Pdiamond, I'm east of Peterborough and west of Ottawa. Just around the corner from the village of Lanark.
Pdiamond, I'm east of Peterborough and west of Ottawa. Just around the corner from the village of Lanark.
Thank you for the reply. I envy you a lot, you really live in a beautiful place that God created. I am part french-canadian from my grandmothers side. Wish you nothing but the best for this year.
2004 - 2012 2x3 flat pan 25 to 60 taps
2012 2x3 new divided pan w/draw off 55 taps
2018 - didn't boil surgery - bought new evaporator
2019 new SML 2x4 raised flue high output evap. 65 taps
made 17 gal. syrup
2020 - only put out 53 taps - made 16.25 ga.l syrup
2021 - Didn't work out
2022 - 25 taps on bags / 8 taps on 3/16's line - late start
I just spent a few hours this afternoon and evening, checking out the StarCat, watching videos, etc. I didn't sugar last year, the prior two years I used propane, post-surgery, and before that, wood-fired in the barrel evaporator I made. Hoping the season will cooperate this year, and I have to say, I haven't decided which route to use this year with some physical limitations. But, the StarCat sure has caught my eye. Assuming you were wood fired previously. Love to hear your thoughts about transitioning, offline is fine.
Thanks.
~Janet
2019 - 6th year sugarin'. 2nd year using propane. 13 taps. Just over 3/4 gal syrup. Light in color and flavor.
Intent to build a new barrel evaporator with my son this summer. Still don't weld. We'll see how it goes.
I was using a turkey fryer prior to this with only 3-4 taps. I decided if I was going to get into the hobby, I wanted something more traditional than a barrel. Also, for the price of a barrel and pan, the StarCat wasn't too much more. Getting all the free wood to burn as efficiently as possible is the biggest challenge over propane. But I do enjoy the art of it all much more than maximized productivity.
What we do to draw off is use smaller and less wood to get it close to finished. Once it’s close I prop open the door and with a shovel, remove the coals and put outside in the snow, once snow is gone I use a 40 gallon metal trash barrel for coals. Doing it like this allows me to draw everything off without warping the pan. To get pan ready for next batch I dump a 5 gallon bucket of hot water into pan and scrub it clean. Sometimes I use less water and vinegar if needed.
24x24 post and beam Sugarhouse (built by Lyle Merrifield and crew)
2x6 raised flue cdl traditional evaporator
600 gallon milk tank
300 taps on combination of 3/16 and buckets
Being on the lazy side, i finish in my 2x4' boiling pan. i try to boil between 200-250 gal of sap so i have a safe depth of syrup when it's time to draw off. It takes me 3 days to do this. so for 2 nights i power load my pans with sap and bank the fire when i go to bed. i never get a super light syrup as a result but medium amber with a lot of caramel notes which we prefer. other than being a lil darker i see no harm from leaving syrup in the pan overnight. after i draw off into 2.5 or 1 gal containers on day 3 i quickly throw in 10 gal of water in the pan while i clean up the mess. by then the water in the pan is warm and i scrub that out so it's ready for the next batch. you've got to be careful at crunch time but finishing in a bigger pan is way faster with less cleaning than finishing in a turkey fryer etc. my .02