I shoot for a stack temp around 700 through a 6" single wall at that same height above the arch. That seems to be the best boil for the buck for my little 2 by 3. There is never a build up in the pipe. JayOriginally Posted by Ghost
I shoot for a stack temp around 700 through a 6" single wall at that same height above the arch. That seems to be the best boil for the buck for my little 2 by 3. There is never a build up in the pipe. Jay
Zucker Lager
I agree 650-900 is far better stack temperature. Split the wood wrist size, criss cross it in the arch for more air flow and only fill about 2/3-3/4 full. Get a timer, start refueling every 7 minutes, if coals don't start to build up, go to 6 minutes. If coals build up significantly at either temp, try 8 minute intervals. One of those will prove right for your rig. Whichever it is, use that timing all of the time you are boiling. This will apply to all dry wood, hard or soft, either will work, but if a pine, remove as much bark as you can, pine bark actually protects the tree in a fire.
Years ago, I had 1 piece of pine that was so crooked it didn't lend itself to splitting, it was between 6-8" in diameter. I figured I'd just throw it in the fire and get rid of it. At the end of the night, I shut down, covered my pans (it had been in a true inferno for at least 4 hrs) and I left. The next morning I went to empty the ashes, that piece of ugly pine was only blackened and still whole. That was a Scotch Pine piece. I have a sawmill and have burned lots of hemlock and pine slabs, but I removed the bark before it went into the fire.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
i can't imagine firing every 7 or 8 minutes.I use larger wood and like to fire at a more relaxed 20- 25 minutes.
I like a good boil, a stack temperature as you say between 650 - 800 and no chimney smoke means you are burning clean.
Maximizing GPH is less efficient and wastes wood in my arch.
..'kinda like my car goes a hundred plus but it's most comfortable at 60 and gets excellent mileage!
Last edited by ir3333; 03-08-2021 at 11:56 AM.
Hard to understand a creosote problem with an evaporator... I'm typically thinking there's too much heat going up the chimney, rather than not enough...
Brings back a memory for me, though.
We heated the house with wood when I was a kid.... My dad worked away during the week, and Mom was always afraid of the stove, so she idled it too much..
Every weekend, my Dad would open the drafts wide and create a chimney fire intentionally, to clean the chimney. (bit of a controlled burn, I guess)
I remember seeing the reflection of the chimney flames on the cedar hedge behind the house when he did this process.
Good lesson for me, that I wont ever forget... Need to burn the chimney good and hot on a regular basis, to prevent an unwanted fire.
i agree.. a hot fire and dry wood.( i still heat with wood...by choice)
Sounds like you need more air, more draft or both. When I'm running happy my stack is 750-850 degrees 3 feet off the evaporator. Don't think woodstove in your basement, this is a different animal.
1980 - 6 taps, stone fire pit, drain pan evaporator, 1 pint of syrup
2016 - 55 taps on 3/16 and gravity, new sugar shack, 2x3 Mason XL, 16 gallons of syrup
2017 - 170 taps on 3/16, 2x4 Mason XL, NextGen RO. 50 gallons of syrup
2018 - 250+ taps on gravity and buckets, 2x5 Smokey Lake arch and Beaverland pan.
2019 - 250+ taps on gravity. A few buckets. 35 gallons of syrup.
2020 - 300+ taps on gravity. 50 gallons of syrup.
2021 - 280 taps on gravity and 40 buckets. 35 gallons of syrup.
That's your choice, but you will be boiling about 3x as long to get the same total evaporation. If that's what you are looking for that's fine, it's just not very productive. You can't think of a car in relation to an evaporator. Split your wood wrist size, fuel every 7 minutes and see how much better it does.
Last edited by maple flats; 03-08-2021 at 02:06 PM.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
Firing fast with small wood will increase my evaporation rate by about 15- 20 % with increased stack temperature
and loss of efficiency... I'm trying to increase my gph and efficiency by making changes to my equipment
each year until i hit the Sweet Spot.
yes smaller wood-non green - dead for more than 1 yr and mix soft and hard woods.
I find this is my best boiling fuel at least wood wise. And cross the wood best you can.
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