275 gallon fuel oil drum evaporator

[Indiana-Jones]

Last season I had an 18"X22" pan cut into a barrel stove with a banquet pan across it for a pre-heater. I dipped sap from storage drums with a quart sauce pan. So, I was measuring a gallon and a half into the pre-heater about 3 times a hour. So with about 400 square inches I was getting around 4 GPH. I think?? The new setup will be 1440 sq. inches and maybe a flue pan.

I did get the top torched off of Old Rusty and trimmed the legs down to 6 inches, it was on 4 foot tall pipes. If I put the worst end to the back and brick the rest.
I need to get some sheet steel and angle iron and see how it goes. I'm planning to build a box across the back so the flue pipe won't take any space from the sap pans and then come up with some sort of blower.

I'm thinking that if I make a decent arch and buy a good set of pans I maybe set for a few years. Sorry that we have so long to wait for next season.

[Ausable]

I did the batch pan thing on a barrel stove for a lot of years and used a couple stainless pots for preheaters -- but it was slow. I use a steam tray pan for finishing my almost syrup on a turkey fryer burner now and it really works out. Have a valve attached on an end and I can draw off samples to check with a syrup hydrometer. When I bring it in the house now it is ready to can. My 2' x 5' flow thru evaporator is a flat-bottom - but - it keeps me busy - last year I ran out of sap a couple of times and had to chase it with water -- sure learned how it worked in a hurry - cause I didn't want to scorch the pans. One of my Sons and a couple of Grandsons gathered sap and brought it up to me - so - when I would start a boil I would have about 150 gallons to play with and when I had about thirty gallons in the feed tank would start to reduce the fire so I could put it to bed with sap and leave the pans sweet for the next boil. I think once you get your flow thru set up going - You will really like it....... Mike

[rookie]

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