How do you start your evaporator?

[Farmboy]

How do you guys with wood evaporators start them? I no you oil guys (traders) just flip a switch. What is the best fire starter for an evaporator. I will be using a half pint.

[Rhino]

Farmboy, On our 5'x18' we first put a pallet on the grates, then we put small pole wood or slabs on top of the pallet, then we take a couple of soup cans full of used french fry oil and slobber that all over the pole wood and pallet. Then we get serious and put a rose bud torch to it. Close the doors so there is just enough space for the torch shaft, and we hit the induction fan. (sounds like a jet engine) man i can't wait for the season. The rose bud torch and the french fry oil is the secret. you will be boiling in no time.

[KenWP]

I build a fire funny I am told. I like to place two bigger peices of wood in the fire box about 8 inchs apart or so and then put some newspaper in between then layer small pieces over the two big pieces and cross hatch them. One match and my pan boils in 12 minutes. After being in places were the temp can get to 60 below you learn to light a fire or else and to do it with one match or light of any kind.

[Toblerone]

I do exactly what KenWP does. I was never taught this way, it just seemed right to me. And Rhino, that sounds freakin awesome. You need to post a video!

[3rdgen.maple]

Throw the scraps from cutting and splitting wood into a bin in the sugarhouse. Grap a handful or 2 and hit it with a map gas torch and Im good to go.

[Z/MAN]

I throw in a pile of scrap 2x cutoffs and also use a propane weed torch. Starts immediately. Can't beat those torches for starting any kind of fire.
Paul

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

I start mine using some kind of paper tinder (newspaper, packing from my new pans, etc). I place this under a handful of "farmers friend" (baler twine) on top of which I have criss crossed some small splits from some dry slabwood. Touch a match to it and close the doors. WHOOSH!

[Russell Lampron]

I ball up some paper, put some kindling wood then some slightly bigger pieces on it. I light it with the flame wrench and plug in the blower. The front pan will be at a full boil in less than 5 minutes and the flue pan will be soon after.

[Fred Henderson]

I use a book match

[dschultz]

In my 4x14 intens-o-fire I put 3, 8 to 12 inch dia.pieces of wood one in the middle and two on the side.Put cardboard on them and then stuff paper between the wood.Then I put a wheelborrow of scrapwood and bark on top of that,light it. Then get another load of wood throw that in shut the door turn the fan on, and less then 5 minutes everything is at a full boil.

[ejmaple]

all about the torch, no paper needed

[Dennis H.]

Ken you don't start the fire funny everyone else does.

I do my fire the same as Ken.

[farmall h]

I rub two sticks together at a high rate of speed...being certain that the wood is dry. If that doesn't work and I become frustrated 'cause the sap tanks are running over I run over to my outdoor boiler, grab a chunk of of hot coal and compact it in elephant dung at which point I run back to the sugerhse, blow on the dung too enlighten the embers within. That generally is successful. :lol:

Footnote: Episode 12 "Man vs. Wild"

Theron, what about you? With all those taps..500,000 plus. You must burn #6 oil.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I dump a bag of shredded paper on the grates, load it down on top with a box a 10 x 15 cardboard box full of very dry bark and small pieces of wood out of of floor of the woodshed and then big pieces of wood on top of it. I use a small torch on a 16 ounce propane bottle and get it started across the front and then turn on the blower. I can have the evaporator front and back pans boiling in 5 minutes or less.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Im so lazy I have my wife flip the switch OOOOPS wrong thread:lol:

[ericjeeper]

I get a shovel full of hot coals out of my OWB then throw in some split kindling.
If you guys that do not have a OWB. Take your chain saw the next time you are cutting and splitting your wood. Take a nice hardwood round,lay it on its side bark up. Take your chainsaw and cut down into it. Like you are going to quarter it. You will make long stringy noodles, place them inside a paper sack to dry. Grab a big handful and light with a match under some smaller splits.

