Yet another barrel evaporator build!

[Galena]

Hey all, I am getting a friend to make me a barrel evaporator. Wondering what will happen to the paint lining the barrel and on the outside when a fire is lit in it. Will the paint burn off in one go or will it be toxic crap? Barrel was used for honey storage. Any advice or hints I should pass on?

[MapleCamp]

Hi Galena, I made one years ago. Used it for about 5 years before moving up. I only remember the paint smell burning on the first run. What I do remember is the heat it put out as i did not insulate it. When it was ripping I could only stand next to it for a short while.

[aamyotte]

I will be building one this fall for my first season in the spring. I plan to boil water on the first run to test it out and also burn off the paint and fumes. I might paint it with high temp paint afterwards. I think I will place roxul insulation on the sides of the barrel in an attempt to keep the heat inside the barrel letting me get close to without burning my legs.

I am only tapping 12 trees so i will be using full size steam pans for the first year to test things out before spending the big bucks on a fabricated pan.

[red/one]

Light a fire in it before you cut the opening for the pans. The paint will take a while to burn off and you wont want to breath it in or boil on it until the paint is burned off.

[aamyotte]

Light a fire in it before you cut the opening for the pans. The paint will take a while to burn off and you wont want to breath it in or boil on it until the paint is burned off.

Thanks for the tip.

[Galena]

Light a fire in it before you cut the opening for the pans. The paint will take a while to burn off and you wont want to breath it in or boil on it until the paint is burned off.

Thanks very much for that caution, I will notify my welder.

I have black stove paint for my cast iron stove, I assume that will be hi-temp enough to paint my evaporator with? And I will be putting it in my sugar shack, whish as a heat shield, so don't know if it needs anything more to help retain heat.

[CTguy923]

brick the inside to keep more heat in

[berkshires]

brick the inside to keep more heat in

Definitely do this ^^^.

For my first homemade evaporator, made out of an old wood-burning stove, I did not insulate the inside. After three years of use it was so warped that the pans no longer fit into the spaces I'd cut for them. Then the door wouldn't close. And it kept getting worse.

If your arch is running hot like it should be, uninsulated metal just can't handle it long-term.

Cheers,

GO

[Galena]

Definitely do this ^^^.

For my first homemade evaporator, made out of an old wood-burning stove, I did not insulate the inside. After three years of use it was so warped that the pans no longer fit into the spaces I'd cut for them. Then the door wouldn't close. And it kept getting worse.

If your arch is running hot like it should be, uninsulated metal just can't handle it long-term.

Cheers,

GO

I did use a cast-iron woodstove and used refractory cement on the various doors and welds. Can I use it in place of firebrick?

[Galena]

hey all, bumping this thread. Thinking of putting a layer of refractory cement inside my barrel evap instead of firebrick. Wondering how thick to go with it.