New at sugaring for 09 need input

[captaincpfd]

New at sugaring this year thought it would be fun to do with my kids. Could anyone out there give me a cheap idea for a evaporator to build. I would surely be greatful for the plans. Have 64 tapps in right now may put another 40 in this weekend. thanks alot best season to all

[Dill]

64 is quite a bit of taps. But doable. Depends on how much you want to put into the operation. My brother inlaw boils on a flat pan suported by a couple of bricks over a small fire. I built an evaporator by cutting the top off a woodstove to fit a commerically made pan for last year. And one of my neighbors has a cement block arch with steam tray pans. Which is effective and not terribly expensive.

[davey]

a steam table pan on a gas grill with the grate removed works too

[captaincpfd]

I have a wood stove set up in my converted over sugarshack which measures 12"x24" can i use this if i remove the top so flame come in contact with my pan or dont i want that. thanks for your time sorry to trouble you

[Haynes Forest Products]

I think you need the flame to contact the pans. I have heard otherwise but I ask you this....doesnt your gas stove flame touch the pots and pans. MMMMMMMMM

[emo]

Steam table trays suspended between foundation block works well. 3 1/2 blocks long and about 1 1/2 blocks wide and you can suspend 3 full size trays. I can boil off about 2-2.5 gph. The trays are stainless steel and cost about $20 for each full size tray.

[NH Maplemaker]

If there is a wood floor in that shack! That may not work to well !
captaincpfd, Look under home made equipment! Then go down to home made hood plans. There are planes for home made evaporator there ! You would haft to get cracking !! I know were there is a 2/4 barrel stove evaporator being made right now with divided stainless pans and stainless stack that can be had shortly !! It is be made by a sheet metal guy who has been in the biz for 30 year and has made many different evaporators over the years!!

Jim L.

[Turtlecreek]

Captain,

I used a turkey fryer burner, and a old steam table pan from our fire house. I still use the turkey fryer but I have added another burner and use a old stainless steel sink with the drain welded shut for my pan. Total cost was under 75 bucks! I'm not sure how fast it will evaporate that much sap, just remember when things get going a good tap will yield somewhere around 2 gallons of sap a day, with the amout of taps you have out now my little set up would not be able to keep up, and not to mention the cost of the propane would be alot.

There are many books that you could get on the subject. The one that got me started was backyard surgering by Rink Mann. It is a really good book and explains how to do this hobby really cheap. Just be careful in this hobby anyone here (even the big guys) will tell you it is very adictive!!!

Good luck you are getting off on the right foot asking questions on here there is a lot of knowlege here. Don't be afraid to ask questions the guys on here will make this hobby easier and more enjoyable than goin it alone.

[Gary R]

Put the drill down Captain! A homemade rig will probably boil off 1-1 1/2 gal. per hour per square foot of pan. Even average running taps you won't keep up with the boiling. Think about how much you want to invest and how well you can fabricate. Propane would cost a fortune for that many taps. Check out old posts on homemade rigs. Build or buy if you can. If you can't, some steam table pans would work on your wood stove.

Good luck and have fun with the kids:)

[KenWP]

I hope you have insominia because you will have to be up late boiling. I plan on haveing 30 to 35 taps in and I figure it will take me 19 hours to boil down a gallon of syrup. Thats at 2.5 gallons a hour boil rate and I have read and redeisigned a evaportator since last fall to get to that point. I oringinally planned on useing a SS 2 quart pot untill I did the math and found out how frustrated I would get pretty soon.

[captaincpfd]

i plan on being up late at nights, my other half works overnights dont sleep well anyways. so it gives me and the kids something to do during the day together and at night i can boil my sugarshack not only 100ft from our house and thanks to all for the good input i always wanted to do this now i can and still be around the house.

[Dill]

I would hold off on those extra 40 taps till you see how whatever you end up using works. I hate dumping sap. But if you find you could use more taps its simple enough to add more, sounds like you have plenty of trees.

