Leader Evaporator Question...

[polygonguy]

I bought a Leader 1/2 Pint last December and ran it through last sugar season. We had 50 taps last year and made nearly 11 gallons for the first year. It worked really well as we got the hang of it. We will run 75 taps this season. I know it will mean some long nights and weekends with the 1/2 Pint, but so it will be. My plan, though, is to sell the 1/2 Pint AFTER this upcoming season and pick up a Leader 2x4 late sping or summer...since my plan for year 3 is to tap 100. This hobby seems addicting! I know from reading, that some of you may say buy a bigger one than a 2x4, but I think with working a full time job that 100 will probably be my limit...well maybe 110 or so :) ! My question is this....I have never seen a 2x4 in operation...I just looked quickly at one at Leader last April at their open house. I was hoping for a quick rundown on the process of boiling on the 2x4, or any bigger evaporator with a float system. From pics on the net I can't tell how sap flows from the flue pan to the syrup pan. I hope to do some visits during sugar season this year and am planning visiting Leader again late this month, but any help or process info from beginning to draw off would be very helpful and appreciative if anyone has the time. It looks like this forum rocks! Thanks for the help ahead of time!

[nymapleguy607]

The 2x4 evaporator I used last year boilled off about 15 gallons an hour
It had one float for incoming sap and one between the syrup and flue pan
You could not reverse the flow like you can on larger models. If you are like most of us you say only 100 taps and the next year it is 150 then 200 until
you have about every tree on your land with a tap in it.

[Sugarmaker]

If you were comfortably with the 1/2 pint at the end of the season then you will be slightly uncomfortable with a newer larger 2 x4 at the beginning and OK at the end.
The run down is Keep sap in the pans at all times while a fire is going. watch for syrup being made somewhere you don't expect it. and boil slow for the first several hours. It may boil a lot faster than you are used to so you have to watch for sap depth in the pans to be in you comfort zone maybe 1.5 inches to start. then lower that as you run longer.

I know I would have the same issues If I jumped to a say 4 x 12 unit.

Good luck
Regards,
Chris C.

[On the ledge]

Let me know when your ready to sell the 1/2 pint I would be interested

[Oaknut]

What style 2x4 are you thinking of? Vermont or WSE? Where in NY are you located? I'm in Cooperstown and boiled on a 2x4 vermont style for four years and ran as many as 200 taps on it (wouldn't recomend it though!). If you're close by you are welcome to stop over and check out our operation and I can give you some pointers on the vermont style. Not sure if the WSE works the same but I can't imagine it's that much different. PM me if you're interested.

[3rdgen.maple]

Okay I gotta ask a few questions Polygonguy. Please explain the name, does it have anything to do with polygon motors and lasers? Where in New York are you? Oh yeah sap goes in one end of the flue pan and comes out syrup at the drawoff on the other pan. That is about it. Keep it full boil it hard. LOL seriously though if you are any where near me you are more than welcome to come on over and check out my 2x6.

[polygonguy]

:) The name? I am a high school math teacher...so not anything to do with motors or lasers...and thanks for the help and answers from everyone so far

[3rdgen.maple]

That is funny here I was tearing apart a laser on a xerox to replace the polygon motor yesterday and then I seen your name. Too funny. I thought I had a source to rebuild them for a minute. Ha Ha HA

[Dill]

With a blower and a simple preheater I was able to get close to 20 gph with my vermont style 2x4. I liked it, but the bug has bitten me hard, onto a 2x6 this year, 3 years 3rigs.

[maplemat1]

just to tell you a little about myself started when i was 5 yrs old on barrel evap. just sold my 4x14 to drop to a 3x10 that boils faster than that old 4x14. my time is wheth money the least i can spend in the sugarhouse the more i can spend in the woods finding more taps .started out with 25 taps this year will be at 4000. if i were you if you can find or afford a 2x6 i would do it .it would well be worth it.:lol:

[polygonguy]

Ledge, I will definitely be selling the 1/2 pint after sugar season...April sometime...

Dill, we have a blower on the 1/2 pint...that little bugger was cooking with it...but the nights will be long for 75 this year then definitely 100 more taps next...I can stick it on a new 2x4, though (or maybe a 2x6!)!!!! :lol:

[Dill]

Oh I agree, 125 was about as much I want to boil on that 2x4 hence my upgrade this year. The good news on half pints, 2x4 and 2x6s is that you can always sell them.

[Brian Ledoux]

Hello,
Hoping someone can help me. A couple weeks ago I bought a used 19" x 36" lapierre wood fired evaporator w/flat plan & dividers. The person I bought it from said he added a small fan and was boiling at about 14 to 16 gallons per hour. There's a video online by maple guys that says it boils at 10 gallons per hour. The thing is, I went to Canada last weekend and stopped by a big company that sells evaporators. The president of the company said that my evaporator would only boil 3-4 gallons per hour at best and that the general rule of thumb is 1 gallon per hour per square foot of evaporator pan size. Is he right that I will only get 4 gallons per hour with my rig? Does anyone have a 19x36 that can tell me what they get for a boil rate? I appreciate the help. -brian

[3rdgen.maple]

Brian I think 3 to 4 is on the low end and 14 would be on the high end. With the blower you will get a better rate but 1 gallon per square foot is the rule of thumb. With no blower I would think you would get 6 but heck fire it up and do some water test.

