Delivery tomorrow of the Mason!

[GramaCindy]

Yahoo!:D Barring any postponements due to the latest weather happenings here in Wisconsin, the Mason will be here tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing that bad boy up close and personal;), preparing it for bricking and doing a test boil. Could be a busy week up here in Mangy Moose land. I have had some suggestions on what to do about getting the fire up to the pan in the back, some say they used patio blocks and covered them with firebricks, others mentioned filling the area with old bricks, then firebricking. Any suggestions other than these would be appreciated folks.

[captnsteve]

good luck with the new mason.im waiting for a new 2x3 mason aswell this week . will you be bricking it yourself or hiring? im hoping i can figure it out.

[C.Wilcox]

GramaCindy,

You could also use vermiculite to fill the void. You can get it at big box stores or if you know any local contractors, ask them if they have any projects where they're removing it. It was a common insulation material and a lot of houses, especially in northern WI, have it in the walls.

[GramaCindy]

good luck with the new mason.im waiting for a new 2x3 mason aswell this week . will you be bricking it yourself or hiring? im hoping i can figure it out.

I am bricking it myself. I picked up 85 splits and insulation "fluff" fabric ( a girls take on it:o) for the door. I know most of the bricks will be full splits and I will cut the remainder on a "tub saw" hopefully..:confused:

[adk1]

I that is a good question. I would have thought that I would come with some basica instructions, maybe not? I am sure that you can contact Bill and he would give you some pointers. I may need ot think about this. I will definatly add the firewall material against the steel, then add the firebrick, then mortar the firebrick in.

I am also trying to fine out what length splits to cut up this summer for the following spring. Anyone can tell me what length to buck the wood up I would apprciate it.

[JuniperHillSugar]

Hello Mason owners:

Adk1: I cut my wood 12" long, I could use longer, but that works well to keep the fire near the draft. I haven't measured to the step, I'll check it soon and let you know.

For bricking I bought a "diamond type" blade for my skilsaw (around $35) to cut the fire brick. I dry fit the bricks, leaving a little space for the refractory cement. Its really not that hard, just make sure to keep the fire off the steel.

My Mason came with the door already insulated. I bricked the whole unit, then put a stack of old red bricks on the "step" to keep the fire running close to the pan. I'm removing some vermiculite from a house I'm remodeling, maybe I'll recycle some of it for the void behind the bricks.

Here are a couple of pics in my blog.

http://juniperhillfarmer.blogspot.com/2011/02/images-of-sugarhouse.html

Have fun with your new Mason evaporators.

P.S. GramaCindy - you are lucky to be getting your Mason so quick, Bill must be working overtime to fill the growing demand.

[twofer]

After cutting many bricks for my 30x10 I would whole heartedly recommend a diamond segemented blade. I had a diamond blade that wasn't segmented and I burned it up after about 9 bricks.

[cvmaple]

Yeah I would say you are going to be busy this week. If you run out of time you can dry fit the bricks over the fabric.Hopefully it will come with instructions to take the mystery out of this process. I was in the same boat last year without directions. It is a lot of work to get ready but you will have so much fun it will be worth it. There are lots of discussions and pictures on here of the bricking process so that should help. good luck and let us know how you make out. cvmaple.

[GramaCindy]

Thank You everyone for the encouraging words, and Juniper Hill Sugar, for the link to your blog pics. I DO realize how lucky I am to be getting the evaporator so quickly. I can only hope now that the delivery can make it up here okay with the latest weather. Still not sure where to have the delivery guy put it,??? Oh boy, I'd better get my act together TODAY!

[GramaCindy]

Thank You everyone for the encouraging words, and Juniper Hill Sugar, for the link to your blog pics. I DO realize how lucky I am to be getting the evaporator so quickly. I can only hope now that the delivery can make it up here okay with the latest weather. Still not sure where to have the delivery guy put it,??? Oh boy, I'd better get my act together TODAY!

Not today, mother nature has other ideas! Safer trip all around tomorrow hopefully:rolleyes:

[bxowner]

Cindy -

They say good things come to those who wait... well, the 2x4 sure is a good thing! I picked mine up today. I'm not saying this to make you jealous - just more excited that what you're in for. It's just a fantastic bit of steel. So much nicer than my half-pint-like 2x3 that I sold 2 years ago. It was built by CDL and was very much an economy model. The Mason isn't terribly expensive compared with what else is out there, but it's clearly a well built evaporator. I'm thrilled with it - and I haven't even put any sap in it yet!

Have fun tomorrow!