new arch ?
Hi all
I am looking at modifying my operation and looking for some advice. This will be my 9th season in 2018 and currently I boil in an open sided 30 x 60 wood shed and my equipment has evolved over the years to include a 2x5 drop flue pan on a home-made firebox, a 2x4 flat pan on its own home-made firebox, a 16"x16" "finish pan and a 300 gallon milk tank for sap storage. Due to work constraints I have to batch boil but will generally tap between 75-150 trees yearly (I have the ability to get to 700-800 taps if time permitted). Depending on sap flow I will fire up one or both of thlarger pans when I boil. I take the sap off when it hits 40 + brix and always finish in the small pan over propane. My son has decided to commandeer the wood shed for his wood mill and I am currently building a small 12 x 16 sugar shack. In future I would like to use 1 arch only given space restraints and have a few options available:
1.buy a 2 x 2 syrup pan with partitions and build an arch to accommodate it and the 2x5 flue pan
2.use the existing 2x4 flat as my syrup pan (no partitions) and build an arch to accommodate it and the 2x5 pan
3.continue with my dual arch arrangement (side by side and feed the 2x5 into the 2x4)
In future I would like to go to 300-500 taps (all buckets I like the exercise)
Any opinions, advice, input would be appreciated.
Thanks
Paul
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