Advice for 1st year on wood evap

[MapleME]

Well, im not new to the syrup process- been on propane but this year I am looking forward to using my WF Mason 2x6 wood fired evap. Its a simple, 2x6 flat pan rig-should be great for my purposes.

I dont need to be schooled necessarily in the syrup making process- BUT, all of those tricks of tips you have picked up on the way while boiling on a wood fired evap- let em rip.

Im learning this as I go, which has been one helluva fun thing.

MapleME

[Flat47]

I was taught "low, light, and level" and it's worked well for me.

Low is relative, because you need to heat the front and back of the evaporator. But, there no need to fill the firebox right up the pans. You gotta find that sweet spot.

Light is the flame color and smoke color. Hotter is lighter in flame color and smoke color. A smoldering fire gives dark flame and dark smoke.

Level: you want the fire in the firebox level. Over-loading one side may result in hotspots on the pan which could result in a burnt pan.

[Bucket Head]

MapleME,

Just make sure your wood is dry. I mean bone dry. Dry as in when you hit two pieces together, they make a "clink, clink, clink" sound. Hit a couple of wooden basebll bats together. Thats the sound of good dry wood.

You'll be shooting yourself in the foot, so to speak, if you use wood that is not fully seasoned. Even wood that you think is pretty dry but is a little damp won't burn the way it should.

Also, make sure your wood is split "small". They recomend pieces no bigger than your wrist. Smaller pieces ignite quicker and burn faster/hotter.

Thats a nice looking evaporator, good luck with it.

Steve

[3rdgen.maple]

Good advice so far. Watch the clock better yet set a timer you can keep a hotter fire by getting a good base of wood and add less wood more often than more wood less often. Don't let that fire die down. I think I was loading every 6 minutes last year on our 2x6 flat pan. That was the only way to keep her boiling front to back. Got a new 2x6 drop flue this year and will be doing the same thing. DING load wood nap six minutes DING load wood. I also mix DRY hardwoods with the softwoods when loading.

[3rdgen.maple]

OH yea I also load the wood so it looks like layers of lattice. Slight angle one way, next layer a slight angle the other way. I think it gets better air circulation and burns hotter. I could be wrong but with years of experimenting This keeps her boiling better than any other way I have tried. Did anyone mention DRY wood?

[Haynes Forest Products]

I would put that rig up on blocks, longer legs something so your not bent over all the time during firing or just looking at it. Its like the front loader washers and dryers. Comfort is important Good luck and have fun.

[michiganfarmer]

Lots of good advice so far. specially the "stak the wood like a lattice". I came home one day after work, and dad was complaining that it wouldnt boil. He had the fire box FULL of coals, and wood. Right up to the pans,lol. The fire was choked to death. I took me an hour to let it burn down, scrape the ashes down through the grates, and get a hot fire ging again.

Less wood more often keeps lots of oxygen to the fire. To much wood, and it wont burn as hot. Also, I try to get some scraps of kiln dried wood from a cabinet shop, and mix that in with the fire wood. It REALLY helps boost the heat. Keep your grates clean of ash build up so the fire can breath.

[cheesegenie]

Just a bit, but if you use pallets make sure they have no chemicals on them,
some are treated now when coming in from other countries, and will flavour
the syrup.

[KenWP]

Most of my wood I am planning to use is cedar and spruce and hemlock. I had to cut up cords of little trees last summer to open up the maples. I hope it burns slow enough that I don't have to put a hopper on the fire box to keep the fire going hot enough. I don't even have to split it as they were all 2 and 3 inch trees almost.

[maple flats]

I don't like leaving many round, they don't seem to dry as well unless you give them an extra year. I split everything over about 2" at least once. On bigger wood I keep one demension at about 2" the other can go to about 5, over that I split again. The hemlock will burn well if you have a split piece, I burn lots of it in slab as i have a sawmill, but I don't get good burn for whole pieces if the still have intact bark. As in most evergreens they have a built in retardent to protect them from forest fires. Split once to get the inner wood and it burns good, even if there is bark on the outside.

[maple flats]

The same built in fire retardent holds true for spruce, scotch pine (or scots pine as some call it), and red pine. These are the only ones i have burned as best i can remember.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Remember there is a differance between wet wood and green/unseasoned wood. Im not saying wet wood is ok its quick to dry out in the sap shack or under a roof. I think the 2x4 size is better with that size fire box. Flames out the flue pipe look cool but dont really help the boil.

[mfchef54]

cheesegenie,
have used mostly pallets for boiling purposes. I started on blocks with steamtable pans. Although I was very concern about breathing the smoke, I never found, nor did my customers complain about it tasting off. I think it has to do with the steam coming off the pans and pushing the smoke away from the syrup. jmho.