2x3 pan from smokey lake

[daniel_wentworth]

I have a Leader half Pint and for sure need to come up with faster boiling times. Nice little evaporator but made 18 Gals this year and seemed to be married to it. I think he has pans for his also.

[bowhunter]

Daniel,

I have the same issue with the half pint. Here's a link to Smokey Lake Maple 1/2 pint high output pan. It really looks interesting. I think you could build a small RO for $400-500 that would add about the same capacity.
http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/sh...ment-pan&cat=9

[bowhunter]

I assume you were able to finish in the pan with no problems?

Thanks,

Dave

[sg5054]

fixin40,
How much wood did you burn? How close is your arch to the flues?

[fixin40]

I burned between 4 an 5 face cord, my flues are about 3/4 in away from the flues. I had 16 ft of six inch stove pipe for a flue to get a draw. This set up worked pretty good. The last two boils I put a vornado fan into 8 in ducting under my grates, and boy did the fire come alive! For next year, firebrick and insulation on a slab, 2 six in flues side by side, a float box(this year I just trickled the sap in cold), a preheater, and maybe an additional 2x2 pan with 3 paths so I can rotate for sugar sand.

[sg5054]

What are using for an arch? I insulated my mason with 1" fire board and then bricked it. The amount of heat loss is minimal even after 8 - 10 hours. I set up a float box and a 12v water pump to feed it. I made a quick and dirty pre heater that would warm the sap but not really get it hot. I could get the first channel boiling for 1/2 - 3/4 of it's length. The pump worked ok but the pressure switch couldn't handle the continuous on off cycling. I have a 300 gal sap tank that I am going to try raising high enough, about 4 ft, to gravity feed. I'm not sure if the float box will be needed as I will have a valve on the outlet of the pre heater to regulate the flow. A hood and expanded preheater is also part of this summers project list. I just picked up 8 10ft lengths of new 3/4 copper pipe for $10 each.

[fixin40]

I must have been tired with my last post. My arch was cinder blocks with 22 inches in between, the fire box portion was 20 inches deep and then angled up at about 50 degrees till 3/4 of an inch from the bottom of the flues, the fill for the arch portion was a combination of urbanite(last years broken cinder blocks) and crusher run. This combination of fill was held in place by cement bricks on the front side and topped with sand for a smooth surface. After the first boil the cinder blocks began to crack and leak, therefore losing a little more draft at every boil. The front of the arch was sheet metal with a barrel stove door. The smoke stack was 16 feet of 6 inch stove pipe. I did not preheat the sap so I was losing my boil in the back of the flue pan. I want a float box for next year so I can maintain the level better and some sort of preheater. This year I had a 150 head tank about 2 feet above the pan and regulated the flow with a valve, I think a float valve would make things much more efficient seeing how I was not as consistent as I could have been with the firing, those beverage runs do get in the way.

[Rocky Ridge]

With the hybrid pan, do you have any problems due to the fact that the front portion is not reversible?