Garage Sugarhouse Build

[flathill]

I would like to use my one stall garage with attached shop for a sugarhouse.
The garage section is 11'x 24' with a large garage door and smaller window.
It has a masonary chinney with an 8 inch flue connection and a concret floor.
This section has 8 ' high walls and a plywood ceiling floor over it.
I'm concerned about the evaporator steam produced. I really don't want to tear off part of the roof 12/12 pitch and build a cupola.
Can I install a steam hood over the evaporator pans and duct pipe the steam vapor's though the upper floor and out through the roof ?
I'm worried that too much vapor will get caught in the building and make a real long term mess !
Need sugar making experience before investing in a new complete sugar house.
Mostly red maple trees that need thinning and management. Flathill

[spencer11]

Welcome to maple trader! Depending on the size of tour evaporator if will produce tons of steam. I would get a hood and put it on. I think in stalling a cupola is to much work on a already existing building. You will need some other form of vent for steam that gets out of the hood though. My .02.

Spencer

[TimJ]

Last year we boiled in an old shack/house with a normal roof. The first time we boiled it was so foggy and steamy we could not see across the room. It "rained" on us for hours.

Before the next boil we cut two holes in the roof and installed vents (With all the proper roofing to eliminate leaks) and that took care of the issue. The vents were right above our 2x5 pans. They were about 12"x 12" vents.

Good luck

[Ecnerwal]

Remove any gasoline/oil you may have stored in the garage before you start firing the arch. Could get pretty interesting otherwise....

You could just put on a hood (perhaps of the hillbilly wood/plastic type) and direct it out the window with a fan, as a temporary setup. No cutting holes in the upper floor/roof that way. The fan would need to be one that can run in water/rain as the steam will soak it.

Depending how much all that will cost you, might look at a tarp-garage - several pictures around of folks who used those to start out with, and they go for like $400 - just zip both ends open and let it blow. Probably cheaper than modifying your garage, and no steam in the workshop. Or get the even cheaper version without walls...better than what I started with. When it rained I had to boil faster to keep up.

[TimJ]

I forgot to mention - regarding hoods - we bought two used (Stainless steel!) hoods on craigslist - these are/were oven hoods. One is 2x4 made for an island stove/range and probably retailed for $900 or so.

The other is about 24"x28" and was mounted to the wall and is not symmetric, but it is a hood and hopefully will work. The 2x4 was too big for the current evaporator so we're saving it for when we upgrade to a 2x6.