Looking for Head Tank\Feed Tank advice...

[mhoven157]

Looking for advice and ideas on head tanks. We have recently built a new sugar house and we’re boiling on a 2x6 raised flu smoky lake evaporator. We’ve put into an order for one of the head tanks they make but I’m worried it won’t be here in time for the season. Would love to see pictures and plans of what everyone has!

[Woodsrover]

I have a 60 gallon poly tank up on a shelf in the peak of the shack. Pump up to it with the RO and gravity feed into the pan. It comes down easily for cleaning.

[maple flats]

I use a typical SS sap tank. Mine is 150 gal and it sets outside on a platform attached to the north wall of the sugarhouse. It is high enough that the bottom of the tank is about 20-24" higher than the top of the float box on the flue pan. Sorry no pictures. I made the platform using 4x4 posts 3' in the ground, and the edge at the sugarhouse is screwed to a 2x4 attached to the sugarhouse wall. The tank is small enough that the 8x12' platform leaves room to lift the SS cover and wash the tank. The tank as I said is butted tight to the sugarhouse. The valve is in the sugarhouse, about 3" inside the wall, then I have a tee, pointed up with a reducer /adapter and I use a 3/8" vinyl hose connected there and extended up and over the top of the gable end wall and then outside, back down to about 4' from the ground. That is used as my site gauge for sap/concentrate level. I have a few marks on it, one at 6 gal, one at 12 gal and one at 18 gal. The 18 gal is where I stop fueling the fire. Then I have a line at 50 gal, 75 gal ,100 gal and 125. The 6,12 and 18 were measured by dumping that amount of water in the tank. The rest were marked as I pumped water in from a IBC tote, using the gal marks on the tote.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Your pump will start more often but by keeping the tank level the same it will minimize variation of your head pressure which should help keep a constant flow into the float.

[therealtreehugger]

I have a large clear plastic storage container (15 gal) that sits on a shelf about 1.5 - 2 feet above the level of the pan. There is a step, and I dump buckets of RO-ed sap and then it trickles down, through a small preheater, and then into the pan via gravity. This year, I want to do what Woodsrover has - to set up the RO to pump directly into the header tank. I think I need a bigger header tank.

[Pdiamond]

I have SL's 50 gallon head tank. I made a rack for it to sit on and it gravity feeds to the float box.

[MISugarDaddy]

We use a 100 gallon SS head tank that is mounted on a raised platform above the evaporator inside our sugarhouse. Our RO feeds directly into the feed tank. To eliminate the tank sweating, we have insulated the tank which helps to keep the concentrate from warming up inside the sugarhouse. With our 2'x6' evaporator, that size works well. We plumbed it so that the tank has a drain valve below the line going to the evaporator for cleaning purposes. The open top allows for easy cleaning each day.
Gary

[mhoven157]

Thanks everyone for the advice!

[BSHC]

I use the 60 gallon plastic drum as well which is probably the minimum size i would want for an evaporator your size. Mine is filled via a float switch and using a 120 volt RV type water pump that runs via garden hose from my outside storage. Also used a garden hose fitting adaptor from my tank to the float box. I dont know how you are planning to hook this all up temporarily but this is why i want to mention how i did it. My set up will comfortably support 30GPH, it would not be good enough to support what you have for an evaporator! You must go larger than i have on both the pump and feed line to the float box.
Cheers

[NhShaun]

Interested in seeing some photos of how people elevated their head tanks either inside the sugarhouse or outside on a platform.

[Polish Wizard]

I'll be stepping up from a 3 buffet pan process to a small divided pan and I hope to add an elevated head tank to feed my anticipated float box.
I'm considering many different variations for a head tank including smaller 10 or 35 gallon options to modified 55-gallon drums.

I looked on-line at a bunch of options made by a company called Norwesco, and they offer a lot of different shapes and sizes.
Does anyone have experience with a style called "leg tanks".
I'm wondering if they are easy to keep clean, and if the "legs" will retain a bunch of sap that I'd rather be able to drain easily and not have it cause mold.

I'd love to hear any raves or concerns about using enclosed tanks like Norwesco offers --- not to mention modifications you may have made to 55-gallon drums.

[Buddy 58]

218812188221883----when-I-biult-sugar-house-----poured-pad-for-house-and-4-foot-x2foot--3-feet-deep-block-made-support-for-tank-out-of-6x6-guard-rail-box-beam.----then-set-tank----then-built-sugar-house-around-tank-----front-of-tank-sets-just-inside.

