Building my Drum Evaporator

[jemsklein]

looks good lots of work and time went in to that

[Dennis H.]

I think I made the last addition to the evap for now.

I wanted to be able to finish the syrup on the evap so I wouldn't have to use propane or the electric stove in the house so I got a piece of 1/8" steel plate the same size as the pan, 20x30.

Then I cut a hole in it for a full size food steam pan to fit in, then I put some flat gasket material around the hole to give a better seal. As you can see in the pics I can also set a 1/2 steam pan on the back part to pre-heat the sap before I add it to the full pan for finishing.

And I also made an adapter so I could use the 1/2 pan to finish if I only had a small amount to finish. I also put some flat gasket around that opening to get a better seal.

Now I am hoping I can do all my evap'ing and finishing outside with wood and save myself some money not using propane or electric.

I also got the fittings and valves to put in the evap pan to draw-off/drain. just did't get any pics of that, sorry.

[Dennis H.]

Sitting here going through the pics to find the ones for the last post I got to see the before and after pics, WOW.

Thanks again for all the help everyone gave me while I was building my evaporater, I now know if I didn't have the help I would have done several things wrong and would have had to go back and redo them.

[MR Electrician]

dennis if i can toss in my two cents
forget about pipes and valves just add some hand grips to the stainless pans so you can remove them from the heat when the sap is ready.
we found that we had to finish the sap in the kitchen due to the fast burning of the pans

allso you will find the sides of the pans to burn real quick when you have a good boil going so if you can drop in a liner pan to protect the sides from scorching and over darkening yr syrup.

[Sugarmaker]

Dennis,
The finished product looks great. I think you will like the addition of valves.
All you need now is sap and wood, and time. Get some good action shots for us.

Regards,
Chris

[SeanD]

Hey All,

I'm new to the site and before I jump in I want to give a huge thank you to Dennis H and all the people who helped him along with his evaporator. I learned SO much through his great questions and everyone's answers. You all have saved me years of mistakes (though I'm sure I'll manage to make plenty, yet).

I don't want to steal any of the spotlight, but I have a question that ties in with the last few postings. I have a 2 x 3 flat pan on a cinder block arch (very caveman compared to Dennis H's) and I'm considering draw-off valves.

The trouble I'm having now is that when it's time to concentrate the sap to a couple full-sized steam pans, I have to pull the pan off the blocks and pour it into the smaller pan. This usually leads to a few burned wrists and face as I get hit with the blast furnace that I've just opened, not to mention the unwieldy, moving, molten weight of all that hot sap as I try to aim it into the next vessel. A second person would be ideal, but I'm usually boiling by myself. Perfect situation for draw-off valves, right?

If I draw off from the pan as it is still over the fire, how do I keep the pan and sap from scorching as the last couple of gallons get poured off? Do I have to add drop-ins at the same time as the valves or is there a different method batch boilers out there use?

[Dennis H.]

Hey Sean glad to see you are joining in on the fun at Mapletrader.

I know someone else will be able to give more advice that is backed by years of experience but I will try to help also.

On my evap I will have draw off valve to help and transfer the concentrate to the steam pans but that will be only after I have let the fire die down. I am like you and will not have anyone to help side off the pan with hot liquid in it. I think once I have the fire almost out I will be able to almost completely empty the pan and then lift the pan off and empty the remaining liquid into a steam pan or bucket with out the risk of scrotching the pan. I have found also on my test fire that if I turn off the blower it kills the fire in no time.

[NedL]

I've also been trying to figure out how to get the flat pans off the fire without a trip to the ER. I was thinking of trying to set up a table at the front of the "furnace so I can slide the trays off when I'm ready to transfer. Haven't had time to think it through. yet. I am setting uo a similar cinder block fire and flat pans.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Why not just let the fire die down, let it go out or shovel out the remaining fire. This is much safer and easier. It would be easy to add a draw off value. Just weld on a 3/4" stainless sleeve on one corner of your pan and then lift the opposite side of the pan and put a couple of brick under the pan while it is still on the arch and as the pan empties, also tilt the back.

You could also build a wooden, steel or cinderblock frame next to the arch at the same height to slide the pan over on it. I used a backyard setup for 10+ years and I just let the fire die out and drained it next day or started back up boiling without drawing off.

[Sugarmaker]

Several other thoughts:
When boiling for a neighbor he made syrup in batch mode in one side of a 2.5 x 10 rig. Any way when he went to draw off he would stop firing and lay a piece of tin or metal attached to a stick over the coals to reduce the heat to the pan.
Another approach that I used on my caner might work. I rigged up a eccentric pan lifter on one end that was operated with a simple lever/ handle on the outside of the heated area and therefore reducing the chance of burns trying to lift the pan and drain the last bit. (in other words it just lifts the pan using a external lever arm.)
Also the old Warren I mentioned had the pans hinged and when the batch was done we lifted the opposite side with a rope and drained the entire batch. (about 2-4 gallons).
I agree the if your syrup gets to shallow you will not be able to control the biol and might scorch the pan. I would think that you would not want to be much lower than 1/2 inch of finished syrup depth? If that sounds like to much then the only option would be to drain it into a smaller container and finish boiling on a stove or like Dennis.
Also if you would use the hinged idea, this needs a good fool proof easy to use valve. And you need to have some raw sap, or water to put in the pan when you let it back down on the arch to avoid scorching.

Regards,
Chris