How do I Construct an Evaporator?
The equipment used to remove the water from maple sap to create maple syrup is called an evaporator. Once the maple sap is collected, it must be boiled to remove the water from the syrup and then filtered to create the syrup. To make the purest maple syrup, you will want to boil and filter the syrup more than once. To assist you with this process, a maple syrup evaporator can easily and inexpensively be constructed in your backyard. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Large serving pans
- Concrete blocks
- Clear yard space
- Metal flue
- Sheet metal
Instructions
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Purchase a few steam table pans approximately 1 foot wide by 2 feet long and 6 to 8 inches deep. You can buy these online or from your local home or cookware supply store. Set the pans on a flat surface next to each other with the longest sides of the pans touching each other. The pans will form a rectangle approximately 4 feet long by 2 feet wide. Measure the length and width of your pans side-by-side for an accurate measurement.
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Obtain approximately 40 concrete blocks that are 6 inches high by 12 inches long and 6 inches wide.
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Clear an area of your yard of any brush and debris. Use an area that is far from any trees or other wooden structures.
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Build a fire box with the concrete blocks in the area that has been cleared. This will take some trial and error. The box should be 4 blocks long by 4 blocks high on the two long sides and only 2 blocks long by 4 blocks high on the short side. One side of the fire box will be open. You must be able to rest the lips of the pans on the bricks when inserted into the fire box.
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Remove one of the bricks on the third row of the short side of the fire box. Purchase a small metal flue from your local hardware store. Insert the flue into the open slot where the brick was. The flue will allow the smoke and ash to escape from below the trays. Place the end of the flue far enough from the fire pit that you will not have ash getting into your pans.
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Set all four pans into the top part of the fire box with the lips resting on the edge of the concrete blocks.
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Place a piece of sheet metal in front of the open side of the fire box, below the pans, when you have a fire blazing, to stop wind from interfering with your fire. The evaporator is now ready for syrup production.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep the height of your fire box no more then 24 inches. This will ensure that you will need minimal fire to keep your evaporator running.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit breakfast still life with maple syrup image by nextrecord from Fotolia.com
