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I am just a backyard hobbyist collecting 40-60 gallons of sap during the week and then doing weekend boils using three propane-fueled turkey fryers. This weekend I added another natural gas fueled burner, too. I'd like to know how other small scale operations are handling similar volumes of sap with weekend boiling. How would you handle batch boiling on this scale?
55 gallon drum evaporator with steam table pans or a cinder block arch are the most economical ways of dealing with that volume of sap. Both are wood fired which may or may not work for you.
Next up is a natural gas rig which will take some diy work most likely. Costs can add up with natural gas and the burners to burn it.
When I first started I was collecting and boiling about what you are. I had a nice cement block arch and a 20x20" SS pan. Something like that would easily handle your 60 gallons. If you started early in the AM, you could even get it done in one day.
I can boil down 40-50 gals sap in a 8 hr day on a concrete block type burner with a 6" deep 2' x 2' SS pan along with a 6" deep 12"x 20" warming pan.
Poured slab with 3 blocks high and 3 blocks long 20- 22" wide I think. Might take a little longer for the finishing but you get the picture. Averaging about 7-8 gals hour full tilt, stoking .
Maybe it's time to check out either making an RO or check out the RO Bucket.
I did try my hand at a DIY RO system. I only got it fully completed midway through Saturday's batch, so it hasn't been fully utilized, though. I was able to run about 10 gallons of raw sap through it, though, reducing that by 50% or so, so that was a big win. Next boil I hope to run the entire batch through, hopefully cutting that boiling time in half.
I think you will find with your RO that you don't need to change anything. You can recirculate the sap through the RO (even a small one) and bring your concentrate up to 6% or even 8%. That will make a nice short day of boiling. After that, a DIY block arch and pan as others have mentioned would be a nice improvement. For my money (and time) the RO is the best investment for small scale production.
A 2'x3' flat pan on a natural draft block arch can easily boil gals 4 / hr, and will achieve 6 gals / hr with steady firing.
A lot more fun stoking a fire and watching water boil, than flipping a switch and hearing a pump hum.
In general, what is the cost of a DIY RO of this size? I may also be interested.
For me, I boil about 40-60 gallons every 1.5 - 2 weeks. I had a 2x3 pan and just upgraded to 2x4. First time out this year and took me 8 hours for 50-60 gallons. Biggest difference is I can't sit out there for 8 hours feeding the fire every 10 min. So I go up and down in temperature and depths. I like the hobby, but marathon boiling sessions has caused me to sit out the last 2 years. I'm trying again this year.
I spent about $300 invested on my DIY RO, ordering most of the parts from Amazon and picking up the rest from Home Depot. After I built it I saw something about The RO Bucket, https://www.therobucket.com/Wordpress/, which seems to follow the same model most of the DIY RO systems use (pump, filter, RO membranes). With my next batch boil I plan to put mine to the test. I don't think it would be a good idea to use it to concentrate the sap ahead of time, only to let it sit before boiling. It seems like that would create a situation that is ripe for spoilage.
Oxford, you are correct. Only concentrate when you are ready to boil - or will be ready within a short period of time. It does concentrate both sugar and bacteria. The RO Bucket is about $300 as well. For those of us that work, but want to make syrup, sometimes the tradeoff for flipping a switch and being able to have fun vs. either not producing at all, or not getting any sleep, is well worth it. It is a personal choice.