Maplesaint

[MapleSaint]

My sugar shack is small and I have been working for a week straight to get it up and running. My legs are sore and my fingers are raw. I got my appendix out 2 weeks ago so that slowed me down but did not stop me. New evaporator is all bricked up and the pan is on. Just gotta do some minor plumbing and it should be ready for a test ride. I got 20 gals of sap today and the anxiety sets in for the first test of that sweet syrup and the smell of sap boiling away in the tiny sugar shack. I should of worked on the shack all year but other hobby's always come into play. Tools are never where you need them and the mud is poking through. Haha!! Sugar season is here and hope everyone feels the way I do. All the hard work is worth it when the first drop of syrup goes on my french toast. Good luck everyone and remember if your not having fun then you should not be doing it. Plinking buckets!!

[Uncle Tucker]

Boy this is a painful, frustrating, sleep deprived and rewarding hobby.

[red maples]

Hi maple saint, yep we are all in the same boat. everyone has lots of last minute stuff to do right before we get going because we put it off all year. I usually start going through boxes of band aids this time of year... and yep ice packs on the bad knee and lots of Motrin gets me me through the woods part then its all about the maple shots followed by the boilin' soda chaser.

[MapleSaint]

Well my first big weekend is another notch in the belt. And if I drink and eat while watching syrup boil for more then a month, I will need a bigger belt!! 😃. I boiled from Friday at 4:30pm till almost 11pm. Then I re-kindled the fire around 9 am. Slow start do to the "boiling sodas". Haha love that term Russell!! We boiled all day and had a lot of friends and family visit. I really need a bigger shack. But the steam was rising and the syrup was flowing. I had a local welder put in some thermometer ports into my half pint pan last week. As soon as I got my thermometer figured out I would boil till I hit 7 and draw off. Hydrometer said not quite done. Brought it up to about 8.5 and started to draw. I would draw off almost 3 quarts at a time. Takes about two hours to draw again. It took about 25 min inside to touch it off and I was done. 9 pm and two gallons of syrup. On Sunday I did not have enough sap to start the big rig up so I went to visit some other sugar houses and enjoyed the rest of maple weekend watching other people work. Not bad for a first boil on a Halfpint. Caught the bug and enjoying every minute

[optionguru]

Maplesaint, I feel your pain. The best and worst part of all your friends and family coming over on Sunday for "Maple Church" as they now call it is everyone brings food and drink. Just feels rude to not sample all the goodies. Add on that we made a bunch of maple candies and maple nuts for everyone to enjoy while boiling and there were a lot of calories being consumed this weekend. I figure I have 11 months to do penance afterwards.

[MapleSaint]

Bottling my 8th gal of liquid gold tonight and i am beat. A lot of work from the Halfpint but well worth it. I have about 70 gal left to boils and who knows what's in buckets. I have took 20 down because I'm running low on wood and they were dry for 4 days running. Haven't checked the rest because I have been a little busy. Going to wrap it up this weekend. Hopefully I break the ten gal mark. Let me know how everyone year went. I realized I want to upgrade to a 20" by 66" cdl or 2 by 6. And a 16 by 16 sugarshack. I had to many visitors this year and my shack is to small. The bug bit me!!

[Wingo87]

I'm in the market for a half pint for next year. I don't really have any cash right now but I have a sawmill and can make great lumber to build a sugar house if anyone is interested in some sort of trade. It's a long shot but I figured I could thro it out there.

[MapleSaint]

This just in!!! My maple season is over. My sap % was so low I boiled down almost 70 gal and didn't draw off ounce. It was under 1%. Oh well I will make another 1/2 gal of sweet darkness. Hope everyone seasons went good and now it's all over but the cleaning. Fill the thread😃

[MapleSaint]

Just bought a hand pump filter press. It's not a Daryl but he said his brother in law made some for a bit. Anyone have a Daryl or something similar? If so how does it work? Any tips for using it? Collected 55 gal last night and will collect again tomorrow. The half pint will be fired up soon. Can't wait to smell the steam.

[MapleSaint]

What is everyone's thought on the future forecast. Over or no? Let me know:cry:

[Russell Lampron]

It's not over yet. It looks like it is going to cool down again after a couple of warm days and nights. We should be able to keep going until maple weekend.