[Crooked Cellars Farm]

Polish Wizard,
I would avoid the leg tanks as a head tank. I have 3 of them and while they are pretty stout for holding sap, they are a pain to keep clean. The "legs" can and do hold some sap in them even when they are empty. We use a 55gal food grade drum with a closed head. I lay it on its side on a shelf in the corner of my shack. I cut a hole in the side of it to place a food grade bucket and lid in it. Cut the bottom of the bucket out and you can pump you sap in through it and then pull the bucket out and it's very easy to clean. I originally used the bungs to thread in a fitting to feed to my evaporator but found this also left 2-3" of sap in the barrel. So I then put in a 1" bulk head fitting that allows the sap to drain out of the bottom of the tank and leaves minimal sap behind. My barrel, I bought brand new from Wally-mart website. I don't think it was too badly priced a few years ago. Not sure what it costs now. 218842188521886

[Crooked Cellars Farm]

Sorry for sideways pictures. First time posting pictures in a comment.

[buckeye gold]

fixed218882188921890

[nhdog]

polish wizard
i got one of norwesco tanks this fall. you should take a look at their ''loaf tanks'' .no legs, sits flat, nothing for the sap to hide in, so its easy to clean, comes with no bulkhead fittings so you can set it anyway you want, my dealer threw in a bulkhead filling for free. i got the 100 gal. tank it comes with a 8 inch cover and allows fairly easy access and of course they come in all different sizes. check out their web site.

[TapTapTap]

218812188221883----when-I-biult-sugar-house-----poured-pad-for-house-and-4-foot-x2foot--3-feet-deep-block-made-support-for-tank-out-of-6x6-guard-rail-box-beam.----then-set-tank----then-built-sugar-house-around-tank-----front-of-tank-sets-just-inside.

Looks like the milk truck lost its brakes coming down your Hill. You should mount a front grill on the other side. I

But I've got to say that it looks like something I'd build!

[TapTapTap]

21893

hard to see mine in the loft over the kitchen-RO room. It's a 375 gallon as open top. Kind of hidden behind the heat shield. I have steel beams built into the loft framing and swing out door on the gable end that I installed thru. I access the tank from the stairs behind the evaporator and heat shield.


Sorry, my pic came out sideways too.

[Polish Wizard]

Craig's List for Pittsburgh area shows a vendor with food quality 55 gallon barrels available. I'm checking for transparent plastic ones at reasonable cost locally.

[TapTapTap]

Craig's List for Pittsburgh area shows a vendor with food quality 55 gallon barrels available. I'm checking for transparent plastic ones at reasonable cost locally.

I couldn't afford the transparent stainless (haha) so I installed a site glass to indicate the tank level. It's actually a clear pvc tube the full height of the tank connected just past the valve. It also serves as an overflow back to my raw sap tank.

[Polish Wizard]

Today I was able to acquire three 55-gallon white-ish plastic drums with two bungs in the non-removable top ---- $15 each.
These are reported to have held sanitizing agent for milk production, and were hosed out by the vendor before I picked them up --- no chemicals were used for their cleaning of the drums.
I should be able to see the liquid level without requiring an external sight glass.
Sounds like a winner, and not bad for expense. Travel to the facility was reasonable, so once again low cost.
(I kept eyeing the 275 and 300 gallon totes, but that would definitely meet the definition of a "bargain" -- something you can't use at a price you can't resist)

Not sure yet how I'll install one of these in my shack as an elevated head tank -- horizontal or vertical.
There's been a lot of info provided here to make me comfortable that either choice will work.

So far my minimal concerns include:
-the amount of space I have available to install framework for the tank in a 10x10 room that will also hold a 20x48 evaporator, plus an old, over-square wood stoker (yep, that's me);
-whether installing a tank vertically will possibly affect the operation of an automatic float box, compared to slightly lesser head pressure from a vertical installation (how sensitive are they to head pressure?);
-my access to hand fill the head tank without banging into the rafters in the process.

[flhr10]

21939done some recent remodeling in the sugarhouse and relocated the feed tank in the process. It's a 35 gallon polly tank. Gravity flows through 1" line into evaporator. Fill by a sump pump from the holding tanks outside.

[Crooked Cellars Farm]

Polish Wizard,

A small pump would be your best bet for filling your head tank. If you have a Harbor Freight nearby they usually have some really cheap pumps to use. Might even be able to use a fishtank/koi pond pump. They carry those too.

As far as for head pressure from your head tank to your float box. Put in valve from your head tank to your float so you can "throttle" your sap feed coming in. Then you don't have to worry about the pressure over powering the float.
Dale

[buckeye gold]

rotated pic21946

I might add, tanks don't need to be a lot higher than the float box. Even a few inches works.

[TapTapTap]

rotated pic21946

I might add, tanks don't need to be a lot higher than the float box. Even a few inches works.

