Stainless v/s Aluminum Evap Pan?

[Medic421]

Hey y'all,

I will apologize in advance if this has already been talked about but I am new on here, I tapped my first Maple last year (2010), and as one might exect, I am hooked... Last year I batch boiled about 60 gallons down on the stove top, and this year I have incorporated a 55 gal barrel cut in half, which was no better than doing it on the stove top, and have had to dump sap and even had some spoil because I could get to it soon enough, so, I am getting plans together (drawing and researching) for a 2X3 or 2X4 evaporator. Currently I have about 50-60 taps on jugs and buckets(and hoping to have more for next year) on a good day I can get about 30 gallons of sap. I have looked at Davy Jones' plans on his arch and revised them a little to my liking. What I am having trouble with is the pan. I have a question concerning the pan itself, Most everything I have read says stainless steel pans, I am just wandering why aluminum wouldnt work? The reason I ask this is because stainless is quite expensive, especially to buy and then have someone to fabricate it. I am hoping to be able to get 15-20 gallons evaporation per hour or better, any ideas and suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance, Greg.

Here is what I am looking at as far as the arch goes:

[buck3m]

There must be some reason why the big manufacturers don't use them, but we used aluminum pans for years and they worked fine. The biggest one was about 2'x4'. The only problem we had is that we simply folded large sheets of aluminum which eventually would crack at the corners. But then we'd repair them and keep going. We could still easily use them if we wanted. Here's a couple of threads that mention aluminum pans:

http://mapletrader.com/community/sho...?t=1266&page=2

http://mapletrader.com/community/sho...t=10269&page=2

[highlandcattle]

I'm not an expert, but stainless is the industry standard for food production. We have made the switch to all stainless for our entire operation, expensive, but needed,as we sell to the public. I'm sure many people will give you lots more info. on this.

[Medic421]

Thanks for the info, I am not looking at becoming a mass volume producer, I only want to make for a number of friends and family, mainly myself. If by chance one of these days the "hobby" (more like obsession) gets bigger, I can always upgrade to better equipment, right now I am just wanting something that will get me out of a pinch with TOO much sap, and do better than 2 gallons an hour evaporation. And with the economy the way it is, I want to make every dollar my wife will allow me to have go as far as I can stretch it. I will keep researching and see what I can come up with.

Any ideas of how to better my arch, or do ya think it will work like it is?

[Sugarmaker]

Medic,
Arch design looks OK most don't have the 8 inch size in the back, but it will work Ok as you have designed too.
Make sure you make the back of the arch deep enough for a 7 inch drop flue pan if you would ever want one. Another thing is to go measure a set of pans from the factory and make your arch so they would fit [ thinking of the future]
Happy boiling.
Regards,
Chris

[Maple Hobo]

Raw aluminium needs to be thicker, its also been known to give off impurities into things cooked in it. The lower melting point of the Aluminium can be an issue if you get a good hot fire its more likely to burn through your pan.

Back years ago when they went from steel soda cans to aluminium we discovered that the steel cans didn't melt in the camp fire but the aluminium ones burned off and melted pretty quickly.

Granted you can boil water in a plastic soda bottle over a fire without melting it if your careful. I'd rather take the safer route of the stainless steel.

Its not like the stainless steel pans can't be ruined and burt through either though. When boiling sap like we do, the heat is an issue for the metals we use in the pans.

Just my opinion though...

PS: My dad and father in law both retired out of an Aluminuim refiery. If anyone was to go aluminium on the pans, if it was a good choice, we would be using them. Now our evaporator hoods... they are aluminum for sure!

[Clan Delaney]

The response I got when I inquired about building an arch out of aluminum was that, under equal amounts of heat, it would expand far more than steel, and that would lead to warping. Pans made out of aluminum would likely present the same problems. During boiling they might warp out of level, causing high spots that could lead to scorching. If you ran your sap deep that might not be as big an issue though.

[highlandcattle]

Here's a thought, no one cans food in aluminum, it leaches, that's why. I got rid of all aluminum cookware long ago. Cast iron, stainlees or heavy coated porcelin over iron. It's not worth trying to save money if you get sick. USe rest. pans available at supply stores, we finish with those, cheap and clean.

[maple flats]

It might be my imagination, but I swear I can taste syrup that was boiled in Aluminum, so can my wife. That being said, many small producers boil in aluminum turkey friers. I prefer using SS pots for that. I still reheat in SS pots on turkey frier burners to bottle. I'll heat about 15 gal at a time in 3 differnt pots @ 5 gal each, then I run it thru the filter one batch after another while the filter press is hot. Then I'll either pack it in ss kegs or bottle it in retail jugs or bottles.

[sandman6921]

Not sure if it matters, but I made my evaporator pan out of good old plain carbon steel. ~ 14ga.. I couldn't justify SS for just a hobby, and after firing the pan the first time it took on a nice blue/black shade. Wiped it down with mineral oil and hung it up in the garage. Didn't rust, and still has a nice sheen. We just wipe it down and go again. I think I paid 60 bucks for the steel, and ended up with a pan 30" x 52" takes two to move it, but it sure can go thru a bunch of sap. Made a block arch, closed off the front with some steel and made a door, and a fluepipe out the rear. Might not be the prettiest, but it works and was cheap.