Three stories from the fab shop

Three customer fab projects from the last six months that we keep mentioning because they were satisfying to build. Permission given to share.

The maple-sap evaporator hood, Geauga County. A small commercial maple producer wanted to expand from 2-pan flat evaporation to a continuous boil with vapor capture. We built him a stainless hood that fit on top of a 350-gal stainless IBC, with a 6" stovepipe vapor outlet and a sloped collection bottom. He runs a continuous gravity feed from a holding tank, pulls finished syrup off the bottom, and recovers about 30% of his vapor as condensate (which he uses to pre-warm the next batch of sap). Total fab cost: $1,800. He pays it back in fuel savings in one season.

The brewing-hops cold steeping rig, Brewery District Columbus. A mid-sized brewery wanted to do small-batch dry-hopping experiments. We modified four 275-gal totes with: a manway in the top (8" hinged), a coarse-mesh basket assembly inside (for hop pellets and whole hops), and a sanitary tri-clamp outlet at the bottom. They run cold-steeping experiments without dedicating a fermenter. Each tote was about $620 in fab on top of the base cost.

The biochar reactor, Lancaster, OH. A small forestry-products company wanted to convert woody waste into biochar. We helped them build a retort: a single 275-gal tote modified with a top firebox (insulated), a bottom drain for pyrolysis liquid, and a rear vent for syngas combustion. The retort runs at 500°C for ~4 hours per batch and produces about 80 lb of biochar per cycle. Total cost of the rig: $720. They've run 60+ batches in the first year.

The fab shop is small — one welder, one CNC, an over-engineered cutting jig — but it's the most fun part of the yard precisely because every job is different. If you have an idea for a tote conversion, send a sketch. Most builds we can quote within two business days.