Bohen Family Maple Farm: 1st Boil Journey

I was going to include a few pics in this post but the MapleTrader upload images feature is NOT user friendly. I'm sure I followed the directions but failed to upload, multiple times.

In 2022 I had about 295 taps and sold my sap to a local sugar maker. In 2023 my plan is to install up to 500 taps and have a temporary sugarhouse to boil my sap on a Smoky Lake Maple Silverplate which is expected to be delivered between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I thought I would start my “1st Boil Journey” posts with pita of the site where I am planning to build a temporary sugarhouse. Your comments and advice are welcome.

The 40’ X 80” poured foundation used to be an equipment shed many years before we bought the farm. The foundation is in excellent condition. My plan for boiling in 2023 is to build a 20’ X 40’ temporary sugarhouse inside the foundation after cleaning up and leveling the ground there.

An excavator I expect to hire to clean up / level inside the foundation is recommending laying down Geotextile fabric with a layer of 3/4” clean crushed stone on top. My concern is that some of this work, should I build a real sugarhouse in the future, would have to be torn up to install evaporator drains, water lines and/or a pipeline for a septic system. I’m thinking that all I want done now is cleaning up and leveling for the 2023 temporary sugarhouse. I’d love your thoughts on this.

The temporary sugarhouse will be a pipe-frame structure and I’ll use tarps for the roof and sides. I’ll post a pic of the pipe-frame structure.

The foundation is just a couple thousand feet from the entrance to our lower sugar-bush. Our 2nd bush is further into our forest and higher up. It has enough elevation to install 3/16” gravity for the 2023 season.

What size will the "temporary" sugarhouse be?
You might want to consider building a smaller permanent sugarhouse, then add on in the future. Make it a good size for what you think the largest evaporator you'll ever have with adequate space around it, and build it with the drains and all. Design it to tie into later as you grow. Then as you need more "sugarhouse" you can have a boiling room, and additions for a kitchen, wood storage (if burning wood), barrel storage (both empty and full and sap storage additions.
How many taps do you anticipate maximum?

Aren't the smallest SL silverplate arches 2 x 8? Is there still a lot of material from the shed old foundation and you need the excavator to clean it off? Were it me I would do a temporary for next year until I knew how much I was going to grow. Then as Dave said build your sugarhouse bigger than what you think you will need, but be able to add to it using the existing foundation. By the way is your silverplate wood or oil?

I am following with much interest!
Pictures don't work on this site at this time. Not sure if they ever will. People seem to be using icloud and providing link. Or you could use any other photo sharing site and link it here.
I am not an expert on what you are doing... I'm just here to ask why is the leveling needed? Trying to make the site friendly to lots of visitors? Just wanted to mention that for every maple sugarhouse open house I've been to, its been BYOMB (bring your own mud boots). Not sure if that is helpful or not!
In any case, I'll come to your open house!

Dave; The temporary sugarhouse will be 20' X 40' and I plan up to 500 taps (400 on Sap Saks + 100 3/16" gravity in 2023.

I'd love to build a real sugarhouse that I could add onto in the future, but am being realistic regarding my ability to get it done and for financial reasons.

Andy; Thanks for you comments and interest. I'll keep you posted on this thread.

My Silverplate will be a 2' X 6', wood-fired, AOF, raised flue with lots of bells and whistles to assure I can operate the evaporator myself although I expect family and friends will drop in. If I find I need an RO, I'll add one for the 2024 season.

Try this link for a video and photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/B7ukytBcSFkkLsCv5

Here's links to a video and photos.

At one point in the video, I am pointing to the entrance to our lower sugarbush which I tapped 2022. The upper sugarbush is further into our forest and has enough elevation change to install a 3/16" gravity line into an IBC tote.

At about 500 taps you will want to add an RO as soon as you can fit it into the budget. With an RO and going to 12-18% concentrate you can handle lots more than 500 taps, even if you get a basic RO you can get 4-8% concentrate, and that saves loads of time and fuel wood. For the wood, split it to wrist size and the boil will be faster. I suggest a Super Split, much faster especially when splitting to wrist size, they split as fast as you ever want to go.. Sometimes on a big tough gnarly piuece you need to retract and hit it 2-3 times, but even then it's still faster than a basic hydraulic splitter for cycle time. My wife bought us one for Christmas about 15 yrs ago, it still amazes me ho fast they are. In fact, the 2 of use split a truckload just 2 days ago, we both really like it. I got the Honda Version, I like Honda engines, very dependable. At the time we got ours there were 3 choices, the basic was a Subaru engine, then Honda, or an electric. At the time our only electric was from an 11hp generator, I couldn't see running a generator to make the power to use an electric motor, then in 2012 we got grid power, but the honda still runs like new 10 yrs later.

I have the 50gallon head tank from Smoky Lake that I use for my 2 x 4 evaporator. Are you planning on having some type of head tank to feed the 2 x 6, because it is going to boil close to 70 gallons per hour when you keep the fire on it. I know mine does 50 or better depending on how hard I fire it. You are are really going to enjoy using that when you get it. Make sure and once you get it set up do a test boil with water. That helps to seat everything and you can see if you have any leaks.