Questions/comments on Patrick Phaneuf

[MapleME]

I had an opportunity to see one of Patricks 2x4's today. What a looker!
Beautiful carftsmanship and looked like a good unit for my small operation.

Whats the experience with his stuff from the group? Pros/cons etc? I really am looking for something used, but ****...this evap was REALLY nice looking. I cant vouch for how decent it works though because the season is long gone here in southern Maine.

I appreciate the assistance.

MapleME

[Fred Henderson]

I bought a 3x8 drop flue , reverse flow from him two years ago and his workmanship is super. I made 74 gals of syrup this season and I used 4-1/2 face cords of wood cut 18 inches. I don't know where he got the design but damm is that thing efficent.

[MapleME]

Fred, thanks a ton. Like I said I wouldnt know if it is efficient or not but **** it looked good. Great to hear it works too!

Maybe I will pony up the $$$ :)

Thanks!

[Maplepro]

I have bought some maple equipment from patrick the only fault i have found is he has to many irons in the fire both times my deadlines were missed by several months i didn't mind because they were before maple season but i would have been worried if it was near spring also his craftmenship and price made up for the time delays ( and i a don't think i am the only person that finds this) just my two cents worth i would buy from him again in a second!

[MapleME]

maplepro, This is the one thing I heard from the guy down here in Maine who's unit I saw today- he was unclear with his timeline and was about 6 months late with delivery.

I appreciate the feedback.

[DS Maple]

I'll admit that they look nice but I have heard some bad stories about them. In one example on a 2x6 he made a float with a hole in it, so obviously it didn't float very well, and the owner seemed to think the whole machine was terribly inefficient.
That was my only first hand experience with his products and the people who use them though. I have heard many good things about the products from people on this website who have no complaints other than his inability to make deadlines.

[MaplePancakeMan]

Patrick one is a stand up guy, nice and makes a really great quality product. He stands behind his equipment with a 100% lifetime guarantee, hes considerably cheaper than others new atleast when i bought mine. I have a 2x6 drop flue and i boil outside and i still got about 30 gph Evaporation rate and i think thats pretty awesome considering being outside.


He is late so don't be in a rush, he did give me a 5% discount because of the delay. I ordered in September and got it late Feb. RIGHT before maple season, i tapped the same day i got it! He wanted to stay and help me brick it because of the delay too but i told him not to worry(he got caught at customs and didn't get here til 1am) so i couldn't make him stay any longer.

Hands down, great guy.

[white mt]

Nice fellow have bought 2 rigs from him and a canner .he is very slow ,and he missed deadlines I was wondering if I would ever get my stuff , but in the end I did . It was worth the frustration in the end saved Alot of $ and its nice work.

[Grade "A"]

I'll admit that they look nice but I have heard some bad stories about them. In one example on a 2x6 he made a float with a hole in it, so obviously it didn't float very well, and the owner seemed to think the whole machine was terribly inefficient.
That was my only first hand experience with his products and the people who use them though. I have heard many good things about the products from people on this website who have no complaints other than his inability to make deadlines.

I think most floats have a pin hole on top so the don't blow up into a ball when they get hot. I am going to give a set of pans from him a try. He said I will have them in May, so hopefuly I will have them sometime this year. We will see.

[DS Maple]

The hole I speak of was in fact quite tiny, but it was also on the bottom of the float. Needless to say, the float would fill up with sap, sink and then flood the flue pan uncontrollably.

[Fred Henderson]

I ordered mine in May or June and never got it until Nov. His inability to meet deadlines may be the demise of his company. I was under ther impression that this year he was taking on some help. At least 2 people to help with building and bending.

[MapleME]

Thats really too bad because he can deliver them and everything to your door. I heard that he had issues with customs as well- I am just not sure I want to deal with a 6 month waiting period. The only thing I was thinking was maybe its a good excuse to go see his operation and make a vacation out of it..maybe that would speed up the process.

I dealt with a lot of people like this when I worked at Harvard. So many brilliant people but half of them couldnt get out of thier own way to get things accomplished. SO hired help was always the way out- You cant be the "idea man" at 50k feet up and also the person making the ideas reality. Rarely can one do both of those things very well, at the same time.


I ordered mine in May or June and never got it until Nov. His inability to meet deadlines may be the demise of his company. I was under ther impression that this year he was taking on some help. At least 2 people to help with building and bending.

[Fred Henderson]

He did have a very long delay at the border but it was someone at the head of the line. All his paper work was in order. He called me on his cellphone after he crossed as he was having trouble finding me after dark. I had to go get him and lead him in.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Ok, let's be reasonable here. Any equipment manufacture where US or Canada could make a float with a pin hole in it. Those things happen, sometimes is takes a little brains on the part of the producer to figure it out and it seems that some producers don't know how to think when it comes to making syrup.

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

dont know the man but seems like he does pretty good at reasonable prices. the being late would be scarey. i would not hang a man for a pin hole in a float

RICH

[Brent]

I got a 2x6 from him. It came about 2 weeks late and that left me behind in my set up for the season. I had nearly 200 gallons of sap in the tank when the evap showed up.

It looks great. I had a few thinks that need fix up. The doors needed a lot of grinding. When they got hot and expanded they would not clear each other. Also had a problem collecting condensation from the pre-heater and the hoods. He says he will come around in May and take care of it.

I made his new web site for him and he has not been particularly helpful getting descriptions and details of the stuff I posted there for him.

You can see it at www.maplesyrupevaporators.com and pictures of my rig at
www.duffyslanemaple.com

[Daren]

I ordered a 2x5 (18"syrup and 42" drop flue) from him last June and received it in December. I had hoped to brick it in the fall when it was still warm, but as others have posted, he was late. It was well worth the wait though because that shiney thing made my heart leap! Anyway, It boils like a champ. I was getting almost 30 gallons per hour with good wood and no pre-heater. The only problem I had was the doors not clearing when hot, just as posted in this thread earlier. I fixed that problem myself by drilling the hinge holes slightly larger on one door so that it could "jog" over a bit to clear the other. Did not have problems after that. I would buy from him over and over. Just give yourself extra lead time as he does have a hard time with meeting promised delivery dates.

[Brent]

As I mentioned in another thread, Patrick now has a design that will reverse the flow in the syrup pan without taking off and rotating the pan. No plugs, just change the position on 2 ball valves. I've ordered it. I'll put some pictures on my site and Patrick's when it gets here.