Getting ready

I did look into solar. Still pretty expensive considering that I would still need to invest in the solar system, a water heater, a heat system and the access if I ever want guests or customers to come to the sugar shack.

Talking to several of you guys in the past, maple weekends are good for sales and I just can't get people there. I am nearly sure that solar would work but that only solves part of the issues that I am facing. Thank you for your input though.

I just finished up a honey do project and then we started moving everything out of the shack. I didn't realize how much stuff that I had cramped into the loft of the sugar shack. The only things left to move are the arch and a 30 gallon canner. Then start disassemble

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Originally Posted by minehart gap

I did look into solar. Still pretty expensive considering that I would still need to invest in the solar system, a water heater, a heat system and the access if I ever want guests or customers to come to the sugar shack.

Talking to several of you guys in the past, maple weekends are good for sales and I just can't get people there. I am nearly sure that solar would work but that only solves part of the issues that I am facing. Thank you for your input though.

I just finished up a honey do project and then we started moving everything out of the shack. I didn't realize how much stuff that I had cramped into the loft of the sugar shack. The only things left to move are the arch and a 30 gallon canner. Then start disassemble

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Sounds like you have a good handle on it. If your selling, location is a key factor and I bet your new shack location will help with sales. And will all that you will be gaining with electricity, having to haul sap probably won't seem that bad.

Question, what is in between the old location and the new? Can you pump the sap from old to new?

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Originally Posted by maple flats

Question, what is in between the old location and the new? Can you pump the sap from old to new?

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There is about a mile and a half and my house is on the north side of the road with the sugar bush located on the south side of the same road. I will be looking into piping as gravity would be an option just a long distance. I'm not looking into that just yet but probably in a year or so. Good idea.

Received exciting news today. My township has reviewed everything and I have the go ahead. For most of the new sugar house build, I meet exemptions. I like when everything comes together. Now I need to do all of the joint work on the timbers for a timberframe structure. I'm going for a showpiece. Figure if I'm doing it, I'll do my best or why bother.

You will be happy with your sugarshack at the house! Running water and electricity makes a world of difference!

After a busy summer, I'm finally getting back to syrup stuff. Over the summer, my wife and I disassembled the sugar shack and moved it to the house. We decided to locate the sugar shack in a corner of our pasture so that meant moving some fence and I decided to move the barn further away so a wild spark doesn't catch it on fire. The new site has underground electric, water and drain run to it, site is leveled and pouring concrete tomorrow morning.

I am not understanding what is going on in my evaporator. I have a 26" wide, 8' long raised flue wood fired evaporator. I have been concentrating my sap to 8+% consistently. I boiled on the Feb.25th but not again until March 1st because the temperature didn't get above freezing. On ty 1st, I had a short lived foam problem and now realize why. On March 2, when I boiled again, I started my fire, went to drop in defoamer and noticed something different, my back pan was full on ropey sap. Quickly put out the fire then drained everything and cleaned. The whole time I am concentrating my days sap. The next afternoon, I added more sap and concentrated all sap to 8%. Started my fire thinking that I would now need to sweeten the pans again as everything was fresh sap just like beginning of season. I made my normal amount of syrup that evening just like every boil since sweetening my pans at beginning of season. Why didn't I have to sweeten the pans. Mathematics says that I shouldn't have syrup for another 122 gallon of sap. Is there something different after the pans are sweetened once? I also had the best evaporation rate I have seen on this rig. Just don't understand (but am happy) why.

After working on the honey-do list all spring and into summer, I finally got back to getting ready for the upcoming maple syrup season.

Installing vacuum this year. Talked to Haynes Forest Products for about 2 hours today figuring out how to get high vac out of a dairy vacuum pump. Haynes is still alive and seems to be doing well. It's always a good time talking with Haynes, his analogies usually are pretty funny.

My next improvement will be to incorporate a pump on my sheetz 5" filter press.
I was looking at Bascom filter pumps and noticed an electric pump sold by CDL. My concern is that there is a note that states no warranty. When I looked up the pump, it is only rated for 140 degrees.
I like the idea of an electric pump, already have electricity at the sugar house. Looking around, I found this pump: AMT Pumps 5475-98 High Volume SS Straight Centrifugal Pump. The 1/2 horse version pumps 35 gpm at 50' equivalent head and 200 degrees and is stainless steel. My question is, will this work? How much pressure is required to push syrup through a 5" filter press? I can convert psi to feet of head easy enough but I do not know what pressure is needed. Anyone that has a pressure gauge on there filter press, please help.