What's the exact width of your 2' pans?

[jungmaria]

What's the exact width of your 2' wide pan? My new D&G pans arrived last night (a month late). 2x6' raised flu sap pan and 2x2 syrup pan. Using them on an old 2x8 arch which I rebuilt and insulated the heck out of. And much to my (and the sales rep's) surprise, the pans don't fit! Apparently a 2' wide pan is actually only 23" wide. So with my 22 3/4" opening, only have 1/8" teetering on each side. Doing some modifications to the arch this morning so we can boil, but even the rep seemed confused by this. Is this now the norm? Interestingly the newer 2x2 CDL syrup pan that was being used on it fits just fine!

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

My Smoky Lake pans are true to size. 24" wide by whatever the length is. I just have a small overlap on my evaporator for the pans to sit on. Hopefully someone with some DG experience can chime in but im assuming they are just listing nominal sizes and the pans are made to fit their evaporator.

[Bucket Head]

A month late and not to size! Wow. That's a shame. I would be having a long and unpleasant talk with the rep. and D&G right now if it were me. You didn't buy a 2x4 from the lumber store, you bought a two foot wide pan to fit a two foot wide arch. I'm glad your modifying so you can at least use it. But with that said, D&G has some explaining to do. And the rep should be talking to somebody right now about another pan- one that is correctly sized!
Please share what D&G has to say on this.
Good luck with whatever the resolution is.

Steve

[jungmaria]

So here’s what the rep now says “ Well they’re standard for the arches that the manufacturer makes to fit these pans. The arch is 24” outside width but the pans are slightly narrower.”
It’s a bit complicated as it’s an operation with neighbours. I own the sugar shack and arch and a neighbour was buying the pans so they’ve been the ones dealing with D&G. And I guess they’re willing to live with it. Meanwhile I’ve been coming up with lots of new meanings for the initials D&G!

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

So here’s what the rep now says “ Well they’re standard for the arches that the manufacturer makes to fit these pans. The arch is 24” outside width but the pans are slightly narrower.”
It’s a bit complicated as it’s an operation with neighbours. I own the sugar shack and arch and a neighbour was buying the pans so they’ve been the ones dealing with D&G. And I guess they’re willing to live with it. Meanwhile I’ve been coming up with lots of new meanings for the initials D&G!

Sorry to hear that. I deal with a lot of manufacturers at work and I'm not surprised with their response at all. Do you have any thoughts on how to narrow the evaporator to fit the pan (assuming you aren't sending them back haha). I know on my homemade oil tank arch i would just weld a 1/2" longer piece of flat stock where my pan gaskets are to account for the 1" size difference. Example my top frame is 2x2 angle iron so i would get some 2.5" flat stock and weld it flat on top. I would recommend extending the insulation out to cover that .5" gap if possible as my original design had about 1" of overhang and it started warping the top frame till i added an extra inch of ceramic.

[ecp]

I think for the most part all the big companies are a 1/2'' undersized on the pan size. Example my 5-foot wide (CDL) evap the pans are 59.5'' wide.

[jungmaria]

Sorry to hear that. I deal with a lot of manufacturers at work and I'm not surprised with their response at all. Do you have any thoughts on how to narrow the evaporator to fit the pan (assuming you aren't sending them back haha). I know on my homemade oil tank arch i would just weld a 1/2" longer piece of flat stock where my pan gaskets are to account for the 1" size difference. Example my top frame is 2x2 angle iron so i would get some 2.5" flat stock and weld it flat on top. I would recommend extending the insulation out to cover that .5" gap if possible as my original design had about 1" of overhang and it started warping the top frame till i added an extra inch of ceramic.

Yeah that's exactly what we did. Basically welded a frame and hooked it to the sides of the arch since moving the arch or the welder isn't easy and caulked it with heat caulk to get us boiling. May weld it in the off season. And then realized it had probably raised the pan too high for the insulation so we're topping up the insulation today. Hadn't thought about extending it out. Thanks!

[jungmaria]

I think for the most part all the big companies are a 1/2'' undersized on the pan size. Example my 5-foot wide (CDL) evap the pans are 59.5'' wide.
Thanks, that's what I was wondering. Would've been fine with a 1/2" but 1" was too much. Since all our other pans have been 24" exactly it came as a surprise!

[berkshires]

My Mason 2x3 XL pan is exactly 2x3. Yet another reason to appreciate Mason's work. I've been very happy with the pan and evaporator I bought from him.

GO

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Just checked the pans our Darveau evaporator and exactly 2x2. Sounds like some bean counter at D&G saving on steel :lol:

[SeanD]

Phaneuf pans, here. Exactly 24". Sorry for your mishap. I'm wondering, since it was someone else dealing with the pan order, if that info wasn't shared or advertised and they just missed it. It seems like the company would (or should) note a nominal dimension vs. actual somewhere on their catalogue page.

[maple flats]

My new A&A 2x6 measures 24" wide x 24" long on the syrup pan and 24" x 48" long on the flue raised flue pan.
I ran into the same issue on my 3x8 arch when I ordered new pans from Thor, in Quebec. The arch was a grim designed for a 3x8 evaporator, so I thought. When I got my new pans they wouldn't fit, mostly in length. Then I measured the new pans, as ordered the syrup pan was 36 wide x 36 long and the flue pan was 36x60. By that time I had sold the old pans so I didn't have their sizes, but with the old pans (Leader) the 2 fit, with about 1/4" extra in front, a 1" thick insulation gasket between the pans and 1/4-3/8" space before a raised lip on the base stack support plate. The new pans combined were 1.5" too long with a 3/8" thick insulating gasket between the 2 pans.
I had to remove the cast iron base stack support with the oval opening to support the base stack. I then made a new one using 3/8" thick steel and made it shorter in length (front to back of the arch) while making the oval cut out to accomodate the base stack.
Had leader not cheated on the pan sizes that would not have been necessary. I just went by the sizes stated on the tags on the original pans. Since then every mjor manufacturer's pan I've ever measured was not labeled accurately while those made by other manufacturers were all correct. I think it's a cheating game the big guys sell by, all a lie. I do have a 2x6 finisher by Leader, it's 3/4" narrow and 1.5" short, but the arch is by someone else, I only have barely over 1/4" overlap in width on each side and maybe 1/2" over lap on the length. That works OK, but I need to be extra careful to make sure the pan is not leaving a gap on any side or end. Since I use a ratchet strap suspended from a timber above the pan to lift the pan when I'm draining the last of the syrup in it, I need to check as I lower the pan back down, it always shifts some.

[tcross]

i run a 30" x 8' raised flue rig from Thor and mine are 30" wide exactly.

[johnallin]

I'd have been a bit more detail oriented when placing an order for pans to fit another mfg's, or a home-built arch.
Why risk that 2x4 is the actual size when a simple question would eliminate any confusion?
I just don't see a reason to bash a company because you made an assumption...old school thinking says measure twice -cut once.