Anyone Own A Tornado Evaporator form D & G?

[Nick7]

Hi everyone,I am new to this forum,but have yet to read any information on this evaporator.The only info I can find is when I talk to the sales rep at D & G.He is touting astonishing numbers for boiling rates,higher than Hurricane Force 5 ? I would also like to hear from owners of the Hurricane,as well as the Inferno model from CDL.Do the evaporators boil at the rate quoted,how easy are they to operate,do they save as much wood as quoted,and your reason for purchasing this particular model would be appreciated.I won't be changing systems this season,so there is no immediate need for quick information.
Thanks in advance for the input.

[Amber Gold]

I got CDL's catalogue over the weekend and saw the Intenso-fire II arch. I thought that was owned by Lapierre? Did CDL buy the rights? This is something I found confusing CDL states the Intenso-fire II can be run as a forced draft or as a gasification arch. Is this the same arch and you can change settings to make it run differently or do you buy it one way or the other from the factory.

Don't quote my numbers, but they claim 4.5-5 gph/sf and 30% reduction in wood consumption for the forced-draft version and 3.5-4 gph and a 40% reduction in wood reduction over a standard arch. I think the forced draft had 30 min load times and the gasifiation is 45 minutes.

[ennismaple]

Nick - You'll have to wait a few months for any field info on the Force 5. Last season there were only a few being tested in Quebec and this year is the first they are in general circulation. My dealer tells me ours was the first installed in Ontario and that CDL and D&G have been trying very hard to copy the Force 5 since it was introduced.

[Dave Y]

Nick,
I own one of two force 5's in Pa. I did a demostation boil on Dec19th with water. It will do what they say it will do. Thats all I wil say until I actullay make syrup on it. Very Impressive rig though! Every one is trying to copy it!

[Homestead Maple]

The designer of the Force 5 was at the New Hampshire Maple producer's annual meeting this Saturday and he did a presentation on it. Rejean is his first name and he went on to say that Donald Lapierre's operation used a 6x16 Force 5 last season and they were making twice the amount of syrup off the Froce 5 compared to an oil fired evaporator right beside it. It only had to be fired every 45-60 minutes, like his ads claim. Chris from the Maple Guys was there also and he said they were evaporating 150gph on a 3x12 with the pans only, no enhancements such as a Piggyback or preheater either. So what ever their ads say, they seem to back it up. Rejean got a few questions during his presentation from people that owned Turbos and etc. and Rejean said that they were nice machines but he could make them evaporate more with a few changes, "but" he said, "I'm not going to tell how unless I kill you after I tell you." At $22,000 for a 3x12 I'm not ready to make the plunge right off.

[H. Walker]

Amber Gold

The "Intens-o-Fire" has always been CDL, lapierre have always been hurricane
The "Intens-O-Fire" can be switched on site from a forced air to a gasification, same arch.

Ennismaple

I do believe that CDL had their design on the market first... and was witness to a plain cloths lapierre rep. at a Intens-O-Fire demonstration asking a lot of technical questions... he was told to buy one and tear it apart.

p.s. I do have invested interest CDL. Just like being in the "Cold War"

[Amber Gold]

H. Walker -That's pretty cool. So during normal operation you could run it in gasification mode to maximize effiency, but when we get those huge runs you could run it in forced draft mode to maximize throughput. Great concept.

[Nick7]

From what I am reading so far,there will not be alot of data on these rigs until after this season.As far as evaporation rates go,that was the claim from the rep at D & G that threw me when he told me a 3 x 12 would evaporate 210 gal/hr,no hoods etc.
Ennis,I am right at your back door,in Leeds County,I believe i saw you at the meeting.Don told me he would introduce us,but time did not permit.Would you mind if I came by to see your rig in operation once our season is finished?Your season usually runs a week or two after ours.Would you mind visitors,as I know if I changed to an evaporator like this I wouldn't want anyone around distracting me until I had a good feel for it.
One Last question,why did you decide on this model,or was it just because Don is close?