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Thread: heating mechanical extractor

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Westminster, VT
    Posts
    706

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    Quote Originally Posted by wiam View Post
    Do you have pictures? Using any heat?
    Unfortunately I don't think I have any pictures. I did it one year with blueboard and a small ceramic heater. It worked pretty well except when it got super cold. I would shut it off then. Now I have one in an insulated 16' container that the heat from the atlas copco pump keeps the entire container warm. The tank is in there too and there is never any ice.

    The other I built a plywood box for the releaser and the pump. The heat from the pump keeps the releaser warm. Now the ceramic heater is just a back up. If I can find some pics I will send them to you via facebook

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Norwich NY
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    402

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    Heating an outside releaser makes a huge difference. I used 1" foamboard and heat with an electric milkhouse heater. This is 2000 taps that are lower in elevation than the sugarhouse. These tanks are 300' from sugarhouse. Sap gets pumped back. Never have to worry about releaser malfunctions and freezup.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Walling's Maple Syrup; 01-20-2019 at 05:20 PM.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Orwell,Vt.
    Posts
    1,126

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    The best thing I ever did was put my pumps and releasers into a small building. The pumps warm everything up and the releasers don't ice up. I leave the pumps on 24/7. All of my releaser problems went away when I did this.
    2 1/2 x8 Lapierre Waterloo-Small (oil fired)
    Leader Steamaway
    1200 gph Lapierre RO
    1800 taps
    http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/j...ks/Sugarhouse/


    Mike Christian
    505 Main St. Orwell, Vt.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Westminster, VT
    Posts
    706

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    Quote Originally Posted by maplwrks View Post
    The best thing I ever did was put my pumps and releasers into a small building. The pumps warm everything up and the releasers don't ice up. I leave the pumps on 24/7. All of my releaser problems went away when I did this.


    Completely agree. I had the same experience

  5. #15
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,391

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    Quote Originally Posted by PerryFamily View Post
    Completely agree. I had the same experience
    Same here. Pumps and releasers now in a heated space if possible. Makes working on things during bad weather much more pleasant as well. For releasers that aren't in a heated space, we use heat tape on the moisture traps (of course you'd need electricity for that).
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Wadsworth, OH
    Posts
    120

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    Just to give an update, I already had a Mr Heater Big Buddy heater and a 100# tank, so all I had to get was the hose to connect the heater to the tank instead of those little 1# tanks. I'm going to build a box around my extractor using rigid foil lined foam and I think that should be good to keep things running without any freeze ups (fingers crossed)...
    Mike

    450 taps on vacuum - 2018 - 150 gal
    530 taps on vacuum - 2019 - 190 gal
    520 taps on vacuum - 2020 - 196 gal
    515 taps on vacuum - 2021 - 150 gal
    24 x 32 Pole Barn Sugar House 2018
    Smoky Lake 2x8 Silverlake Raised Flue w/ concentric exhaust 2018
    Memprotec 350H RO
    Smoky Lake Water Jacket Bottler 2018
    Smoky Lake Filter Press 2018
    Smoky Lake Water Jacket Draw Off Tank 2018

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