Just for reference on how I built last year's setup though. I found a 2x2 Grimm syrup pan that a co-worker had lying around his barn, and a 2x3 flat pan that my inlaws used a while back. Then I found a woodstove that fit the 2x2, and cut a 35 gallon barrel down to fit the flat pan and made up a jig to hold the flat pan in place. Rarely could I get a boil going in the flat pan, it was more of a big preheater. I did 35 taps on it, but at 10 gph it was a lot of time standing around, that 10 hrs of standing to boil down 100 gallons of sap.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd43/a-Dill/IMGP3142.jpg

[ericjeeper]

Others have said.. And I agree.. with 64 taps.. You are going to need more than a stewpot to even think of keeping up.
Have any welding and fabricating skills whatsoever?
Several good home made hillbilly rigs in the home made section to look over.

[3rdgen.maple]

What is cheap a few bucks? a few hundred bucks? Lots of decent used equipment out there. I kinda think with 64 taps and 40 more to come you just went above the cheap idea plan. Just for a refernce point a leader half pint is rated for 15 to 50 taps, leader wse 2x4 is rated for 50 to 100 taps. Check the classifieds on here, if you plan on more taps in the next few years (which you will) take that into consideration if you buy. Quick cheap and no sleep cut the top off that stove throw a pan on her and make some maple memories with the family.

[Turtlecreek]

Dill,

Now that is an interesting rig. This site if full of odd stuff but that one takes it.

[Dill]

Hey it's all scrounged or traded for, less than 100 bucks of folding money in that. I didn't start building it till 2 weeks into the season and still made 8 gallons on 30 taps.

[PATheron]

I did syrup for most of 20 years with a homeade 2 by 6 basically flat pan on a fuel tank arch. No brick or anything, just sand ramped up in the bottom. Usually ran better part of a 100 taps or maybe sometimes more. Your glad when season is over. Id boil hard all evening and I could boil about a 55 gallon drum of sap. Stoke it up and fill sap to top go to bed. Get up every couple hours and stoke the heck out of it. Stoke it go to work. On and on and on. Every couple days take some syrup off. Dark stuff but always tasted real good. Make give or take 20 gallons or more. Lot of work. Theron

[Haynes Forest Products]

Dill I would sleep better at night knowing you had a leg under the flue end of that rig. I do miss the homemade rigs I think we had more laughs drinking beer out side in the cold pushing each other in the snow banks fighting to ride in the truck to get sap.
I want to see that tracter bucket with a flue pipe cut into it and made into a removable steam hood. Wont blow off.

[Dill]

I think that rig is retired for the year. I have the new 2x4 in its place. However maybe I can run them in tandem. There was quite a bit of weight with the stove being all bricked that I never did get around to welding on a leg. As you can tell I had more bed rails available. Building that was as much fun as using it, a buddy and I did it, making it up as we went. Not bad for 2 guys who hadn't done it before. We call it the helicopter, if you saw it without the flu pan you'd know why.

[Clan Delaney]

Captain-

Last season I used 3 propane turkey fryers to make 9 gallons of syrup from only 18 taps. It cost me $23.77 in propane for every gallon of syrup I made. I was still able to sell it and make a little, but that up front cost for the fuel was killer. I only got a little over 1 gal/hr evap rate from each burner, and with 60 something taps, you'd need more than 3 burners to keep up with all that sap.

[captaincpfd]

looks like i'm gonna build one out of a 275 tank for now going to get fire brick tomorrow and door for front gonna have a flat pan made to fix here in town by a local welder. Cant wait to get it completed that will be next weeks project for me. Sap not running yet ran a little yesterday to cold now only 29 out today and say most of this week. Not good but good if you know what i mean. thanks for all of the good info from everyone on here but still could use more info on the whole boiling thing.


___________________________________
64 tapps on pails
1 four wheeler and trailer
4 kids
alot of will power to suceed
10x14 maple shack

[3rdgen.maple]

Captain where is crown point? If you are anywheres near me you are more than welcome to come visit when we are boiling. If your not Im sure somebody here on the trader is that would welcome the visit. After all we are here to help each other out.

[captaincpfd]

Captain where is crown point? If you are anywheres near me you are more than welcome to come visit when we are boiling. If your not Im sure somebody here on the trader is that would welcome the visit. After all we are here to help each other out.

Thanks for the invite i'm about 100miles north of Albany. Crown point falls on the shores of lake champlain. Well Ticonderoga is 10 miles to the south in new york of chores. Well thanks again and by the way where are you located out western ny.

