Firing Pit

[SIGNGUY]

Building a new sugar house this spring/summer....I have a 3x8 raised flue arch and i am planning to build a 14' x 16'-18' sugar house with aditional wood storage...

I am looking for opinions on whether to make/pour in some sort of firing pit or just lift the arch up a foot or two from the concrete pad...

opinions..

[spencer11]

i would just lift the evap. up a foot or 2. thats what im gonna do.

spencer

[PerryW]

I have a pit in front of my 3x10, It's probably 3' x 3' and maybe 10" deep.

[wiam]

My first plan was to put in a pit. That was when I planned on a 4x14. I did not put in a pit and I ended up with a 2x6 and an RO. My point is a flat floor is more flexible. My evaporator is on 8" concrete blocks and it works well for me.

[79Binder]

To lift my evaporator,I am planning on a ring of sand filled, eight inch cinder block, sand in the center, with a two inch concrette cap on it. should do the job, and can be knocked out and rebuilt elsewhere if needed.

[Michael Greer]

I put an eight inch step in my new building, right at the front of the arch. There's extra room at the other end and some leeway to expand someday. I THINK I'll like this arrangement, but it does add a step up and down to the walk across the room. I have long believed in eliminating this kind of hazard, but I'm weighing this against having to bend down a million times to feed the fire. Am I more likely to twist an ankle, or strain my back? Ask me again next year.