Another Day of Learning -- don't clip tarps to stack guy-wires

[jrm]

Yesterday, was my second (and final) boil for my first season. Made changes from feedback on the forum and my own observations after the first boil. Re-positioned my interior fire brick, no longer blocking my vents; removing the screen on my stack outlet, adding wind-screens and a few other minor changes all helped my boil. Much better draft, front pan boiling at 212-213, rear pan 190-200. Still stayed with pouring cold sap into the rear pan and warm sap from rear to front. Took about 45-60 minutes to get to roiling boil initially.

All was going well until a couple hours in when the wind caught my tarps enough, adding force to my guy wires and separate the stack at the rotating angle connection. Fortunately I had fire gloves on from having just loaded more wood and pushed things around to grab the hot stack, a cell in my pocket to call my teenager to give me a hand-outside and even better, was able to the it cool a bit and snap it back on. Lesson learned -- don't connect anything go the guy wires. Funny thing is the wind wasn't very strong.

Before and after pics of the wind-breaks. Later in the day, took the screen downs completely. Will figure a better solution for next year.

2014: 1st timer. 3 taps. 3/4 gallon syrup over two boils

[kiteflyingeek]

jrm,

Glad you weren't hurt and that your son was available to assist ;-). Wind on a "sail" is a powerful force -- glad it didn't cause you to lose any of the sweet you worked so hard to get.

Welcome to the site and the addiction!

--andrew

[eustis22]

Now were this me, I would form a windblock from fresh-down logs that would be NEXT years To-Be-Split pile...that way they season AND protect.

Also, it makes for a scenic wind break.

[TerryEspo]

I threw together a tent frame with a tarp over it. Fast job securing the tarp with wire and some bungees. Two days later, snow crashed to whole set up on top of my arch, bent poles, ripped tarp, a real mess.

I have it back up, reinforced, ready for snow this time, lol.

Funny how we learn the second time around.

[jrm]

I threw together a tent frame with a tarp over it. Fast job securing the tarp with wire and some bungees. Two days later, snow crashed to whole set up on top of my arch, bent poles, ripped tarp, a real mess.

I have it back up, reinforced, ready for snow this time, lol.

Funny how we learn the second time around.

While unfortunate for you, too! It is nice to know I'm not alone. (I found this time around, my syrup ended up cloudy when I looked at it this morning. First time around, I only used pre-filters, this time wool filter and pre-filters, I debated about refiltering/bottling, but from a question I posed the first time around, that a bit of niter won't hurt. I thought today about posting on the filtering/bottling thread, and found the top item was someone who had my same issue. I read, gained some knowledge, and decided not to re-bottle.)


Now were this me, I would form a windblock from fresh-down logs that would be NEXT years To-Be-Split pile...that way they season AND protect.

Also, it makes for a scenic wind break.

I like how you think! Only disadvantage to that for me is moving it all to the center of my yard, where I evaporated, and then having to move it again.


jrm,

Glad you weren't hurt and that your son was available to assist ;-). Wind on a "sail" is a powerful force -- glad it didn't cause you to lose any of the sweet you worked so hard to get.

Welcome to the site and the addiction!

--andrew

If only I'd grown up around sailboats... :) Based on the way in which it fell, I wasn't too worried about losing my sap, I was a bit concerned about the "fireball" that was creeping out of the outlet where my stack detached. Fortunately, by the time it was all cool enough and had enough hands on deck to work with it, the flames had mellowed. I did also learn, that fire gloves with permanently stiffen/met (?) when left too long on something really hot.

Today's task was cleaning up my space, emptying ash, and began to remove my firebrick so that the evaporator can be moved more easily to store (not in the middle of the yard.) Trying to decide if I will remove the stack until next year. Might be safer with any summer/fall winds.

~janet

[eustis22]

>so that the evaporator can be moved more easily to store

You could always move it closer to the woodpile :)

My splitter, woodpile, logpile, and shack (really just a roof) are all within a few feet of each other. it's the <insert something here> trees that don't cooperate by growing (and falling) farther away. :)

Option two (2) would be to form a log windbreak with big crap logs like poplar.

[maplerookie]

Yesterday, was my second (and final) boil for my first season. Made changes from feedback on the forum and my own observations after the first boil. Re-positioned my interior fire brick, no longer blocking my vents; removing the screen on my stack outlet, adding wind-screens and a few other minor changes all helped my boil. Much better draft, front pan boiling at 212-213, rear pan 190-200. Still stayed with pouring cold sap into the rear pan and warm sap from rear to front. Took about 45-60 minutes to get to roiling boil initially.

All was going well until a couple hours in when the wind caught my tarps enough, adding force to my guy wires and separate the stack at the rotating angle connection. Fortunately I had fire gloves on from having just loaded more wood and pushed things around to grab the hot stack, a cell in my pocket to call my teenager to give me a hand-outside and even better, was able to the it cool a bit and snap it back on. Lesson learned -- don't connect anything go the guy wires. Funny thing is the wind wasn't very strong.

Before and after pics of the wind-breaks. Later in the day, took the screen downs completely. Will figure a better solution for next year.

2014: 1st timer. 3 taps. 3/4 gallon syrup over two boils It sounds like you did great for your first attempt. I built 2 sides a back and roof out of 2 x 3 lumber studs 24 on center. In the front connect the sides together at the top with a 2x3 then I covered the roof with some old plywood putting in supports laid flat not on edge from front to back as I needed them also made the front a little higher by adding a extra 2 x 3 so I had a slope from front to back. I covered that with a tarp. then I covered the back with old scrounged plywood as well left that uncovered. put a hole through the back 18x 24 and ran my stack through a piece of galvanized ( stack centered to avoid srarting the thing on fire)that covered the hole I made. . I covered the sides with tarps . I secured all the tarps using drywall screws through the grommet holes just left them sticking out a bit and angled them to keep the tarp from pulling away. The entire thing was held together with drywall screws of different lengths. The tarps and all held up in the highest wind and the roof did well even with 20 inches of snow on top. aOh on the back where the tarps wrapped around and ended I put strips of plywood over the edges so the wind didn't get underneath. didnt screw into the tarp just the plywood. face the back towards the prevailing wind. cost me about 50 bucks and worth every dollar,. I also cut my studs down to 6.5 feet. cause I am short and it gave me plenty of room and could use smaller tarps.

[jrm]

Bill- Great description. I'm mechanically minded and this seems like something I could pull off. Any chance you have pics to share?

eustis22- As my first time go around, I scrounged pallets from a company near me and broke those down for my fuel source. Already starting to look at my woods for next year's source. :)

~janet

[Burnt sap]

Jrm, I started with a homemade barrel evaporator. Does yours still have the top of the barrel on? Looks like it in the pictures. If so fire up the saws all and cut out the top to the size of your pans and weld angle iron 1.5x1.5x1/8" to the edges of the opening making sure it's level this will really get your little stove making liquid gold. This way the fire hits your pans not the inside of barrel first. And by the top of barrel I mean where the pans rest during boiling

[maplerookie]

Bill- Great description. I'm mechanically minded and this seems like something I could pull off. Any chance you have pics to share?

eustis22- As my first time go around, I scrounged pallets from a company near me and broke those down for my fuel source. Already starting to look at my woods for next year's source. :)

~janet Janet check your private messages re 3 sided hut build. also for the pallets. I just cut them with a circular saw and burned them nails and all. then ashes to the garbage man nails and all. It just saves a lot of farting around trying to pull nails out of that hard wood.