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Thread: Refrigerated bulk tanks- value

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
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    Granville, PA
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    403

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    Thank you Dr.Tim. that chart will be very helpful
    Matt,
    Minehart Gap Maple

  2. #12
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    Apr 2019
    Location
    Nashville, MI
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    I bought a 400 gallon milk tank today for my sap storage. Since I am a small producer this should work real well for me as it has two lids and will be so much easier to clean vs the 325 or 275 gallon totes. I do not plan on long term storage for my sap.
    2004 - 2012 2x3 flat pan 25 to 60 taps
    2012 2x3 new divided pan w/draw off 55 taps
    2018 - didn't boil surgery - bought new evaporator
    2019 new SML 2x4 raised flue high output evap. 65 taps
    made 17 gal. syrup
    2020 - only put out 53 taps - made 16.25 ga.l syrup
    2021 - Didn't work out
    2022 - 25 taps on bags / 8 taps on 3/16's line - late start

  3. #13
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    May 2006
    Location
    New Hartford, N.Y.
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    Hands down, a working bulk tank is a very worthwhile investment! I got one operational 4 or 5 years ago. It takes the worry out of losing sap/concentrate due to a lack of time to boil. I only boil on the weekends now, which is when I have the time to boil. I gather and R.O. throughout the week. I would not be able to make much syrup by just boiling whatever sap ran on Fri. and Sat. and then boiling on Sunday!

    My tank is a 500 gal. Mueller that I paid $500 for and the dairy refrigeration company's bill to get it working was $750. Maybe you can get it done for less, maybe it'll cost a little more- but it will be worth it.

    Dr. Tim calls it a game changer and I agree. But it can also be called a game saver!

    Steve
    2014 Upgrades!: 24x40 sugarhouse & 30"x10' Lapierre welded pans, wood fired w/ forced draft, homemade hood & preheater
    400 taps- half on gravity 5/16, half on gravity 3/16
    Airablo R.O. machine - in the house basement!
    Ford F-350 4x4 sap gatherer
    An assortment of barrels, cage tanks & bulk tanks- with one operational for cooling/holding concentrate
    And a few puzzled neighbors...

    http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/t...uckethead1920/

  4. #14
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    Feb 2016
    Location
    Peru, Maine
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    Ya, that's the kind of deal I would be looking for. That same tank you have, I'm seeing for closer to $3000 from online dealers. Still worth it in the long run but more than I'd like to pay.
    305 taps on 2 Shurflo's, 31 taps on 3/16" and 229 taps on gravity. 565 in all
    Mountain Maple S3 controller for 145 of the vacuum taps
    2x6 Darveau Mystique Oil Fired Evaporator w/ Smoky Lake Simplicity Auto Draw
    Wesfab 7” filter press

  5. #15
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    May 2006
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    New Hartford, N.Y.
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    Yes, online and Craigslist ad's around here for "working" tanks are $3500-$8500. And I'm not saying they are not worth that- but I figured I could get one going again for less than that.

    And don't think a non-working tank, or one that has a known leak somewhere, is not usable. My tank had a leak in it- it would not hold vacuum when tested. The refrigeration guy disconnected the leaky side of the tank and then only charged the other side. Yes, it only has half the cooling capacity as it did, but it does not take much cooling to bring 50-ish degree sap down to 34 degrees (my lowest temperature setting). Remember, these tanks were designed and built to bring 100 degree cow's milk down to 30-something in the middle of summer! They don't work too hard to keep sap cool.

    Have a dairy refrigeration/refrigeration guy look at a tank you might have otherwise passed on first. You might be pleasantly surprised! There are a lot of tanks out there yet. And sometimes one comes up from a farm that just recently stopped operations or they needed a bigger tank. Those won't need much at all to get up and running again.

    Steve
    2014 Upgrades!: 24x40 sugarhouse & 30"x10' Lapierre welded pans, wood fired w/ forced draft, homemade hood & preheater
    400 taps- half on gravity 5/16, half on gravity 3/16
    Airablo R.O. machine - in the house basement!
    Ford F-350 4x4 sap gatherer
    An assortment of barrels, cage tanks & bulk tanks- with one operational for cooling/holding concentrate
    And a few puzzled neighbors...

    http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/t...uckethead1920/

  6. #16
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Chatham NH
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    The Hard Part Can be Finding a good deal on a Compressor, I have a 1000gal tank with good coils, but I didn't get a compressor with it, I got the Tank for reasonable money but good compressors seem to be more than the Tank.
    Nate Hutchins
    Nate & Kate's Maple
    2022 1000 taps?
    3x10 Intensofire
    20x36 sugarhouse
    CDL 600gph RO
    A wife and 2 kids.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Granville, PA
    Posts
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    Might want to go to a few farm auctions.
    Matt,
    Minehart Gap Maple

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Peru, Maine
    Posts
    1,044

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    Quote Originally Posted by n8hutch View Post
    The Hard Part Can be Finding a good deal on a Compressor, I have a 1000gal tank with good coils, but I didn't get a compressor with it, I got the Tank for reasonable money but good compressors seem to be more than the Tank.
    That's what I found on the tank I looked at last weekend, needed a compressor. Wasn't such a good deal after all.
    305 taps on 2 Shurflo's, 31 taps on 3/16" and 229 taps on gravity. 565 in all
    Mountain Maple S3 controller for 145 of the vacuum taps
    2x6 Darveau Mystique Oil Fired Evaporator w/ Smoky Lake Simplicity Auto Draw
    Wesfab 7” filter press

  9. #19
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,391

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bucket Head View Post
    ...but it does not take much cooling to bring 50-ish degree sap down to 34 degrees (my lowest temperature setting). Remember, these tanks were designed and built to bring 100 degree cow's milk down to 30-something in the middle of summer! They don't work too hard to keep sap cool.
    That is correct. Sap coming out of the RO might be a bit warm depending upon how hard you're squeezing it, but the air temperature is generally fairly low, so the compressor isn't working too hard.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  10. #20
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    New Hartford, N.Y.
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    I'm sure a compressor unit is not cheap, but I can not speak on the cost of those. My $500 tank included the compressor. However, I did not know at the time of purchase if it worked or not. But with that said, after seeing how much this tank has helped me, I'd get another compressor unit coming tomorrow for it if it failed.

    Steve
    2014 Upgrades!: 24x40 sugarhouse & 30"x10' Lapierre welded pans, wood fired w/ forced draft, homemade hood & preheater
    400 taps- half on gravity 5/16, half on gravity 3/16
    Airablo R.O. machine - in the house basement!
    Ford F-350 4x4 sap gatherer
    An assortment of barrels, cage tanks & bulk tanks- with one operational for cooling/holding concentrate
    And a few puzzled neighbors...

    http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/t...uckethead1920/

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