Condensation Question

[Paul01036]

Good afternoon,

I have a hobby set up that consists of a 2 x 4 Smokey Lake propane evaporator. I have a hood system to evacuate any steam that works quite well with one exception. the condensation that builds up and drips off the hood vents is quite heavy.

the hood has two conduits one on each side of the shed have power blowers installed as well to help pull the steam out. The exterior vents on the shed may be a little restrictive so I am thinking this is the reason why I am having so much condensation build up??

Remove the standard exterior vents and replace them with screen or insulate the 12" conduits going out each side of the shed.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[30AcreWoods]

To clarify, how do your steam vents terminate? Do you have steam stacks that protrude through the roof of your shed, Or do the vents terminate inside your shed and then the steam must find its way through wall vents in your shed? I have no doubt you are getting really nice evaporation with your setup. Most of us with hoods have steam traps inside the hood on its apron which drain into tubes that funnel the water outside the hood into buckets (its handy to have hot water in the sugar house). The remaining steam that condenses at the roof penetration simply drips off the vent "hat" and down the roofing like rain would. If you can, I would suggest going vertical with your hood vents, using roof jacks for the penetration and keeping it a closed system.

[bmbmkr]

I can't get pics to upload, but I made my steam hood for my 2x6. it has 2" wide, 2" deep gutters all around the inside perimeter. In the back corner, I drilled a hole with a step bit, then put a 1/2" NPT stainless bulkhead fitting through, I attached a 1/2" elbow and a hose barb. A piece of 1/2" silicone tubing and the hot condensate runs into a stock pot. I bought 20 and 24 ga SS sheet from a local steel & fab shop. Cut it with a side grinder & SS cut off discs. My cousin has a big metal brake, we bent up the gutters, and the top for the hood. My wife tig welded the corners, and I fastened the gutters to the hood with #8 SS machine screws.

[30AcreWoods]

That all sounds great. Is the issue your vent stacks? I guess I'd have to see that part of things to figure out what might help with the condensation you mention.

[Paul01036]

thank you BMBMKR and 30AcreWoods, I think I should have been more clear and provided more information. On each side of the shed there are what I would call your standard 10 x 12 gable vents. By hood vents tie into these from the inside and just about 12/16 inches from the gable vents I have two blowers that draw the steam from the hood and blow it outside. the hood itself works great and I do get a fair amount of steam exiting the shed but I wonder if would be better if there was less restriction from the design of the gable vents

the condensation really is from the ventilation pipes at and more heavy from around the fan motors themselves. I do have a vent stack that goes horizontally through the wall and then vertically beyond the room, this is to remove the exhaust from the evaporator itself.

I hope I am providing a better description of my configuration.

[30AcreWoods]

Ah, so is it safe to assume that you cannot go vertical with your steam vents (through the roof)? If that is the case, I would suggest you retrofit your gables to pass your steam stacks through them directly to the outside, turn up with a 90-degree sweep and a top hat and buy some inline duct fans. That will cure your condensate problem and likely improve your evaporation rate at the same time.