How can I open my cupola doors?

My sugar shack currently has a cupola with the doors hinged on the bottom. I have a rope and pulley system to close them and they open by gravity (with a slight push with a long stick at times). The problem with the doors opening this way is that my east side door often gets covered with ash while it's open due to prevailing winds. The west door allows rain and snow in again due to the prevailing wind. This means that I end up dumping ash and or snow into the shack when I close the doors.

I'd like to switch them so they are hinged at the top which I think will help keep weather and ash out of the shack. The challenge I have, is how to open them? They would need to be pushed open somehow.

If you add a pole with a rope at the top on the window then pulling down on the rope will pivot the window. The you tie the rope to the wall to keep the window open.
I hope this makes sense. Hard to explain without a picture.

Hydraulic lifter, like on car hatchback, or truck bed caps rear window. Rope and pully inside to close.

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Originally Posted by DMF

My sugar shack currently has a cupola with the doors hinged on the bottom. I have a rope and pulley system to close them and they open by gravity (with a slight push with a long stick at times). The problem with the doors opening this way is that my east side door often gets covered with ash while it's open due to prevailing winds. The west door allows rain and snow in again due to the prevailing wind. This means that I end up dumping ash and or snow into the shack when I close the doors.

I'd like to switch them so they are hinged at the top which I think will help keep weather and ash out of the shack. The challenge I have, is how to open them? They would need to be pushed open somehow.

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I built mine to open at the bottom for the same reason.
The hinge is actually a piece of 1" pipe set into pillow blocks on the side of the opening. It is held in place on the door with 1" pipe straps.
The key is to place the pipe at just above the half way point of the door to make it "bottom heavy", when you pull from the top the door wants to close automatically.
The rope is lead to blocks (pulleys) on a rafter and then led down to a cleat on the wall.

I tried to attach a picture but failed. Send a PM and I'll gladly email.
John

Mine ilt out. I use a "kicker" attached to a rope. Once I loosen the hold shut rope, I pull the kicker. Pulling the fast causes a 12" wooden lever to hit the hatch, that normaqlly opens it, accassionally I need to pull a second time. My hatches are hinged on the bottom and open outward. Then as they open I connect the pull shut rope in poswition. That rope is set to limit the amount of open so it doesn't go too far and I need to climb into the trusses to help pull then shut when done boiling. It worked perfectly for 20 seasons when I quit boiling.