Leader WSE 2x4

[adk1]

I am looking into this evaporator as my first evaporator in the future. when exactly I do not know. I was first thinking about the 1/2 Pint but have since decided that I have the potential of tapping more than the recomended 50 taps and therefore I figure I might as well go up a level. Anyone with this evaporator let me know what you think about it. thanks

[sapbrush]

hi i have a half pint and im sure with a blower and good wood it will handel the 100 taps i tab about 70 right now and usually have no problem with that evaporator, i wont ever upgrade thsi half pint does it for me

[wildacres]

Hi -

I upgraded to this evaporator three seasons back. It's a great evaporator,
though with one distinct down side; you must have enough sap to make
it worthwhile.

For example, this year the weather was so crappy - only 5 boils - that
three times, I had less than 30 gallons to cook down. With an evaporator
doing 25 gallons per hour, you hardly have any time to get things up to
steady state before you are done.

One more thing to note about this evaporator is that the door is decidely
not airtight - so if you're ever thinking about a blower, you'll need
to consider some modifications to keeping from having smoke in the sugarhouse.
The door gets insanely hot, too, so adding some insulation at the same time is a good idea.

Paul

[ADKMAPLE]

Is there that much of a difference between the 2x4 and the 2x6? I see that the evaporation rate is greatly increased wit hthe 2x6 of the 2x4

[maple marc]

This is my fourth season on the Leader WSE 2x4. My only other experience was a home-built job with steam pans, so I don't consider myself an old pro with experience to compare evaporators. But this is my experience:

It takes 18 gallons to flood the unit for the first boil. We average 17 gallons per hour when we are cooking. We boil off almost 15 gallons after the last stoke--something to keep in mind. I think the Leader literature claims that this unit is matched for 50-100 taps. I have learned that taps can vary from sugar bush to sugar bush, and that I am lucky to have quite good sap production from my trees. With 82 taps, I feel that I am getting near the top end of taps that the 2x4 can handle. A good run for me could be 240 gallons of sap in a day--too many days like this could drown me!

I bought this instead of the 2x6 because I never thought I would have more than 100 taps. Well, never say never. For now, I'm ok, but given that the 2x6 is about the same price, and can boil over 30 gph.....well, it would be a tough choice in hindsight. I like to have my overhead 125 gallon tank full before I boil. That's a seven hour day, and would yield 3 gallons of syrup on a good day.

We put a 10" stainless stack on it, and the dealer and Leader told us to run with the draft door wide open. Hah..........doing this with some good wood overheated the stack to red hot and spit sap all over. We quickly wised up, got a stack thermometer, and began running with the door completely closed for a more controlled burn. 1000 degrees seems to be the sweet spot for us. I have placed a couple of fire bricks inside the arch near the back of the flue pan to reduce the draft a bit, but we still have plenty. You could easily get by with a smaller stack.

Last year on 68 taps we made 30 gallons of syrup from 1196 gallons of sap, in 10 boils on the evaporator. We burned 2 cords of wood. A 2x6 is more efficient in burning wood. A lot of our heat goes up the stack!

Remember, no reverse flow on this baby--and reverse flow on a smaller unit is debatable, according to some pros here (see other threads). I have learned that to avoid scale build up, instead of simply rotating the syrup pan after each boil, I drain it completely, take it outside and clean it with vinegar and a copper scouring pad.

My biggest problem is taking off syrup at the right density. Maybe it's just operator error, but from threads here, smaller evaporators with only three dividers in the front pan seem to have this problem more often than the big boys. I look for the right temperature, I start to draw, the hydro says "good", and then the next quart is really heavy. I end up drawing another light quart to compensate. I'm always open to suggestions.

This is probably more than you needed to know, but I always try to return the favor of the knowledge I have gained from others here. Please contact me if you have any more questions.

Marc

[JohnsSugarShack]

adk1, I don't know anything about the 2x4 but maple marc seemed to cover that very well with his experience. I started out with a half pint, had it for 3 years. Was very pleased with it but when my 60 taps ran well I couldn't keep up. I'd average 5-6 gallons per hour, one year I made 22 gallons of syrup, you do the math, spent many hours in the sugar house not that I'm complaining because I loved every minute of it. So this year I upgraded to a 2x6 with patriot pans what a change. It takes approx 35 gallons of sap to start. I have a 75 gallon feed tank but will be putting a 200 gallon tank for next year. Once I start a fire it'll be boiling within 15 minutes and evaporates 25 gallons per hour with no problem. If I fire every 6-8 minutes and keep my external stack temp at about 600 degrees it will do 30 gallons per hour consistently. I only fired up 5 times this season way to short, if my trees had run good I'd had twice the sap. So next year plan on tapping 150-200 instead of 72 just got to have more. I'd definitely consider the 2x4 over the half pint but if you think you're going to tap 100 or more and can afford it I'd consider going to the 2x6 not trying to confuse you just a thought. The maple addiction is unbreakable once hooked you want more.:lol:

