10 HP pump. A) am I wrong about the cause of the slow drainage? and 2) does anyone have any suggestions on the methodology to go from a 2 inch bunghole to a 1 inch ball valve?

[aamyotte]

a little frustration setting in and perhaps the forum can advise....I use two 55-gal barrels at the bottom of my hill to hold sap. I have them lying on their sides with a ball valve connected to a quick disconnect to drain them. This also allows the freezing to always take place at the top away from the outlet valve. I use a 1/10 HP pump to empty them into the barrel in my truck bed to get the sap up into my storage tote. The 3/4" line with the 1/10 HP pump takes 20-25 mins to empty a barrel. I would like to speed up this throughput so accordingly I have a 1 HP water transfer pump with 1 inch outlets. What I cannot find is adapters to attache a 1 inch ball valve to either the buttress outlet or the npt thread. I think the slow throughput is a function of my 3/4" diameter hoses vs the 1/10 HP pump. A) am I wrong about the cause of the slow drainage? and 2) does anyone have any suggestions on the methodology to go from a 2 inch bunghole to a 1 inch ball valve?

If the 2" hole is buttress thread, there are fittings on amazon that go from 2" to barbed fitting. That could work for you to add a section of poly pipe then add the ball valve.

[Mille705]

We had one that we flipped upside down, threaded an elbow and valve in the large Bunge. They we cut half of the bottom out to fill.

[maple flats]

BascoUSA also has what you need https://bascousa.com/drum-accessories/drum-plugs.html

[Maple Lady]

I have my tank on a stand that is higher than my float box but not alot higher due to the small area. I cut the top off my barrel and put the lid on upside down. Sorry about the sideways pics, I don't know how to make them the right way.

[eustis22]

Thanks, Maple...I think I found something at MSC Direct that will suit

[erob]

Thanks everyone. Gives me lots of ideas to work with

[eustis22]

Thought you might like to see the solution to my dilemma:
http://mapletrader.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=21793&stc=1http://mapletrader.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=21794&stc=1http://mapletrader.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=21795&stc=1