[KenWP]

I boil on a 18 by 16 pan and get 3 gallons a hour from it. The rull of thumb is supposed to be 1.5 gallons a hour per square foot canadain gallon. I can get 1.5 easy hour after hour after hour . That is why I am building the drop tube flue pans to try and up it a little bit. I plan on have three pans going this year and try for at least 9 gallons a hour. That should let me get most of my sap boiled every day in a 5 to 6 hour time frame. Now as Robbie Burns said the best laid plans of mice and men aft goes aglay.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I would think 10gph would be the best possible max. Lot of guys on here have used Leader half pints which are 24 x 36 and they get around 7 gph and 10gph if they are juiced up with a fan and running them as hard as they can.

Sounds like a little puffery on the the part of the person who sold it or maybe he can give you a boiling demonstration.

[peacemaker]

if i was in your position i would contact wf mason from this site and check out what he has to offer on a evap alot cheaper then a leader
and extre,ely well built

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Hello,
Hoping someone can help me. A couple weeks ago I bought a used 19" x 36" lapierre wood fired evaporator w/flat plan & dividers. The person I bought it from said he added a small fan and was boiling at about 14 to 16 gallons per hour. There's a video online by maple guys that says it boils at 10 gallons per hour. The thing is, I went to Canada last weekend and stopped by a big company that sells evaporators. The president of the company said that my evaporator would only boil 3-4 gallons per hour at best and that the general rule of thumb is 1 gallon per hour per square foot of evaporator pan size. Is he right that I will only get 4 gallons per hour with my rig? Does anyone have a 19x36 that can tell me what they get for a boil rate? I appreciate the help. -brian

Peace,

Here is what he bought, not a half pint and thus the discussion and I agree with you on WF Mason.

[gator330]

Brian,

I have a 19x39 last year I boiled 100 taps and got some were around 20 gallons of syrup. There were some long days boiling. Some days I would get 10 an hour others I couldn't get 5 gallons an hour. Just depends on conditions. No fan or any thing on mine one would help, I also didn't have a pre heater, I will this year!!! Small wood often is the best when fireing. I also had to run it about a inch deep to make syrup some times a little less. Real have to watch it at that depth. It worked nice a step or two over the turkey fryer. But not good enough for 100 taps. Knowing what I know now I would have bought a 2x6 and nothing less to start with!!!! Your going to like it, there a nice little evaporator. Your going to need more then 15 taps but not more then 50. Also Remember the cool down time. Mine would make steam for hours after I stopped fireing. Leave it to low and your going to burn it. To high and you have a lot to boil off to be efficent again. I think that was a lot of my problem last year. I would flood it and go to bed. Took a lot to get it down the next day. But there were times it steamed most the flood away over night???? I hope I helped some.

[Beweller]

With a wood-fired flat pan, I get between 1.25 and 1.5 gph/sq ft evaporation. I can fire harder and increase the evaporation rate, but the wood consumption goes up fast. I can fire easier, getting a lower evaporation rate and reducing the wood consumption, but the boiling time goes up.

In deciding what size evaporator to buy, for a given evaporation rate, other things being equal, you will use less fuel with greater heat transfer surface area. You pay once for the greater surface area but save every year on fuel cost. Something to consider.

[Brian Ledoux]

Thanks all for the responses. As I expected, very helpful.

gator330 - your response was particularly helpful since you had pretty much the same size evaporator. I will really consider just selling what I have and buying a better evaporator. Really appreciated the info about flooding the evap at night too. Since I haven't used an evaporator yet, had not considered how I was going to handle wrapping up for the evening. Flooding it seems like a good way to go though.

[gator330]

Brian,

Give that evaporator a season or two. If your not going to set more then 100 taps any time soon. It will teach you a lot in one season. more then you want to know sometimes!! All things that will cary on to a larger evaporator. I'm shure I will be up grading next season. I have maples and a lot of them. This bug has me wanting to put a hole in every one of them. I thought I was in heavan over the turkey fryer when I got the 19x39. A 2x6 would be fantastic but for now two girls in braces has that on the back burner. There is a lot of past conversation about flooding the evaporator, fireing and such. Run a search on those topics. It took 10 -15 gallons to flood mine. So always keep that much sap on hand. If you have to pull the fire out and slide the pan off the arch in a pinch it's small enough to do that. The brick holds a lot of heat and will move water over time. Good fire gloves are a must. leave it sweet till the end then draw it all off and finish it on a burner. There a nice little set up.