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I used to have the same difficulty in knowing what hydrometer reading was syrup for a given temperature during the sampling. I now use a Murphy cup which has a built in dial thermometer that...

I'll take flames licking the bottom of my pan over a bed of glowing coals every time. If I was trying to forge iron, then I would have the iron in the coals. An evaporator pan is not in contact...

Best to keep the gage above the line to minimize any chance of sap getting to it and gumming it up. Its position would have no affect on accuracy. I bungee the gage to the tree and slip a clear...

I have the wall right after the back of the grate, two flat bricks wide up to about 2 inches to the bottom of the pan and then there is a void space after the wall before the outlet to the stack. ...

I also have a Mason 2x3 XL and I typically average 8 GPH without AUF. A lot has to do with how deep you run the pan and what you use for wood. Bill Mason recommended wrist sized hemlock as the...

D. Roseum,

You have a very informative website on hobby ROs. One question regarding your very nice diagram of your 5 membrane in series system. The 4 lpm flow rate of sap into the first membrane...

Bascom appears to have several different hobby evaporators in stock based on their website. Not that far a drive from Weare.

I use a bucket heater from Tractor Supply (https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/farm-innovators-1000w-submersible-bucket-heater?cm_vc=-10015) to heat up a 5 gal bucket of sap and dump that into...

Why not use two 12v batteries in series to get the 24v to run the pump?

I have an RO Bucket with three 400 gpd membranes and the instructions are to flush it with permeate with the needle valve wide open. This keeps a strong flow along the surface of the membranes which...

I have a 2014 Mason 2x3 XL which has the preheater hung off the back of the evaporator over the stack elbow, similar to where you moved yours. I have often thought about building a shroud like you...

There are several reasons that a pressure relief valve is not appropriate for that service.

Number one being as Maple Flats stated that you need to be able to vary the setting. With small hobby...

I also have a Mason 2x3 and have learned a lot operating it over the past 4 seasons and have evolved my procedures accordingly. I now usually run it at a depth of 3/4" to 1" and can get 8 gal/hr...

I also use the cheap non filled gauges and have not had any problems with them freezing. I transition to 5/16 tubing before the gauge and then install the gauge on an end line tee as though it was...

Did you not see my reply to the OP? The flow meters I use (and provided a link to) are not very expensive and are ideal for the flow rate in question. I use them and have found them very effective...

I have the RB15 RO Bucket which has three 400 gpd membranes and I use 0.05-0.5 gpm flow meters I got on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EZ3T1GM). These work well for my system which...

Did you mean a 7 gpm pump?

Depending on what flow rate you actually want to achieve, you may want to consider using something larger than 1/2" tubing. I use a Shurflo nominal 4 gpm pump to pump...

That is too much to ask from a Shurflo! I flushed my lines today pumping up with a 4008 Shurflo into two 600 ft long 3/16 lines that rise about 60 ft in elevation. I managed to get a small trickle...

What a weird season this has been, but it finally came through in the end! Did our last boil today. The last three days we collected 44% of our total sap collection for the season. 83% of our...

It should be a judgement call based on your local conditions. Running a blower with no remaining snow cover would clearly be a higher risk than natural draft and/or if your local area still had some...

Are you sure that a red flag warning prohibits operation of a sugar house? Boiling over an open fire yes, but running an evaporator with a proper stack?

Our weird season continues... The temperature shot up from 33* this morning to 59* at 10:30AM and then it started raining. The temperature dropped back into mid 40s by 1PM and the sap started...

My red maples continue to be very stingy with their sap. Last Sunday was my best run and that was less than 0.4 gal/tap. Still almost 2 ft of snow in the woods. May get an unforecast freeze...

You can create vacuum by using 3/16" tubing run down from the tap to a bucket on the ground and it will improve tap hole sanitation compared to hanging a bucket on a spike. A 6 ft vertical drop of...

Really got nothing to speak of today in the northern lakes region, even though it got up to 45*, but down to 12* this morning ,plus my trees are on a north facing slope and still 2 ft of snow in the...