Maple Pro evaporators

[VT maple maker]

I was at the farm show in Barre VT today and i was looking at a maple pro evaporator. It was a 2x5 model. The pans were tig welded but what caught my eye was the syrup pan only had 3 spot welds on the partitions on the none flowing side. I asked the guy why they didnt have a solid weld on them and he seemed to think they were tight against the outside wall of the pan. I put my finger on the other side of the partition and could see it. Im still new to sugaring but even ive heard that when you allow syrup to back mix it lowers the grade of the syrup. I would think that for the price of even a small evaporator now you would get a better quality product. Does anyone on here own a maple pro evaporator, and if so what are your thoughts about them? Just my two cents.

[gmcooper]

Maple Maker
I do not know a lot about the Maple Pro evporators but I do know that other brands advertise solid welds on thier partitions for the reason you mentioned.
Mark

[Dennis H.]

I saw the same thing when I was up at the maple show in Oneida, NY in early Jan. I can't remember which brand of evap it was on though.

[peacemaker]

super sappy has a maple pro 2x6 ..i would think he would know ..sounds like maybe they didnt finish the weld ... just tacked it

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Maybe that explains why they were the cheapest in the Bascoms catalog for 2008 in the 2x6 category other than the Leader WSE is that they are taking shortcuts to save money.

I couldn't believe that the Waterloo 2x6 was $ 6,000!!!

[VT maple maker]

Brandon,

I also have been through the new bascoms catologs, and a few others. I am only on my second year of doing this for myself and its scary what you must pay to have the right equipment. I fell in love with sugaring last year,but unless you get a crazy good deal or inherit equipment how is anyone suppose to be able to afford getting into sugaring without giving both arms and a left nut just for the evaporator. Then you have all the other stuff you need. Thankfully i bought my rig used for a very good price and my buckets were not a bad deal. And an old timer i just met this year whos getting out of sugaring gave me a tank, a tubing tool and a filter canner to use. So i consider myself very lucky. But where is the future of sugaring headed for little guys like me who will never be able to afford keeping up with it if it keeps going the way its going price wise?

[325abn]

Homemade equipment!

[Dave Y]

Vt Maple Maker,
I started 5yrs ago to make syrup. with no sugaring equipment at all , in an area not known for maple products. I spent 100 bucks the first year. now I have a 3x12 and almost 2000taps. I have bought very little new equipment.except for the new pipeline this year. I found almost all of what I needed on the trader or information from the trader. I have found you can grow as fast as you want or as slow as you want. But one thing you will have to decide, and that is do you want to make Money with syrup, or do you want to make syrup with Money! The choice is yours.

[super sappy]

The bottom of the partition and the bottom of the pan are welded tight. the partition to the side wall of the pan are spot welded. There is a little crack and a tack right on the inside corner. I am not too concerned with backflow. The crack is tiny and will fill up with crud soon. When I saw this the first time I was concerned then I went home and looked at my syrup pan with all the scuz baked onto the to the seams and I realized that I was worried about nothing.And hey if it becomes a problem I will melt some lead into the crack to seal it.Now if they did not seal the partitions to the bottom of the pan I would have reconcidered I have seen pans like this before. I am yet to get a maple catalogue in the mail for 2008. Man I spent crazy money this year too. I guess they figure that I am all tapped out so they dont want to waste $ on postage.Or my wife is removing them from the box before I get home. -SS

[gmcooper]

SS, I think maybe the wife is getting to mailbox before you!
My D&G catalog came a few weeks ago and last week Bascom and Maple Pro came the same day.

[Russell Lampron]

SS I think your wife might be feeding them to the billy goat.

Russ

[sweetwoodmaple]

Yeah, this is a tough discussion as it applies to other products that you buy.

"Cutting Corners" vs. Quality can sometimes be a gray area. Certain manufacturers want to market their products and sell them. One of the ways to do this is to compare their products to the competition and tell you they have an edge.

This whole partition deal might be one of those issues. Granted, if their is a 1/4" gap, then the whole pan acts as one and the partitions are useless, end of discussion. That's easy.

But, if the pan is tight and you compare tacking vs full weld, I would need independent proof that it really makes that much of a difference. Especially considering all the other factors involved like uneven firing, running the pan too deep, float surge open/closed, method of draw-off, etc. All those can add up to mixing of syrup as well.

On the other hand, how much extra time can it really take to weld them up solid?

As they say...you decide and go with it. Lots of $$ to spend, no matter how you slice it.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Has anyone gotten a 2008 Leader catalog yet?? I have gotten about all of the rest of them.

[VT maple maker]

I have the new 08 leader catolog. Some stuff went up some stayed about the same.

[sweetwoodmaple]

Come to think of it, haven't got mine either! Are they late (or did my wife throw it away)?

[Lwood]

Haven't got any of the 08 catalogs yet. Hmmmm.......... Are the wives starting to Scheme against us?

[peacemaker]

u get maple catalogs in the mail mail man thats like getting victoria secrets in the mail ... no wonder she tosses them lol .... ss my brotherinlaw can tig them for u if u want he is hear ib bennington ... i may have to turn to him to weld me up a pan for my back if no one can find me pans ...

