New toy for the farm and sugar Bush

[buckeye gold]

After fighting last winter/Maple season without a tractor I finally bit the bullet and bought a new tractor.

What kinda new toys might others be getting this summer?2016020161

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

You’ll love the tractor. I finally got one 3 years ago and use it year round. Definitely made life easier this winter with all the snow we had. We have snowmobiles, 4 wheelers, a side by side and 3 trailers. I’d sell everything and ride a bike to work before I went without a tractor again:lol: No new toys for me this summer but planning to buy a set of forks and snow bucket for the tractor.

[Ultimatetreehugger]

All my equipment is multi purpose because we have a large Christmas tree farm. But we have 4 tractors a dump truck (sap hauler) , 3 one tons, a 3/4 ton, a 14000lb trailer, and 2 half tons. All owned by the farm at my disposal. By far I use use my big tractor the most.

[Pdiamond]

I just purchased a hand pump filter press. Being a small producer and having always just used flat filters this should be a big step up for me.

[buckeye gold]

I have considered that purchase myself, Pdiamond

[maple flats]

So far I just bought a 100 AH LiFePo4 battery (Lithium Iron Phosphate) bank to replace my old lead/acid 48V bank. will be set up soon at the sugarhouse for my back up power. My last battery bank, projected to last 7 years actually went 11 years before dieing. that bank was rated for 500-800 cycles. The way I'm programming the charge controller on this bank should last 5000 cycles. That will last longer than I will.
My only other plan for this year is to saw lumber and build a lean-to equipment shed on one side of my shop, 28' long x 8' deep. Today, I just unhooked the old batteries and loaded them all on a pallet, ready to go to a recycler.
Now I need to assemble the 16 cell LiFePo4 prismatic battery and wire it to the system, program the charge controller for proper charging and add the battery management system (BMS) which keeps all cells in balance. The BMS just arrived today, other components have been arriving over the last 3 weeks. I'll check but I think I have everything except 4 long band clamps to clamp each 12V section together. This battery will reside inside the sugarhouse in an insulated box with a heating mat to hold it at a proper temperature. The biggest reason I bought these rather than another lead acid bank is mainly two-fold, life expectancy and efficiency. These will take 99% of the energy sent to it, as compared to about 85% for lead acid and with these I can use the energy down to 15% Depth of Discharge (DOD) rather than the 50% allowed with lead acid. Once they are fully charged all excess energy goes to my net metering, which is applied against my home energy bill. With the increased efficiency I should get a bigger credit applies against my home bill than what I got from the old lead acids. Another reason to use the LiFePo4 batteries is that I don't need to service them every 2 months. With these the only service needed for life is done automatically by the BMS. Once I get this up and running I'll start sawing the lumber for my lean-to. Will try to erect that in Sept-Oct. Will need to buy the PT posts and the roofing, I'll saw everything else.

[Russell Lampron]

Two years ago I bought a WF Mason AOF/AUF arch for my 2x6. Last year I added a second tower to my RO upgrading it from a 125 to a 250. This year I ordered a full bank Wes Fab 7" filter press with an air pump on it.

I bought my first tractor, a doodlebug made out of a 1930 Ford AA for $50 in 1976. It was the best $50 I ever spent. I still use it for hauling my chainsaws and pulling my cordwood trailer. My other tractor is a 1971 IH 454 52hp farm tractor with a bucket loader. Both tractors have their purposes and make sugaring season a lot easier.

[minehart gap]

I'm adding a second tower to the RO, extending my mainline and adding taps. Moving the sugar shack to the house also that way I can buy more toys next year. Go to love an excuse to buy toys.

[buckeye gold]

That sounds like a big project Maple flats. I need a new equipment shed too, I might buy one of those metal carports

[upsmapleman]

My new to me toy is not for my maple operation as I switched to natural gas. I bought a Timber Wolf wood processor with a 20' Timber Wolf elevator. I had a new one ordered but Timber Wolf failed to deliver. Found a good used one with a elevator and saved about 20k over new. Will use it for my camp wood business.