Leader 2x4 Vermonter Raised Flue

[m2salmon]

Does anyone know the efficiency of the Leader Vermonter 2x4 hybrid pan? Leader is local and I’d like to buy from them but to me Smokey Lake is way out front of them and Lapierre in terms of published materials to allow consumers to make the most educated decision. Smokey Lake is also made in the US so I wouldn’t feel bad giving them my money either!

[Ross]

Great question. The Leader has 11- 5 inch flues with internal float valves and the SL 8- 5 inch flues with external floats.

I got a solid 15gph with my SL last year using natural draft and boiling outside. It's rated for 15-20. I'd think the Leader would be very similar.

[tombaisley]

I spoke with Bill Mason and he no longer offers the raised flue evaporator, I 'm looking at the Vermonter 2X4. I get 12gph all night long with out even trying hard on my mason 2x4XL, I would like to know what to expect from the Leader pan

[Vtmbz]

I had an old Leader Vermonter 2/4 drop flue (circa 1998) and switched to aSL 2/4 last year. Both are good and make the same amount of syrup more or less. My SL is the badger land model, if that matters.

My leader had the inside float, which worked well but was hard to clean around being in the channel. I ended up making an outside float box, which was not easy to do.

My SL has an outside float box, but the syrup pan itself will not drain dry. This seems like a small thing but makes daily wash downs very tedious. The Leader pan had cutouts between channels that are flat to the bottom, and it drained completely. It has to do with how they fold up the dividers when making the pan. I haven’t seen a new leader, so maybe everyone makes pans the same way now.

This means that there is 1\4” of syrup in the pan that you can’t get out, so you have to run higher during a boil. It was a shock the first time I drew off. I had hot syrup and it wouldn’t run out! I have to boil deeper than I would like because of this.

Larger pans probably don’t mind this, but in a 2/4 it’s a problem.