[Gary R]

Captain,

Great move! Try make the pan as big as you can. If you have 100+ taps you'll want it. Depending on how elaborate you make it, you could have $500 - $1000 wrapped up into the entire rig. It seems like alot but you could have double the boiling capacity of a half pint evaporator. A couple of years selling your extra syrup and it's all paid for:) As 3rdgen mentioned, try find a local backyarder. Check out there operation for ideas. Most likely they'll show you the ins and out of the process.

Sap will be running big time soon! Have fun with the kids on this great experience.

[captaincpfd]

Captain,

Great move! Try make the pan as big as you can. If you have 100+ taps you'll want it. Depending on how elaborate you make it, you could have $500 - $1000 wrapped up into the entire rig. It seems like alot but you could have double the boiling capacity of a half pint evaporator. A couple of years selling your extra syrup and it's all paid for:) As 3rdgen mentioned, try find a local backyarder. Check out there operation for ideas. Most likely they'll show you the ins and out of the process.

Sap will be running big time soon! Have fun with the kids on this great experience.

Thanks for the positive feedback gonna go get fire brick today and a door.Would you say to install a positive force air into i could asking what others think. Kids cant wait to gather sap and bring it into the sugarshack. You guys are awsome on here with all the info you have. thanks a million chad

[Mac_Muz]

WOW, and welcome abord.. I know exactly where Crown Point is, as I am one of them nasty old French and Indian War re-enactors.. who come like tourists and clogg the roads with traffic.

For anyone wanting to know just look at a map and follow the lake nawth to the first big bridge going over to Vt. and that's Crown Point on the NY side.

captaincpfd, just for grins see my thread in this home made room to sap seeker. That little foot warmer of a stove will never do for 64+ taps in a life time. It just won't. Sap can spoil, fermenting in the barrel in time. Keep it cold.

My home made rig is as simple as it gets, and will boil 5 maybe 6 gallons an hour.

I don't know but maybe here is the place for me to ask...... ???

My pan fits snuggly to a 55 gallon barrel 21" wide x 33 3/4" long, a 6 inches deep to the top of the sides.

I run 5 inches of sap and can make it boil like mad over the entire pan.

The question: If I ran a less level would the sap boil any faster, meaning would a lower lever speed the process?

captaincpfd, maybe you will find this interesting. I find this size pan with 5 gallons of sap in it will raise the sap depth to 1 inch from dead dry.

Last year I had just 15 taps out and was left wanting for more sap. In all I made just over 3 gallons, maybe it was 3.5 gallons but I pittered around some some trying to make candy from the last batch. That was all wrong. The first batch is where to make candy.

It looks about like I matched Dill but just half with half his amount of taps..

last year wasn't a good year for sap in NH at least in my area.. and I have gone up to 23 taps for this year, and might have gone up a little more, but I don't have buckets enough currenty. I am none to sure that would be a wise idea.

I have a buddy who makes 1- 1.5 gallons a year on a stove like you wanted to use... That takes his a few days.. That little stove just won't due.

[Dill]

One thing I wanted to mention on the pan, put in at least 1 divider for rigidity also you'll want a drawoff, I know some people who pull the pan and dump the whole thing. Its not easy and its dangerous with boiling sap.

[Gary R]

captain, if you want to read about forced air, look at the thread that say's "wood stove efficiency" It talks about forced air the right way. I would look to add it next year. There's a lot of of piping involed.

Mac Muz, the shallower you run the sap, the better evaporation you have. The more sap the "steam bubble" has to go through, the less steam released.

Happy boiling!

[KenWP]

When I first thought of the brilliant idea to tap my trees around this place I emailed one of the suppliers that had used pans looking for prices. I told them I had 30 trees to tap and they gave me a price for a pan and I figured they were crazy untill I actually figured out how long it would take to boil the sap from 30 trees using a stock pot with a total surface of less then a square foot. I am thinking that they were not as crazy as I first figured. This will be my first season and hopefully I don't get to frustrated standing out in the darm feeding a fire watching water boil and boil.

[Mac_Muz]

I don't want to get OT or steal this thread, but Gary I can make this 21x34 3/4 x 6 pan with 5 inches of sap boil all over like mad.

So how do I figure out what sap level measured in inches will steam off the fastest?

With 5 inches it does 5 gallons maybe better per hour. Speeding this up sure isn't a bad idea.

[Haynes Forest Products]

KenWP: What is a darm ? If your out side watching water boil you taped the wrong type of tree.

[KenWP]

Yard. Well its basically water I have to boil for hours untill it becomes syrup.

