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11-Nick
04-07-2015, 08:46 PM
I've never been to a 'real' sugar house. This was my first year tapping trees, and I have a large amount of respect and envy for those who are lucky enough to have even a small amount of shelter around them when they boil. If I'm able to make a permanent shelter/sugar house/multi-purpose structure for next year, I obviously need to be able to get rid of the steam. Having never seen a real cupola during a full-on boil, I'm curious about the amount (if any) of condensation that forms on the underside of the roof in the cupola. I understand there is a rule of thumb for cupola size must be greater than surface area of pan. Even with that correct amount of open space on sides of cupola, I imagine the column of steam going up and condensing on underside of cupola roof or framing and dripping back down into pan. Or does this just not happen if you have ample window size on either side of cupola?
Thanks

madmapler
04-08-2015, 08:36 AM
My cupola drips along the edges a little however its wider than my evaporator and the evaporator has a hood anyway. I could fix that with a gutter if I wanted but its not a major issue with me.

RC Maple
04-08-2015, 08:40 AM
I have two doors on my cupola - both 1.5x6 for a 2x3 pan. At times I do get just a few raindrops but never anything much. Most of the steam has no trouble finding its way out. I don't think the condensation is so much on the underside of the cupola roof though. When I built mine I left the ridgeboard and rafters in place where the cupola is. Like I said, a few raindrops but nothing more than what I think is acceptable to work in.