Switch to oil

[Killington Maple]

Just wondering how many of you have switched from wood fired to oil fired thru the years, and any regrets in doing so.
I'm planning on converting my inferno arch to oil because of lack of dry wood and the loss of production every time i open the door to fire.
Thanks!

[maple man-iac]

Oil is a volatile market! I would check into wood pellets as an option. Wood pellets will give you the same results as oil.

[jdj]

I converted from wood to oil last year. No regrets here!! I do have an RO and a steamaway though. The beauty of oil is how constant the heat is.

[adk1]

I know of some that have switched around us, they are the producers that are in it to make money or semi commercial.

[Haynes Forest Products]

When we converted to oil from wood it was because wood was expensive. We had a 2x8 tin and now we cook on a 3x10 SS so alot changed went from Grade b to mostly grade A lite. I like the time saved at start up cleaning and shut down. I can shut down and walk out the door in less than 5 min with oil. I can be up and boiling within the same 5 min in the morning. When it gomes to cleaning the pans it makes the whole process simpler and quick.

Plus when you have a fire in the finish pans you can go from fully involved to put out with a garden hose in less that a minute............Thats what I hear:emb:

[ADKMAPLE]

there is something to be said about it that is for sure. I just like the traditional wood, just my opinion..but I also like buckets!

[Brian]

I like oil,pipeline,vacuum and the ro.that works great for me.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Dont forget someone else to pull all your taps and filter presses:)

[sapman]

I'm with Brian, above! My buddy was over this season, and he timed it from startup to boiling in the front pan was 3 minutes. If you've got an RO and can concentrate to 10%+, the oil expense becomes a pretty small issue. Just my opinion.

Tim

[davey]

switched my 30x8 to oil five years ago and have no regrets. I've been burning bio-diesel for two years now and am happy with that too. the time saved in start up and shut down more than makes up for the cost difference. I can flip a switch, sweep up for five minutes and go to bed on a week night at a "reasonable" hour. No long wait for cooling off, no flooding of pans, no opening of doors, etc...

[Haynes Forest Products]

No laying in bed wondering if the fire flared up and things are bubbling away warping pans. Spraying water in the arch to settle things down rusting things out.

[barneyjj]

How does one go about switching from wood to oil? I'm getting too old for all this wood stuff!

[brookledge]

Well you can get alot of good info by doing a search on this site. it has been discussed before. But basicly you will need to take out your grates and remove your doors and make a metal plate to bolt on the front with a hole in it for the burner. There are a few things that will affect things like the height of the burner and the size inside the arch to allow for the flame to expand.
It is not ideal but can be done. The newer style wood arches that have vertical sides will probably work better than the slope sides of older arches
Keith

[Haynes Forest Products]

All the rigs I have seen that were converted worked well and didnt take much. Brookledge stated the door swap for steel plate oil drum, fuel line elec with shut off switch up high for safety. As far as the grates you can screw the ash door shut fill with sand put a sheet of metal over the grates and cover with brick. Roll of fire blanket over the brick and its ready to boil.

Advertise on Craigs list for a 275 oil drum and people will call and pay you to come get the old drum full of oil in the back yard:)

[davey]

If you are in Central NY, you may not be too far from me. I am in Macedon NY, about 25 miles east of Rochester. You can come out and see my conversion if you like.
Dave

[barneyjj]

I'm just south of utica. thanks for the invite.Ill keep you in mind. It will be later this summer and I will contact you for a time. thanks again.

[Ausable]

How does one go about switching from wood to oil? I'm getting too old for all this wood stuff!

Hey Barney - I was a little curious about that myself and started nosing around this site.... check out - Maple Resources - Maple Information on the Web - Gary R has submitted a lot of information on a lot of topics and switching to Oil is well covered -- My head is still swimming and I used to operate Power Plant Boilers....... Good Stuff ..... Mike

[davey]

drop me a note at dbandlb@rochester.rr.com when you're ready.
Dave

[Ausable]

Thanks Dave --- I will -- Mike

[barneyjj]

what size evap. do you have? I have a 3 x 8 raised flue and was wondering about oil usage per hour. with dry crate wood I can boil 70 gal per hour including start up and shut down time. I do have steam hoods and a preheater. thanks for any info.

[Killington Maple]

I would guess about 6 gallons per hour should do well for you.

[davey]

I have a 30" x 8 and am running about 5 per hour so with the little bit more size of yours I think 6 or so ought to be about right.

[jdj]

I have a 3x10 evap. with a carlin 601 burner, 6.5 gal/hr nozzle. The pump is set at 150 psi so it figures out to 7.8 gal of oil/hr.

[mwarren]

I had a 30x8 leader that I converted from wood to oil and it worked GREAT! I took a piece of plate steel, cut a hole for the burner, and made it the exact same size as my doors. I pulled the steel rod that my doors hinged on, put the steel plate in place of the doors, and used the rods to hold the plate in place. It worked great and I didn't have to drill any holes in the front of my arch. I lined the inside of the plate with ceramic blanket. I left my grates in place and put two layers of ceramic blanket on top of them. I also lined the brick walls with blanket (right over the bricks). The conversion took me an afternoon and worked GREAT! The conversion didn't affect my GPH of boil at all. It was pretty much the same. I went from ice in my front pan (slushy ice) to a full boil in both pans in 6 minutes. Try that with wood!! I also shut down without having to save sap and went from full boil to leaving the sugarhouse in 10 minutes. I would suggest it to anyone that is contemplating it. Don't get me wrong, I liked burning with wood. There are many advantages to both. For me, oil worked better with my schedule.

It was costly to make the syrup. I was making about a gallon and a half of syrup an hour and was buring 3.5 gallons an hour of fuel oil with a Carlin 601 (I think...). If you have a preheater or RO it would really make a difference.

Mike

[Killington Maple]

My Father and I had an old 2.5 x 8 Grimm oil fired back in the mid 70's. It used 6 gallons of oil per hour. Our sap was very weak and after 5 seasons we threw in the towel on that lot. While it boiled very strong, we just didn't seem to get the financial return that we needed to continue.