Process Question

[Paul01036]

Good day All-

I have a new Smokey Lake 2x4 propane evaporator. I have a 125-pound propane tank and I can't seem to get to a boil. I am outside under a tent versus a shack. Slight wind blowing and the flame may be affected slightly. Also, I am cautious in using it as the sap in the site glass is frozen therefore, I do not have a true test of the amount in the pan. I am not leaving it unattended, so I am not too concerned about the level as I am watching it.

I do have an extension on the factory supplied hose making it from the 4 feet or so to 14 feet, but I don't think that would be an issue (I welcome your thoughts on that) Anyone ever have the sap freeze in the site glass?

I know I want to work in a shed, but it wasn't in the cards yet, I have to grade the area so this will be a project for next year. I know many boil outside with wood and even propane so I am really at a loss. I did call Smokey Lake to ask the technical questions but waiting for a call back. I will share the response so others can learn from my issue they have excellent customer service.

thanks for reading and i'd welcome any comments.

[maple flats]

Try a tarp for a wind break, just keep it far enough away as not to catch fire. I'd be concerned if the sight glass is frozen while you are boiling, somehow you need to get more heat to it.
At cold temperatures propane evaporates much more poorly, is your tank showing a frost line on it? One idea is to tilt the bottle on a 45 degree angle, thus making the propane surface area larger, the larger the area the better the evaporation of the liquid. You only use the evaporated gas, not the liquid. If you tilt the tank, you must support it well so it will not fall and you don't want to tilt enough the liquid is at the valve elevation.
Are you giving it all the propane it can use? Don't restrict it, let it boil as fast as it can.

[Paul01036]

Great Info. Here is the skinny from Smokey Lake.
1) fighting the wind and elements is certainly an issue
2) like Maple Flats said, the propane can freeze, but this wasn't the issue in my case, the big problem was, I wasn't getting all the propane pressure. The gas company who supplied the 125-pound cylinder and hooked everything up ran it through a grillbox with an emergency shut off thus reducing the pressure. I disconnected it from the larger tank and ran it directly from a 20 cylinder and it ran like a charm and gave me 12 pounds at the regulator when i had zero on the larger tank.

I guess I need to get a plumber to re-pipe everything direct to the larger tank (might be a code issue)........

For now, I will just run it off 20 pound cylinders at an angle like Maple Flats suggested. The frozen site glass was probably due to it having water in it from yesterday's boil, once everything got going the ice melted enough to allow me to get it out.

I like the tarp suggestion, great idea!

[MISugarDaddy]

I agree with Dave Klish's suggestion on place tarps to reduce the wind hitting the evaporator. Before we built our sugarhouse, we hung tarps on all four sides to be able to deal with the wind regardless of the direction. One suggestion I have is to attach a 2" by 2" board to the bottom of the tarps. That will help hold the tarps down AND it will help for rolling them up for storage. Good luck with the season.
Gary

[Paul01036]

I agree with Dave Klish's suggestion on place tarps to reduce the wind hitting the evaporator. Before we built our sugarhouse, we hung tarps on all four sides to be able to deal with the wind regardless of the direction. One suggestion I have is to attach a 2" by 2" board to the bottom of the tarps. That will help hold the tarps down AND it will help for rolling them up for storage. Good luck with the season.
Gary
thank you, great suggestion.

[Gord]

If you're out in the open, you need something to hang the tarp from. A cheap EZ-UP works great. They go up fast and you have the frame to hang and clamp the tarp to on the side the wind is coming from. Just stake it to the ground. It can be moved around and taken down pretty quick.