I won't be using a steam hood with my newly purchased evaporator, and it currently has no preheater setup.

I'm thinking of using my old 3 x 6, or an old 3 x 4 aluminum flat pan over the top as a preheater. I'd run the sap in one end, have a slightly low corner to drip the condensation off to the side, and drill a hole in the preheater pan, and put in a spout there to drip the warmed sap into the smokestack end of the main (flat, partioned) pan.

Does that sound like it would work?

If so, how deep should I run the sap in the preheater?

I suppose I'm going to need the preheater pan high enough so I can see the whole evaporator pan, not just the final compartments, correct?

How much efficiency could I expect to gain?