got all the bricks cut and fit today, tapered the top row as suggested, it was almost painless. Waiting on the refractory cement, hopefully I'll get that tomorrow.
got all the bricks cut and fit today, tapered the top row as suggested, it was almost painless. Waiting on the refractory cement, hopefully I'll get that tomorrow.
2024 - 57 Gallons - Short season, many and varied problems remedied in short order! - No buckets!
2023 - 38 Gallons - RO broke, Buckets didn't run, rebuilt vacuum pump mid-season, still made good syrup!
2022 - 52 Gallons - DIY RO, 50% less fuel, no late nights in the shack!
2021 - 48 Gallons - new pans, new arch, lots of new taps and tubing
2020 - 32 Gallons
2019 - 27 Gallons
20201128_204707-COLLAGE.jpg. One step closer to a test boil!
2024 - 57 Gallons - Short season, many and varied problems remedied in short order! - No buckets!
2023 - 38 Gallons - RO broke, Buckets didn't run, rebuilt vacuum pump mid-season, still made good syrup!
2022 - 52 Gallons - DIY RO, 50% less fuel, no late nights in the shack!
2021 - 48 Gallons - new pans, new arch, lots of new taps and tubing
2020 - 32 Gallons
2019 - 27 Gallons
Finally got to do some more work in the shack, Ran the wire and switches for the blower fan. Had an oppurtunity to light a fire too, we did a rought time to put a boil on 20 gallons of water, which is what we measured to put 1.5 inches in the pan. 10 min to a full boil accross the whole pan from the time we lit it. I wish i had a video of it. Plan to do a GPH test video when i have time to get it up to temperature and run a test for a few hours. Oh, and it only took two 5 gallon buckets of oak slab wood, even had a handfull left over.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pdBTQvj4xBoFT6T16
2024 - 57 Gallons - Short season, many and varied problems remedied in short order! - No buckets!
2023 - 38 Gallons - RO broke, Buckets didn't run, rebuilt vacuum pump mid-season, still made good syrup!
2022 - 52 Gallons - DIY RO, 50% less fuel, no late nights in the shack!
2021 - 48 Gallons - new pans, new arch, lots of new taps and tubing
2020 - 32 Gallons
2019 - 27 Gallons
Hey can you get a pic of the blower posted from inside the arch? I have the starcat and want to build one - a blower for it.
Thanks.
This shows the hole, the grates and the outside. 20201217_141323-COLLAGE.jpg. I kinda just cut everything to fit.
Last edited by darkmachine; 12-17-2020 at 01:21 PM.
2024 - 57 Gallons - Short season, many and varied problems remedied in short order! - No buckets!
2023 - 38 Gallons - RO broke, Buckets didn't run, rebuilt vacuum pump mid-season, still made good syrup!
2022 - 52 Gallons - DIY RO, 50% less fuel, no late nights in the shack!
2021 - 48 Gallons - new pans, new arch, lots of new taps and tubing
2020 - 32 Gallons
2019 - 27 Gallons
Thanks and super cool. I like MacGyvering things. I'm looking at a bounce tent blower and reduce it to 1/2 inch and put 1/2" pipe all around the base using steel tees and angle them toward the base of the wood fire. The blower is rated for 195cfm with controller and my box is 16x30. Starcat evap. It's cheap and I can do it myself. The idea is just to get more air blowing on the fire and for my small arch I think I need to disperse it rather than a huge blower like you have with one huge port. I think I'm on the right track. Thanks.
No problem, my design is totally unproven, I considered a different setup with pipe for air, and auf, but it was an afterthought. I'm still anxious to see how it preforms. My fan isn'tbtoo much more cfm than yours, I worried about the noise level, this one is pretty quiet. It's nice to see everyone trying different things to improve performance and get the gph up!
2024 - 57 Gallons - Short season, many and varied problems remedied in short order! - No buckets!
2023 - 38 Gallons - RO broke, Buckets didn't run, rebuilt vacuum pump mid-season, still made good syrup!
2022 - 52 Gallons - DIY RO, 50% less fuel, no late nights in the shack!
2021 - 48 Gallons - new pans, new arch, lots of new taps and tubing
2020 - 32 Gallons
2019 - 27 Gallons
Sugarhouse just needs a little organizing, and a load of gravel for the floor. I also used some clear tubing on my sap supply line so i don't have to go out and check my head tank, just need to put the marks on the white board behind the tube. I'll proably do a test boil Friday if i can stand to wait that long, lol. I also mounted my sap transfer pump, and UV lamp inside the shack instead of hauling them out every time I pump out the truck tank.
2024 - 57 Gallons - Short season, many and varied problems remedied in short order! - No buckets!
2023 - 38 Gallons - RO broke, Buckets didn't run, rebuilt vacuum pump mid-season, still made good syrup!
2022 - 52 Gallons - DIY RO, 50% less fuel, no late nights in the shack!
2021 - 48 Gallons - new pans, new arch, lots of new taps and tubing
2020 - 32 Gallons
2019 - 27 Gallons