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We ran the pumps all day yesterday and got barely better than 1/4 gallon per tap which is not enough for us to fire up the RO and The Beast. A lot of that sap had been in the tubing for almost a week so it came out very grungy - so we dumped it. Hopefully Monday/Tuesday's run is strong and worth boiling.
WE did the samething yesterday. And dumped all of yesterday collection till late afternoon once it ran clear. Boiled off about 100 gallons on a few hours that passed thru the RO a couple of times. Brix was low to start a 1.4% Heading out to shut the pumps off and see what we collected. Cant see it being more then 300 gallons. And that will have to wait till monday also. Though I think Monday and Tuesday will likely be the end. Buds are breaking and it could be anytime
Hey all...
Well i pulled the trigger and decided to build a proper sugar house 14x16 rather then boil in my sugar 3 sided lean too.
I started drawing up plans this afternoon and putting together a supply list for each section of house . (floor, walls,roof ect )
After reading a lot about design they say it best to have evaporator in the center of everything what i would like to know is there any disadvantage to having evaporator in the center but pushed toward the back wall to optimize space and ease of having it fed by the feed tank planned for the north side outside.
I plan on building the cupila above the arch but just closer to the north wall intead of the center of the house.
Any thoughts on this or opinions
I think you may want to check with local building codes, see if there's anything about clearance to the back wall. If you're building out of brick, maybe you would be OK, but with a wooden structure it may not be such a good idea.
You will not be sorry you built it. My evaporator is over to one side, gives me space for other stuff, like the tractor and loader in the winter and my bee hives in the summer. Also table and radial saw for workshop. It does have a cement poured floor, glad I did that, I was only to use gravel but my boys talked me into cement.
Lol, building codes that would involve talking to a inspector that might alert them to a possible structure and inspections and so on.
This sugar house is going in the middle of my sugar bush, out sight,outta mind kinda thing.
I can't do a concrete slab because of cost and location, I'm planning 2x8 floor joist on 16 inch centers with 5/8 floor sheeting with cement board under arch fire box extended wider and longer in the front to catch any embers that might fall out of door.
Other then Windows a cupula and large doors ,any good ideas that I should consider while making some rough plans
Jeff: I just finished my 10 by 12 sugar house before boiling started, I couldn't afford to pour a slab so I found some used patio stones on Kijiji (free). They were the big stones 24" by 30" I just leveled the area put down some screenings tamped it and laid the stones, I have a good solid fire resistant floor. I think it is preferable to wood and there are lots of stones available for free. I place the cupola as you say towards one end for space considerations. After boiling season I slide the evaporator off to the side which provides more room until next year. I built the cupola separately and errected afterwords. I build a steam hood out of some used galvanized steel which captures the steam quite nicely and directs it out. My chimney goes out the wall (insulated pipe through wood wall) and then runs on the outside bracketed to the facia board so it is quite a ways from the wall.
Here is a photo of the semi-finished sugar house that suits my needs as a hobbyist.
Attachment 14188
The one thing that the previous owner installed in my shack was gable openings on hinges, so the inside has a rope running through a couple of eyelets screwed into the rafters, and attached to the gable. The other end of the rope has cable ties with the replacement links one would use in a light chain. So as I open the gable up more I can just hook a different link up to the hook on the wall. Just have to pull the rope at night to close the ends up again. It really lets the steam out also, it would help to have a little more over hang on the roof line, as the driving rain can get in a bit. For a steel roof, go a natural colour as Gal-alum. sticks out like a light beam on the mapping for the counties, impact,tax,:rolleyes:
Lmao I hear you on the gal aluminium lol .wonder if I can order green and brown camoflage coloured tin for the roof.
Also thanks Luke I tryed to mail you but says user not found.
Well, just cold-Brix'd #7 and it's wayyyy over! Dang! So I got my work cut out for me this morning, once I get showered and dressed. I've also been turning some of batches #1 and #3 into sugar with my awesome new toy, a KitchenAid stand mixer :-) Works great! It's just getting the **** syrup to 265ish without it scorching that takes forever. I've found that 1l syrup in a 5l pot is about right, and my mixer can turn that into nice demerara-like sugar in like 4 minutes, on no more than setting 6 (for some reason my model didn't come with a spatter shield - grr) So lugging syrup out to BC will be easy this year cause it's going to be sugar, and it can be reconstituted back into syrup!