DIY Barrel Evaporator Build (Detailed)
I’m new to sugaring, and MapleTrader has been a great resource, so I figured I’d add my experience in hopes it will help someone the way so many posts have helped me.
Build take one: Bought a 55 gallon drum from craigslist; burning paint smelled awful; I wonder if it was carcinogenic.
Take two: Bought an unfinished 55 gallon drum from local company. Used a six-inch deep steam pan. Only evaporated one gallon per hour – WAY too slow. Lots of soot around pan, probably because I cut the hole a little too big (I found it hard to get the hole just right). Burn created tons of coals in the arch.
Take three, from the ground up:
Foundation is some pallets I picked up for free locally. The idea is I can move it around with the tractor from storage to the driveway. Also raises it up so I don’t need to bend over as much. I bolted the arch to the pallet. Price: $0 for pallets, plus a few nails, and $8 for stainless hardware from Lowes. Tools used: crowbar, hammer, drill, screwdriver.
Barrel is an unpainted one from a local company. Price $30.
Legs and door are from a barrel stove kit from Tractor Supply. Price $50. Tools used: angle grinder to cut holes (cutting wheel plus sanding flap wheel, true for all following angle grinder use), drill, screwdriver, wrench.
I lined the bottom of the barrel with firebricks I had lying around.
I bought a cast iron grate to get air under the fire. Price: $50 from Amazon. Tools used: wrench.
Angle iron used to hold pan. Price: $10 for angle iron from local welding supply, a buck for the hardware. Tools used: angle grinder, drill, screwdriver, wrench.
I used ceramic blanket insulation at the back of the pan. I had a hard time cutting the hole to be perfectly tight, so I cut it a little long and utilized the insulation to tighten it up. I used part of the barrel cut out for the pan hole to create a bracket to hold the blanket. Price: $14 for insulation from Amazon, a buck for hardware. Tools used: angle grinder, drill, screwdriver, wrench.
Stack is a six inch connector I cut up to connect to the back of the barrel, a 90 degree pipe, and two three-foot sections. Price: $40 for pipe from local Ace, plus a buck for the hardware, and a few bucks for stainless sheet metal screws from Lowes. Tools used: tin snips, angle grinder, drill, screwdriver.
Pan is a 20x30” flat bottom stainless welded three channel from Vermont Evaporator Company. Came with brass valve, needed only Teflon tape to install. Price: $270 on sale at an open house, normally $320.
Pre-heater is a half width steam pan. I used some 1 ¼ inch aluminum angle to hold it in place. I cut some short pieces to make brackets to pinch the evaporator pan to hold in place. The ball valve to let sap out is stainless and weldless. Price: $28 for pan from Amazon, $7 for angle aluminum from Lowes, $4 for stainless hardware from Lowes, $27 for valve from local brewers supply place. Tools used: angle grinder, drill with step drill bit, screw driver, wrench.
Total price = $544. Add in the previous failed barrel arch attempts and the cinder block evaporator I built the year before that… well a bunch more money.
Takeaways:
It took a few attempts, but I’m happy with what I built. It’s totally possible for other first-timers—I’m pretty handy, but haven’t ever really done any metal fabrication before this.
I saw the barrel evaporator made by Vermont Evaporator Company in person recently, and it's VERY nice. And although I initially thought the $900 price was steep, I no longer think that. It has a big door with a good sized air inlet. It has tall legs. It has a nice paint job. And it converts to a woodburning grill, how neat! Plus, the people who make and sell it are super nice and helpful.
If you can’t afford or don’t want to bother with a sugar shack for a permanent instillation for something like a Leader Half-Pint, I think either a homemade barrel stove or the Vermont Evaporator Company Sapling is a great option.
Effectiveness (report after first use):
I'm boiling down at least four gallons of sap per hour, with a pretty moderate stack temperature (never over 400 degrees). It means I can produce a gallon of syrup in a single day.
I burned pallets I got for free and cut up. The smaller I split the pallet pieces better. The grate at the bottom made a gigantic difference in the way the fire burned (it didn't build up a giant heap of coals). I left the door cracked the entire time. I will add a little more ceramic blanket, as the gaps resulted in some soot on the outside of the pan. With the brick at the bottom of the barrel, it didn't ever get too hot that I was worried about igniting the pallet beneath.
The three section pan really did separate the new sap at back from near syrup in the front. Pretty neat!
The pre-heater pan was WELL WORTH the money and effort, I guess for the little bit of preheating, but honestly mostly for the ability to just crack the valve open and let is slowly drip in to the pan at the same rate it's evaporating out.
TL;DR:
- A single steam pan only boils one gallon per hour. Misery.
- The 20x30 Vermont Evaporator pan is a thing of beauty, at least 4 GPH. It's the perfect size for a 55 gallon drum.
- Use a grate at the bottom of the fire for a good burn, makes a massive difference.
- A pre-heater pan with a valve means you can let fresh sap drip in slowly, no constant boil-killing ladling.
- If you make it decent, you won't save a ton building it yourself (I spent $544 just on my final attempt, more on previous versions).
- If you aren't fairly handy (e.g. don't own an angle-grinder or step drill bit), maybe you should buy the very nice Sapling evaporator from Vermont Evaporator Company.
nearly finished.jpgstack outside.jpgstack inside.jpgbrack and grate.jpgfirst boil.jpg
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by mol1jb
