2x4 Drop Flue Sunrise vs. Smoky Lake vs. Badgerland

[Ross]

I am looking for opinions about these 3 drop flue pans. They are all close to the same price.

The Badgerland and Smoky Lake Hybrid Hobby Pro are made with shiny 22 gauge and have superior craftsmanship. The Sunrise Spitfire has a reversible syrup pan with the draw off in the middle of the evaporator where it’s hotter, but the dividers are only spot welded. However, Sunrise will make me a custom unit with (9) 8” flues instead of the standard 5”. That’s going to be considerably more surface area than the others.

I am leaning towards the Sunrise because they are made here in Indiana but was hoping to see what you guys think.

Thanks.

[mol1jb]

I assume you are going from a 2x4 flat pan to flue pan setup? What are your max taps? I'm sure you did but I'll say it anyways, that it is always good to think of the future if you have options to add more taps.

[Ross]

I have a divided flat pan now and we are getting between 10 and 12 GPH. It's really hard to get an accurate boil rate count since we are not using a float box and it's difficult to keep a constant level.

We collected over 400 gallons off 40 taps last year but this year we will be close to 100 taps. I can't imagine ever getting over 200 taps since we are in farm country. This is just for fun but I have kids in sports and busy at work so I am looking for something that gets over 20 GPH.

[Ed R]

I would buy local. Sunrise makes really nice equipment.

[fred]

those around us that have bought smoky lake and sunrise recently are very disappointed post sale. customer service and quality are not what they were when they were smaller companies. no one i know of has a bagerland so cant give any input on that.
whenever you decide use a local guy that has knowledge and sevice to back it up, otherwise when you really need something you will be left high and dry

[maple flats]

Badgerland is Smoky Lake's economy line.

[mudr]

I have a badgerland 2x6, which yes is actually a line built by Smoky Lake. Communication was great, and they were very friendly and helpful. I've never had to use them for any warranty work, as nothing has gone wrong. Very pleased with the craftsmanship, though the features as lacking but not due to their skills but rather the price point the pans were designed for.

For example, there is no flue drain. There are 3 fewer flues and the flue pan is 42 inches rather than 48 in the main Smoky Lake pans. Again, it's an economy set of pans and will not speak poorly of them because the price was right.

That said, I do wish I would have paid for the SL pans looking back on it. But as a beginner the pans work great and they were very nicely priced.

[claystroup]

I'm curious to how many gph you get out of your 2x6 badgerland pans. Have thought about buying a set in the future myself

[Ross]

I'm curious what your 2x6 does, too. It's advertised at 20-25 but it seems like it should do better than that.

Fortunately all of my dealings with Sunrise and Smoky Lake have been very positive.

[mol1jb]

I have a divided flat pan now and we are getting between 10 and 12 GPH. It's really hard to get an accurate boil rate count since we are not using a float box and it's difficult to keep a constant level.

We collected over 400 gallons off 40 taps last year but this year we will be close to 100 taps. I can't imagine ever getting over 200 taps since we are in farm country. This is just for fun but I have kids in sports and busy at work so I am looking for something that gets over 20 GPH.

Based on what you described I would look at a 2x6. That would keep your boil time around 3-4 hours a day, depending on how much sap you collect and how hard you run the evap. It would also be able to take on more taps if you ever increased size again. Another option would be to buy used 2x6 pans or evaporator. I know Bascom has multiple used pan sets and used evaporators in 2x6 size.