Cdl 18x60 opinions

[Backyard boiler]

Just looking for honest opinions on the cdl 18x60 drop flue unit. Wonder if there’s any issues with drawing syrup off from it and how well float reacts to level change. Thinking about selling the 18x48 combo pan that I have now and getting the 18x60 for having a divider in syrup pan and a float box. The 18x48 really struggles with back washing when it comes to making syrup.

[Sugarmaker]

What is backwashing?
Regards,
Chris

[Russell Lampron]

Chris, I think he's referring to the problem of sweet from the front pan going into the flue pan with temperature changes during a boil and when he shuts down. If CDL makes a raised flue evaporator in that size I'd recommend getting that one and that problem would be eliminated.

[BAP]

I started out with a 20”x66” CDL drop flue evaporator with 1 float box and hated it. Mainly because if you had a fairly big draw of syrup, rear mounted float box did not respond fast enough to keep from burning in the front pan. Also, mine did not have a drain in the drop flue pan and it stunk trying to get all the sap out to take the pan off to clean it. I had to use a little hand pump to suck it out. My advice would be to seriously consider going to a raised flue pan evaporator. I don’t know how many taps you have but it might be worth considering a 2x6 raised flue.

[ecolbeck]

I have an older Dominion and Grimm Sportsman which is a very similar rig to the CDL. It does suffer from the issue of the float being slow to react to drawoffs. In fact, I will often manually push down on the float when I'm drawing off to ensure that the levels stay consistent. This is possible on my rig because the drawoff and the float are on the same side whereas they are on opposite sides on the newer Sportsman versions and the CDL.

I had the 18x48 drop flue CDL rig previously, and the Sportsman was a great upgrade. Having a float box makes the whole experience a lot easier overall. If I were shopping new, I would also strongly consider the Lapierre 18x60 raised flue rigs. They have two float boxes and an airtight firebox.