I convinced my wife to let me buy a 2x3 mason hobby evaporator this year and I don't want to screw it up. It's a big step up for me, as the prior 3 seasons, I have been using a gas grill as a pre-warmer and a turkey fryer burner as my evaporator. I don't have a sugar house, so I will be moving my evaporator from my shed to in front of my wood pile for each run. I tap about 10-12 trees and ran ~200 gallons of sap last year. I was going to build a cinder block arch this year, but decided to go to the next level.

Here is the list of questions I have so far:
What do I need to look for when I am buying my firebrick? I see some deals online, but I'm not sure if it isn't good brick.
I was thinking of mounting my evaporator on some sort of base that has wheels or skis to move it in and out of the shed. Has anyone done this?
What do I really need to know before my first run?
- How close to level to I need to be? I presume the more level the better. What problems will I have if I am out of level?
- Presumably I put a decent amount of sap in the pan before I start the fire to protect the pan? How much is enough or too much?
- When I want to stop for the day, how much sap/syrup do I leave in the pan? Do I empty it out after it cools down?
Do I need to think about tapping more trees? I don't want to be in a situation where I don't have enough sap to make use of the evaporator. I have some more maples on my land and the neighbors would allow me to tap their trees, if I gave them some syrup, I am sure.

I'm sure I have more questions, but these are all I can think of right now. Thanks in advance for your advice.

-Kyle Oliver
Andover, MA