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green4310
04-15-2009, 07:46 PM
Just thought I would contribute my experiences. I have a 2x8 Leader Inferno Raised, with a preheater and Stainless cover with six inch steam stack. I got it new in 2005.
Well last year 2007 I decided to do the change. I got the small Carlin conversion unit from Bascom in the spring of 2006.
I pulled the pins and removed the feed door. This left a flat surface to attach the front plate to. After fitting the plate to the door opening and clamping it in place, I drilled and tapped holes all the way around the front to hold it in place and flat against the door frame. The plate is like .100". I know everyone says to use a heavy plate but this is what I had. I might add that it works just fine. A hole for the burner was cut so that the nozzle is around 13" from the bottom of the front pan. The grate was removed to get close to 13" to the floor as well. This was necessary to get volume for complete combustion, otherwise the bottom of the oil cone from the nozzle sprays on the floor and does not burn completely. A 3/4" inspection hole is placed so that the top of the flame, under the front pan, can be seen. I hope this is making some sense for you guys. The nozzle that Leader sent with the unit is a 4gal x 60. The first time I fired the thing, the front pan just would not boil although the back pan did. I was making syrup in the back pan. Not good. A call to Leader and they suggested a plumber. So I did. The local furnace guy came over and explained that I needed a damper cut into the stack to limit the draft as the heat was being sucked up the stack. $100 later the damper was in place. While he was there he explained how to set the air and about adding an inspection hole. The best $100 I ever spent. Basicaly you set the air so that the flames are orange and licking the bottom of the pan. This keeps the combustion in the fire pot. The back pan will get plenty of heat, as I found out later. I started expirimenting with nozzles after that. I find that a 4x70 will boil the front pan in four minutes and the back pan around four minutes later. Going outside and observing the stack, only a heat mirage most of the time.
I have found that for clean up, the back pan is drained and refilled with RO water. The inlet valves are closed to the front pan for isolation. The front pan is filled with four or five inches of the syruppy mix and cooked down. I then change to a 3x70 nozzle and open up all the louvers to keep the back pan from boiling too hard, and go to cooking.
By way of information, I am 68yr and this hopefully along with the red neck Ro will keep me in the game a couple more years. I concentrate at 67%, four gal perm. and two gal, per minute of sweet to cook.
This is not the fastest set up around. I am guessing around 60 to 70 gpm, more importantly, with a constant gradient.
I hope my experience will prove usefull to someone.

Brent
04-15-2009, 07:54 PM
thanks for the detailed explanation.

I was worried about the combustion going too far back.

going to print the advice and keep it handy when I do it this summer