[MapleSaint]

I used my hand pump filter press yesterday. Oh man!! Filtering never has been so easy. Crystal clear and simple. Clean up is another story. Two gals of clear gold. Now I can bottle in glass. I am "pumped". Been boiling all day today and made a little more syrup. Need a bigger shack, it's hot in here!!

[CampHamp]

Wow, you got a press! How hard is the clean-up? If I don't have water in the shack, is that an issue? Did you use diatomaceous earth? I like being able to recycle the sweet back into my pans by rinsing used filters in the sap pan -- do you think you lose much syrup in the process with a press?

[MapleSaint]

It would be a difficult to clean with out water. It's small as a shoe box. I just do it in kitchen. If you have a steam hood to get warm water I don't think it would be to bad. It would be better if I had bigger batches. But I only make two gal at a time. Leader half pint takes a while. Yes I did use DE and it worked amazing. I filter all the syrup and then I run warm sap through it into a seperate pot and pour back in evaporator. I don't think I lost a lot. Nothing in press just some around outside of plates and that's it. 1/4 of a cup, maybe.

[MapleSaint]

My sap is a little cloudy and some of it has a tint of yellow. Not to bad. How long do u think it will last. On call for work and can't really boil till Friday. Should I take a day off and boil or do you think it would last. I'm thinking not but if anyone has better news for me let me know. Thanks

[Dill]

Well if all goes right you can drop it off here. I'm staying positive maybe a light dip below 32 tonight and looks like a good freeze tomorrow night.

[Russell Lampron]

Looks like you will have to take a day off if Dill can't take it. If it's already cloudy it isn't going to keep until Friday.

[MapleSaint]

Putting out there. Looking for 100 gal of sap for maple weekend. If anyone can help me out it would be great. Gotta a little party and I would like to be boiling. Willing to pay money, around Deerfield area. I can come pick it up. I do not have pump but I have barrels. Thanks

[psparr]

Dilute a gallon of syrup in water and boil away!

[MapleSaint]

Parr that is a good idea but I have to boil for 10 hours to get my gold and then filter then clean up. It's to much work to do it all again. Rather start fresh and make more. Thanks for the info.

[MapleSaint]

Trees flowed again. Thought they were all done. Got another 40 gal coming tomorrow from a friend. Going to have to find some standing dead wood to keep the fire going. Almost at six crystal clear gal thanks to my new press. Note to self. Don't poor DE in pot while still on hot side of stove. Lost 1/2 gal all over my kitchen. Not good. Maplesaint

[MapleSaint]

5 gals of sap left just to let pan cool down. **** I love maple season. Really can't wait for a bigger sugar house and a bigger rig. I enjoyed this season more then the last two. Almost eight gal in the bank and my hand pump filter press is the best investment. Keep it up everyone and hope everyone had a great year

[MapleSaint]

Seems very early. Is anyone tapping already. Can't be time already is it???

[maple maniac65]

Note the dates on the prior posts they are from last year.

[Wingo87]

I say yes it's too early, but this weather is tempting. I'm going to wait at least a few more weeks before I think about it. Last year I tapped half my taps on January 26th and the first run was good but the sugar content was not

[BlueberryHill]

I'm holding out next door too. Not even close to ready yet.

[MapleSaint]

The temps are tempting lol. Can't wait. Let me know when everyone is drilling. Thanks:cool:

[Dill]

I'm starting to think about it. But I'm so far behind I'm still cutting wood. Got 5 cords to stack this afternoon.

[NHTREEGUY]

Tempting to start, going to hold out. Last years sugar content early season was very low. Pruning sugar maples in the next few days, hoping they at not pouring sap....that will get me extra itchy.

[Wingo87]

I'm getting itchy too. Might pull the trigger next week on a few see what happens, if the forecast holds. Their is no snowpack also. Anyone else?

[NHTREEGUY]

So, I was cutting some red maple Friday in Plaistow, NH. To my surprise they were not even wet! Who knows whats going to happen this next coming week. There is no frost in the ground and no snow pack....This is weirder than last year. Im still holding out. Still plenty of time for winter to show up/

[MapleSaint]

The itch is here. Looking to tap after this next cold snap. Let me know what everyone else is planning on doing. I only run about 125 buckets so it don't take long. Hope everyone is ready to go and have a great season.

[Wingo87]

Looks like old man winter decided to show up. Long range looks good next weekend tho. If that stays true I will be tapping then. I'm ready.

