Spot Welding Dividers?

[SeanD]

My flat pan is not very flat on the bottom anymore so my welding instructor thinks the best bet is to put 1" tabs on the bottom and sides of my new dividers and spot weld them into place.

I could try to keep the welds close together, but it won't be water tight. I know some of you have tacked dividers in place and I was wondering how it has worked out with the channels mixing or if it is not a major problem.

The other question I had was about cleaning. Will the tabs create places for dirt and other not so fun things to collect or does the cleaner get in there and wash it out?

Thanks,
Sean

[WF MASON]

Make your dividers with a 1" ninty degree bend on the top and bottom of the divider(opposite directions), clamp your pan to the bench , mark where the dividers go, then clamp the divider down into the pan flattening the bottom on the bench.Tac in place,tap each tac with a hammer to seal complete, tac the ends of partition in place before removing clamps , if your instructor is good he'll have every pipe clamp and aluminum bar in the class on your bench to do this.
Any leaking at the bottom joint will be sealed by crap on your secound boil, sap seeks the easest path to flow and its not under that partition.

[SeanD]

Great. Thanks for the advice!

I was going to fold the top inch of the divider all the way over (180) to give it a little more rigidity and leave a smooth edge. Am I leaving the top at a ninety to give the clamp a place to grab on or is it going to stay like that?

Thanks,
Sean

[hanson]

Our pan the dividers are just bent on the top. The dividers are just welded every 1 1/2" - 2" We don't have any problem with the sap mixing.

[Mac_Muz]

I wish I turned the top edge, but failed to do anything with it.. Too late now.

I did turn out the bottom and tack welded the dividers and soldered them after. I did weld the corners, but soldered over the welds, which makes cleaning them easier, because they are smoother.

Soldering in a stainless pan won't be easy if yours is.. Mine is mild steel.

Pan welding is a pain, since you need to tack it and move to some place else, and you end up tacking one tach and another all over to get a seal, other wise the heat will bend everthing.

[PARKER MAPLE]

Is There Any Special Solder And Flaux You Need To Use??

[maple flats]

Yes, Bascom's has both

[maple flats]

Or use silver solder, a soldering IRON and sal ammoniac to make the iron so it will tin. Then use a flux labeled for SS

[Mac_Muz]

Are you going to try soldering on stainless steel? This is much harder to do neatly than mild steel.

If so you will need about 20 cheap acid brushes common in any hardware store. These have a hollow metal handle and natural bristel so it won't melt. You will use it to paint and smudge the solder around as you heat with a plumbers torch.

Lead free solder is one thing to check for as no one in their right mind wants lead solder for use when it is a food anymore.

On occasions you will need to clean up the black oxides that appear as the work progresses, other wise the mess creates a situation where the solder won't flow well and won't stick to much of anything well. While my pan is mild steel, the welds are all stainless. I didn't want the welds to be where any rust started.

[SeanD]

I got the dividers welded into place. Using the spot welder did the trick. That thing rocks. Having all those brakes and clamps around made it a snap, too. it may not be officially water tight, but it's about as close as I'm going to get.

Now for the next task. I want to add stainless couplings with female threads for drawing off and pulling sap in from the back pan. Lowe's did not have anything in stainless. I'm assuming a plumbing supply house is my best bet?

What size should I use 1/2" I.D.? It's a 2x3 and it will be the front end of a 2x6. I'm going to try to get as close to the bottom of the pan as possible. Is there a recommended distance from the back and front of the pan? Should I just try to get as close as I can?

Thanks in advance,
Sean

[WF MASON]

If you want to plumb it in stainless , get two 1" half couplins , 2-1" street elbows, 2-1" close nipples, 1-1" union, all in 304 stainless, thread it union-nipple-elbow-couplin on each side of the union, once you make up the fitting place your pans togeather , mark where the outside of the two couplins set on each pan, punch your holes smaller than that.
If you want to plumb it connected with hose, use two couplins , two nipples welded inside of thin wall tube on one end, the tube has been cut 45 to make an elbow(you need two), weld it , thread into couplin, one for each pan , leave 1/2" space between tubes, make sure you have connection hose that will fit the tube first.

[SeanD]

I have to admit, I'm a little lost. It sounds like you are describing the whole union between pans. Is that right? If so, I'm not ready for that b/c I haven't made the back pan, yet.

At this point, I just want to put a threaded fitting on each corner of the front pan so that I can do those steps later. I can just do that with the 1" coupling, right?

Thanks for the input. Do you have a picture?

Sean

[SeanD]

Okay, scratch that last post. I get it, now. Slow and steady wins the race.

One of the plumbing supply houses nearby has to special order stainless. The other shop was closed. If they have it in stock, I'll grab what I need so I can work on it tomorrow night. If not, I might just be better off getting fittings on line and cutting out the middle man and time.

Can you recommend a site?

[maple sapper]

as far as stainless steel fittings in MA, you can find them at any FW webb. You can also get them at MSCDIRECT.com. They will overnight most orders very reasonable. As far as the channels, I had channels tack welded in my pan and had mixing happening badly. So I sealed them with high temp rtv silicone. It is NSF rated as well as FDA approved. So I put a nice clean bead on each side and now get gradiant. in all channals. Maple Sapper

[SeanD]

Thanks for the tips. It's nice to have that silicone as a back up if these welds don't do the trick. Eventually when I get to a test boil and cleaning, I may drop some food coloring in there to see what happens. Green syrup for St. Pat's 2010?

[SeanD]

The plumbing supply houses turned up empty. FW Webb only does wholesale, so I'm left with the internet. I found these which seem good and affordable though the shipping bumps it up.

http://www.thefittingmaster.com/servlet/the-79/304%2C-STAINLESS%2C-STEEL%2C-FITTINGS/Detail

[maple sapper]

id have to look up where hopkinton is but if you want I can get these for you and you can get to me in Nashua and grab them. FW webb is right across the highway from me less then a mi. What size are you looking for? I can get them today if you need them asap. Maple sapper

[SeanD]

That's a generous offer. I don't need them ASAP, so don't worry about it, but thanks anyway. I ended up working on a scoop in class last night.

I have a bunch of friends in Nashua and Hudson. I used to live there, but I only get up there 3-4 times a year these days. La Carreta - mmmm, good Mexican! I've been meaning to stretch my next trip up there to include a visit to the The Maple Guys.

I'll probably just go with the stainless half-couplings for the pan(s) and try copper and brass for the connections. I think I'm going to tee off the connections to the front pan so each side can easily switch from incoming sap to draw-off and reverse the flow. I also don't really "get" how the boxes work, so I might explore that more, too.

Since I'm not exactly sure what I want to do yet, I don't want to invest in a ton of stainless just to end up changing it all around.

Thanks again!

Sean

[woodbit]

Wow I just read the whole thread and got a degree in plumbing two pans together. I went to the web site ordered the stuff and am anxiously waiting till i can weld it up n try it. i want to be able to pour off either tank or run it in either direction .. thanks a million for all the advice