New Sugar House Build Questions

[reidharrington]

Hi All!

We have been making maple syrup in Niantic CT for a few years now. Long and slow process using a turkey fryer, large pans and a LOT of propane. My father in law recently passed and we have inherited his 2x3 oil fired evaporater, 3x3 hood and everything else that goes along with it. I will be building an 8x12 shed to house the evaporater and am looking for any advice before I jump into the build. Couple easy questions, I don’t need a cupola correct? Since I have a hood and stack I can just have the stack go through the roof and use a stack cover? Do I need any heat resistant material under the evaporater or is it fine to just mount it to the wood floor? I know you guys have much more experience than me, so please any hints, tips or recommendations are hugely appreciated. I will post pictures of the build and refurbishment of the evaporater as I get started.

Thanks!

[Russell Lampron]

You don't need a cupola but if you want your shed to look like a sugar house why not put one on? You should have something heat resistant under the evaporator. If you can, a concrete floor would be ideal. It will be heat resistant and it will be easier to keep the evaporator level.

[Pdiamond]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your father in law. You have inherited a family tradition which is a good thing to keep going. I agree with Russell on the cupola and concrete floor. Once you get the maple bug you may just outgrow the 2 x 3 evaporator. Just a few more trees start to add up quickly. And the end product tastes oh so good.

[Ed R]

I built up a pad in my wood floored barn to put my wood fired 2x6 on. Backer board base, 3 inches of concrete, another piece of backer board then another layer of concrete. The bottom layer of concrete I added some vermiculite to. The base of my fire box is full size fire brick, several layers deep and wide . Using oil, I doubt you would need this much floor protection. The added bonus of building up such a tall fire box is not having to bend over to feed the arch, which I hate, not as critical with oil.

[BCPP]

We have a LaPierre mini pro in a 8 x 14 shed with a wood floor but strongly recommend you put a steel plate under the front third of the evaporator and extend out by about 2'. No issues with heat radiated from evaporator as the fire brick do a great job. Issue is with stoking the fire as small embers often get knocked out onto the floor.

[reidharrington]

Slowly making progress...work full time and have 4 kids.

Also, the evaporator is oil fired so I don’t think that I will have to deal with heat or embers as much.

[reidharrington]

And a little more...

[VT_K9]

Looking good. We switched to an oil unit from wood. Part of the reason was to reduce fire hazards. We also have a preheater with hoods. With the added space it sure is cool in the sugarhouse. Yours looks like it will be pretty cozy. Keep us updated.

[Pdiamond]

I like the picture with the little one in the back ground playing and your german short hair walking on the wall. She looks similar to my short hair.

[reidharrington]

On the final stretch now. Shed is built, cleaned up and painted the arch, burner has been serviced and the steam hood went through the roof tonight, more pics to come!