With having now built an RO and hopefully reaping the benefits of it, I figured I only needed to steal 2 face cords from my house fireplace stockpile. Today was a rare day, where the temperatures finally and barely went above freezing. I dug out by hand, my log splitter, which was buried 40’ away in knee high snow.
I had a covered wood shed that was emptied so I had a place to put the wood.
I resplit the 2 face cords originally destined for the house into wrist sized or smaller pieces and stacked it in a cover shed. This wood is my off season wood so consisted of white and yellow birch, maple, and a little oak and ironwood.
I then started to move the 3 face cords already split wrist sized from a wood pile only covered on top with some poly, to the covered shed. I will try and move it all to the covered shed, so that it will be as dry as possible when it comes time to burn. That 3 face cords has poplar, birch, a lot of maple and some iron wood.
I also have 10 bins worth of scrap construction pine pieces for start up and an occasional boost. The ironwood I will use sporadically for a boost as well.
I have a bunch of seasoned maple held in reserve in case I need more, but it is not wrist size.
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.