new guys rig

[jemsklein]

looks good you are going to have lots of fun with that. What is the gph work out to be and do you have any flues or is it all flat

[Gary R]

Maplewalnut, Polk is in western PA, a few miles west of Franklin, about half way between Pittsburgh and Erie.
Royalmaple, I had to ask others how to upload pictures. Oreinting them is asking a lot from me as I am computer illiterate.
jemsklein, the pan is flat. It has 3 sections. I modeled it after a half pint. I don't know what the gph is. I only did 1 test boil. I will probably determine it during the season. The way I look at it, it is what it is. I didn't have any leaks from the arch, pan, stacks and the sugar shack wasn't a sauna. I think it will be ok. I know I will have a lot of proccess to figure out once I start hauling sap.
By the way my engineering skills include using my skid steer to bend the sides of my pan while the tractor was parked on it. The stainless I have is 18 ga. (man is that stuff tough). It worked ok but I have 2 sources of free sheetmetal working that I should have used. Good luck on everyones projects!

Gary

[802maple]

Don't worry about Old Royal, I'm surprised he got that statement politically correct and all. He was probably talking about me as I am still trying to get the rope hanging from the ceiling off my left leg after looking at the pictures. LOL
Looks like a hell of a job and good luck this spring

[Sugarmaker]

GaryR,
Would have loved to have been there for the hood bending with the skid steer

Chris

[jemsklein]

well when my dad and i made are evaporator we used the log splitter to bend the angle iron for the top of the oil tank

[Dave Y]

GaryR
Nice looking set up.you are going to have a ball. I spent the day on sat. hunting by Polk. I i would have know where you are at i would have stopped. My helpers folk live up Valley Rd. we were hunting on there property.

[Jim Brown]

Dave Y. See you next week in Blooming Valley and by the way I live about 1 1/2 miles from Valley Road on the Polk cut off
See you then

Jim

[Gary R]

Jemsklein, that would have been something to see. I would have had to been "drinkin' and thinkin'" to come up with that. My father (who has the most tools) bent me my preheater pan. He has an arbor press. He used heavy pieces of angle iron in the press where the bend needed made. It did work well. By the way the BAT mobile was originally built to haul tree stands and tools for the woods. It's an automatic so it will be easier than the tractor for collecting. I'm getting to old and lazy to be climing on and off all the time. PA guy's, I had info sent from Laura Dengler about Blooming Valley. I would like to meet a bunch of you. I not sure what occurs there. I am looking for informal meet and learn. I wouldn't want to interferr with a business meeting.
Gary

[jemsklein]

gary r what is the make of the tractor you used in that pic it looks alot mine

[Gary R]

Ford 4000. About 1970. It runs great and I it has the right amount of power for me. I skid a few logs and maintain about 3 acres of food plots.