Rocket stove for finishing?

[l3rian]

I've been getting it close on the evaporator, then finishing inside on the stove. I would like to finish it outside with wood. The square metal tubing rocket stoves look interesting. I've seen videos of people cooking or boiling water on them. It's anyone using one? Seems like an upgrade over a propane turkey fryer. Fairly easy to build with a welder and a grinder.

[ecolbeck]

Any reason to not finish in the evaporator?

[l3rian]

Just the control aspect of it. I have a flat pan so do batches. It's roughly 800 square inches. If a gallon is 231 cubic inches, it's roughly only a quarter inch of syrup if I finish with a gallon. Even 2 gallons per batch is pretty shallow. Hot spots, unevenness of the pan, cooking over wood so there isn't an off switch, and my thermometer even getting an accurate reading in that shallowof a liquid. For me, I think it's just safer to finish it in a pot.

[berkshires]

I've never used a turkey fryer - can you turn it down if you want to? I always finish on the stove. And I usually need to turn it down to keep it from going nuts and boiling over, near the end. You can't use defoamer when you're finishing! I would think that a rocket stove has two settings: off, and rocket engine. Doesn't seem conducive to finishing to me.

GO

[Swingpure]

While looking up rocket stoves on You Tube, I saw a wholesome farm video, where they made a rocket stove out of four cinder blocks. Not great for finishing, but you can cook eggs on it.

[Andy VT]

I agree that it wouldn't be good for finishing. I've long been curious about the possibilities for evaporation. I think it would be massively inefficient in all-metallic form... would need to be well insulated somehow for efficiency I think. And then I'm not sure how smoky the syrup would end up being. I promise to subscribe to your channel if you experiment and post videos! Failure may get you more views than success!

Out of curiousity, what problem is driving you to want to give up the comfort, company, and control of your kitchen for the cold, lonely, uncontrolled outdoors?

[berkshires]

Side note: I've seen in youtube videos (e.g. https://youtu.be/WUgVh4v1dik?t=301) that the evaporators they use to make palm sugar look like a type of rocket stove. The only difference being that the pan is at the bottom of the "J" instead of at the top.

GO

[Goatogether]

We use a turkey fryer and are quite happy with it.

[l3rian]

I agree that it wouldn't be good for finishing. I've long been curious about the possibilities for evaporation. I think it would be massively inefficient in all-metallic form... would need to be well insulated somehow for efficiency I think. And then I'm not sure how smoky the syrup would end up being. I promise to subscribe to your channel if you experiment and post videos! Failure may get you more views than success!

Out of curiousity, what problem is driving you to want to give up the comfort, company, and control of your kitchen for the cold, lonely, uncontrolled outdoors?

I appreciate all the replies. I think I'm naturally a tinkerer. It may not work at all, but I think it's fun to try. And i can't just leave things alone. Maybe that's my work talking, but I strive for continuous improvement and efficiency. In this case, I think the cost of propane is what I'm trying to eliminate. But to your highlighted point above, I didn't ever use any propane to begin with lol. And the few cents of electricity probably isn't worth chasing. As for the smoky syrup comment, my first season was over an open camp fire in a stainless bucket. There were plenty of ashes to filter out, but the syrup didn't taste any different than the batch I did the next year over the evaporator. The concern of off flavors led me to the rocket stove and away from trying to make a waste oil burner, which I also thought could work.

In the end, it would just be for fun, which is why I do this whole syrup thing anyways.

[Andy VT]

The tinkering bug explains it all, I can relate to that!
You're looking for a reason you need to have and fire up a rocket stove!

[bmbmkr]

Future generations university and RCBI in Huntngton Wv have a rocket stove design made from a 55 gal drum for small producers to boil on. I saw a demo last winter at a seminar. Hard to believe how fast it comes to a boil with such a small amount of wood. I'm sure you could scale it down and finish on it. Good luck, let us know if you buid one.

[sublime68charger]

my Finish stove is a fisher stand alone stove with the heavy cast Iron top.

as it delivers more even heat. If I need to make a littler cooler I have some fire bricks that I ususally stack around the pans to hold in heat I take them away or even set them down on top the stove and then put pan on top of those as well. Have a set of welding gloves that I use for moving hot bricks around.

The fisher dosn't boil as fast as my barrel stoves with pan right on top of fire but it does boil at a slower rate and then I don't have to worry about scorching things when I'm towards the end of my batch run. You can find them used for $100 or $200 most likley. Mine I got free. I works not as fast as the other stoves I have but for getting towards the end of the run when its more about getting it right then the start when its get it hot as you can and go like no tomorrow.

just my thoughts would be find a old stand alone stove with heavy flat top and run that along with your main setup and then finish on that one when you need the finese of getting it finished off.

[l3rian]

my Finish stove is a fisher stand alone stove with the heavy cast Iron top.

as it delivers more even heat. If I need to make a littler cooler I have some fire bricks that I ususally stack around the pans to hold in heat I take them away or even set them down on top the stove and then put pan on top of those as well. Have a set of welding gloves that I use for moving hot bricks around.

The fisher dosn't boil as fast as my barrel stoves with pan right on top of fire but it does boil at a slower rate and then I don't have to worry about scorching things when I'm towards the end of my batch run. You can find them used for $100 or $200 most likley. Mine I got free. I works not as fast as the other stoves I have but for getting towards the end of the run when its more about getting it right then the start when its get it hot as you can and go like no tomorrow.

just my thoughts would be find a old stand alone stove with heavy flat top and run that along with your main setup and then finish on that one when you need the finese of getting it finished off.

Funny j you should mention that. I found and "antique" stove listed on FB for $100 and was wondering if it would work. I was going to make an offer the next day sheet thinking about it, but it sold.

[sublime68charger]

The Fisher stove I have has a 2 layer top, I put small square pans on the top layer where the stove pipe is at then blocks around the pans to help hold heat.
The bottom part gets 2-3 pots down on that level I could fit a big pan there but dont have any left. I have the round pots so that is what I use. stack bricks up around to help hold heat in on sides of the pots. I have seen where people have taken stoves like the fisher and cut the top's off and put the pans into the cut outs that they have made. I have the Barrel Stoves and the basement stove that has fire direct to the pan for rapid boil. Its when Im starting to wind down the batch and I want to boil a bit slower and more even on the heat that the fisher shines then. My barrel stoves dont sit super level and 1 gallon in the pan on them leaves bare metal with fire under it. the last gallon in a round pot is still plenty deep and dont have to worry about scorching the pan that way. Though have to keep careful watch that I dont foam up and over the sides the pot at the end.