[MapleSaint]

Got all my buckets up on Saturday and the sap is flowing nice. Hopefully the next few days does not let the buds out. Just a little cleaning and I should have some sap boiling tonight. Can't wait to smell of sweet steam in the air. Hope everyone is doing good and I hoping to bump into some of you on maple weekend and learn some tricks. Will be looking for a small bush to tap for next year around the Deerfield area. I'm planning on expanding my sugar house and buying a new evaporator. Let me know. Thanks

[MapleSaint]

Sitting in my tiny shack boiling away and it is hot out. Down to a t-shirt. Boiled about 25 gals of sap last night and almost done about 25 tonight. Sat morning early I should be able to draw about 3/4 of a gal off and another 3/4 of gal at about 2:00 pm. Would like to run at least 2 gal through the filter press and have it bottled on Sunday. Is anyone worried about weather or do you all think it will be fine. Hope everyone is off to a good start and having fun. 15660

[Russell Lampron]

I'm off to a good start and having fun here. I'm not worried about the weather. It's still early and the weather looks good for next week.

[CampHamp]

Hey saintly one. Been busy here, too. First sleep-in-day after a week of boiling and bottling. Still frozen at 11:00am here (nice! - go back to sleep maple trees...) and will get up into it late today or maybe even hold it for a boil tomorrow if it's slow.

[MapleSaint]

Just when you thought the sap didn't run the last two days, some of my buckets are over flowing. I have a 150 gal in my bulk tank and another 80 in buckets. My little halfpint will be hot for a couple days. Not looking forward to another big freeze. The snow on Tuesday does not bother me as much as the freeze when it comes to sapping. Happy Sapping. Let me know how your doing.

[Wingo87]

Same here. I pulled in about 105 gallons the last few days, boiling tonight and tomorrow. I hope I can keep my sap from freezing solid tonight with a low of 10. Sugar content is right around 2%. Running out of wood fast, but I'm over 6 gal finished so far! Hope the freeze doesn't last too long! Good luck!

[eustis22]

How do people keep the sap in their tanks from freezing?

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

How do people keep the sap in their tanks from freezing?

Not trying to be a wise guy, but when it gets as cold as it will this weekend you have to get it out and through the evaporator. The sap doesn't work around your schedule, other way around.

[eustis22]

Understood but my evaporator doesn't do real well in intense cold. I lost my auf and have to wait a little

[Russell Lampron]

How do people keep the sap in their tanks from freezing?

I've had to drive a punch up through the opening in the valve to my bulk tank to get the sap out. The ice just stayed in the tank until it thawed.

[Russell Lampron]

Just when you thought the sap didn't run the last two days, some of my buckets are over flowing. I have a 150 gal in my bulk tank and another 80 in buckets. My little halfpint will be hot for a couple days. Not looking forward to another big freeze. The snow on Tuesday does not bother me as much as the freeze when it comes to sapping. Happy Sapping. Let me know how your doing.

I'm up to 77 gallons of syrup now and down to 1 cord of wood. I still need to make 100 gallons to reach my goal. If everything went perfect for the rest of the season that cord would be enough. I go through a lot off wood on maple weekend though so I'll be splitting up more wood Sunday.

[Wingo87]

How do people keep the sap in their tanks from freezing?

You'll laugh but the barrel I didn't get boiled I wrapped in blankets and it didn't freeze last night. Got to do what you have to do lol. Cold day to boil but that's Mother Nature

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Might be able to rig up some contraption around your tank and use a Mr. buddy heater. But everything is a pain with this wind. We had to dump 50 gallons of sap last night.

[eustis22]

will a 275 gal poly tank stand up to a 250W heat bulb?

[MapleSaint]

As long as it is not touching it. I'm sure it won't melt. But keep a eye on it

[MapleSaint]

Ice and more ice

[MapleSaint]

Last two weeks have been nothing but storm restoration. Maple month is almost over and haven't even got to enjoy it. This week end is going to be nothing but boiling, boiling sodas and hanging out with friends and family.

[Dill]

You "open" for maple weekend? The forum listed all the producers who are members as open. Not sure if that will send people your way or not.

