Building a evaporator

[alan40]

Starting to think about sugaring again and I'm going to upgrade from a fire pit to a homemade sugaring rig using a 50 gallon drum. Have the damper and door. My question is when I cut the opening for the pan should I put a grate across it or just support the side of the drum with the bottom of the pan right on the flames? I'm also upgrading my pan this year to a square pan w/ a drawoff valve.
Had a blast last year with the boys /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gifand am looking forward to more of the same this year. Although boiling outside at midnight gets a little chilly!! Even with antifreeze!!!!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
Take care!!!

 

[sugarmaker]

Hi Alan,

I built a similar rig a few years back. It was a (free) 275-gal oil tank which I cut in half. I made a rectangle out of angle iron and welded it to the cut edge (you could drill and bolt nearly as well), making a nice flat surface on which to set the pan. I used 3" angle iron and arranged it so I had space outboard of the pan to stack a bunch of old bricks. The bricks served to insulate the sides of the pan from cold and breezes and significantly improved the boil. I also glued a length of fiberglass rope insulation (the kind you use in woodstove seals) to the angle iron to seal the firebox/pan gap.

Here's a few other design points for you to consider.
1) Line the inside sides firebox with some more old bricks; otherwise you won't be able to stand next to it without your pants bursting into flames. Plus that saved heat will be applied where you want it: on the pan.

2) Build a grating for the fire 6" or so off the bottom of the drum and cut an air intake below your door . This will allow air flow up through the fire and give you a much hotter fire. You can also rig a junk fan/blower to force air into the intake.

3) Nearly fill the fluepipe end of the drum up with sand so you have only 6" or so of space between the sand and your pan. This will force the flames up closer to the pan for more heat transfer. This creates the same effect as the "arch" shape of a commercial sugaring arch.

Even with all this "technology", I never got much better than a brisk simmer using a flat-bottomed pan, so there still were plenty of chilly midnight hours. I think you'll really need to move to a flued pan to get a jumping, rolling boil.

Let us know how the project shapes up!

 

[alan40]

Thanks for the info. Your right but this is just a fun family thing with a severly limited budget. Built a 24X28 garage this year for the tractor,heated,etc. Would like to get one of those half pint evaporators one day just because of the size. What's your opinion on small evaporators like this? Can you finish syrup with a Half pint?
Here in Fairfield you don't need a building permit for anything under 10X10 and also avoid those tax's. I think I could build a nice little sugar shack pretty cheap.
Sounds like you have a great setup and have been at it for awhile. Do you allow visitors? Not to far from Fairfield and could be a Dad's day out!!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
I'll let you know how my project turns out.

 

[sugarmaker]

Hi Alan,

I don't have any personal experience with the Leader Half-Pint, but it looks dandy. I'm using an old Leader 2x4 now. The front half is flat bottom and makes syrup (eventually) just fine.

As for the cheap sugar shack, you may want to keep an eye our for a collapsed farm barn or shed in your area. You may find the owner will let you pick at the pile for not much more than a bit of syrup. That's how I got most of the beams, flooring, and siding for my sugarhouse.

And, yes, you're certainly welcome to come by. Only the mice will be doing anything in the sugarhouse before mid-March or so, but if you just want to see the set-up, write me a private message and we'll set up a time.

 

[alan40]

Like the idea of recycling barn boards. My father-in-law used to take down silos and use the wood for building boat houses ect. He still has a big stack. Now if he only lived in Vt. and not N.Y.
I would like to get together sometime and will send you a private msg in the near future.
I went to the Franklen Field Days and the salesman for Leader tried to sell me a new 2X4 evaporator. Whew!!!!! Talk about bucks!!!!
Hopefully after this upgrade and when I get a sugar house up I can find a good second hand evaporator.
Take care.