New Minnesota sugar house

[lastwoodsman]

After many years of a propane two burner and making five gallons a year I am stepping it up. Enough of boiling two gallons an hour in my tractor shed. I bought a used 2x6 arch and pans. Trouble is I needed a sugar house to put it in.

With the great input of all of your posts I decided to build a 12x18 structure. I still have to add the cupola and door, soffits and other details. Hope to have it done within the month ready to move in the arch.

I know how much the photos posted here helped so I am adding mine. More to come as I finish it up.
Going to start with 100 taps spring of 11

The last woodsman

http://s1012.photobucket.com/albums/af243/last_woodsman/New%20Sugar%20Shack/

[maple flats]

Lookin good, nice job!!! Warning, you will soon be building a 24x40 addition as the addiction get worse.

[Ausable]

It looks nice. A good job - almost done. I bet You will really miss boiling sap and not being out in the snow, wind and rain of March.

[Dennis H.]

I am amazed you said it took you several years to do this. I made syrup one year outside and said this is for the birds and converted a room on the back of our garage into a sugarshack.

Looking good though.

[lastwoodsman]

I am amazed you said it took you several years to do this. I made syrup one year outside and said this is for the birds and converted a room on the back of our garage into a sugarshack.

Looking good though.

Yea it has been just a hobby since on the farm.
I take a weeks vacation in the spring to do it. Now I am planning on taking two weeks for it.
More fun than deer hunting ---almost!
Yea it has been just a hobby since on the farm. Started when I was about 10 or so and then in high school worked for a retired neighbor who had a great pro setup.

This is the first thing I have done preparing for retirement in 10 years or so. If they don't make us work until we are 90.
Woodsman

[Bucket Head]

Woodsman,

I have good news! According to my figures, we should'nt have to work past 88 1/2 years of age. So start thinking about what your going to do with that "extra" year and a half. I have BIG plans for mine!

Nice job on the sugarhouse. Good luck with it next spring!

Steve

[Slatebelt*Pa*Tapper]

Your shack is coming along nicely..

yup me to on the hobby. haven't gotten any bigger in really 6+/- years. just wanted to speed up the already process of this hobby and a dry space to do it in, so a Lil upgrading for this year here. really Just for family & some springish Fun.

[lastwoodsman]

Yep- I hear ya.
A place dedicated to it where everything can remain and I can move around.
Sounds like we're on the same page!!
Woodsman

[lastwoodsman]

The extra year and a half--- peddle maple syrup door to door. Heck no one will be working any more the way it is going.

[Ausable]

Afraid You might be right - We will be back into barter and trading full swing as the value of a dollar keeps going down. "Hey buddy - wanna trade a little coffee for some maple syrup?" Gee - I hope it dosen't come to that. -- Mike

[lastwoodsman]

Another step closer!!

http://s1012.photobucket.com/albums/af243/last_woodsman/New%20Sugar%20Shack/

[Ausable]

--Looking very nice -- good work --- Mike

[lastwoodsman]

Running up to the deer hunting shack and working on this on the week-ends makes for a long week at work. I am going to put down 3/4 inch underlayment on the 1/2 inch that is currently there, then polyurathane , install cement board under the arch, insulate, put the plywood up for the inside walls.

Outside I still have to finish soffits and put on the bat and board siding.
Going to use from the local saw mill, popal, Quaking Aspen, (Populus Tremuloides) for you eastern guys. Paint it and keep it dry with a good over hang and it will last forever.
My little log hunting cabin has been there 37 years made from popal.

I am anxious to get the arch in and install the firebrick.
Like the other fellows mentioned -turned out to be a bigger project than I thought. But great fun!! The leaves are beginning to turn fast here in Minnesota.
The sugar shack is about 50 miles south of Duluth.

Woodsman

[Paddymountain]

Look's great lastwoodsman, I got my strap hinges for my double doors yesterday, and got them hung last night. the weather is really changing here also. I need to get my evaporater bricked up yet and get the stack through
the roof!!

[lastwoodsman]

Paddy mountain
You will have to show a picture of your arch smokestack going through the roof. I am interested on how you are going to do it.
Your shack is the same size as mine but it sure looks big in the photos with the arch inside.
My rafters are 24 inches on center and I am going to make the hole a couple of inches bigger and cut the plywood back to the rafters and 12 inches each way. Pull down the stack after syruping and slip another sheet of steel under the roof cap and put a couple of screws in it until next year.
No roof jack.
Woodsman

[C.Wilcox]

Woodsman,

If you can stomach the cost of a roof jack I would recommend it. Last year I tried to get away without one and it didn't work out too well. I cut the roof sheathing back to the nearest rafters and covered the area with a piece of sheet tin. I then cut a hole in the tin just slightly smaller than the stove pipe and bend the edges of the hole up just enough to create a tight fit around the stove pipe. My thinking was that the slight upward bend on the sheet metal and the tight fit around the pipe would pretty much alleviate all the concerns over rain leaking in around the stack. Boy was I wrong. I had water pouring in around the stove pipe. It really didn't matter when the evaporator was running, but when I wasn't cooking there was water running down into and on the evaporator. I ended up with one heck of a rusty evaporator, rusty stove pipe, and a soaking wet ceramic blanket gasket under the pan. Not to mention the general aggravation of having to mop all kinds of water out of the shack and repeated trips onto the roof with the tar gun to try and solve the problem.

[brookledge]

I can't agree more a good roof jack is a must
Keith

[Paddymountain]

My shack's rafters are also on 2 foot centers, but I moved the last one back where I'm going to run the pipe up through the roof. I'm thinking I'll take a piece of cardboard and make a template where I want my hole then take it to the welding shop and get them to cut it out to about 11 3/4 inches .
Then roll a piece the same diameter and set it in it at 8/12 pitch and weld it.
My stack is 10 inch, but I have a top stack that is made of 10 inch with a 12 inch bolted to it. so I should be able to set it on the jack and the 11 3/4 piece would hold up the 12 inch piece ,and my 10 inch will just pass through.
Anyway,that's the thought. I'm not sure when I'm going to do it , this fall yet or wait til Feb. although it makes sense to get it done now, we'll see. I'll
post pictures when I do it

[lastwoodsman]

Paddy mountain
I just reviewed all your photos. Nice to see the sequence of your leader arch and remodel of it. The vintage coffee maker and filter setup you have is very creative. How do you like it? Would a more available modern coffee maker work as well. Do you see any issues? What can you tell me about how it works.
Did you have to do any welding on the doors of the arch or does it work fine after you cleaned it up and painted it. Mine has a similar crack --but so does my barrel stove in the Sauna and it has been there for years.
Just moved in my arch this week-end. See photos.
Woodsman

[Paddymountain]

Woodsman,
I had to totaly rebuild the doors on my arch, I built a frame out of angle iron
and used two pieces of flatstock for doors. I hung two split firebrick on each door to keep them from warping.It seemed to take forever to get them built ,and I wouldn't recommend it. Look around you can find doors that look just like the new Leader airtight doors. My friend put one on his arch. If I had it to do over again , I would have got a whole new front cut out of 3/8 steel and put on a door like his. I only used mine this year and it works ok so I'm not going to change it.As far as bricking,this past spring I just layed brick along the sides of the fluepan and sand on the bottom,knowing I was going to move it into the new sugarshack this fall. The coffee pot works great,,make sure you get one that is just a drip pot. We cut out the bottom of the basket and hung cone filters in it. We also used a digital probe thermometer in it. We filtered and bottled 6 gal in about 2 1/2 hours with it and didn't lose a drop.
Paddymountain