[MapleSaint]

Open yes, for people to come prolly not. My shack is way to small. I did not tell anyone that I was open. I just become a member to be involved. Maybe next year I can be apart of maple weekend but not this year. I will be boiling this weekend because I am am buried with sap for a halfpint. Lol. It's fun either way. Hope to see some of you guys this weekend if I can sneek out.

[MapleSaint]

I was wondering what they look at and what they judge at the fairs for syrup. Thanks

[Wingo87]

I would guess color, clarity, and taste?? Not sure tho.

On the other hand I finally broke 10 gallons of finished syrup with my last boil!! Most I've ever made. Last batch still had low sugar but finally made some amber instead of dark. Also made candy for the first time which came out great. I have enough wood for one more boil and that's it for me. Then start building a new sugarhouse!

[Russell Lampron]

I was wondering what they look at and what they judge at the fairs for syrup. Thanks

They go by color, clarity, flavor and density. They also look at your jar and deduct points for dirt and finger prints.

[MapleSaint]

Thanks guys on the info. I had a good batch my first boil but didn't have the honey jars to bottle it. I tried reheating it and putting it into the honey jars that I got and I'm am not happy with it. You think it has to be from the first run? Or does darker syrups have a chance. I bottled almost three gal this mornings NH and I just got the halfpint up to a boil. I have almost 100 gal of sap to boil before the end of the weekend. Hope everyone has a good maple weekend and have a lot of visitors. Maybe next year I can join the festivities if my new shack gets built.

[MapleSaint]

I have pulled all of my buckets and I had around 80 gal of sap. It's a sad sad day. I have enough wood for another 6 hour boil on Saturday and I am throwing in the towel. I made enough syrup for this year. So I guess next week will be clean up. :-|

[MapleSaint]

Finally all the storms are over for now and I get to boil. I have upgraded my halfpint to oil fired and she is screaming. My family and I have built a homemade RO and we are squeezing almost 6%. The steam is cranking today because it is so cold out. I can’t beleive how good it is doing with oil. Still fine Tunning it. I will let people know how I do at the end of the weekend. Weather it is faster on wood or oil.

[MapleSaint]

We went through 350 gal of sap in 14 hours with our halfpint and a homemade RO. It’s a halfpint on steroids. Hope everyone is having a good year and making some good syrup.

[MapleSaint]

Is it all done or are we going to get a little more?

[MapleSaint]

2019 season is on its way. Hopefully this is the last year in the little sugarhouse. I have all the lumber Miller for the new 20 by 24 house. I can’t wait. I am still looking for a 100+ taps around the Deerfield area. I got 60 gal of sap yesterday enough to prime up the homemade RO and boil this weekend. Good luck everyone:cool:cool:

[MapleSaint]

What is going on with this weather!?!?!?

[Russell Lampron]

I don't know but it looks like it should go back to normal starting tomorrow night. Notice that I said "should"!

[MapleSaint]

Homemade RO is running at around 10% and I have around 40 gal of concentration to boil. So I figured a half pint it will be great day tomorrow. Got a bunch of cool bottle I can wait to try. Got to do few last things to take care of first thing in the morning and then it going to be time for relaxation and watching the syrup flow. Does anyone Know a little sugar bush anywhere around me. If so? Shoot me a message. Thanks

[MapleSaint]

Still not even running good. It is almost noon and it is only around 30 degrees. And this wind is not helping at all. The vacuum systems might be going good but when you don’t have a sugar bush to have a vacuum it’s not helping either. This has been a very weird for me. It frustrating be ause I just want to boil make syrup.

[MapleSaint]

Ran all 250+\- gal through the RO and i am going to fire up the ol’ Half pint at 7 am. How did everyone’s day go with visitors? Crappy day today but totshould be really nice. Filtered 2.5 gal today and it’s not as light as I hoped. Hopefully it lightens up a little so I can put some in my glass to grade at fairs? Does anyone know where I can enter my syrup. Gotta get some woods cred to get established my new sugar house for next year. Let me know. Thanks!!!

[Dill]

It was slow for us Saturday only 65 people had 200 last year. We did better on sunday about 350. Still not as good as last year.

[Russell Lampron]

It was sporadic for me on both days but the sales were good. I have a hard time getting people to come down here off of the beaten path when there's fresh donuts and farm animals at the huge place just up the road. How can I compete with that?

