Hood or insulate?

[tuckermtn]

I just did my first full boil on the 2.5 X 8 grimm I got this fall. Most noticable difference is there was, as expected, a LOT more steam in the sugarhouse than with the 2 X 6. going from 25 gph to 50 gph means way more steam. My question is how best to deal with it.

we have a metal roof on the sugarhouse and there was tons of condensation drops dripping back into the pan. may have been a conbination of very humid air from the departing storm from today or the almost 2 feet of snow on the roof keeping the metal roof cool, but man it dripped alot. raingrear required....

Someone had suggested to me to try and fill the bays between the rafters with ridgid foam-the blue or pink stuff from DOW or STYROFOAM. Has anyone else done that? Do you need to tape the joints between each piece of insulation?

Otherwise I need to think about a hood. With the hood is it possible to vent the pipes out each side of the cupola or do I need to go straight up through the roof?

other suggestions and input greatly appreciated

-tuckermtn

[brookledge]

I think you could use the 1" rigid foam insulation. I have thought about usin it but haven't got around to it. The main thing is to keep the steam from touching something that is alot colder. I don't think you need to tap the joints as long as you are able to keep the seams tight.
As far as a the stack on the hood. I didn't vent my stack through the roof. I just took it up into the cupola

[Russell Lampron]

Like Brookledge I have my steam stack pipe go into my cupola. With the doors open and the heat rising I get a good draft through it even on cloudy windless days.

I had the same problem before I got my hood. It didn't matter if there was snow on the roof or not I always had condensation dripping down.

Russ

[tapper]

tuckermtn,
I believe there is a thread from not long ago all about this? I am working on an all new metal sided building and have the sugar house portion of it about completed and usable. I used a product called p2000 on top of the roof purlons. it is 5/8" thick styrofoam with a foil barrier on each side. They claim it to be r 19. I did a test boil with my 2 1/2 x 8 with a hood last week for a few hours. The entire ceiling area was totally covered with steam but very few drips. I think regardless you will want a hood even if you insulate, it makes a world of difference. The steam stack on my hood is situated so I could run it right thru the cupola roof if I choose to. That just means buying an 8" stack cover. Do you have one? In my opinion a hood and insulation are both a must!

[saphead]

If you do insulate you may want to use the rafters as your nailers for the insulation. Just doing between the rafters leaves the rafters exposed and condensate will run right done them and drip; down your neck,on your stool, or into your beer!

[royalmaple]

You sure don't want the beer to get water in it. I think I'd spend more time building a hood for the beer.

[Sugarmaker]

My vote would be for steam hood first, insulation second. The root cause of the problem is the steam. If you get it to the cupola or above you have solved most of your problem maybe 95%. We boiled 350 gallons of sap during the last two days and Cheryl found one drop of condensate water, which came off a nail point through the roof. Love the hoods, forget the rain coat.

Sugarmaker

[oneoldsap]

Just throw some OSB on the rafters you don't need to insulate, just something to keep the steam from touching that cold roof.

[gmcooper]

We insulated between the rafters years ago under our Onduline roofing. No hoods here. solved about 95% of drips. yes we get a few from the rafters but not bad at all. Using OSB might not work as you will still get moisture and condensation. OSB has insulation value of 1 or less. After about 2 years OSB will be sawdust hanging on ceiling. Ridged styrofoam or foil covered Thermax works well. That super high tech stuf should work also.
Mark

[ibby458]

As a quicker, cheaper alternative, try a big exhaust fan in the wall to suck that steam out before it can condense. Be sure to have some air intakes. Open window, maybe?

Maybe hang a furnace blower right over the pans, and duct it outside?