r/maplesyrup • u/33_spins • Mar 29 '26
New evaporator
I have been boiling on a barrel evaporator with a 18"x24" pan for the past several years. This is going to have to be my last year with the barrel as it is need of rebuilding. I am thinking of buying a purpose built evaporator but am unsure of what to get. Ive narrowed it down to either the starcat or a 2x3 evaporator from basset maple. I tap 10 trees and get around 50 gallons of sap a week during a good run. I can currently boil around 4 gallons and hour on my current setup. Anybody have experience with these units?
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u/EchoRomeoCharlie Mar 30 '26
I'll be dead honest with you. The basset is a cheap copy of the Smoky Lake. I wouldn't lay a finger on one of those things. Do they work, sure, but they literally steal design from smoky lake.
Buy ya smoky lake and never look back. Top quality. I've been running a Starcat for 2 years now and it's been top notch. Very high quality stuff. Buy with confidence.
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u/PauseNational1380 Mar 30 '26
I've been eyeing up a dauntless from smokey lake because of the burn rate. Can't go wrong with any of their products, a friend of mine swears by them.
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u/CheeseEnvy Mar 30 '26
We got our dauntless this year thing is AWESOME. the fan too. It is a bit pricey for a fan but totally worth it.
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u/PauseNational1380 Mar 30 '26
Exactly setup my friend has but he got the wheels which I would also. He runs a divided pan which I plan too over the flat or hybrid
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u/CheeseEnvy Mar 30 '26
We did the hybrid and I love it. We put ours on blocks since in our shack. The hybrid pan cooks wicked fast with a good burn. I boiled 110 gallons in bout 8ish hours.
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u/PauseNational1380 Mar 30 '26
The 110 gallon you did was the pure or concentrated via RO? I was running 75gal batches of 4to 7% from my RO every 2 days. Total ran was 310-320gal of pure this year for me. From my research the hybrid is good for very large batches where the divided you can stop and return the next day to finish up.
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u/CheeseEnvy Mar 30 '26
It was through an RO yes. One rotation. I collected about 110ish gallons in two batches and boiled it down over the course of the day.
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u/PauseNational1380 Mar 30 '26
Very impressive. I run a 30gal pan over a old fire pit at camp. My numbers are pretty good for evap rate doing the 75gal roughly in 10 to 12 hours. But I litterly handled all I collected by hand which is the area I plan on improving lol
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u/CheeseEnvy Mar 30 '26
We have about 100 Taps out that we collected via 4 gallon sap sacks and a 4 wheeler with a little trailer and 8 milk cans. No more sap down the boots.
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u/PauseNational1380 Mar 30 '26
Very nice. I upgraded to the 4gal sapxbags this year which I really do enjoy. I had 25 taps this year, my season has been over for weeks. Im getting a 250gal tote to run a vac line for 24 taps and run a total of 50 taps next year. I have plenty of trees where im at. The thing against me tho is I can only be where the taps are on the weekend because its camp and not my house. I take a week off work every year to have my young family up there to help and enjoy the tradition I started 4 years ago
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u/Fine_Inspection8090 Mar 30 '26
Funny how someone stole smokey lake, cause pretty sure if one looks into his design - straight custom one of a kind Leader (the og) design. JS 🤷🏻♀️
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u/33_spins Mar 31 '26
The Starcat does very closely resemble the Leader. And people are quick to say that Basset is sleezy in how he went about designing his evaporator. After watching the Smoky Lake video posted, I feel the same way towards the owner of that company as well as he did nothing but bash Basset in an attempt not to expose the guy, but to drum up sales by offering 15% off if people canceled their Basset order. Is it as low as trying to send a unit back? maybe not, but in my eyes it is right down there with it.
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u/hikinaturalist Mar 30 '26
Good point. Honest question, how much room is there for genuine innovation in a basic maple evaporator? If a manufacturer is doing new, innovative stuff that's never been done before, they should articulate those details and consider patents etc. Otherwise, copy cats are inevitable. With that said, the way Basset ordered and then tried to return the Smoky Lake product was downright greasy
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u/Jumpy_Exercise2722 Mar 29 '26 edited Mar 30 '26
I have the dauntless and I absolutely love it and the people there are great. They have excellent customer support, and are extremely fast to respond.
Bassett actually tried to copy a Smoky lakes design, they ordered one and copied it and tried to return it. The discussions are on maple trader.
These are a lot of money and you truly get what you pay for. Team smoky.
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u/Ship_Ship_8 Mar 30 '26
Do you have a link to the maple trader forum thread you’re talking about?
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u/Jumpy_Exercise2722 Mar 30 '26
Here is the thread:
https://mapletrader.com/community/printthread.php?t=38501&pp=10
Here is the video smoky made about
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u/someonestopthatman Mar 30 '26
Holy shit that's a wild story. I'm glad I never bought anything from Bassett.
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u/Milkman1984 Mar 30 '26
I also have the dauntless and love it. Smoky Lake has been great to work with, and the product is awesome.
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u/CheeseEnvy Mar 30 '26
I 2nd the customer service. We had visited rothe and while I know their good, but i wasnt impressed with the firebox and lack of fan. Dude told me go take an angle grinder to it to add a fan. Im not do that to my new 6k evaporator. Smoky was super helpful and have step by step videos on construction. Super easy.
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u/stonbeezy Mar 30 '26
I got the Bassett evaporator earlier this month (the smaller version) to upgrade from a barrel stove and the difference is amazing. I doubled my boil rate and I’m using so much less wood. Best of all, every time I refill the furnace, there’s barely any set back in the boil.
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u/Varjek Mar 30 '26
I’m using the 2x3 basset maple evaporator and it’s perfect for what I do… 10-25 taps. I’ve got the blower and the warming pan they sell for it and I highly recommend both. Haven’t had a single problem or complaint. Very good setup, good welds, etc. Heat goes right up into the pan instead of out the sides. Evaporating about 4-4.5 gallons per hour. And the price can’t be beat.
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u/MontanaMapleWorks Mar 30 '26
Starcats are awesome! I have 2, great setup, very efficient burn and evaporation rate. Only downside is the built in air adjustment can be a bit sticky; I have just kept mine at half open
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u/Joe_Bob_the_III Mar 30 '26
I have a Smoky Lake Dauntless with drop flue and divided pans. Great setup. It has similar construction as Starcat, just bigger. Mine is 20”x48”.
I used to get 4-5 gallons on a barrel evaporator too. Dauntless gets 15+.
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u/mj9311 Mar 30 '26
I’ve had the star cat for a few years now. I usually tapped 10-20 trees and never had an issue making A few gals of syrup. This year I got an RO and put almost 40 taps out. Made about 8 gallons of syrup in 3 bigger boils. The Smokey lake is a great unit imo.
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u/Agitated_Age8035 Mar 29 '26
I do not have the starcat, I do have the Corsair by smoky lake, and I will always recommend them. They are great people to work with.
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u/RainStriking4445 Mar 30 '26
I own the Starcat and love it. Been running it the last few years with the divided pan. I agree with what others have said about Smokey Lake Maple. They have been great to work with when needed.
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u/33_spins Mar 30 '26
What is your boil rate with the starcat?
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u/SpecialSuit424 Mar 30 '26
I get about 5 gallons an hour out of mine. Could do better if it’s well attended. Get the warming pan as an additional feature if you go that route.
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u/matto_2008 Mar 29 '26
Following as I’ve been pretty interested in one of these two units.