Backyard Evaporator Set Up - Light It Up!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ย. 2024
- This is chapter 5 in our Backyard Evaporator Set Up Series. This series is a guide for using a StarCat or Dauntless evaporator in your own backyard.
In previous video chapters, we leveled the foundation, installed bricks and stack pipe and added sap to the pan(s). In this chapter, it's time to LIGHT IT UP! Let’s make a fire in the firebox and generate some steam!
Outline of this Video:
0:09 Safety First (Fire Extinguisher, Gloves, Safety Glasses Required!)
0:19 Optimal Firewood Size
0:50 Firewood Prep
1:25 How to Load the Firebox
1:58 Dauntless Vs StarCat
2:50 Using the Damper
3:44 How Does Fire Behave When The Door Is Open Vs Shut?
4:56 How Often Should We Add More Wood?
7:09 The Base of the Evaporator is NOT Storage Space
8:02 Steam Is Starting After About 5 Minutes
10:00 Middle Channel Starts Boiling First
10:50 Why Firebrick Temp Matters
11:30 Trickling Raw Sap Into The Pan
13:50 Adding More Firewood
14:18 Preview of Next Video (Thoughts on Coal Build-Up)
Tools You Will Need:
• Safety Glasses
• Leather Gloves
• DRY, 17" length Firewood (Split small!)
• Blow Torch or Lighter
• Fire Extinguisher (And understand how to use it in case the need arises!)
• Spare Bucket of Sap for Emergencies
In the next video in this series we will demonstrate a typical shut down procedure.
What type of evaporation rates are you seeing with the blower?
The Flat pan Dauntlesses are boosted from 14gph to 16gph in one report, another report is from 12gph up to about 14gph (firewood quality and firing technique being the variable). Figure on a 2gph increase with a flat or divided flat pan, 4 gph with the pan set.
Tapping this weekend here in Pomfret CT to start the 2021 season. 2nd year with my Dauntless w/ flat pan.
Very exciting! Have a fun season and remember how lucky we are to be harvesting from the wild!
Just ordered my Starcat today! Love your company!
Jbilly24, We love you! You beautiful, strong, PROUD American maple syrup maker! You are family!
Do people ever cook food on their evaporators? Like, remove the sap pan and put other pots and pans on it? I'm just wondering if a sugar shack could be used as like an outdoor patio during non-sugar months.
I have seen people make hot plates for the top of their arch. Cast Iron is best if you can find something that fits well. It would be sort of cool for some people's arrangements.
Do not ever try to use an evaporator arch as a grill by putting a cooking grate over the top of it. There is no way to properly contain the smoke and the open grate exposes your food to the synthetic compounds found in firebrick and ceramic insulation. There is a low grade evaporator company building a gimmick system that actually includes cooking grates; not good.
@@SmokyLakeMaple Care to give me the initials of the bad company you're talking about? Or DM me at least?
Soft wood or hard wood for the starcat? What type seems to get a better evaporation rate?
Hey! I love the series. It relates directly to me. I received my Dauntless today and have the exact set up in the video. The videos were very helpful in my decision to purchase The Dauntless. I am in northern Vermont and got the sugaring bug two years ago. Quite a few of my Lineman co workers have established operations. First year, 6+ gallons , 18 taps. Last year 3+ gallons, 18 taps. This year about 3 gallons and 60 more gallons to boil this weekend. I can boil about 6 gallons per hour. Hopefully I can cut the time in half with a lot less effort. I won't use the Dauntless til next year but I am very excited. I hope to build a small sugarhouse this summer. Thanks for making these videos. Keep up the good work! I hope everyone stays healthy and safe in these crazy times.
Thank you for the purchase John! You'll see a minimum of 10 gallons per hour with your Dauntless divided flat pan, but all reports coming in claim at least 12gph. Many folks are reaching 14+gph! Have fun, and you too stay safe and healthy and happy!
Nice work guys!
Thank you Pittbull!
I got the starcat and added a blower-wow. Can't see the sap at all once boils. Sight glass is a must.
make a flue pan for the starcat! make the pan 1/2 and 1/2-1/2 flue 1/2 divided.
Really like your series. Thanks for taking the time.
Thank you Salmon Hunter! I hope you find this info to be helpful!
How much does this cost? Looks awesome!
Hi Trevor. The Dauntless starts at $1299, free shipping to your door. See it here, www.smokylakemaple.com/product-category/boiling/full-evaporators/dauntless/
Do u guys have any videos of u drawing off on this evaporator by chance?
So I’m trying to get into this and I like your machine so I’ve been doing my research I have a question about your the three-tier pan. if it flows from sap to kind of halfway between sap and syrup and then syrup in the third pan when you’re heating this up like you’re starting to now how can there be anything in the second and third tier of the pan? wouldn’t the second and third tier be empty until the sap burns down a bit? Wouldn’t those burn from the heat because nothing would get over there until it has boiled down enough to make its way no? Or am I missing something?
I am really excited about this series. I am very interested in this evaporator as a replacement to my homemade oil tank evaporator that only gets to 4 gallons per hour.
Thank you Jason. You can't go wrong with the Dauntless! After running it for a full season, it has exceeded my expectations. We steadily reached 12gph with no effort, and when mixing in cut-up pallets we reached 14+ gph steady! Full consumption was low , steam was thick!
Awesome product! I’m a 30 tap backyard guy and can’t wait to add a dauntless to my setup.
I noticed at around 11:00 there is a gap between the arch and pan. Is that on purpose or did a piece of pan gasket get missed?
Good observation. Once the evaporator is up and running for an hour, and the firebricks and the entire arch is up to uniform temperature, the pan gap goes away completely. However, we now have rail gasket available for the Dauntless/StarCat which eliminates any variance in pan gap.
We now have this product available for the StarCat and the Dauntless, a double thick gasket set that has adhesive on one side. Not necessary, but sure closes up any gaps between arch and pan. www.smokylakemaple.com/product/rail-gasket-1-inch-wide/