Old Photos- Homemade drum evaporator

[C.Wilcox]

Ran across these old photos the other day and thought I'd post them for the laughs. This was how my grandfather cooked sap for many years. I don't have any photos to prove it, but this rig was responsible for more than one large grass fire in the neighborhood over the years.

[TapME]

nice, what kind of sled is that?

[mapleman3]

And they look like they enjoyed it!! Thats what it's all about....

the sled maybe snojet or rupp???

[maplwrks]

I think that is an old Polaris

[C.Wilcox]

Actually it's hard for me to say seeing as how the photo was taken before my time. The girl on the right in the first photo I uploaded is actually my mother. Here's another photo that might help with the ID. You can just see the hood behind the woodpile.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I like the continuous wood feeder option that he had installed at a great expense. I started out the same way but didnt have the barrel stove,stove pipe, snowmobil or wife. Just the pan and a open wood fire. But we did have the same SMILE

[Russell Lampron]

The snowmobile is a late sixties Polaris. Not sure of the model though. We had a 1969 Polaris Charger when I was a teen that looked like that.

[3% Solution]

Haynes,
That's called a "Yule Log".
Hey we all had to start somewhere.
Now that dry grass looks pretty handy!!

[KenWP]

That looks like my set up but I could only find a 20 quart stainless steel pot around here.

[Bucket Head]

Russ is right. Late 60's. I had a '67 Polaris Mustang. The one in the photo is a little "sleeker" than mine. I also had a grab bar/backrest combo, not the fiberglass seatback thats in the photo.

As for top speed, I think it would approach a whopping 40 mph. Downhill and with the wind to your back. It was fun though. It was a fast sled back in the day. And I enjoyed making noise with it when I would run the exhaust open with the lever-operated cutout! It was factory equipment, beleive it or not!!

Steve

[TapME]

C Wilcox; check out the photos in my photo book in the signature and my old barrel evaporator is in there. I couldn't help noticing the huge bell bottoms they are wearing. Must be the sixties. You seemed to have enough wood not far away.

[KenWP]

TapMe in one of the pictures in your signature there is a picture of a couple of boys tapping a group of trees. One of them has a orange vest on. What type of trees are those as that is what king of trees I have on my place. Thanks in advance

[TapME]

KenWP, those trees are sugar maples that have grown off the stump of a cut tree. These I would guess are 40 to 50 years old. The bark has not changed to the roughness like other trees but it is starting.

[C.Wilcox]

TapME- I love the shed that you put your barrel evaporator in! Did that end up in the barrel soon after the photo? :-) The evaporator looks well made though. How did that work out for you?

Late sixties is probably right. Given that my mother looks to be in her mid teens that would work out. I'm sure the sled belonged to my uncle. I'll have to ask him about it and see if he can ID it for everyone. I wonder how much zinc they got in their syrup from boiling in that old galvanized washtub? Knowing my grandfather, it's probably the same tub they used for the laundry, butchering hogs, washing on Saturday night....

"Yule log"...going to have to remember that one.

[TapME]

We did 30 taps that year with the barrel. I thought at the time that it was the fastest rig in the world only to add more taps and grow to a larger pan and setup. The shed worked great so saphauler and I added to it this year and its full and ready to go 6 cords nice and dry. Ready to rock and roll.