Question about a steam hood and splashing sap.

[heus]

I have been thinking about purchasing a Leader steamhood and preheater for my 2x6 Phaneuf. Problem is, the flue pan sometimes sends gushers of sap clear over the pan and into the sugarhouse. Does that mean that I will not get true condensate from the steamhood, because it will mix with the sugary sap that is jumping all over?

[3rdgen.maple]

I would make sure the leader hood fits before you send them a check. The design of the top of patricks pans are different from leaders. Not sure they would fit or not.

[maplemat1]

hues , why buy leader there are some good fabricaters around the aera that coukd make a custom hood then i would add a preheater under the hood and increase production by about 15 to 25 percent. contact me for fabercaters.

[brookledge]

When you add a preheater and hood, the drip pan will actually be higher than the sides of the flue pan. I know some hoods have drip rails around the perimeter in addition to the drip pan. If you have sap jumping up and into the rail drain then you will lose sap. Drip rails are not that important anyways because you need a big temperature differential to cause condensation. Once the hood gets hot it will not allow the steam to condensate.
However the cold sap coming in on a preheater will look like the pipe has a leak in it because it will drip so fast.
Keith

[ennismaple]

Our Force 5 will overflow into the drip rail if our defoamer cups are empty. Keep the defoamer cups full and 1.5" to 2" below the drip rail and you'll be fine.

[ADKMAPLE]

What are the advantages of having a hood rather thatn simply having the steam go straight up through a coupola? I am thinking about using half of my garage as my future sugarhouse. It would make sence rather than building another building, already has a good concrete floor and very high ceilings. Located right at the bottom of my hill for gravity and relatively close to the house..ANyways, if I were to use it, I would need to add a hood because and pipe it out the top rather then building a coupola. However I do like the coupola look for a true sugarhouse though. Any thoughts on all of this? I really dont want to modify my garage so much. I did put a toounge and groove plywood floor in the space above the rafters for storage but you cant walk up there.

[Haynes Forest Products]

ADKmaple keep in mind that steam acts differantly than hot air. Its slow moving and when it starts to cool it falls quickly. You cant expect a good draft to pull it out of the room if you dont have makeup air coming in and that air will be cold. With a hood you dont need make up air and the steam is pushed out as more steam is made so its pressure that pushes it out.

[ADKMAPLE]

Ok, so in my situiation if I put an evap in my garage and donw want to modify it with a coupola to let the steam escape, the nI can simply add a hood and pipe it out directly through pipe almost like a smokestack?

[Haynes Forest Products]

ADK if you had lets say a 2X6 evap and all the sides were the same hight and you didnt have a preheater and you set a sheet of metal FLAT..........YUP flat on top of the evap and you vented it stright up, 90 degree out the side or over and down the expanding steam would get pushed out the steam pipe. NOW listen close because it gets fun from here if the pipe is to small it will vent out the sides of the STEAM ENCLOSER (hood) but as the pipe gets bigger the steam can escape quicker with less back pressure so it wont lift the hood. You could make the steam hood as big as you want but there is no need. If the pipe is in the 10" to 12" range for a 2 X 6 You will be fine. Now listen close once more IF you put a small steam pipe on the hood and put a small fan at the top of the steam pipe and it turns during your boils your now making Maple syrup on a steam engine:lol: See how much fun this can be.

[ennismaple]

ADKMaple - The steam hood pre-heats our sap and keeps it from raining inside the sugar camp!. The pre-heater runs through the hood and the sap is almost boiling when it comes into the float box. It also keeps stuff from falling into the flue pan.

[Sugarmaker]

heus,
I would hope that a drop or two of de-foamer might keep that boil down below the sides?
I would agree that you dont want good sap going down the drain.
Also agree that The fit of the hood from Leader to you pans
may be a challenge?
I like boiling with the hoods and minimizing the steam in the evaporator room.

Regards,
Chris

[heus]

Chris,
The sap that is shooting out of the pan is not foam its pure sap. Would defoamer reduce that?

[Sugarmaker]

Heus,
I have a similar problem in our old KING and a couple drops of defoamer calms the boil down to well below the sides. Try it next year and it should help. If you do get hoods you don't want that sap in the drip channels and running out of the hood.

Good news is that you must be running that rig hard to sap to jump out of the pan!

Regards,
Chris

[argohauler]

I put a bit of vegetable or olive oil in to settle down the foam. I still have seen after doing that, the boil being so violent that it splashes over the side. I don't use a hood, I used to, and I can see sap going into the condensate channel.

My uncle had to install a splash guard onto his 3x10 small bros. pan, because of violent boiling going over the side. He just clamped on a piece of aluminum siding.

[3rdgen.maple]

Hues as you know I have the same rig and have the same problem. It only happens on the front part of the flue pan. If you look at leaders they have a splash guard installed on the front of their flue pans. I fabricated one to fit on mine and the problem is solved. The worst thing about the sap jumping out of the pans is the cleanup on th esides of the arch as it burns a crusty mess.

[Sugarmaker]

heus,
I think these guys have solved it for you . Build a stainless splash shield to control the geysers of sap. I too have seem the shields work well. Then get the hoods.

Regards,
Chris

[Tom Cook]

I also had the same problem, fixed it with stainless mesh material sort of like a splatter screen you would use when frying bacon, etc., might sound crazy but I think it also has increased evaporation rate. I just elevated it a few inches above the sap level and it works great.

[vtsnowedin]

I don't know if I will get to a hood and preheater for next season but I will definitely have to try the splatter SS screen splash guard with or without it. No amount of defoamer will hold down the geysers of boiling sap on this raised flue in the front third of the flue pan when its rocking and rolling on a good fire with the blower. Most just falls back in the pan but the turbulence keeps knocking the tops of the geysers together and spitting out big drops that sometimes land a foot past the rail of the pan.

[red maples]

I made some removable thickest I could find lexan plexiglass splash guards and made them 8 inches high should have went for bigger but they definitely help. I get alot more splashing when I am sweetening the pans once the sugar % increases thoughout the pans the splashing isn't as bad and the insides of the splashguards are never sticky because the steam condesates on them keep them hey stay pretty clean the out sides are a different story.

[MapleMounder]

You could make the steam hood as big as you want but there is no need. If the pipe is in the 10" to 12" range for a 2 X 6 You will be fine.

I am looking at buying a 2’ x 6’ and would like to add a hood. I am planning on making my own hood. Does the size of the vent pipe need to change with distance? My run will likely come out of the hood run 4' vertically, make a 90, run 10' horizontally, make a 90 and then run another 10' vertical to the cupola. Will a 10" or 12" still work? I am planning on making the interior ceiling solid across the entire interior of the house, I will not have the traditional "open space" to look up and see the bottom of the cupola. I will run the pipe up into the cupola so I get the traditional look on the outside. Would it help to insulate the pipe as it passes through the not tempered space of the attic to keep the steam warm and thus keeping it moving?


Thanks for any help!

[Haynes Forest Products]

The warmer it stays the better so you dont have condensate build up as you go. With that long of runs you will need a few drains along the way. I would even think about a slight angle to the elbows with the drains located there. High heat silicone on the joints to keep it from raining out the lenght of the pipe. To small of a pipe and you will get back pressure and to large and it will slow down and condense.

[heus]

Since I posted this topic I have ordered and received my steam hood and preheater from A&A through Ray Gingerich. I think what I am going to do regarding the splash shield is bend up a length of aluminum to set on the dividers at the front of the flu pan (inside the steam hood of course). Looking from the top it would be like a rectangular "C". I need to do this to keep splashing sap out of my condensate channel. Aluminum would be ok right? I dont want to have to bend stainless steel.