Question on MES Dolly Size

[BlueberryHill]

I have a pretty cramped sugar shack. Will be expanding it after this season. I'm going to buy a used MES Dolly this weekend. Before I go to get it, I want to frame up an insulated "box" that I can keep the dolly in, in the corner of my shack. But I can't seem to find the actual size of the unit listed anywhere. Is there anyone else out there with a dolly that could recommend the best size "box" to frame up to keep this in for the maple season? If I had to, I cold drag this to my basement after each use, but there would be a lot of swearing involved each time for sure. Lots of stairs.

[Snowmad]

I could measure mine for you but you'll have yours in a few days. I'm thinking a 4x8 sheet of the blue foam board 2" thick would work well for you. Maybe cover it in luan plywood to protect it. Mine is in the cellar now too until I'm ready to use it. Then not sure what I'll do once it's in the sugar house. My building is insulated so I might just point a heater towards it. I worry about relying on a light bulb to keep it warm...what if bulb blows? Not sure what others are doing...?

[nymapleguy607]

I believe my cabinet is 24" deep by 5ft wide and 5ft tall, I will have to check the dimensions to be sure. I have 4" of insulation on the sides and then 2" in the top. The front panel of the cabinet is removable with no insulation. I heat with an electric milk house heater from tractor supply and a thermo-cube thermostat.

[maple flats]

Back when I used light bulbs to heat the RO closet, it barely needed 1at 100 watts, but I had 3 100's (and they were on a line volt t-staT, SET AT 40f) to be sure. I now have a 8000 BTU wall heater, direct vented and the line volt t-stat has a 1200 watt electric heater for back up, and that circuit is on a solar bank and inverter in case the grid power goes out. The propane thermostat is set at 43F and the electric is set at 40F backup.

[halladaymaple]

Dave

Now that’s a backup plan. You make a good point in ensureing RO users have a backup plan. It could be as simple as checking on the RO in the morning after a cold night to ensure there is still some heat in your RO room instead of trusting that “ things should be fine”. I read every year on this forum from producers who didn’t check their RO room during a cold spell