[MapleSaint]

Yeah Russ hard to compete with the really big dogs. Some on the ridge are to big for my likes. I mean I would love to have them but as a small timer I like the little sugar houses to visit. I’m glad things went good for the ones that were open. A little disappointed for you that your shack was not on the wedsite. Kinda a big weekend to get that messed up. It’s ok because last year everyone that was a member was on it. I had people show up to my 8 by 6 shack that once was a little kids play house. It was funny that looks they had!! Lol.

[Russell Lampron]

Repurposing a kids playhouse into a sugar house is yankee ingenuity at its best. The kids weren't using it anymore so why let it sit there and rot.

[MapleSaint]

So this is my situation. I am at the point that I make to much syrup to finish on my stove inside my house. What are people using to bottle. I am using a coffee urn now but I make 7 gal a time and my urn is only 2.5 gal. My hand pump filter press will do all 7 gal but I was wondering if those canner, filters tanks with a burner under them work without cooking the syrup more. I’m not big enough for a water jacket quite yet. So let me know what you guys are using and how your doing it. Thanks.

[Russell Lampron]

I use a 16"x16" Leader filter, canner with the burner under it. It has a thermometer on it so that I can heat syrup to the proper temperature for canning without boiling the syrup more. Water jacketed canners are nice but not necessary for the small producer.

[Hop Kiln Road]

I agree with Russ. It is much more important to hone your techniques than try to improve quality with upscale equipment. A direct heat canner can bruise the syrup right over the heat source when trying to heat up too fast and bottling in glass. Plastic hides all glitches.

[CampHamp]

I do a final filter into a 10 gallon “brew kettle” with a spigot (some have built-in thermometers) and bottle from that. It sits on a dual-burner stand about 3 feet high, which means I sit on a 10 inch stool when I bottle. I like a 1/4 inch tip on the spigot (the default spigot for the “Bayou” brand was too large).

I raise temp at low flame to avoid making niter.

I thought about raising the burners higher so I could sit taller (it strains the back to hunch over when bottling with this setup), but lifting 10 gallons to the current height is already pretty difficult.

[UB29]

Maplesaint - Similar size to you, and was using the same coffee urn method until last season. When I picked up my new 2x4XL from Bill Mason: his 11 gal. propane finisher caught my eye. Purchased the finisher also, and glad we did. Whole new ballgame bringing syrup to final density, with flat pan filtering, out on the deck. When time to bottle, I just carry the finisher pan in and set it on the kitchen gas stove. Quick tweak of burner every now and then from the kitchen stove, to keep at 180-185 for bottling. Been bottling crystal clear syrup all season.
Bill

[MapleSaint]

I will have to look into one of the finishers with stand for holding different size bottles. I just need to figure how to set up filter press right out of evaporator. Hopefully with the bigger Shack I will have plenty of room. I bottled the syrup I made this weekend and it was wicked light. Still have another 6 gal to bottle tomorrow. I will probably need to upgrade my hand pump press soon.

[MapleSaint]

Pulled on my buckets today and got another 45 gal of sap. I will run the RO all night and get around 40 gal or concentrate which will give me a couple more gal of deliciousness. Then comes the crappy part of cleaning everything. Gotta get it done so I can finish milling the rest of the lumber for new sugarhouse. I am up to 17gal this year. My goal is to be around 50. Need some more taps and a bigger evaporator. Can’t wait.

[MapleSaint]

Where to start, I finally after 4 year have built my new shack!! It started as a 16x16 but it was built 20x24 with a 8x12 RO room. Not bad for cutting and milling all my own lumber. It is not completely done but it will work for this season. I am going to use my halfpint for 1 more year then it will be a complete upgrade year. My halfpint, homemade RO and my hand pump filter press will be up for sale at the end of the year. I ran 140 3/16 taps today and it was running pretty good. I didn’t get them tapped till about 3:30pm. I will be working on cleaning and finishing up setting up evaporator and burner for the season. I will hang about 30 buckets maybe later this week for looks. Also have a nice wood stove installed in shack. Funny how production slows down when there is a warm stove and ice cold beverages. Hope everyone tanks are full this season and I will keep you posted on how my season is going. I look forward to hearing from everyone.

[MapleSaint]

Went down to the new little sugar Bush That I tapped this year and had over 250 gal in my tank since Sunday morning. Bought a micro RO 2 so hopefully it does it’s job. The little half pint will have its work cut out for it this weekend. New shack is great and has a lot of room to hangout in. homemade RO for sale. Runs on 240v will do around 125 gal a day and bring sap from 2% to 6%. All new membranes and filters. Message me if you are interested.