[maple flats]

On my 3x8 I just take a few pieces of wood, criss cross them and pile about 8-10" deep. Then I use a propane weed torch, close doors most of the way, open the draft door about 2 notches and turn the flame to WOW. Light is a minute or 2.

[farmall h]

So what you are saying is that nobody has tried the elephant dung method?;)

[red maples]

I collect pine cones in the fall time and hang them in onion bags then when they are nice and dry I fill paper bags with them. put a few pieces of fat wood on top of that and criscross the wood sorta like a log cabin and hit it with my little propane torch and the pine cones have all that condensed sap in them burn hot and fast even with out the air injection it sounds like a jet engine !!! I do the same to start fires in my woodstove too.

[Dill]

I'm glad I'm not the only torch user. I'm really picky about lighting a fire in the wood stove with 1 match and minimal amount of kindling and paper. But when it comes to the arch, a torch and some pine, and away we go.

[red maples]

oh yeah oops I don't use the torch in the wood stove just one of those long lighters but the pine cone and fat wood trick is the best!!!

[PerryW]

I start my 3x10 pretty much like everyone else (newspaper & kindling), except I get the fire ready to light BEFORE I gather sap. That way, when I get back from gathering, I can light the fire right off and it will be at full boil 7-8 minutes from when I drive into the dooryard.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Perry,

You bring up a good point. I have 3 different bushes I collect with my tractor and I have to make a run to each. I can haul close to 200 gallon on my bucket and carryall behind the tractor and if sap is running good, I have a full load or more than a full load at each bush. I run my sap thru a stainless whole house UV light and filter it while unloaded it, so it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to pump out both the tanks on the tractor. I always use this time to brush the flues and get the evaporator ready to light for the next day or whenever the next time I am boiling. That way, whenever I or whoever else walks thru the door, they turn on the pump up to the head tank and light a match.

[Brent]

Up to this year I've just piled in some kindling and good sized regular splits on top of that. About 30 seconds with the plumpers torch and it's rocking.

This year I am going to do it very different. I've never liked the way soot builds up on the bottom of the pans and I think the build up is worst when the pans are ice cold with fresh sap and we light a cool somewhat smouldering fire. Water and creosote condense in the flues on the cold surfaces.

To avoid or at least minimize this I am going to use my Lee Valley weed killer / flame thrower that burns propane in a 4" diam x 10" clear blue flame. I'm going to light it and put it on the grate and let it rip until the sap and pans get pretty hot, then start to add wood. We'll see how it goes in a few weeks.

[lpakiz]

I too use a big propane torch but I pile the wood in criss-cross, etc. then put the torch to it and let it burn til the wood is really going and the pan is near boiling. The propane gets the pan hot quick as well as lights the wood.

[KenWP]

What kind of tree does fat wood actually come from. I thought it was stumps of some kind of pine.

[Smitty]

Brent,
i lite my rig with a weed burner also. Seems to work well, fast, easy and
with minimal soot biuld up. I start with a good armload of kindling and
work up in wood size, about 12 to 15 minutes to boiling.

[smitty76]

WTF is fat wood kenwp???????????????????????????????

[3rdgen.maple]

Im am scared to even see what the answer to that is smitty76.

[Brent]

Around here at least, if you go looking you can find butternut kindling, in neat little packets at outrageous prices for people who live in down town condos to light thier fireplaces. They market it as fatwood. It real does light easily with a single match, without paper or anything else.

funny thing, when we moved to this house and told friends we were going to do some heating with wood, they gave us some as a housewarming gift. We only light the fire with one match per year ... never goes outs. I finally got curious one day and tried it in the evap last spring. Works great.

[KenWP]

WTF is fat wood kenwp???????????????????????????????

Why do you think I asked. Red Maples talked about it. We used to be able to buy it from Lee valley tools. Figured it was expensive kindling.

