Maple syrop boiler

[Rob30]

I am thinking of making a boiler stove out of cinder blocks. Has anyone done this? I am thinking of filling the blocks with sand. I will have to find a ss tank to put on top. We tapped about 40 trees last year and used a propane turkey deep fryer to boil sap. It cost me a fortune in propane. I want to tap 80-100 trees this year.

[Studhauler]

Check out Forerunners pictures on the "official MAPLE SYRUP thread" currently on page two of this forum.

[Forerunner]

Cinder blocks tend to crumble in the heat.

I used quarter inch steel with a little heavier framing stock.

With a little effort, packed clay would be serviceable for some time.......

[Bearfootfarm]

I am thinking of making a boiler stove out of cinder blocks

Fire brick would be the best thing to use
Metal would work just as well since you're using a gas heat source

[quietintheland]

I'm using cinderblocks as seen on a number of websites and videos on making a "do it yourself" evaporator, and haven't had any problems with them crumbling... yet.

Mine are stacked two high, two deep, and one wide. The ones in the front and back are sometiems turned on their side to allow for more air. I have some old pieces of metal I placed on the floor to get the logs off the ground and improve air flow. Three Lasagna pans are stradled across the top of the cinderblocks. The pan with the least amount of heat I use as a feeder pan. Then we ladle from the feeder into the other two pans. Using this method, we've been able to boil off about 2-3 gallons of sap per hour. At that rate, we could process about 20 gallons a day, or a 1/2 gallon of finished product. Which is just about right for the amount of sap we've got. I'd love to add a chimney to my setup, but I'm not sure how.

So, yes, it works, but it is time intensive. I've already improved my cinderblock setup some, and will probably play with it more tomorrow before we begin evaporating again.

QuietInTheLand

[Little_Bit_Red]

Originally Posted by Rob30

I am thinking of making a boiler stove out of cinder blocks. Has anyone done this? I am thinking of filling the blocks with sand. I will have to find a ss tank to put on top. We tapped about 40 trees last year and used a propane turkey deep fryer to boil sap. It cost me a fortune in propane. I want to tap 80-100 trees this year.

Rob30, I JUST learned of a tip to condense the time of boiling the sap. FREEZE it first - apparently, the sap and the water separate and you can pluck out the frozen water to help cut down on the time. I DO NOT know if this works - I just asked the same question and someone from this board PM'd me.

Hope this helps!