2x4 pan

[zippy1wood]

with a good boil does anyone know how many gallons of evap per hour are possible Thanks kevin

[Sugarmaster]

Do you want the rates for a woodfired evap?

[Clan Delaney]

A benchmark measurement I was given was this :

surface area of pan in square feet * .75 = gal/hr evaporation rate.

The guy I got this from swears by it, but there are plenty others who can show numbers proving they've achieved better from their setups. I'm not arguing with either. So, use it as a guideline. Assume your 2X4 is capable of at least (8 sq.ft. * .75)= 6 gal/hr. Get an efficient burn going in your arch and it could go up. Add a preheater and your overall rate will definitely go up.

[zippy1wood]

yes this is a wood fired with blower,oil tank with brick,havent fired it yet
thanks

[zippy1wood]

Thanks patrick for your info ,hey that fire fly looks cold you aota bring him in next to the fire

[Rockingham Maple]

The homemade 2x4 that I just finished tested at about 17 GPH using water. Here are some of the specs for it:

Pan/Hood
-2x4- 3 boiling sections, 1 for finishing out of 18 Ga. Stainless
-2x3 Aluminum Preheater hood with roughly 20 feet of 1/2" copper piping (heats to about 165 Deg.)

Arch
-Overall dimensions 27"H x 26"W x 58"L
-Burner: Becket AF w/ 1.5 GPH 80 deg. nozzle (safety eye bi-passed to run with the damper shut....shhhhhh!)
-6" pipe with damper
-Arch insulation is 2" ceramic blanket @ 8lb. density

I kind of like the size of the 2x4 and a very glad to see that it is able to even boil that much. Next year I will swap it out and make a copper pan and hope to be getting over 20 GPH.

I would say that the equation that Clan Delaney gave you should end up about perfect for your set up. My first evaporator sounds similar to yours but a foot smaller and the equation worked out perfect for that one on a good day.

I am sure you out there boiling away before too much longer anyway. Good Luck!

[Dill]

How many taps would a good rule of thumb be on a 2x4?
I don't want to get ahead of myself on the new rig and I'm not having good luck with the search feature.
Mine has a 1 peice pan with 2ftx2ft raised flue and 2x2 divded syurp pan.

[Jeff E]

I used to cook on a 2x4 flat, and could average about 10 g/h if I really tended it.

Preheating is a big advantage, as everytime I added sap I killed the boil for a couple minutes.
I did a max of maybe 75 taps with it. If the sap really ran, I had to really crank to keep from falling way behind.

[Dill]

I ran 10 gph on my homemade rig last year(avatar pic). Guess I did a better job of redneck engineering than I thought. Thinking about bending up a stainless preheater to sit on top of the rear of the fle pan. Since this doesn't have float boxes I'll have to have drip valves.

[brookledge]

Dill
The question is how many hours can you commit to boiling per day?
If you boil about 10 gal per hour and a good day gives you a gal of sap per tap. 50 taps would equal about 5 hrs.
Keith