[MapleSaint]

Bought a new leader micro 2 and got it pumping at 9%. Bottled another 8 gal tonight so it brings me to around 17 gal for the season. Boiled all day today with friends and family and it couldn’t get any better. New20x24 shack is great. I will be boiling tomorrow to so stop by if you get a chance. When you are teaching a new guy how to load filter press, pay attention , load one paper 4 plates in the wrong way. Pumped hard!!! But teaching new people the process is well worth it!! That god for what Russ calls boiling sodas. Lol

[Russell Lampron]

I'm glad your season is off to a good start. I have a heated RO room with a boiling soda fridge which serves the purpose quite well. I even have a bottle of Disorrono in the freezer and 2 oz sample cups for doing shots. Life is good!

[4 Paws Sugar Shack]

Ahh disaronno with a splash of lemon and fresh syrup is amazing. You have good taste Russ

[MapleSaint]

Here in Deerfield we are chugging along. All my syrup has been a little darker than it should be. Got the micro 2 to run just over 10% but only going through about 3/4 gpm but when you have a half pint that’s all you need. I boiled tonight and made another 7 +/- gal and I will bottle it tomorrow. The little hand pump filter press has all it can do to put 7 gal through it, hopefully it will stay strong and get me through the year. I’m almost at 30 gal so far so it will be a record year. In need of some upgrades but will fight through this year. Buds still look good here but forecast does not look promising past next Monday but weather men are none to be wrong. I can’t wait to try a disaronno and Lemmon.

[MapleSaint]

Everything about this year has been perfect except for this virus. New sugarhouse is awesome, more taps then ever, the weather and the 48 gal of syrup I have made with another 8 ready to be filtered and bottled. I am way over my goals that I had planned. Now without a maple weekend I have a ton to sell. Looking to upgrade every piece of equipment I own so I will be posting some classifieds later this month. Had a syrup shower the other day when my filter press diaphragm blew out. I think I am trying to press a little to much through the old hand pump 5 1/4”. Without any visitors this weekend me and the family got the half pint cooking and worked on building a 24 by 12 lean-too of the sugar shack. It looks great and will be a great addition for storage and space. What is people thoughts on brand and size filter press for 50 to 100 gal a syrup a year. And I have been looking for opinions on 2by6 or 2by8 oil fired evaporators. Please share thoughts and ideas. Was hopping to go up to the maple fest but that is canceled too. **** you covid-19.

[Russell Lampron]

Glad to see that you had a good season. When I saw you at Sunnyside a couple of weeks ago I should have invited you to stop at my place when you were on your way home. You could see what I've got and get some ideas.

I had a hand pump Wes Fab 7" short stack filter press that I had put an air pump on. It worked good at lower pressures but because it was designed for a hand pump it had problems when the pressure got too high. I sold that and upgraded to a Wes Fab 7" full stack filter press with an air pump on it. I love it! A Wes Fab short stack 7" filter press with an air pump would be perfect for you. Don't get one with a gear pump on it unless you get a super good deal on a used one.

[MapleSaint]

Thanks Russ. Maybe when this **** world gets straightened back out I will take a ride up. I was hopping to get a bunch of ideas for my sugar house this year because I need a total upgrade on just about everything. I have around 80 gal of concentrate to boil today and I had the Micro 2 pumping at almost 12% so I should get another 5 or 6 gal of syrup. I am up to 52.5 bottled and another 4 now ready to be filtered. Little hand pump is not working as easy as it does earlier in season. I can push about 2.5 gal through it before I have to break it down and put new paper in it. I have tried everything. Plates are not full with DE but the diaphragm is holding on for dear life. I have emailed all the major companies about 2by6 oil fired evaporators and only 2 have got back to me. I have been looking for some pictures and specs on them so I can make some decisions on one before the spring sales. Does anyone know how far the base stack from a oil fired has to be away from wood if I put a piece of metal on wood spaced off the wall and inch for air? Let me know. Thanks.

