Looking for Head Tank\Feed Tank advice...

[Polish Wizard]

Today I was able to acquire three 55-gallon white-ish plastic drums with two bungs in the non-removable top ---- $15 each.
These are reported to have held sanitizing agent for milk production, and were hosed out by the vendor before I picked them up --- no chemicals were used for their cleaning of the drums.
I should be able to see the liquid level without requiring an external sight glass.
Sounds like a winner, and not bad for expense. Travel to the facility was reasonable, so once again low cost.
(I kept eyeing the 275 and 300 gallon totes, but that would definitely meet the definition of a "bargain" -- something you can't use at a price you can't resist)

Not sure yet how I'll install one of these in my shack as an elevated head tank -- horizontal or vertical.
There's been a lot of info provided here to make me comfortable that either choice will work.

So far my minimal concerns include:
-the amount of space I have available to install framework for the tank in a 10x10 room that will also hold a 20x48 evaporator, plus an old, over-square wood stoker (yep, that's me);
-whether installing a tank vertically will possibly affect the operation of an automatic float box, compared to slightly lesser head pressure from a vertical installation (how sensitive are they to head pressure?);
-my access to hand fill the head tank without banging into the rafters in the process.

[flhr10]

0207211355a_HDR.jpgdone some recent remodeling in the sugarhouse and relocated the feed tank in the process. It's a 35 gallon polly tank. Gravity flows through 1" line into evaporator. Fill by a sump pump from the holding tanks outside.

[Crooked Cellars Farm]

Polish Wizard,

A small pump would be your best bet for filling your head tank. If you have a Harbor Freight nearby they usually have some really cheap pumps to use. Might even be able to use a fishtank/koi pond pump. They carry those too.

As far as for head pressure from your head tank to your float box. Put in valve from your head tank to your float so you can "throttle" your sap feed coming in. Then you don't have to worry about the pressure over powering the float.
Dale

[buckeye gold]

rotated pic0207211355a_HDR.jpg

I might add, tanks don't need to be a lot higher than the float box. Even a few inches works.

[TapTapTap]

rotated picAttachment 21946

I might add, tanks don't need to be a lot higher than the float box. Even a few inches works.

With caveats -

You will need enough height above the float box to overcome head losses in the feed line and still have enough to provide a good flow rate. Less height means less flow rate and as the tank level decreases so does the flow rate (possibly down to a trickle). At some point you will need to upsize the line, reduce bends, etc. or just raise the tank.

Ken

[buckeye gold]

good comment tap tap tap. If your outlet is in the bottom and allows complete draining it helps. I have a small evaporator so I don't need a lot of feed, but I have watched larger units run and it matters more on them I suspect. Would over sizing the supply line help? You can always reduce at the box fitting. My career was running a fish hatchery and we moved a lot of water by gravity. In many cases we over sized pipe and then necked down outlets to maintain desired flows. For example we'd plumb in a 8-10" line and install a 4-6" valve. Flows are a combination of pipe volume and head pressure, you can adjust either and make it work.

[Polish Wizard]

I know I won't be tapping trees this season, so everything I'm researching will be put into practice for the next season.
For grins and giggles this morning I looked at the two large hardware stores on-line to see what they had to offer for bulkhead fittings.
I don't know for sure if the "plastic" versions I found are considered food safe, and roughly $15 for something in the 3/4" range.

Then I found this site, and at first look it seems decent for stainless 1/2 and 3/4" fittings -- and about the same price as the plastic versions.
https://minibrew.com/products/ez-sea...=6958587412527
While it is normally for making beer, they even mention their products have been adopted by the maple folks. (This is where you stick your chest out further and enjoy the recognition.)
Maybe worth a look if you can use something this small and don't have a better choice for vendors. I didn't get very far in my on-line search before I had to leave for a while.

I haven't ordered a new evaporator yet, and while my anticipated system is very much in the design stage I don't think it will require any lines bigger than 3/4".
Depending on what I settle on for a head tank (most likely a 55-gallon plastic drum since I now have them) and which configuration I place the drum (horizontal or vertical), I'd be concerned about the curvature of the drum and how a large, flat bulkhead fitting would match up without causing problems and possible leaks. I think I'd prefer the strength of a stainless fitting over anything plastic.

I guess I should mention the float box I anticipate buying will have a 3/4" inlet.

[bigschuss]

Polish Wizard,
I would avoid the leg tanks as a head tank. I have 3 of them and while they are pretty stout for holding sap, they are a pain to keep clean. The "legs" can and do hold some sap in them even when they are empty. We use a 55gal food grade drum with a closed head. I lay it on its side on a shelf in the corner of my shack. I cut a hole in the side of it to place a food grade bucket and lid in it. Cut the bottom of the bucket out and you can pump you sap in through it and then pull the bucket out and it's very easy to clean. I originally used the bungs to thread in a fitting to feed to my evaporator but found this also left 2-3" of sap in the barrel. So I then put in a 1" bulk head fitting that allows the sap to drain out of the bottom of the tank and leaves minimal sap behind. My barrel, I bought brand new from Wally-mart website. I don't think it was too badly priced a few years ago. Not sure what it costs now. Attachment 21884Attachment 21885Attachment 21886

I am going to do something exactly like this. Just sent you a PM with a few questions.

[Polish Wizard]

bigschuss,

Don't want to appear more ignorant than my normal self, but I'm back to my computer after a few days away and haven't found your PM to respond.

[Crooked Cellars Farm]

Sorry I just saw it a minute ago. Sorry about that. I responded back just now. But here is the link to the site tube I used.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/po...glass-235.html

Obviously there are probably a bunch of ways to do this, but it was cheap and easy to clean

Dale