Input on best wood fired evaporator for the $$ / leader vs cdl vs lapierre

[RUNOFBANK]

We are looking to replace our Leader patriot pans and traditional wood arch for a newer, cleaner more efficient rig. Looking at Leader Inferno or Vortex with Max flue, CDL Intensofire and Lapierre Hurricane x-treme fire possibly force 5. Any input in regards to these would be great. Has or does any one run one or more of these. Pros and cons please.

[GeneralStark]

They are all great rigs with impressive boil rates and wood consumption levels. I looked at the vortex, the force 5 and the intens o fire and you can see by my signature what I went with. After two seasons boiling with this rig I am quite impressed with it. The only issue has been with the draft controls which CDL knew might be a problem due to a change in vendor for parts. Last season they were here within hours to fix a broken control. Support was really the main factor for me as during the season I want to be making syrup and not fixing equipment. This is certainly something to consider in making your decision as all these rigs are more complex than a traditional arch. I did already have a relationship with CDL, though I have purchased equipment from all the companies, and I have been most impressed with their customer support. I really like the Force 5, but LaPierre would never call me back.

Last season I used about 7 cords to make 170 gallons boiling raw sap. This year I used just under 5 cords to make over 300 gallons boiling 8-10% concentrate, though I did boil raw sap for our open house weekend as I didn't have enough sap to concentrate.

[para2]

My vote is with the vortex. Running a 3x10 3ft front pan and a 7 foot combo fluent pan.was told by brad at leader that it would do 180 @start up and 200 once up to temp. Best to date 206 gallons per hour. Bruce came down fired with us which was a great help in the learning.curve.

[unc23win]

I think all of the companies are in the same ball park with effiency although I will admit it is a shame not all of them publish the numbers. In my opinion one of the biggest downfalls of any maple company is the lack of information readily available either on the web or in a brochure. If you are looking to buy new a trip to the open houses in Vermont is a good idea. Good service is always a plus both from the parent company and the dealer.

[ennismaple]

I believe that when they've done boil-offs in the past using same sized evaporators the Lapierre Force 5 won for most efficient and the CDL unit was the faster boil rate? I could be wrong - I'm sleep deprived and going off memory!

We love our Force 5! We've boiled on it for 6 seasons now and ours was the first installed in Ontario. Support has been great (we have an amazing local dealer) and we've had very few issues. Boiling around 10% concentrate this year we probably averaged 120 gallons of syrup made per chord of wood! We get about 200 gallons of concentrate through it per hour. I'd buy another one.

[LittleEnnis]

They did do a boil-off. Here's the link: http://mapletrader.com/community/sho...Off-Maple-Rama

[sjdoyon]

We have the Inferno. I find its like comparing a Ford, Dodge, and Chevy. We are looking to replace ours in a few years and we're looking at evaporator capabilities. More importantly, we are looking at price. We're looking at the Force 5 as our next evaporator.

[RUNOFBANK]

Can you tell me some good and bad about your inferno and why you wouldn't go with another one. We were looking at them first mostly because of price. Now are thinking one of the more efficient arches may be better mostly because of the evap. rates. We were told that a 2.5x10 vortex with max pans and NO steam away will boil 165 gal/hr. I am having a hard job believing that. However have been told that the force 5 and intensofire of same size will be closer to 115 gal/hr. Can 1.5" more flue depth really make up that difference. I don't want to find out the hard way.

[Woodland Acres]

When i bought my 3x10 Intens-O-Fire5 years ago it came with all the brick, refractory cement,arch board,smoke stack,chimney cap as a package deal a lot cheaper then any other company. I was impressed with the quality of service from CDL. This year I bought the front pan reverser for it and wished that I had purchased it when I first got it as I only boil raw sap.

[Bruce L]

Not only the extra flue depth,but also the number of flues. As mentioned earlier, go to the open houses and watch the rigs boil, I did that for two years straight, took another sugarmaker with me the second year, stood back and said nothing to him.He was also most impressed with the vortex with the max flues.I am easily topping 250 gal/hr, no hoods or preheater, and only raw cold sap. Yes the vortex may use more wood, but I am done boiling quickly so I can get out in the bush checking for leaks etc.Check out the short video my son did last year of our vortex boiling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93mg7ubYPs0