At Vermont Evaporator Company, we offer two different barrel-based opportunities to make wood-fired maple syrup in your backyard. We offer the DIY Seedling Evaporator Kit, and the Sapling Evaporator, the flagship item that gave us our start! Here’s a comparison of the two.
The DIY Seedling Evaporator is a kit item available at a lower cost.
The DIY Seedling Evaporator is a kit item. This year’s prices are $599 (without a barrel) and $899 (with barrel included). With the DIY kits, you source the barrel (or purchase one from us) and we send you a template and directions for how to turn it into an evaporator. A Seedling Evaporator Pan, a Seedling Evaporator Barrel Stove Kit, two lengths of Seedling Evaporator Stack, and a can of high-temperature, Flat Black Paint accompany those instructions.
Your 1-2 hours of labor will yield a portable, open-air, wood-fired barrel evaporator. The DIY Seedling Evaporator is sized for 3 to 30 taps and boils down 3-5 gallons of sap per hour. Assembly of the DIY Seedling Evaporator includes cutting and bending metal as well as tightening down fasteners. Therefore, we characterize the level of difficulty as intermediate. Check out this YouTube video to judge for yourself!
Accessories available for the Seedling Evaporator include the Seedling Warming Pan to preheat sap, the Seedling Evaporator Pan Lid to cover your pan between boils, a Ceramic Blanket Lining Kit to insulate your barrel and increase your efficiency, and the Seedling Grill Grates to convert your DIY Seedling into an open-air, wood-fired grill. Unlike the newly designed Sapling Evaporator Pan, the Seedling Evaporator Pan is not outfitted to accept an in-pan thermometer.
The Sapling Evaporator comes ready-made and has more accessories.
The Sapling Evaporator requires about 30 minutes of beginner-level assembly. Sixteen nut-and-bolt assemblies attach the door frame to the front of the barrel. Eight nut-and-bolt assemblies attach the legs to the bottom of the barrel. Four nut and bolt assemblies and several self tapping screws attach the stack to the back of the barrel. And two clevis pins secure the door to its frame.
The Sapling Evaporator is also a portable, open-air, wood-fired barrel evaporator. But, in addition to coming ready-built, the Sapling is coated with a top-quality, high-temperature powder coating for increased durability. It also comes with the larger Sapling Evaporator Pan, which is outfitted to accept the Sapling Pan Thermometer.
Like the Seedling Evaporator, the Sapling Evaporator can be accessorized by a warming pan, a pan lid, and a ceramic blanket lining kit. But, unlike the Seedling, the Sapling has the ability to handle a 5-50 tap operation with boil rates of 4-8 gallons per hour.
Because both the DIY Seedling Evaporator and the Sapling Evaporator start with a 55-gallon barrel, they can both be accessorized with the same fire brick. Fire brick insulates the barrel in lieu of ceramic blanket and at a slightly lower cost. But part of what gives the Sapling Evaporator its extra value is your ability to convert it into a wood-fired grill, smoker or pizza oven. You can do this placing a separate purchase, or by opting to purchase the Sapling Everything Grill with Evaporator Pan at the outset.
The Seedling and Sapling Evaporators have similar dimensions.
The dimensions of the Seedling Evaporator and Sapling Evaporator vary only slightly. Because of how the stack is situated, the Seedling Evaporator is slightly taller, while the Sapling Evaporator is longer. Either can be piped in to a sugar house or other outbuilidng with attention to safety: proper setbacks and non-combustable flooring are a must, for a start.
We hope this helps with some of your questions. Please feel free to contact us if we didn’t cover them all!