pre-heater help

[slammer3364]

I have a 18x48 dominoin and grimm hobby evaporator. I have a 16x24 stainless pan we boiled on last year,I put a valve on it and placed it on the evaporator,as my pre-heat heated the sap great but Im concerned about losing the one foot of opening on the evaporator , although it looked like we had agood boil under it. Any suggestions on maybe making an 8 inch box to put on or do you think we are not losing much with this system.The advice has been great from fellow syrupers,and someday I hope I can help somebody out.. Thanks alot Slammer

[Haynes Forest Products]

Slammer every time you ask a question your helping someone with the same ideas. Im a little confused but thats just me. Are you worried about the pan covering the flue pan? If the preheater is covering.....NOT BLOCKING part of the sap/flue pan thats not going to hurt a thing. Steam will get pushed out the opening. The steam gets pushed out by other steam being produced. I would only worry about condensate that collects on the preheater and drops back into the boiling sap and then has to be reboiled into steam. Is that the question?

[slammer3364]

No I was worried about blocking off to much of my Sap Pan, we boiled yesterday,and had no trouble with condensation on bottom of pre-heat pan ,Thanks for your reply,cold here today and this week coming hopefully by the weekend or next week the sap will flow. Tanks again

[KenWP]

How are you guys attaching copper tubing to these SS pots buy the way. I want to do that or attach tubeing to a roaster if possible. Do they make any kind of screw on gizmo that one does not have to figure out how to solder or weld.

[Haynes Forest Products]

The problem with any bulkhead fitting is you need a flat surface to apply it to. One of the most frustrating thing is to get a good seal on a round surface. You can flatten a part of the side of the pan but you end up about 2" up on the side leaving alot in the pot during drawoff. A stainless nipple is the best way to go you can custom fit it to the lowest point on a SS pot. Trying too find an aluminum fitting and then getting it welded. I think SS is the way to go.
If you decide that all you can do is screw some sort of fitting into the side of the tank then try this. take a ball valve and screw the shortest nipple into it find or make 2 large washers that slide over the nipple install one on the nipple then rubber washer put thru hole in tank another rubber washer then metal washer and then a coupler squish the rubber washers down till they seal. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN. You only want them tight not to the point that the rubber under heat pushes out of the washers causing a leak. It sounds like your in the sticks so these items can be easy to find.

[Turtlecreek]

Slammer where are you in central pa? I'm in lewisburg, just looking for someone in the local area, I seem to be going it alone around here.

[birdmancf]

Ken,
This was posted in another thread....any help to what you're asking about?
http://www.homebrewery.com/beer/beer-valves-fittings.shtml

It's from a home brewery store.
Chris

[KenWP]

Thats what I was looking for.

[KenWP]

I tried Haynes's idea to put a tap in a SS pot. Seems to have worked out okay. I wanted it to dribble sap in my pan as it boils instead of dumping liquid in all at once like I did in the test boil. You have to dump small amounts to not kill the boil.

[tessiersfarm]

I have tried the bulkhead fitting from homebrew supply and I have tried the nipple and coupling idea. Both worked equally well and the nipple and coupling was much cheaper and I got the parts at a local plumbing supply store.

[slammer3364]

I am in St. Marys Pa. I have a friend who has been doing it for a while he has 330 taps on a 2x6 Good Luck and get back in touch Slammer