[Gary R]

As shallow as you dare. 1 - 2 inches should be safe. Check out this link, it explains evaporation.

http://www.goshen.edu/merrylea/sugar/physics.htm

[captaincpfd]

As shallow as you dare. 1 - 2 inches should be safe. Check out this link, it explains evaporation.

http://www.goshen.edu/merrylea/sugar/physics.htm

Thank that site had alot of info for me new at this in all I like what everyone on here is doing for me. I hope someday i will be able to return the favor to someone else out there. thanks again chad wish the warm weather would get here getting a snow storm right now up to 8 inches their saying.

[Mac_Muz]

Gary thanks, I'll try 2 inches and time that to 1 inch, before adding any, as a test then the pre heater can get set up to spit boiling in the tubing as a method to add more sap.

2 inches in my pan is just 10 gallons... I am so small I just do batches, which is pretty much starting with 40 gallons or a bit more and doing it up in a day.

It would be nice if the 2 inches would speed things up to 6 to 7 gallons an hour, but only testing will determine that.

[emo]

I use a standaed soup ladel to transfer between steam trays. I keep the sap just deeper than the ladle, fairly easy to keep them at a boil.

[captaincpfd]

New at sugaring this year thought it would be fun to do with my kids. Could anyone out there give me a cheap idea for a evaporator to build. I would surely be greatful for the plans. Have 64 tapps in right now may put another 40 in this weekend. thanks alot best season to all

Hello to everyone i purchased a evaportar yesterday from a gentlemen in
conn. Got a good deal put it in place today and getting it ready for thursday and friday looking at weather they should be two good days in my are getting up too the lower 40's then turning colder again for a few day. How its time to learn on the boiling of sap to syrup. thanks again for the help still like hearing from everyone.

[Dill]

Well....what did you buy, we crave details.

[captaincpfd]

Well....what did you buy, we crave details.

I bought a G.H. Grimm from a family in conn the husband bought it last year for this year and passed away before getting to use it. Got a good deal 500 for it. I know its small but i figured it would let me get my feet wet this year and i could upgrade next year. It has a 2x3 pan with 4 dividers and a preheater pan 2'x8" with the arch also got it into place to hoping for a few good days now to try it out. Looking good for the next few day and then the end of next week. chad

[MFarmall]

Chad, sounds like got a real good deal on your evaporator. Hope you get to get it full of sap soon.
Mel

[captaincpfd]

Chad, sounds like got a real good deal on your evaporator. Hope you get to get it full of sap soon.
Mel

I looked around and explored my choses this looked like the best route for now with money i had to work with. with 4 kids not to much extra of that kicking around right now. So i had that emailed to me and i jumped on it 8 hour round trip by myself but in the long run it was well worth it. I'm so happy to have it i know its small but, its a starting point at this time and i'm not working off a 1x2 woodstove which i would had to do. Cant wait to get boiling the kids cant either asking when can we go gather sap. Hopefully in the next few days it looks good. thanks alot i will put pics on maybe tomorrow if my setup i have now. so all can see!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

[Gary R]

Chad, that is a great deal. It's sap running time and that will get you going soon. If you stick with your 64 taps, you'll be boiling alot but should make 15 gal. of syrup. Do a test fire with water so you can get the hang of firing it.

Good luck

[Jim Brown]

GaryR did you get that new pre-heater built yet?

Jim

[captaincpfd]

Chad, that is a great deal. It's sap running time and that will get you going soon. If you stick with your 64 taps, you'll be boiling alot but should make 15 gal. of syrup. Do a test fire with water so you can get the hang of firing it.

Good luck

Ya i'm sure glad i got one and yes i put 15 gallons of water in it and 5 in the preheater and fired it up made sure it was level and everything worked fine. I will put pics on soon of it. thanks again for everything chad

[Turtlecreek]

Wow you stole that thing. It seems like a real good deal. 8 hours round trip is a long ride but it sounds like its worth it. Did the arch come with it? I'll run into a deal like that some time then I'll have me one!

[captaincpfd]

Wow you stole that thing. It seems like a real good deal. 8 hours round trip is a long ride but it sounds like its worth it. Did the arch come with it? I'll run into a deal like that some time then I'll have me one!

Yes the arch was included, I got it all for 500.oo and i could not pass it up i felt i wouldnt find a better deal than this. chad