The Force 5 is Here!

[ennismaple]

Our Force 5 got installed last week. Lapierre brought it on a flatbed tractor trailer from Quebec. They hired a local tilt bed tow truck to unload it from the trailer and back it into the camp so they could lower it to the ground. We (my cousin - I couldn't make it) used the tractor to pull it most of the way into place and then pushed it into position. It definitely looks impressive!

Saturday we got the roof jack for the smoke stack in place. We would have done the steam stack too but they sent the wrong jack. It should only take another hour to get it in place.

Sunday our dealer (Don Dodds) came to help us figure out the maze of valves and pipes. It's almost ready to fire up for a test run. The toughest part was cutting an 18" diameter hole in the top of the steam hood. Not only is it tough steel (I went through 2 Sawzall blades) but it just feels wrong to cut a large hole in a brand new evaporator!

The pics are here:
http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg98/ennismaple/2009-09%20Force%205/

[3rdgen.maple]

Nice!!!!!!!!!!! I am however curious of the choice of wood you are burning in that rig:D Looks like you could fit the whole darn tree in it.

[Gary R]

Congrats Ennis, have a great time boiling on the new rig!

[chipa]

Looks awesome! It came with the the fire brick installed ?

[ennismaple]

It comes with the fire brick pre-installed. I believe the holes in the brick are where the air gets injected. They tell me if it'll fit through the door the Force 5 will burn it. I cut my wood to 44" sticks and Lapierre recommends you don't split it smaller than 6" so that really cuts down on labour. I've got a bunch of wood odds and ends (nothing pressure treated, painted or with too many nails) that will get burned this coming spring!

[red maples]

OH MAN. So all you really have to do is put on the stack, hook-up the sap and your ready to boil??? Awe-some no puzzle bricks lucky you!!

[Sugarmaker]

That is a awesome rig! Speechless at this time!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I am sure your father would have been proud of you and your brother!!!!!

[KenWP]

Pretty shiney to say the least. I would hate to get it dirty. I will wait to see the reports on its performance.

[HazensNotchSugarShack]

Ennis:
Awesome looking rig! Good Luck! It is very impressive to say the least!
Is it going to be quick enough for all of us to bring our sap over! Looks like it could be. Rick

[Farmboy]

How many gph does it get? Man you could stick whole pallets in without cutting them up. Now you need to get a skidsteer and feed whole 3 or 4 foot logs in it.

[maplecrest]

martin, wow!! nice , now i really want too see what my rig is going to look like. i like the preheater hood. no cross flow pans? did you get a spare pan? i am going to the factory in waterloo next week to see mine being built

[Dave Y]

Marty,
Beautiful rig! Cant wait to see one of them sitting in my sugar house! Still waiting on the delivery date. I think you are going to have a ball.

[Jeff E]

Very impressive rig. I love the idea of integrated preheater/hood right from the factory, pre-installed brick, ect.

Firebox looks like it could be a honeymoon suite! Just add candles:lol:

Look forward to hearing the post Op report regarding if it is $$$ well spent.

[ennismaple]

The flow is reversible. Normally, I will have the sap enter the back left and I'll draw off on the front left. By flipping a few valves I can bring it off on the front right but I likely won't because of space issues on that side.

We already bring all our wood right to the front of the evaporator on 3/4 chord pallets using the forks on the tractor. Many years ago we used to wheel it all in on a modified wheelbarrow but I don't like handling wood that much!

[nymapleguy607]

I could only imagine how that arch would work with a Max flue pan on it

[PATheron]

Marty- Thats some evaperator. Gotta love the amount of wood youll be processing now. Im going to be looking foreward to hearing how much wood it goes through and the gph it does. Jeff- Are you getting one too? Theron

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I have been thinking the same as Jeff as how it would function with a set of max pans on it, bet it would add another 40% to the evap rate.

I think Leader has been working on something like this arch for a while, need to touch base with Randy and see what he has to say about it or maybe someone else may know something

[Amber Gold]

I'd think if the Max pans were that great, and would make that much of a difference, they'd put a set on. It's not like Leader has a patent on a flue pan with 11" flues.

[buxtonboiler]

That is one sweet (pun intended) evaporator!! That is something only seen in syrup heaven. Congrats and happy boiling.:D

[Brent]

Awsome !!!

I'm curious about where they inject the air. Does it look like there is any air going in under the grates or all through the holes in the fire brick ??

[ennismaple]

There are no grates. Air gets injected through the top layer of bricks and through the perforated bricks in the bottom. What little ash there is gets blown to the back where it collects at the base of the smokestack. I'll try to take more pictures on the weekend to show this in better detail.

[Randy Brutkoski]

If you dont mind me asking, how much did that rig cost you. Should I start saving my pennies or dollar bills?

[dschultz]

ennis,does air get injected from the back row of bricks also or just the side and bottom?
Danny

[Dave Y]

Randy,
Ennismaple's rig retails around $30,000 give or take a few grand. Depending on what opitions you get with it. I am getting a 4x14 and it retails at $36,000.
So save your dollars,or get a loan like I did.

[dschultz]

Dave Y
How many GPH will the 4 x 14 do?

[Dave Y]

dschultz,
The 4x14 is supposed to do 300gph. However not haveing it yet and not having operated it it is hard to say what it will actully do. I had a 3x12 grimm that when I bougth it I was told to expect 90gph. I was able to get it to do 130gph comfortably. If I wanted to be insane i could get 165gph. It depends on who is running the rig and how!

[dano2840]

so when are you guys gunna buy me one? lol i need to buy another truck and i have about 1050$ to to it :( and i will have little $ to put into sugaring i think i will fill the cans left from last year and then put it in 5 gal pails until i get $ for cans not the way i want it done but No $= no fun

[ennismaple]

so when are you guys gunna buy me one? lol i need to buy another truck and i have about 1050$ to to it :( and i will have little $ to put into sugaring i think i will fill the cans left from last year and then put it in 5 gal pails until i get $ for cans not the way i want it done but No $= no fun

Dano - At your age you're not supposed to have money or else you'd get in all kinds of trouble!

For us, the Force 5 is a capital expense that pays for itself. The reduced fuel and labour costs plus the increased value of the syrup we make (lighter grades) will pay for itself. Not that long ago we debated putting a couple of our bushes on vacuum and after we spent the money we realized it paid for itself quickly. Same thing with our RO. At our size it's cheaper in the long run to spend money on equipment than labour.

Thanks for everyone's kind (and envious!) words. I still pinch myslef looking at it too!

[Brent]

If I'm doing the math right, your RO won't keep up with the evap.

To get 300 GPH of 8% you'll have to have the RO going long before you light the fire.

If the rest of the math is right, you'll be spitting out about $2000 worth an hour. Thats real awwwwwsome.

[Brent]

Hey Martin

you had a fire in that monster yet ?

I assume you've had the blowers, going. Can you tell me where they put the air injectors ??