[red maples]

yeah I think its from down south some kind of pine that has tons of sap through it. I buy it when I can find it cheap they sell it in hardware stores and home depot lowe's wally world(walmart)sits cheaper in the summer and stuff you can get 25# boxes through like plow and hearth but that catalog its a rip off!!!

I don't use that much of it but it is great for starting fires but it can be expensive. burns hot and hard and you only need like 2-3 pieces to get a fire going. I don't have to start new fires in the woodstove all the time I only let it go out when its time for a good cleaning or I forget toload it or I am away for longer than I thought I'd be. like the semi annual cleaning that I just did today and ran a bruch down the chimney. while its not too cold(have oil back-up anyway)

[Homestead Maple]

When I had a wood fired evaporator I used to have people save shredded paper from different offices near me and stuff a ball of that and some soft wood kindling in with some bigger pieces of wood to get mine started. It didn't take long to get things hoppin.

[Bucket Head]

My buddy gutted and remodled a 150 year old house. So I have bucket full's of lath (from plaster and lath walls) cut up into foot long pieces. I throw some of them in with a few small pieces of fire wood, squirt a little charcoal lighter on it, take an extended pull-the-trigger type butane candle lighter to it, and turn on the blower. It takes about thirty seconds to chuck that in and touch it off and flip the blower switch on. We get steam rising very quickly doing it this way.

Steve

[kinalfarm]

i use pine or split up slab wood and use my torch than as soon as i here crackling i turn on the blower and it takes about 15 min. before i had the blower it took at least an hour to get going.

[Beans Maple]

I start mine by walking in the door and flipping the switch!!!!!!!!

[jrthe3]

gas a match and stand back

[nymapleguy607]

I use some paper some baler twine and some slats off pallets then mix in some pine and hemlock. Start it with the torch and turn on the blower. Can usually have full boil in about 5 minutes.

[acers]

thats a good idea thanks:) :)

[Big_Eddy]

KenWP - that's a funny way of lighting a fire. I thought my way was normal?

I shovel the 2 feet of wet snow out from between the blocks, then try to find a couple of the smallest sorta dry sticks from the huge wood pile under the blanket of snow. I wipe as much of the snow and water off the sticks as I can, then break them across my knee and try to make them smaller.

I put a pile of damp newpapers and cardboard, and whatever other cr@p I found on the floor of the garage this morning onto what's left of the ice on the grates, dump the now somewhat dry sticks onto it, and then put some slightly bigger ones on there.

I then use about half a box of matches, striking each one, trying to get it to the paper before the north wind blows it out, then striking another and another until eventually I get the paper to light. I blow on it, inhale copious amounts of nasty grey smoke, blow on it some more, then curse a few times when it goes out. By now the box of matches has fallen into the snow, so I pick a couple up, strike and strike and strike until one lights, stick it under the paper and blow some more. Another gulp of smoke gets me coughing and gagging, and I stagger back to the garage half blinded by smoke to find that GD propane torch. The torch is usually easy to find but the striker likes to hide in creative places.

Finally I get the paper and cardboard going, listen to the sizzle and popping for about 10 minutes while the remaining snow boils off the twigs and sticks, then place the pan back over the fire.

By this time the d@rn valve on the tank has frozen solid again, so I recover the propane torch to thaw that out, but that's off topic and better suited to a different thread.

I usually have a full boil in about 120 minutes.

[smitty76]

Thats great Eddy, you have brought a big smile:lol: to my sad:cry: face today. I have also built a fire like that Kenwp. It works really well.

[peacemaker]

egg carton full of all the crisco after my wifes aunt was up from va cooking a southern meal every night for a week and the thanksgiving dinner
i have a 5 gal pail

[RileySugarbush]

Wow Peace, that ought to throw some soot on the cold pan!

[monktonmaple]

I use white birch bark. The oils in it burn hotter and works much better than newspaper. When we have visitors that want a crack at lighting the arch they get one match....If they fail they are put on wood splitting duty, with an axe.