How loud is an oil fired evaporator

[DocsMapleSyrup]

The question is posed above. Currently, I have a 2x8 drop flue evaporator sitting on a homemade arch that has AUF/AOF supplied by a 1 HP bounce house blower that is in a box in an encloses back portion of my arch to reduce noise. I am getting tired of cutting and splitting wood in between working 12 hr shifts. I also am wanting the evaporator to be quiet like the natural draft wood arches but have no idea how loud a Carlin 301 would be if I changed over to oil. Are they loud, quiet or somewhere in between. I really love the idea of a flip of the switch and your up and running with oil, less wood in the sugar shack, less mess from the wood, less soot to clean off the flues, less dust, and less noise from the bounce house blower, but I'm sure a Carlin 301 must create some noise and is quite a bit more money. Looking for advice.

Wish list:
Less noise
Less mess

[Mead Maple]

Doc, I currently have a 2x8 drop flue on an oil burner rig. I’m running a Carlin 301 on there with a nozzle that’s smaller than I prefer. I’ve been going back and forth all season if I want to change the arch to wood or put a bigger nozzle on and continue to run oil.
I will tell you the option you describe as “flip a switch” is everything you think it is. On my rig (can’t speak for others) I can literally run my head tank dry and as soon as I see no concentrate running to the float box I flip the switch and can walk away. I don’t have brick in my arch just insulation so it doesn’t take it too long to cool down. With 3 young kids and a full time job this takes away a ton of startup/shut down time. Plus I concentrate to over 14% so all together it makes it an easier pill to swallow. I want to put a bigger nozzle on for faster boiling rates. What are you seeing with your 2x8 wood fired rig?

[Brian]

No louder than an oil furnace minus the fan, or a boiler.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Pretty much what Brian said. You can hear it but by no means would I consider our 2x6 loud. Oil is very convenient, we would never gonna go back to wood.

[Kh7722]

We have a 3x10 and its not loud at all. You know its running but can have a normal conversation over it

[Father & Son]

I’m running a 2x8 on a Leader oil arch and the Carlin 301 with a 4 gph nozzle. Originally it was what I thought was loud but that was without the burner cover. After I put the cover on the noise is not that bad. The “flip a switch” outweighs the little bit of noise. Had a float box issue right in the middle of a big draw the other night and that instantaneous shut down gave me a chance to fix the flow problem before there was a burnt pan.

[DrTimPerkins]

There is definitely noise with oil-fired rigs. A lot depends upon the evaporator -- some are way louder than others. It isn't something that is really noticeable until you shut it off after a boil. Certainly better than a Steamaway blower, RO, compressor, or vacuum pump. We've put most things we are able to relocate into other buildings both for power reasons and for noise reasons.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Quieter than the chainsaw I'd have to run all summer to get enough BTU's to equal what my two Carlin 701's produce.

[SmellsLikeSyrupNH]

I run a Carlin 301 on my 2x6. Just sounds like a fan, a bit of a loud fan, but definitely tolerable. I also will NEVER go back to wood. I run a 4.0 nozzle and made just over 100 gallons on 1 tank of oil, which I purchased for $1.79 last summer. I know I could make more on 1 tank if I concentrate to a higher level. Each year I make slight adjustments, will probably concentrate to 12% next year as I get more sap and trees tapped.

[DocsMapleSyrup]

Thank you for the replies. My bounce house blower is loud and a normal conversation cannot be had without really raising your voice.

Mead Maple; currently I'm boiling 50-60 gph with my 2x8 but have pushed it as high as 80 gph. I would like to concentrate to a higher brix than 8%, more like 15-20% then boil the rest. I probably sound crazy but I think I would like a bigger RO than my double post 4x40 so I can concentrate higher on first pass and get to a higher brix quicker and then have a quieter and maybe slower evaporator to boil with. How large is your RO that you are getting to 15%?

[maineboiler]

I have a 2X6 oil fired evaporator. I didn’t like the noise but the convenience and safety from burning pans was worth it. It does retract from the rustic nature and not so good when you have guests. I got a new nozzle which brought my 4 gpm down to the next level and that helped. There is still plenty of heat. I looked onto getting a cover but a oil burner tech told me that most of the noise comes from the flame blowing into the arch and a cover would not do much.

[Mead Maple]

Mead Maple; currently I'm boiling 50-60 gph with my 2x8 but have pushed it as high as 80 gph. I would like to concentrate to a higher brix than 8%, more like 15-20% then boil the rest. I probably sound crazy but I think I would like a bigger RO than my double post 4x40 so I can concentrate higher on first pass and get to a higher brix quicker and then have a quieter and maybe slower evaporator to boil with. How large is your RO that you are getting to 15%?

My RO would technically be considered a 600gph machine. 8” post, 3 pumps (feed pump, HP pump, recirculation pump). It’s an older rig but is able to chew through sap very well and has made this part time gig with a full time job/family well worth doing. I did concentrate to 19% the other day to see how my arch acted and didn’t have any issues whatsoever other than keeping up with filtering. I have the 301 on mine as well but sounds like I need to raise my nozzle significantly to increase my boil rate. I’m nowhere near the numbers you guys are claiming and I knew based on what I saw for visual boiling effect that I wasn’t hot enough.