[vtsnowedin]

Is there that much of a difference between the 2x4 and the 2x6? I see that the evaporation rate is greatly increased wit hthe 2x6 of the 2x4
Oh yah. As the examples given show it is a big difference. It's a simple matter of the math really and the surface area of the flue pans. They vary by exact dimensions from manufacturer and style but if you measure up all the heated surface of a 2x4 drop flue with 7 inch flues you will get a total for both pans of about 24 square feet and bumping it up to a 2x6 will get you to 41 square feet. (assuming seven flues a full 48 inches long.)This compares to just six square feet on the half pint. Base gallons per hour without blowers should be 4.0 for the half pint, 16.3 for the 2x4 and 27.0 for the 2x6. That agrees pretty well with what John and Marc have for experience.

[ADKMAPLE]

Ok, so let me ask this question. Say I am only going to tap 50 taps total and I want to make syrup from the evaporator, dont mind being in the sugarhouse all day on the weekedn but dont want to necessarily come home after work every night to make syrup. thoughts? how long do you all store your sap?

[Dill]

I'd say the resale is way better with a 2x4 than a half pint.
Its a good size that very few people buy. I liked mine, in fact with the terrible sap flow this year I might have been able to boil on it.

[sapbrush]

witha blower on the half pint and sealed tight you can get almost8 gallons an hr to 10 gallons and the half pint you can reverse the flow but if your going to tap 100 trees you may want to have something a lil bigger but mine works great for what i do about 6 gallons a year makes me a happy camper some for friends and realitives and of course me

[vtsnowedin]

Ok, so let me ask this question. Say I am only going to tap 50 taps total and I want to make syrup from the evaporator, dont mind being in the sugarhouse all day on the weekedn but dont want to necessarily come home after work every night to make syrup. thoughts? how long do you all store your sap?
I don't know where S adks is for a location so I haven't a clue how many maples are in reach of your drill. If you can really , really, REALLY stay at just fifty taps then the half pints all you need. I'm retired at least in the winter and through the sugrin season so if it's in the tank I boil it. You working stiffs have to work around it and your young families needs so some sap might go to waste. It keeps pretty well early in the season when you can keep it cool and in the shade. later on you won't want it to run until Thursday if your a weekend warrior. A lot of people here started with a dozen all they will ever need taps and are now up in the hundreds and looking for a good used vacuum pump. It is not as addicting as crack cocaine but it's pretty close.

[wildacres]

Maple Mark - let me say I am really impressed and jealous of your
productivity at 30 gallons for under 70 taps. You've articulated the issues well on the 2 x 4, too. I didn't quite get what you meant by a stainless 'deck,' though - and have you found a way to insulate the doors and make 'em less drafty? I had a very similar experience with the stack
temps just out of control - I'm interested to see if I can't do something like you did to disrupt the air flow up the stack a bit, in the hopes of keeping it circulating around the flues instead. By the way - the guys from Leader say that 850 to 950 is the ideal operating range, so at 1000, you're pretty close - way closer than I am.

Paul L.

[maple marc]

Paul, thanks. With a limited number of taps and buckets, I have learned to cherry pick the best trees. My middle-aged trees (like me, I guess) are the most productive. My trees are sugar, black and sugar/black hydrid. Sap averages 2.5.

Not sure where I wrote "deck." I have not been concerned about a leaky door. I don't think much comes through. One other tweak for this year was a fire brick laid down at the rear of the grates in the middle. Last year I noticed that the best draft--too much--was coming up through the grates BEHIND the front pan. So I thought this change might make the hot gasses come up closer to the front of the front pan. Hard to say if it helped much.

Another change was running slightly shallower pans--about 1.25". This was a weird short season for me. Late start due to cold and snow, then no huge runs. Final tally is not complete, but looks like 18 or 19 gallons in five boils, with maybe a 42:1 sap:syrup ratio. Early warm-up hurt, and I had to cut the season short due to travel obligations. I could have easily made another four or five gallons. Planned upgrade is a sight tube. Next year........

Marc

[Dennis H.]

You said you are using a 10" flue right?

Might a 8" be better suited for the 2x4 or the 2x6? Or just put in the 10" and find a way to damp it down a bit to control stack temp?

I am following this posting becasue I am looking to upgrade to a 2x4 or 2x6 this year. Vey good info here.