my oil drum evaporator need help

[maplejeff]

okay heat and boiling is not a problem the drum exspanding is the problem i just did my first boile for 2009 and it turned out bad i had abought 15 min of boiling and i would be able to draw off. but as i was geting around to draw of i happend to glans at the evaportor and seen that it only had a few seconds before the pan fell in. the drum its self. help me find a way to stop this problem. i lost approx 20 gal of realy good syrup. thanks jeff

[03weim]

try lining it with fire bricks I know it helped my old oil drum evap when it started to buckle from the heatI lined almost all the way to the pan by standing the bricks up on the sides but it was only a 30 gallon barrel

[Mac_Muz]

Kinda hard to say with out more text and or a picture. I take there is no cross strap welded, or angle iron bracing the pan..

My pan rests on 2 supports, so if the barrel became wider still the pan can't fall. Sucks you lost 20 gallons of syrup... ouch

[Jeff E]

I agree with these guys, combine the 2 for the best solution. Lining with fire brick though somewhat costly will save the arch and increase your efficency. Building a angle Iron frame with a cross support would keep the top of the arch rigid. I would put the cross support under the outer frame. The pan does not need to be supported by it and if it gets in contact and is not perfectly level with the rest of the frame, your pan may not sit well on the frame.

[ericjeeper]

I just used regular house bricks. They were free from a buddy. They seem to work fine so far.If they crumble he has plenty more he said.
You will need something to tie the two sides together. I made a frame around the top of mine out of 4x4 angle. It is pretty light gauge and has warped quite a bit.. Which is ok.. Next year I have dreams of having a nicer arch. This one was just a last minute effort to beat the season opener.

[03weim]

fire bricks aren't that much money around here they cost 1.35 each and after seeing a red house brick explode in a fire not crack or crumble I think a 1.35 is well worth the price just my 2cents

[smitty76]

I also agree with these guys. Cross supports are good but may not handle alot of wieght from the pan when they are hot(cherry red) but if they run from side to side and you have a fram around the top of the arch they will keep the arch from spreeding apart.

[Gary R]

If using a 275 gal. oil tank, it is a good idea to "pan" off the back 2/3 of the tank up to a few inches from the bottom of the evaporator pan. Meaning that you don't want all of that open area for a fire box. If you tack weld sheet metal inside the tank to "pan " it off it will hold the sides from bowing out.

[smitty76]

That is a good piont. It will also force the heat up to the bottom of the back pan and may be more efficient. It will help support the arch from spreading.

[KenWP]

It gets pretty hot in that arch even burning cedar like I have to do. I test fired mine the other day and I had a bunch of files I needed the temper taken out of and they were cherry red in minutes inside the arch.

[Mac_Muz]

KenWP, I know this will be off topic, but what are you cooking files for? To make knives?

[maplejeff]

around hear they are $5.00 abrick

[KenWP]

Of course to make knives. Trying to kill two birds with one stone. I am glad that I paid the extra bucks and insulated my evaporator. It is almost cool enough to hold my hand on at the sides.

[Mac_Muz]

KenWP, I figured. I just came by 3 files i plan to make knives from. I have been away from making knives a few years, but I plan to get back to it again.

I wonder where there is a place here to discuss off topic things? I discuss knife making at a site called The High Road under Non-Firearm Weapons.

I have a thread there called Something to Do, with one knife I made, and a few other projects. You would be welcome to join that thread if you wish.

All the time things pop up that are OT and I would like to talk about. It happens, so I hope i will be excused, since if i don't ash here right now the topic will slip away.

With that said, I wonder where the orginal poster slipped away too?

I am curious as to which fix works.

[maplejeff]

hey guys and gals i think i fixed the problem with the exspanding problem. i dug around the house and some farmers feeld and fownd some 1/4"x1"1/2 flat steel. and used it acrosst the top of the drum. (ran it the width of the drum) the pices of steel had a hole on each side and i whent to the local hardwhere store and bought 6 grde 8 bolts washers and nuts and put them in the ends of the flat steal. and sqweezed the sides together. pics coming soon.thanks guys and gals your info has been great. looking forwed for a run this week.thanks jeff veiw my pics http//s602photobuck.com/album hay i thought i would let all of you know that all of the info you all gave me was exselent help. and it was deeply appriceated. it still gets a little hot but not to hot to warp any thing.

[Mac_Muz]

Next time just use standard bolts... Grade 8 won't be after the first fire. That heat will either anneal the bolts or normalize them.

I am still curious about the flame burn patterns you get.

[BarrelBoiler]

got a question how much space should be between the pan and the fire brick i'm using an oil tank with a six inch stack also how thick sould the angle iron holding the pan be/ thanks for the info