Need advice on oil versus wood arch

[Grade "A"]

Buckeye, if you have a wood fired arch you can take off the doors and make a plate to put a oil burner on without any cutting or welding. So you can try ether without being stuck to one fuel source. I did it on a small brothers arch last year and worked fine. My taps are not on my land so I have to buy the wood or oil. With work, family and being an Asst. Chief of my fire department I don't have the time or the room to split, stack and cover wood. But like others have said, what works for one may not work for others.

[Sugarmaker]

I really wasn't trying to step on anyone's toes with the wood thing. I still have two antique oil burners waiting it the wings if I need them And I have my arch set up so I could convert it in about two days, sometimes my opinions are a little heavy handed.

Go oil guys!

Could have been the bigg SAPPPPPPP report that got me all fired (no pun intended) UP!!!!

Yea you can use the quote Bucket Head! And anyone else that cares too.

OH yea we have Lots of electric gadgets in the sugar house! But when we boiled with oil we had one light bulb and a dirt floor too. and I'm not going back to that

So its part work, part exercise, part being smart about your time, part being smart about the finical aspects of the hobby or business, and a big part about enjoying what you do, no matter wood or oil.

Regards,
Chris

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

If I have a low level of aprox 1 to 1.5 inches in my evaporator, I can have the majority of it boiling in 5 to 7 minutes including the syrup pan with my wood fired arch. If it takes 2 hours to get it boiling, someone doesn'tknow what they are doing or have very poor quality wood.

[Bucket Head]

"Are you mocking my hollow log" and "adding vacuum"-LOL, LOL, LOL!!!

That is funny!

[Buckeye mapler]

That is some funny stuff there clan. i am thinking right now that wood may just be for me after all. I will think it over more and keep my eye open for an evaporator.

Now let me ask this, how many people draw off and finish on a finishing unit?

[Haynes Forest Products]

I do its the only way I can get it right. I know others that have auto draws that still finish in a gas fired finish pan then into the bottler and in the glass it goes. I have a cover on my finisher and it will sit and condensate on the cover and go back in to the syrup. Others will let the syrup sit in the open air and it will change by 1/2 point over night as it cools.

[Grade "A"]

Sugarmaker, I don't think you steped on anyone't toes (at least not mine). Sometimes my post read differently then I intend them to. I figure you can't go wrong as long as your boiling something.

Clan, I love your vacuum, I might switch. No checking the oil and a warranty, sign me up.

I finish with the evaporator. I draw off into a stainless steel pressurized water extinguisher that I cut the top off of, a cone filter will sit in it and fold over the top. This way it doen't go past syrup as it cools because it is sealed and nothing can fall into it as it sits there.

[Romeo]

Very nice sugarhouse nice lay out Marty Concord Vt.

[adk1]

I like the tradition of wood. I think it all depends on how many taps and how much syrup u can make to pay for the oil. Most wood guys do no buy wood but cut split and stack off their property like I do. I will never goto oil