DanielS.
03-15-2023, 01:24 PM
Hi folks,
Just getting ready to start pulling taps this year. Still lots of season left up here, but my day job has become so busy I just don't have time to boil anymore. I'm already wondering about next year, and thinking I should scale it back. With my day job, cattle, and other commitments, I just don't have the time to run the number of taps I'd like to.
I'm thinking about a smaller & simpler evaporator so I don't have to run enough taps to keep my old 3X14 Grimm covered. It would also be pretty handy to boil closer to home, rather than in the sugar house in the bush 40 minutes away from heat, power, the house, & family. There's a guy not far from me who makes smaller flued pans. Nothing fancy, but more than adequate for what I'm thinking. I'm thinking of getting one of his 20" x 36" drop-flue pans and making my own 20" x 12" cross-flow divided syrup pan (if I can convince my brother to give me back my TIG welder). I'd build an airtight arch for both, giving me a 20" x 48" evaporator. I figure it should be adequate to scale down to 40-80 taps: Just enough to have fun and give the kids some idea what it's all about. It would also allow me to tap in my small bush that's closer to home and boil in a 12' x 16' shed right next to the house. Any thoughts on this plan? I welcome any input. I work at a steel supply/fab company, so building the arch and syrup pan myself are no problem. The flued pan w/ float box looks like it'll run me about $1100 (Canadian).
Further to that, when I was looking at the flue pans he makes, I noticed that they're divided/continuous flow - much more so than you typically see. He has a divider on the top of every other flue. Can't remember for sure how many flues, but I think the sap does 5 passes to get across his 20" pan. All the major manufacturers only have one divider in the flue pan (at least with these smaller widths).
I got wondering why that is? Why don't folks like D&G, SL, Thor, etc., put more dividers in the flue pans and make the sap traverse a longer distance before hitting the syrup pan? Too hard to keep a continuous gradient with the uneven heat at the sides of the arch? I'm sure there's a reason, but can't really think what it would be. Any thoughts/speculation greatly appreciated.
Just getting ready to start pulling taps this year. Still lots of season left up here, but my day job has become so busy I just don't have time to boil anymore. I'm already wondering about next year, and thinking I should scale it back. With my day job, cattle, and other commitments, I just don't have the time to run the number of taps I'd like to.
I'm thinking about a smaller & simpler evaporator so I don't have to run enough taps to keep my old 3X14 Grimm covered. It would also be pretty handy to boil closer to home, rather than in the sugar house in the bush 40 minutes away from heat, power, the house, & family. There's a guy not far from me who makes smaller flued pans. Nothing fancy, but more than adequate for what I'm thinking. I'm thinking of getting one of his 20" x 36" drop-flue pans and making my own 20" x 12" cross-flow divided syrup pan (if I can convince my brother to give me back my TIG welder). I'd build an airtight arch for both, giving me a 20" x 48" evaporator. I figure it should be adequate to scale down to 40-80 taps: Just enough to have fun and give the kids some idea what it's all about. It would also allow me to tap in my small bush that's closer to home and boil in a 12' x 16' shed right next to the house. Any thoughts on this plan? I welcome any input. I work at a steel supply/fab company, so building the arch and syrup pan myself are no problem. The flued pan w/ float box looks like it'll run me about $1100 (Canadian).
Further to that, when I was looking at the flue pans he makes, I noticed that they're divided/continuous flow - much more so than you typically see. He has a divider on the top of every other flue. Can't remember for sure how many flues, but I think the sap does 5 passes to get across his 20" pan. All the major manufacturers only have one divider in the flue pan (at least with these smaller widths).
I got wondering why that is? Why don't folks like D&G, SL, Thor, etc., put more dividers in the flue pans and make the sap traverse a longer distance before hitting the syrup pan? Too hard to keep a continuous gradient with the uneven heat at the sides of the arch? I'm sure there's a reason, but can't really think what it would be. Any thoughts/speculation greatly appreciated.