My plan 2022/23

[Andy VT]

Don't worry about the whiplash, just keep doing you. It occurred to me there could be a possibility you could edit your posts thus far into a book on maple sugaring adventures. Whether doing some early taps is a good idea or not, I'm not sure, but I do feel sure that if you do tap early, saving some for later as a hedge is a good idea.

[Swingpure]

I did my test boil today and I am just waiting for everything to cool down now.

A lot of good things happened, a lot of things went right, a few easily fixable things to fix. But I had three issues, one is just inconvenient, one should be fixable and the last one is pretty concerning.

It took me about a half hour from starting the fire until I had a decent boil. When it did boil I had a good boil the full length of three of the channels, which I was pleased with. I now know I need at least 10 gallons of sap in my feed tank when I decide to shut down. The whole setup was virtually smoke free until I added air. The exhaust from the stack was virtually clear.

Now for the three things.

The inconvenient : The upper frame of the entrance to my firebox hangs down a little too much and I have to put the wood in at an upper angle to fill it to the top. I can either fix it or live with it.

The fixable: the two couplers going from the float box to the pan both leaked. I suspect I did not fit the gaskets perfectly and I will have to make sure they are perfect next time.

The pretty concerning. The metal frame that the pan sits on started warping in the front right corner. The frame has a lip that goes down 3” into the fire box that helps hold the firebricks in place and is also welded to my base stack plate.

I do not know how to fix this yet. If it stays where it is I could live with it although not ideal, but if it warps more, which it likely will, it could be a deal breaker.

I typed all this without my glasses on my phone, so sorry if there are errors.

Oh one other thing, when I add air it is like there is not enough exit room for the air to leave the evaporator and smoke and flames want to come out the front:

https://youtu.be/97ZB6Cg_8e8

Edit, now that the firebox has cooled down, the metal frame has come back down.

[aamyotte]

Would there be a way to put insulation down the front face of the angle so it's heat exposure is reduced and keep it from warping?

[Swingpure]

Would there be a way to put insulation down the front face of the angle so it's heat exposure is reduced and keep it from warping?

I could try that, do you think a ceramic blanket hanging over the edge an inch or so past the metal, would work?

Funny that the metal came right back in place after it cooled down.

[Swingpure]

I was also considering welding more steel on the frame, outside of the pan to try and strengthen it. In the red box area in the attached picture.

A803D30D-7E40-43A1-BDEE-17AA8C21638C.jpg

https://share.icloud.com/photos/073Z...L63qbzpn0gRWbw

[Pdiamond]

If you still want to use the blower and the metal warps again, seal that gap with some insulation. That should help mitigate the smoke coming out the front,

[aamyotte]

I could try that, do you think a ceramic blanket hanging over the edge an inch or so past the metal, would work?

Funny that the metal came right back in place after it cooled down.

That could work. It all depends on how much heat it took for the steel to warp. Time to expirement.

[Swingpure]

I have ordered a ceramic blanket, it should arrive Tuesday. I will see if I can tuck it under the bracket between the bracket and the fire brick and then up and around the top.

I reconnected the couplers on the float box, there was one gasket obviously out of place. Hopefully both now with be sap tight.

My plastic head tank stores fluid in the legs and I was a little worried about it all coming out, but I did some rednecking snd it work great, it drained all of the water out.

I think my boil rate was 11 gal per hour, maybe a hair better.

I really liked how little smoke the whole setup had. Almost none, big difference from last year.

I mentioned before I liked how it boiled hard the whole length of the channels, last year with my five steam pans, it was hard to get the last two pans to boil.

[nhdog]

what is the purpose of the steel plate a round under the pan ? why not remove steel plate and just place your insulation on the cinder block. it will provide a seal just as well as if the pan was setting on the steel plate. now the problem has been removed.

[Swingpure]

what is the purpose of the steel plate a round under the pan ? why not remove steel plate and just place your insulation on the cinder block. it will provide a seal just as well as if the pan was setting on the steel plate. now the problem has been removed.

I originally added the steel plate for two reasons, one to give support across the ends of the pans, and two to help hold the top of the firebricks, hence using angle iron.

As things turned out when my base stack plate was made, it was made differently than I expected and he built it so that it had to be welded to the metal frame, which I did. This now limits options and some of the angle iron will have to remain.

The other thing that surprised me that instead of having a threaded pipe coming out of the pans for the float box and draw off valve, he uses “collars”, which I had never heard off. The collars can work great if you attach them correctly however the bottom of the collar is lower than the pan, so the pan has to be raised. Raised even more than the 1/4” plate and the 2” thick ceramic blanket strip that the pan sat on provided enough space, so that the collar did not touch the concrete blocks.

I had hoped I had a little space between the iron and the fire bricks, so I could snug the ceramic blanket under it, but I designed it to be tight snd it was. Tomorrow I get the ceramic blanket, but I am not optimistic that it will hang in such a fashion to provide protection. If the ceramic blanket is delivered in time, I will do another test boil tomorrow.

Last test, one side of the frame near the door started to rise. I think ironically the other end did not rise because I had a leak at the couplers and I think that kept the bar from getting too hot.

If the insulation blanket does not work, the only thing I can think of is to cut the angle iron back to the ramp area. I cannot remove it all as it is attached to the base stack plate. I will still need to add an iron bar on top of the blocks to act as a spacer to protect the couplers.

If during tomorrows boil test, the iron does start to warp, obviously it a serious problem that has to be resolved. Cutting it and removing it is a big step. The main implication will be that nothing will be holding the top firebricks in place and loading firewood could displace them. I may have to find a way for the top bar to press down on them somehow.

I never ever thought that the strong 1/4” angle iron would warp with only being down two inches in the firebox, but I am learning that any steel in the firebox is a problem.

I have to say this has been a bit of a downer as it jeopardizes my season, but I will find a way to make it work. The good thing is I have time to find solutions as our real season is two or three weeks away.

I don’t know if it is too late to use masonry cement to try and hold the fire bricks in place. There are no gaps currently between the firebricks and mam not sure if it is warm enough for it properly set.

First things first, will see how we do on the boil test tomorrow or Wednesday.