Setting evaporator on a wood floor

[Dan W]

Got the new sugar house and cupola finished this past weekend. Now to set up the 2x6 evaporator. It will be on a wooden floor. I know, should pour concrete but that is out of the question. My plan is to put 1/2" cement board down then 4" solid block on the corners under the fire box topped with a 30" concrete patio stone. So I will have 4" air space as a heat dissapator. The evaporator has a blower with cast iron grates and the draft holes in the bottom of the arch will have ceramic blanket stuffed in to make it air tight. Do you think firebrick on top of it all is neccessary? I would have to build a frame out of angle iron then cement the bricks so the air wouldn't blow ash and embers out between the cracks. I really have to start a photo gallery and post it here-maybe after the test fire! Thanks for any input, Dan.

[jrthe3]

i run my 2x5 on a osb floor for years i had no power so i ran with the draft door wide open the only protection i had was a 4x4 pice of sheet metal in front of the artch so anything that rolled out of fire box landed on metal

[michelle32]

Dan, I have mine on a wood floor. We put one layer of regular brick down, then a piece of 1/4 inch steel, then covered that with fire brick. The floor stays cold enough to form ice around the bricks. We have a 2x6 wse.Keith

[Turtlecreek]

Dan,

Nice to see that your moving along on the shack! Your old barrel is looking good. I put a fresh coat of paint on it last week now I have a bit of patch sook to do then put in a blanket and then the bricks! After all of that I will try to fire her up for the first time, man I can't wait!

Steve

[Dave Y]

Dan,
I think you will be fine with what you are doing. Just be careful about hot embers possibly rolling off your fire protection.

[Flat47]

the only protection i had was a 4x4 pice of sheet metal in front of the artch so anything that rolled out of fire box landed on metal

I did the exact same thing until one morning I went to restart the boil and there was a 6" diameter hole in the floor. A hot coal had rolled out of the arch, off of the metal and onto the wood floor. It must have smoldered all night. Lucky it didn't burn the whole shack down.

[maplesyrupstove]

You could always set a small tray or pan with 2 inch sides on it to catch any coals that fall out. That would work. Darrell

[RileySugarbush]

For those with wood floors, make it a habit at the end of each boil to take a scoop of sap or condensate water and spread it around the floor by the firebox, especially around or in cracks in any floor protection near the firebox.

[red maples]

I added some angle Iron and sheet metal and put a bottom on the firebox then arch board and split bricks. and the arch is lifted 1 full brick wiidth and 1split brick width off the floor and There is 1/2" cement waterproof backer under the firbox that goes 1.5 ' back an 2 feet on either side and 4' in front of the doors so if anything rolls out it has to go a long way to hit the wood. and I am very cautious as well. the bottom does get a little warm to the touch on the bottom of the firebox but the floor stays cold because of the air space.

[Sugarmaker]

Wheres Brandon when you need him? :)

Heck I hose down in front of and around the arch on a cement floor. We do have rubber fatigue mats and a hot coal has been known to get into one of those and cause a little stink too. (Whats making that burnt rubber smell?)

We play with all types of fire in this business/hobby, not for the weak of heart, be safe, be smart.

Regards,
Chris

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Chris,

I don't have much to add to these as some good ideas have been presented. As far as a one piece of steel between a firebox with no floor in it and a wood floor is not a good idea in my opinion and is playing with fire, no pun intended. 1" Ceramic blanket is cheap and good insulation and if you have a blower, it works great to cut a piece a little bigger than the bottom of the arch and sit it on top of it to seal off the arch and make it airtight on the bottom. Also protects whatever it is setting on.

[Dennis H.]

I convertered a back room of my garage into the sugarshack it is a wood framed room with 3/4" plwood subfloor. I too was worry about putting the evap on the wood floor I was 1st was going to just do something right in front of the evap but decided to have a little peace of mind so I covered the entire floor with 1/2" cement backer board that you can pick up at any Lowes or HomeDepot. Then I took some floor leveling cement and covered the backer board with about 1/8" of this. It turned out really nice I think, and I have no edges to trip over while walking around in the shack.

[Dan W]

Thanks for all the advice everybody. It is just the warden and me tomorrow so I can stay out of her hair for a few hours and try to get this thing going.

Turtlecreek-Glad you too are moving along. I hope you have as much fun with it as I did!

Dave Y, I am going to be in camp this weekend I'm getting some buckets from Jack F. on saturday. Is it ok to stop and see your new rig? Maybe sunday?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE PA HUNTERS!

[Dave Y]

Dan,
You are welcome to stop any time.

[michelle32]

Chris we tried it with just the bricks on the bottom and then steel. The steel gets so hot it curls and lifts the evaporator right up. Added the second layer of fire bricks to top of steel no more problems. Keith

[maple flats]

I ran with a wood floor for 3 years. I set up on concrete blocks under the firebox end and made a hearth. I then capped it with 20 ga flat sheet metal, bent down on each side to capture the blocks and look a little better. Before I could fire up the first time i had to have an inspection by the fire department. They blessed it and it was good for 3 seasons until I removed it and poured a concrete floor. I do like concrete better but the temp worked fine.

[maple flats]

I forgot to mention, I then set a layer of firebrick dry fit under the grates and always left a inch or 2 of ash to insulate downward. This never gave any problems, but you must be sure you never get hot coals in a crack between floor boards.

[red maples]

1 thing I find with ashes is when there is heat applied it doesn't really insulate it can get hot and reignite any tiny coals not to the point of flame but the coals will ignite at a lower temp. that happens every once in a while when I remove ashes form the woodstove in the house and if there is a hot small coal that I miss, it ignites the other small coals in the ash bucket and gets hot. so be careful using ashes as an insulator.

[Brent]

I convertered a back room of my garage into the sugarshack it is a wood framed room with 3/4" plwood subfloor. I too was worry about putting the evap on the wood floor I was 1st was going to just do something right in front of the evap but decided to have a little peace of mind so I covered the entire floor with 1/2" cement backer board that you can pick up at any Lowes or HomeDepot. Then I took some floor leveling cement and covered the backer board with about 1/8" of this. It turned out really nice I think, and I have no edges to trip over while walking around in the shack.


Dennis

I'd suggest you lift your rig and check the floor. I thought I was safe but when I moved the rig a week ago I found the floor scorched black
I had 1/2" cement board on the wood, then a row of fire bricks in a line under each side of the arch ( to hold the weight ) then another cement board. This created about 1-1/2" air gap between the cement boards. Then I put down the arch and a layer of fire bricks.

The problem as I see it is that the heat is not only really hot, but it is applied for several hours at a time. Eventually the heat sinks down though the bricks and cement board. Quite a different problem than the sides of the arch where there is air flow to cool the exterior.

I'm going to do something to improve on it this year. It clearly was not good enough.