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My base stack pipe is splitting at the seam. Have a new one on the way. I assume I’ll have to break the seal at the roofline and raise the entire stack pipe in order to remove the old base stack and...

My comments below are most applicable for hobby size cookers with a drop flue pans. I have Smokey Lake 2x4 drop flue pan. The first few seasons that I had it, I only cleaned it at the end of the...

Has anyone checked the sugar content? I've got a refractometer sitting on the kitchen table but forgot to take it out and use it.

Got pretty good flow yesterday despite cloud cover. Wasn't expecting much today but those low pressure systems can surprise you. Cloudy skies and low pressure kept my yard trees dripping (albeit...

Spring continues to be a fickle partner in this sap to syrup business. Although it seemed too early, the long range forecast at the beginning of March called for several days in a row with highs in...

OK, johnallin is on to something here. After reading his response, it seems that I made several mistakes. One was my bolts through the door were too small. Second they were not stainless steel. ...

Johnallin, thanks for the pictures. I like your sandwiche approach but wonder how long it will hold up. I suspect the bolts or nuts (whichever is on the fire side) will eventually disintegrate from...

The problem with exposed steel is that they soon become red hot and are a hazard to your arms/elbows while fueling. The steel door on my arch came uninsulated and after burning my jacket and gloves...

Here are a few more pictures of the finished building. 148951489614897

This is the latest (and last) chapter in the Chronology of our cordwood sugar shack construction. I believe my last post was late fall 2015 as we were shutting it up for the winter. During the...

Not sure what "breathing" space a metal roof on an outbuilding needs. I'm in agreement with Ipakix. Put down wood sheathing (5/8 is good) on the rafters, cover it with felt and attached the metal...

As some folks have already stated, the sugar content of the sap varies from year to year and from the beginning of the season to the end. Last year I started out around 70:1 but it got better as the...

Above the cement blocks is eastern white cedar (from the UP of Mich.) set in mortar so the ends face out (and in). If you look close at the front, you will notice that I have placed colored wine...

We've had a 2x4 Smoky Lake drop flu hybrid for three seasons now. I burn a mixture of dry oak, maple and birch all split down to about 2x4 inches or so. I fire up every 12-15 minutes or whenever...

I'm a hobby sized operation (2x4 Smoky Lake hybrid pan) and have no plans to go commercial. Last summer, we built an 18x24 sugar house. However, with 12 inch cordwood walls, the inside dimensions...

I have a 2x4 Smoky Lake hybrid drop flu pan. We tap around 100 trees. We have mix of buckets (with drop line) and bags. A 2x4 is good for 75-150 taps. If you go over 150 then consider a 2x54 or...

This summer I built a sugar shack so we could move our cooking operation indoors. I decided to go with a steam hood rather than a cupola to handle the evaporating steam. This last weekend, I put up...

Fall weather is here and with the advent of below freezing temps, no further work on the cordwood walls until next May or so. While I didn't get the walls completed, we made good progress. All the...

In response to a couple of questions raised, no we were not able to finish all the cordwood walls before the threat of frost. Last weekend was our final wall building for this year. We will finish...

Every weekend we make a little more progress. The slow set of our mortar mix requires that we stop building walls a week or two before the first hard frost. Here in N Wis that usually comes near...

Spent the last +3 weeks building cordwood walls in our sugar shack. It is slow going but the end product is very attractive. Attached are a few more pictures.
Will send more pix when the windows...

We got 39.5 gallons from 110 taps. Early stuff was light amber, middle was a medium amber and late was again light amber. It was an excellent year in N Wis.

Just got a few more pictures downloaded. My first wall is nearly half way up to and starting to go around the window opening. We use a few glass bottles to add color. 1189311894

Progress continues on our sugar shack. Two weeks ago, we got the steel roof on and cut holes for the stacks. Meanwhile back down at the base, I liked the looks of the split face cement block so...

Last weekend we put down two rows of split-face block. Pictures attached. If you keep the cordwood up off the ground, it holds up better. I really like the looks of the split-face block and am...