e-Vaporator

[Fyreaway]

In another hobby, where they boil liquids to separate the vapours...

I learned a lot from those folks, reading posts by the shine of the moon. I 'still' remember how much help they were in my crazy pursuit to make syrup.

What I've found in regulating the current flow is that anything that reduces the heat output will work. Spending the money on the PID controller gives almost perfect control. With that magic little box I can slow the input to any percentage of maximum draw. In the middle of a boil I run it full throttle and can drip sap in to maintain a good boil. If I remember right, the fairy dust that runs the heating elements drops to 1/4 with half the voltage input. I don't understand it but it sure is a good way to slow things down. I like the bubble wrap idea. There's only a few places where that stuff really works and this just might be one of them.

[Cedar Eater]

In another hobby, where they boil liquids to separate the vapours from what remains in the pot, they use beer kegs with one or two water heater elements. Run them on 240VAC to heat up, then switch to 120VAC for a constant simmer. The foil backed bubble wrap insulation keeps the heat in the keg quite well.

A beer keg on it's side, cut in half or slightly higher, would make a nice sized sap e-boiler without the major fabrication cost.

Something I'll ponder for next Spring.

Aren't most beer kegs aluminum?

[saphound]

Aren't most beer kegs aluminum?

They come in both aluminum and stainless. You can buy them online, but they ain't cheap. I think a used sink is probably the cheapest SS your going to find. Steam table pans are under 20 bucks, I just wish they came a little bigger.

[67HEAVEN]

The stainless steel sink idea is also intriguing. I can imagine salvaging the sink portion of a kitchen cabinet. That would provide a place to drop the sink into, nice height for working, and you could even stuff insulation up and underneath. Why not run taps on it, while we're at it, to assist in the clean up process.

If a fitting could be found to convert the large centre drain to something appropriate for draining off, the sky's the limit.

[Cedar Eater]

The stainless steel sink idea is also intriguing. I can imagine salvaging the sink portion of a kitchen cabinet. That would provide a place to drop the sink into, nice height for working, and you could even stuff insulation up and underneath. Why not run taps on it, while we're at it, to assist in the clean up process.

If a fitting could be found to convert the large centre drain to something appropriate for draining off, the sky's the limit.

I'm working on that fitting in the In-Sink-Evaporator thread. If I find the parts I need, I'll post links to them.

[67HEAVEN]

I hadn't noticed that thread, Cedar Eater. Here's a link for others - http://mapletrader.com/community/sho...ink-Evaporator
See you over there.

Meanwhile, thanks to Fyreaway for generating all this creativity. I'll continue reading this thread as well.

[loubard]

I'm very impressed with your setup.

This is my first year boiling as a hobbyist in my backyard, and I'm already trying to find a way to move to electricity. I'm planning to build my own electric evaporator and this is the first successful diy project I found.

I like the V shape design of the sides of your evaporator and I was wondering if you also had a slope from back to front to allow for draining?

What thickness of SS would you ultimately recommend?

I was wondering if you could provide more dimensions on your evaporator, or a basic version of a plan?

Have you experimented with a system to continously re-feed cold sap as the water evaporates?

Sorry for all the questions, your project is making my brain spin. Thanks for posting!

[Fyreaway]

I was wondering if you could provide more dimensions on your evaporator...

Welcome to our sappy discussion! I don't have plans for the boiler I made. With rough dimensions it's not too hard to figure stuff out from the pictures. I think the thing is made of 16 gauge stainless. It seems to be plenty sturdy but if the budget is as high as the dream I'll have the next one made a bit thicker. It's about 17" square and 12" deep from the bottom of the V. The V is a 90 degree angle and the vertical bits of the walls are 3" tall. I did use some maths to get the basic dimensions. It will hold five gallons of liquid when filled to the top of the angled section. The 3" riser is nothing magic, just what was left on the sheet without making another cut. The cradle that it sits in has a 1/4" difference in height from end to end so the metal work didn't need to accommodate a drain slope. I feed sap from a 5 gallon bucket perched precariously on a shelf above the evaporator. I find that the precarious perch is helpful because everything else works so well I had to leave something to chance. I have a bulkhead fitting in the side of the bucket and feed through clear tubing with a needle valve to regulate flow. I have thought about flattening the bottom angle a bit to add to capacity but after further review I think I'll keep it the same. It only takes a gallon to cover the heating element and that has turned out to be a useful quantity for a very small run. You've got time to putz around with next year's evaporator. Let the fun begin!

[saphound]

I know a guy that is using an electric turkey fryer to preheat sap. That would be one way to go all electric. He actually has 2 of them and has made syrup with them, but the boil is a little slow so now he uses a propane burner and those to preheat.

[Cedar Eater]

I know a guy that is using an electric turkey fryer to preheat sap. That would be one way to go all electric. He actually has 2 of them and has made syrup with them, but the boil is a little slow so now he uses a propane burner and those to preheat.

I wonder if those small on-demand water heaters that they use for bathroom sinks could be repurposed for preheating sap on-demand.