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I've been thinking the same thing. How to heat the shack while out working trying to prep for the season. I have a leader half pint evaporator. My plan is to get a plate of steel to put in place of...

I'm in north central mass and tapped last Thursday, friday, and Sunday. Weather has been text book perfect but I only got a run on Wednesday. Other than that I got nothing. Only 35 gallons on...

thats great leader is sending a new door. I got a used half pint last year and love it. I'll get a little smoke coming out the door when I open, if it gets too bothersome I just shut the bottom air...

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I have thought about making one of these. I have a leader half pint evaporator and get maybe 7 gph out of it. I bought used for $700 and had about $200 of fire brick to put in it. I think...

I got it from bascoms. It was on their discount/used wall of fittings and things. I think I paid $30 for it.

I have to start off by saying I'm still just a rookie and all I've learned is through trial and error and through this site. That being said, there are a million variables. I guess at 5gal/hr...

If you reverse the flow, the niter won't build up so much at the one outlet. I will reverse flow every time I fill the preheater until I get maybe 40 gallons in. Then I will keep it going in one...

It looks great. Just like my half pint. I agree with adding a second port on your preheater to reverse flow. Here's a pick of my rig. Maybe it'll help. 10778

I used new red brick In my 55 gallon drum evaporator I made. during the first hot boil I did, the bricks would "pop". Guessing it was the moisture in them. Yes they cracked but over 3 seasons they...

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Here's a picture of my barrel evap I made a few years ago. Works well but remember that you have to keep your pans full or the sides will scorch where the pan is in the fire

Well, I pulled my taps today while boiling the last of my sap. Looks like I'm boiling used motor oil. Have about 120 gallons in and expecting about 2 - 2 1/4 gallons from it. Never made dark syrup...

I've made cream a couple times. Always had success with whatever grade I used. They say the lighter the syrup the better do to the invert suger content ( whatever that is ). But I've made great...

I'm with bushmoose, I use a piece of 5/16 tubing with a notch cut in it so I know where 5 gallons is. That's about 1 3/4" in my pan give or take.

Not sure about the auto shutoff but the pump should work. Its a self priming diaphragm pump that will self prime up to 12'. Don't see why it wouldn't work, but then again I'm just a carpenter.

I...

What the heck am I doing sitting here boiling my sap. Craigslist here I come. Ill corner the market by selling it for $10/5 gallons.

I'm boiling right now, had a great run earlier this week and it died off a little. While sitting here with my pump going I decided to test the sugar coming out of the pump (all soft maples) and had...

I have one huge sugar that has done the same thing. Not one drop and then Tuesday I checked and it was overflowing, open the bucket and its yellow sap. Had to dump it. I would love to know why this...

I have a 115v diaphragm pump (pro-pump) on my line with 20 taps. While running dry I get about 15" of vacuum. When the sap starts to flow and there is some liquid in the pump it jacks up to about...

Id dump the yellow. A few years ago before I had a sap hydrometer I boiled 6 gallons of yellow sap down to a half pint. Hardly any sugar in it. Everyone always said dump it but couldn't tell me...

That's great. I bought a used half pint this year and have only done one boil on it so far. I think its great. I did do one modification to it already though. I move the preheater pan off the back...

I do not always tap the south side. Just so happens that this year I did. Last years were on the east side so I just moved around the tree a bit and ended up on the south side. I don't generally...

I've been intrigued with this subject since I read about it a few weeks ago. I like the idea of the possibility of me planting 30-40 saplings and being able to harvest sap from them within 10 years....

I guess anything is possible, my taps are on the south side.

There is still about 2 feet of frost in the ground where i am and these trees are in the wide open getting sun all day long. The thing that gets me is that about 30 feet away is a very similar tree...

I tap a few 100+ year old sugars at my friends house each year, one of which used to be one of the best producers. So far this year I've gotten maybe 6 oz's of sap from the 2 taps on the tree. The...