[Father & Son]

Maplesaint,
This was my first year with a Leader 2x8 oil arch. The back of my arch is probably 4” from the wall. You can touch the back of the arch when boiling. The stack temp is to be in the 650-750 degree range. I stood 2 pieces of Leader arch board between the stack and the wall and the wall was cool behind the arch board and just barely warm above it. You can see the white arch board behind the evaporator.
2132521326

[Russell Lampron]

Call the Deerfield fire department and ask them what the minimum space should be. They won't specifically know about an oil fired evaporator but they do have a minimum space requirement for putting a heat source near a combustible surface.

[MapleSaint]

Thanks father and son! It was great to see the pictures. If anyone else has any input on 2by6 or 8 oils evaporators please chime in and send some pictures. I have to order one within the next Month or so. Send some measurements from walls on all sides and pictures if you can. Looking a CDL deluxe because it is a 4 4k cheaper then leader with a revolution style pan because I want to draw off same side. CDL said the cross flow as long as you clean your pans regularly. Will probably have to buy an extra syrup pan for it. Let me know thanks.

[chuck]

I have a 2x6 oil fired with a Max Flow back pan and a Revolution style front pan. Typically run 10-14% through it. While a back up syrup pan is great, it may not be necessary expense right off. The last couple of seasons I have be draining my front pan after every boil and flooding it with permeate. Then, before the next boil I drain and wipe out; little to no scrubbing needed! Works great and I haven't had to switch out pans. I know it adds a bit of time; takes me about 20-30 min to do pan and the 2 float boxes but the results are great. Just a thought.

[MapleSaint]

Looking for a small sugarbush around the Deerfield area. Let me know if you can help me out. Thanks:cool:

[MapleSaint]

I guess I will start by saying that doing the backyard thing is not that bad. But I got bit by the bug. Trying to finish the sugarhouse and get the new equipment setup and look for more taps and work storm duty because of the wind is quite interesting. And add family time with a 3 1/2 year old. Oh boy!!!! Sap is running so slow here it is making me second guess all my up grades. I tapped 2 weeks before now last year and had over 10 gal or so in the bank. This year I have 3. Booooo!! So I got everything in sugarhouse as good as it is going to get this year and fired the new rig up on Sunday. Caught one foam up in flue pan and missed on another one that came out the hood doors a touch. Wiped it down with hot water and she is good. What do people use to clean even better on the outside? Stainless cleaner? How do you catch a foam up with a hood? Keep opening door? I ran raw sap for a few hours so I could play with all the gadgets then I started the RO. 1% to 3%. Everything was going good until clean up. Did not finish drain outside sugarhouse so garden hoses out the side door it is. What do people do with cleaning pans. Every time? Every other time. Just soak and a scrub. Got it all done around seven but it was a lot of work. Hopefully sap picks up and I can get another crack at it this weekend. I’m sure it will get easier with some practice. Good luck every one.

[Pdiamond]

I use nothing but hot water to clean my syrup pan until the end of the season. then I will use a hot water and white vinegar mixture and a really good rinse afterward,

[Russell Lampron]

It's good to see that you're back on the trader. The sap will run when it's ready and you'll get plenty. You've got 3 gallons so far and I've got zero so far. Good luck with the rest of the season!

[Russell Lampron]

I only use hot water to clean the outside of the evaporator during the season. You should be able to make close to 100 gallons of syrup before you need to clean the inside of the front pan. That will depend on nitre build up and you may need to clean it more often.

[eustis22]

The outside? I use the water + vinegar to get rid of the niter buildup. You're saying hot water alone will do that?

[Russell Lampron]

The outside? I use the water + vinegar to get rid of the niter buildup. You're saying hot water alone will do that?

If you're asking me I wasn't very clear on that. For nitre build up I use white vinegar and water. A lot of the large producers use only permeate from their RO's to clean the nitre build up.

[eustis22]

ok, thanks for the clarification

[Russell Lampron]

Maplesaint, did you find an answer to your bottling question? If not post a new thread in the bottling forum and see if you can get an answer there.

[MapleSaint]

Russ I have not figured it out yet. I am wondering if is the foam that the filter press makes when it spits it into the bottling unit. I bottled 8.5 gal on Tuesday with no issues. I am going to have to do something else like put a burner under my draw off tank. When I get three or so gal I will have to heat it up to press it. And repeat every couple gal so that the syrup it hot enough to filter. Unless anyone has better ideas. I guess I will not make enough, fast enough to filter it right off the evaporator until I upgrade my RO when I find more taps.