With caveats -

You will need enough height above the float box to overcome head losses in the feed line and still have enough to provide a good flow rate. Less height means less flow rate and as the tank level decreases so does the flow rate (possibly down to a trickle). At some point you will need to upsize the line, reduce bends, etc. or just raise the tank.

Ken

[buckeye gold]

good comment tap tap tap. If your outlet is in the bottom and allows complete draining it helps. I have a small evaporator so I don't need a lot of feed, but I have watched larger units run and it matters more on them I suspect. Would over sizing the supply line help? You can always reduce at the box fitting. My career was running a fish hatchery and we moved a lot of water by gravity. In many cases we over sized pipe and then necked down outlets to maintain desired flows. For example we'd plumb in a 8-10" line and install a 4-6" valve. Flows are a combination of pipe volume and head pressure, you can adjust either and make it work.

[Polish Wizard]

I know I won't be tapping trees this season, so everything I'm researching will be put into practice for the next season.
For grins and giggles this morning I looked at the two large hardware stores on-line to see what they had to offer for bulkhead fittings.
I don't know for sure if the "plastic" versions I found are considered food safe, and roughly $15 for something in the 3/4" range.

Then I found this site, and at first look it seems decent for stainless 1/2 and 3/4" fittings -- and about the same price as the plastic versions.
https://minibrew.com/products/ez-seal-weld-less-bulkhead?variant=6958587412527
While it is normally for making beer, they even mention their products have been adopted by the maple folks. (This is where you stick your chest out further and enjoy the recognition.)
Maybe worth a look if you can use something this small and don't have a better choice for vendors. I didn't get very far in my on-line search before I had to leave for a while.

I haven't ordered a new evaporator yet, and while my anticipated system is very much in the design stage I don't think it will require any lines bigger than 3/4".
Depending on what I settle on for a head tank (most likely a 55-gallon plastic drum since I now have them) and which configuration I place the drum (horizontal or vertical), I'd be concerned about the curvature of the drum and how a large, flat bulkhead fitting would match up without causing problems and possible leaks. I think I'd prefer the strength of a stainless fitting over anything plastic.

I guess I should mention the float box I anticipate buying will have a 3/4" inlet.

[bigschuss]

Polish Wizard,
I would avoid the leg tanks as a head tank. I have 3 of them and while they are pretty stout for holding sap, they are a pain to keep clean. The "legs" can and do hold some sap in them even when they are empty. We use a 55gal food grade drum with a closed head. I lay it on its side on a shelf in the corner of my shack. I cut a hole in the side of it to place a food grade bucket and lid in it. Cut the bottom of the bucket out and you can pump you sap in through it and then pull the bucket out and it's very easy to clean. I originally used the bungs to thread in a fitting to feed to my evaporator but found this also left 2-3" of sap in the barrel. So I then put in a 1" bulk head fitting that allows the sap to drain out of the bottom of the tank and leaves minimal sap behind. My barrel, I bought brand new from Wally-mart website. I don't think it was too badly priced a few years ago. Not sure what it costs now. 218842188521886

I am going to do something exactly like this. Just sent you a PM with a few questions.

[Polish Wizard]

bigschuss,

Don't want to appear more ignorant than my normal self, but I'm back to my computer after a few days away and haven't found your PM to respond.

[Crooked Cellars Farm]

Sorry I just saw it a minute ago. Sorry about that. I responded back just now. But here is the link to the site tube I used.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/polycarbonate-sight-glass-235.html

Obviously there are probably a bunch of ways to do this, but it was cheap and easy to clean

Dale

[Crooked Cellars Farm]

Here is a close up picture of how I attached it. Sorry about the delay again. I have been pretty busy boiling. Late night last night. Boiled til 2:30am this morning after working all day. The things we'll do for this hobby.
22126

[Crooked Cellars Farm]

Polish Wizard,

Those are some nice bulk head fittings. I have alot of tanks all with plastic bulk head fittings but having SS you'd know for sure they are food grade. I have also installed cam locks into my head tank to allow for even greater ease to take apart and clean. Consider going stainless with those up front as well. Cam locks are my best friend, and I will be slowly swapping out my plastic camlocks with SS as I can afford them. And, yes, I will also be swapping out the brass fittings I have in my systems feed lines. My feed line is 3/4" into my backflip preheater from Smoky Lake in my steam hood and it handles it well. I have a high output 2 x 6 drop flue from Smoky Lake to give a idea of what I'm supplying my sap into.

Dale

[bigschuss]

Here is a close up picture of how I attached it. Sorry about the delay again. I have been pretty busy boiling. Late night last night. Boiled til 2:30am this morning after working all day. The things we'll do for this hobby.
22126

Thank you so much. That helps. Appreciate you taking the time to get back.