[super sappy]

Russ- I do not think that the goat would go behind my back and eat my mail.We have become great friends in fact just tonight we talked about ways to keep birdocks and brambles out of our beards. Then he showed me his new game Ill call "smash the leaky sap bucket". I will even go out on a limb and say that the brown dog is jealous.( the brown dog is not mine he just thinks he is)............ I think what Ill do is the day that I tap Ill rinse the evaporator with water and fire it up. When it is boiling well Ill go to the center partition and drop a little food coloring in. Not a lot. just a speck then Ill watch and see if I have any color transfer. thru that little slit. I cannot get a business card in the slit and I think that it will fill up with crud. All that I will have to do is remember to do it.>>>>>>>>>>>>> peace maker . thanks for the offer Ill keep it in mind. I made a stop for you today and looked at a 2-1/2 x 8 small bros. Hasnt been used in a few years and the guy lost most of his trees to development. He dont want to sell. It kills me to see a usful piece of equipment sitting in a junk pile. -super sappy

[super sappy]

Went up to Nelsons a few weeks ago. I showed him that old tin I got for christmas. He was tickled and I took his picture holding it.He figures that he filled it in the late 50's or real early 60's. The picture will hang on my sugar house wall. I thought about stoping to say hi but I alwayse feel funny about stoping without a call first. Did you add taps this year? ............ Brandon - Id think that you would get a hardcover catalog. You have done alot of free advertising for them in the past and I am not sure but I think they printed a letter you wrote to them a few years ago in the catalog. I personally feel that they should send the new books out in sept that is when I start to get the fever each year. And then I can circle all the things that I want for christmas. -ss

[cropseyvillemark]

SS, Do you mean Nelson Greene? How is he these days?

[peacemaker]

thanks ss and please anyone else out there that might no of a set of pans or a whole rig please please let me know .. now back to this billy lets see a pic or something where did u get him when i had my goats one morning i get up and head up the the temp shack off the shop i satnd there and go wow i really boiled off alot over night my front pan had about a 1/2 inch of real thick syrup in it ... then i look goat tracks so i find bill walk around loose that stinky sucker broke out and drank the syrup right out of the pans his long beard was so crusted up and cruncy and he is still trying to lick it off he was something he could clear a 100 ft circle of rose bush and pucker bush in a half a day be so round he couldnt walk then get to the barn break the fence and eat all the to does grain plus his ..one time he broke out and back in the chicken coop what a mess chickens screaming at him eggs every where food gone man what a goat though electric fence was a toy to him a few friends would come over we would sit back drink beer and watch bill make a full of himself then i caught he would stand on the fence his whole body shake and he would let the ladies out then chase them all around the pasture all three still had horns and bill was massive we locked horns so many times and wrestle back to the barn but as mean as he was during a nice sunny day let the sun set and him be down in the woods tied clearing brush and he became a baby .. lol and if he was out and wouldnt let u catch him to walk him in grab a hose and he was in his house hidding in seconds ...lol or it rain while they where out lol... well i will look for pics of him and put one up... i have to say i dont miss bill but the ladies and the cheese and ice cream they made wow...maple goats milk icecream **** ...

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

SS,

They may have sent one and I hadn't gotten it yet due to being so much further south and the rest of you guys.

[Dave Y]

Dont feel bad Brandon, I havent gotten on yet either. Bascoms catolog just showed up yesterday. The only way I'll probably get a leader Catolog is become a dealer!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I sent them an email last night and Tammy sent me back an email this morning stating that they were in the process of mailing them out as they have mailed part of them, but not everyone on the customer list as the catalog was late in getting published this year.

[Lwood]

I was up to Nelson's the other day. He told me about you going up there with that can. That got us talking about all of the guy's around Hebron who used to sugar and Who were the first ones around running tubing ( Nelson ) and the first ones with RO ( Everett Gould ) of course none of the people we were talking about are with us anymore except for Nelson. We ended up shooting the s**t for about 3 hours.
I doubled the number of taps for this year that I had been running before. I'll have between 225 - 230 this year. 75% of those will be coming off of the hill and into a bulk tank right beside the saphouse ( bought one of the tanks that Massy Jack had). Installed a new tubing system this year, Replaced everything. Still have a few hundred that I can get and have tanks within 100 yards of the saphouse.
Your welcome to stop in any time. Don't feel you need to call.

[super sappy]

Yes Mark we had a great visit.Nelson said that he alwayse wanted to drive thru Granville with a bikini girl in a sap tank on the back of his truck. So to answer your question he is spry as ever...... Larry I thought I saw new tubing up on that hill. Halfway between your place and nelsons is a roll of 30p coiled up and hanging on a fence post, is someone going to use that it looks like it was there from last year. -ss

[super sappy]

hffghgfgjgjhgj

[Lwood]

SS - Bikini girl ... yup that's Nelson. That 30P on the post is on Sheldons. They used to boil in the saphouse on the farm before Nelsons but boil down Salem way now.