e-Vaporator

Here's the heating element in the kettle. 4500 watt running at 240v. The nut is stainless with an o-ring that came from a home brewing supplier.
Attachment 11635

Here you can see the drain valve and the temp probe.
Attachment 11636


Electrical connection on the outside. There's a piece of PVC pipe with a cap that the wire runs through to protect from an accidental defibrillation. The ground wire runs to a grounding clip from a metal work box. She sits in a round cradle from the first version that was half a plastic barrel.
Attachment 11637

The brains. This PID controller lets me run based on temperature or a percentage of total available power. As the boil nears the end I can dial back the boil to any percentage of capacity to make it a bit less of a panic situation and nearly eliminate boil overs.
Attachment 11638

A suggestion for your next model. Add a switch so you can change the voltage on the heating element to 110 for when you are only heating to bottle. It will only use 1/4 of the power, but more importantly, the heating element won't cake up as badly because the surface temp will be much lower.

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Originally Posted by Cedar Eater

Add a switch so you can change the voltage on the heating element to 110 for when you are only heating to bottle.

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Cedar, that's a great idea. I've already planned a second power outlet on the control box for 110v so I can use a slow cooker for sous vide cooking. Using the switch to change voltage for the big outlet would be very helpful. By the way - this thing has cooked some pretty awesome steaks to exactly mid-rare, ready for a quick sear on the grill.

Eric,

Nice pictures, I'm thinking your 3.0 version with insulated sides will allow for an even more efficient boil.

At $.09 a Killowatt your all ready making a gallon for under $6 ,that's hard to beat.

You say the top is about 18" x 18",this seems like a nice size for the home hobbiest.

Again Great Job!


Jeff

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Originally Posted by WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER

An electric stove with a stainless pan on all 4 burners would work good too and way cheaper than propane.

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Brandon,

I believe your right, I recently pick up a used apartment size electric stove to put in my garage for summer time canning.

Jeff

Induction heating???
Now that would be cool.

Wow, if you can make a gallon of syrup for $6 that's great! That's about what I'm getting on my propane evaporator but I have to RO a lot of water away first to get it. If I was a smaller hobbiest this would make a lot more sense then propane or even wood. Did you notice any difference if your syrup from traditional boiling methods?

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Originally Posted by Clinkis

Did you notice any difference if your syrup from traditional boiling methods?

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Because it's a batch boil process the syrup is usually a bit darker. I prefer it that way so it's a happy outcome. I actually break all the rules of making syrup and add water at the end and boil more to get a richer flavor. Cooking a bit longer doesn't change the density but caramelizes the sugars a bit more. Because I don't sell anything I have to answer only to my pancakes.

Very nice job on the electric evaporator!
You did a great job breaking the rules! A mini RO would work great with one of these too!
Regards,
Chris

Another suggestion. Makers of biodiesel who use an electric water heater paint Liquid Electrical Tape on the connections to the heating element to waterproof and oilproof them. It comes in a can with a brush and it sets up really well. You can cut it away with a knife when you need to replace an element.