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Lots of interesting ideas. I will need to talk to my electrician.
Had never considered the coiling action of the pipe and having to deal with that.
Other considerations could be solar and use of...

If I were to identify my main objective it would be to have sap delivered to my evaporator without having to physically go collect.

I am also planning to rebuild fence on upper edge of pasture....

Thanks for the input so far. There is 20' of fall from top corner of pasture to Syrup House. So 2.2% slope, but there are dips and humps as you cross the field so the necessity to plan a route that...

Greetings. I'm thinking of installing a vacuum system. Objective is additional sap and having sap brought to sugar shack. We currently have 350 taps on gravity and haul sap with a 250g tote. We have...

Thanks. I easily see that now. Being busy keeping up boiling I didnt have time to really look at the press. But having problems has taught me better how the press works.

Success today. We did have the end plate in wrong. Got it positioned right and sparkling clean syrup. Thanks for all the suggestions.
I can also see how the DE was getting into the clean syrup by...

After making my post i was continuing through the forum and came across a post about putting the end plate in wrong. I have been looking at this plate wondering why it was machined with a port and...

Have spacers on the rods to allow it to be used with less windows. Thanks for the reply.

I got a new to me hand pump filter press this year. We are having trouble with DE ending up in the canner. On our last batch the cake was on the papers in even coat but there was lots of room left...

So confession time.

Wanted to get some more air out of the fan so my Dad found a motor and turbine off an old furnace which looked like it would fit. He took our squirrel cage apart to assess the...

Thanks, Ben

I really appreciate you taking the time and energy to respond and provide advice. Sounds like a a horrible experience for you and your family. I wish you and yours a continued...

Had a good boil last night. 250 gal in 5 hours from match strike to shut down. When rolling good stack temp stayed in the 970 to 1070 range. Smoke is starting to clear was still black at firing but...

Under natural draft I always have had dark smoke, but I do need a fan with more push to get that extra air into the rig. I am going to try just the squirrel cage with no restrictions into the ash...

Thanks, Ben
It all makes sense. I'll keep monitoring and making notes to see what happens. It's all part of the fun. Setting up the stack thermometer has already yielded some interesting...

We used a 4" id pipe. See attached picture. We slide it in from the front and then cut a plate to close up the rest of the ash door area. It was quite obvious that there was not enough airflow so I...

So now I need help
Interpreting today's data. Put the pipe down the centre of the ash pit with 52 7/8 holes in it . Then blocked the ash door and connected my fan. It was pretty obvious the fan...

Thanks, Ben.
What do you have directing the air under the fire?
I installed a digital stack thermometer last night so we have that covered now.

Thanks for info. We are going to try the forced air route. I have a squirrel cage fan off an old grain aerator. Just trying to figure out how many cfm it moves. label shows 1450rpm, .08hp, 2.3amps it...

So I found an earlier thread where it was suggested (Big Eddy) that for a low pressure blower that one should have half the area of the stack in air inlet openings. So my stack is 9" which is 64...

Found a piece of heavy walled 4" pipe in the shop. Thinking about cutting a piece and laying in in the ash space. Planning to drill holes in it to direct air flow up into fire. Considering drilling...

I have a 2x8 raised flue Phaneuf with an air tight arch running natural draft. Smoke seems to be black/grey so I think I need more air. 9" stack over 16'. Boils good when it gets up and going, but...

Thanks for the input.

Planning to install some 3/16 tubing. Is there any preference/advantage for using 3/16 as drop lines as well or just using 5/16 drops to a 3/16-5/16-3/16 tee?

I have the 5/16 material to make...

We have had 9 days of no sap flow and cold weather and snow. Looking like we can start boiling again tonight. The sap/sweet in my flue pan is looking cloudy. I can still see the flues down through...

I'm interested in developing a vacuum system. I am trying to figure out the best way to lay it out and have a few ideas and questions. It's 900 ft across the pasture to edge of bush. then about 1700...