Adding steel to a cinder block evaporator

[Wannabe]

Sometimes I wonder if I overthink the design of the evaporator. This video with this high energy, cheerful woman certainly simplifies things and makes the process seem even more wholesome.

http://YouTu.be/uCts2DqzkJo

Yep, you can throw a lot of money at this 'hobby' if you want. Or you can keep it simple and have fun (and spend a lot more time boiling).

[berkshires]

Attachment 22395

I totally redesigned what I was going to build. This crude drawing is what is between the two side walls. The back wall will now be concrete blocks and there are blocks inside to aid the slope. I will include a steel plate that will go from the grate up to the top of one of the blocks to act as a slope. I will have another steel plate that will go from the last pan to the end of the concrete wall and the stove pipe will come out of that.

The front wall will still be a metal plate, that I will lift to the height of the grate to allow air in. I will play with the exact height when the times comes.

It will be interesting to see if I get addicted to making syrup and how many taps I will have in year two, but we are still at least 7 months away from year one, but I will be ready for it..

Here would be my suggestion. Much smaller fire area, more forcing of the heat up to the pans, and no steel plate.

block_arch.jpg

Cheers,

GO

[berkshires]

I'm just curious, have you looked at all the other threads here on building a block arch? There's a ton of good info that covers a lot of these issues. Here's a start: http://mapletrader.com/community/sea...archid=7998589

Cheers,

Gabe

[Swingpure]

I have read a ton of threads. Unfortunately your link did not work. To be honest sometimes it is confusing as there seems to be many ways to skin the cinder block evaporator cat. I have made many changes since I first posted this.

I have poured my concrete pad to protect the roots and will cover that with several inches of sand. I am going to wait to talk to some experts at CDL when they reopen in August. I pretty well have my final design in my head, but just want to talk to them to do it the best I can. I know adding firebricks would make it better and last longer, but that adds hundreds of dollars more for the brick and proper mortar.

[berkshires]

Sorry the link didn't work, but it sounds like you've already poked around a bit. I think this arch is not too dissimilar to what you have in mind, and he's been boiling on it for 20 years, so it can't be all bad LOL

http://mapletrader.com/community/sho...-a-block-arch.

If it were me, I'd do something like that ^^^

GO

[berkshires]

I pretty well have my final design in my head, but just want to talk to them to do it the best I can. I know adding firebricks would make it better and last longer, but that adds hundreds of dollars more for the brick and proper mortar.

I agree you probably don't need firebrick to get going. What did you think of my suggested modifications?


GO

[Swingpure]

The metal plate and stove pipe in your link is almost exactly like I will be doing. Interesting about the solid blocks. I just got my remaining cinder blocks this morning and will go with them this year. I just went out and took some pics using the flash. I still have to cut the front plate to fit as a door.

Today besides getting the cinder blocks, I built a frame to hold 3.5” of sand over top of my concrete pad and will have sand outside the frame as well. Once that is in place, I will start placing the cinder blocks in place on the sand, over the pan. I still have to cut my grate to fit. I also cut a metal sheet in half and will have it on the sides. I still think it will help protect the cinder blocks, but if it fails, I will simply remove them, at the first sign of failure. I will also add concrete to fill in the gaps at the ramp, so it is solid and helps with the airflow under the rear pans.

I am going to up my tree count for tapping from 16 to 20. That should get me into enough trouble for my first go at the maple syrup making addiction.
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[aamyotte]

I would recommend making a test boil with water to iron out any kinks once you have it built. It will give you the time to make modifications as necessary.

[Super Sapper]

You may want to add a little obstruction just before the stack to divert the heat to the outside so it does not short-circuit up the middle.

[Swingpure]

I would recommend making a test boil with water to iron out any kinks once you have it built. It will give you the time to make modifications as necessary.

Thank you I will give that a try as soon as I get my stovepipe plate made!