How did you accumulate so much wood, did you buy a truck load of logs?
How did you accumulate so much wood, did you buy a truck load of logs?
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 gal. syrup
2021 - Didn't work out
2022 - 25 taps on bags / 8 taps on 3/16's line - late start
2025 - No tapping for me
For the first time ever I bought 20+ face cords of wood. I already had 32 facecords on hand. With the 20+ facecords, I bucked it all up and split 15.5 face cords and have approximately 400 fireplace length logs ready to split in the spring.Originally Posted by Pdiamond
Load of the 20 facecords of logs:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0fa9...2VbsIjTTs5pnzg
Winter 22/23 Wood:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/077T...Jv3pWSQNU9E0tw
Winter 23/24 Wood:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0df3...Ql3kBnKLCwPCiQ
Evaporator Wood
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0abb...oljbAaNVGOR1BQ
Winter 24/25 Wood:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/070-...ef1QDD7-xSp2RQ
One neighbour wants me to drop two tall birch trees and I can have the wood and another neighbour just came up and wants me to cut a number of their trees to manage their forest and I can have their wood. So I think I am good up to 24/25 or 25/26. Now to live that long.
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.
Gary, do you heat your home strictly with wood or do you have a secondary source of heat. I heat our home with propane, and I have a pellet stove in the basement. When I have the pellet stove going, I leave the basement door open, and the heat will naturally flow upstairs. Keeps the upstirs around 72-75 degrees except for the bedrooms in the back of the house. They get cool.
Last edited by Pdiamond; 10-31-2022 at 06:04 PM.
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 gal. syrup
2021 - Didn't work out
2022 - 25 taps on bags / 8 taps on 3/16's line - late start
2025 - No tapping for me
We also have electric baseboard heat, but heat 95%+ from our fireplace insert. We use 13-15 facecords of wood a year to heat our place.
Our house (originally a cottage) is called a panabode style home with interlocking cedar sort of logs, with no insulation other then the “logs” themselves. They wood walls actually does a decent job of insulation. When we bought it we replaced all of the windows with better windows and added a roof on top of the existing roof so we could add R40 worth of insulation in the ceiling as opposed to the one inch thick white styrofoam insulation that was in the original ceiling.
Our bunkie and detached garage are heated strictly by electricity.
Last edited by Swingpure; 10-31-2022 at 10:46 PM.
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.
It continues to be great fall weather. I am sitting outside typing this on my rear deck and I can see some of my sap lines all set and ready to go. I can’t wait for the season to start. Looks like cooler weather will arrive in a week’s time.
Today I ordered my backup transfer pump.
In a couple weeks I will order the RO pump that Dan has talked about: Coronwater 800 gpd RO Pump 8900K RO Water Filter Booster, and my Aquatec will become my backup.
I may yet order a second 400 gpd membrane, but I still need to understand the system better. It still confuses me how adding my two 150 membranes after the two 400 gpd membranes does not slow how much Concentrate I get per hour.
I have to admit never doing the RO before, it is causing me the most angst. I know it will be a giant time and wood saver, but it just seems so much simpler to just add the raw sap to the pan and boil it.
I guess after I do it a few times, it will make sense and seem easier to do. None of the local sugar makers I know use an RO.
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.
Gary you will have to let me know how the RO works for you. I have never used one in my operation.
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 gal. syrup
2021 - Didn't work out
2022 - 25 taps on bags / 8 taps on 3/16's line - late start
2025 - No tapping for me
It will be a steep learning curve, but I have watched a lot of videos and read a lot. The big unknown for me is how fast it will process 50 gallons of sap. That will determine when I start the first 50 gallons. I can see some days trying to run 150 gallons of sap through it. That should produce 75 gallons of concentrate. I will likely do 50 gallons starting after midnight, then 50 gallons when I wake up. If I have 100 gallons or less of sap I will start boiling then. If not I will wait until the 2nd 50 is done, then start the third and also start boiling.
The other big unknown at one point I have to go get the last batch. Not ever having used a divided pan, I think after I have drained off the correct temperature sap/syrup and have added fresh firewood, I should have five minutes of unattended time with the evaporator, to go get the last batch.
I will flush the RO after the last batch and after I have finished boiling. I have bought the soap. I still have to get the bucket I will use to supply the permeate and soap and then permeate to do the flushing, washing and flushing.. I wonder if a 16 gallon pail is enough?
My base stack when it arrives is supposed to be 8 feet tall, then I will have a 3 foot double wall pipe through the ceiling and then will add a 2’ pipe with a storm collar on it. Today I was looking how I will support the double wall pipe and I have some ideas.
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.
16 gallons for a flush, wash, or rinse is not enough of ypu are putting 100 gallons thru it per day. I would recommend keeping all of your permeate for these purposes. I have two 60 gallon barrels for permeate from 100 trees on 3/16 vacuum. Having all the permeate you can for flush, wash, rinse purposes is a good idea.
D. Roseum
www.roseummaple.com | https://youtube.com/@roseummaplesyrup
~136 taps on 3/16 custom temp controlled vacuum; shurflo vacuum #2; custom nat gas evap with auto-drawoff and tank level gas shut-off controller; homemade RO #1; homemade RO #2; SL SS filter press
~30 gallons / year
I had written a post with a lot of RO questions and I came to the realization although it will take me more boil time and wood, the whole process will be much more simpler and less complicated if I do not RO. I am a one man operation without a proper sugar house and it is just far more simpler to gather my sap, put it into a barrel beside my head tank and pump up the sap as required. This way after collecting sap in the morning, I can start to boil right away, I don’t have to stay up late to turn on the RO and wake up early to start a fresh batch and after a day of boiling, I don’t have to spend time flushing all of the membranes. (I also collect late afternoon after the boil)
I feel at peace with the decision. Keeping it simple is best for me and my early operation. My evaporator should be far more efficient this year, and I do not mind putting in the time to boil and when I run out of wood, I run out of wood, but I have a lot of wood, at least this year I do. Maybe one day I will get an RO bucket with all of the instructions and tips.
Now instead of spending another $400+ bucks on a new pump and membranes and barrel, I can sell what I built maybe for $300.
It just takes out so much uncertainty for me and as I said I feel at peace now. For other people and their operations, the RO may be the perfect decision for them.
I think this year just learning how to be good with a divided pan and increased taps will be a good enough learning curve.
Sorry for asking all of the RO questions the last year, but it was not in vain, it helped me to get to this decision.
Anyone in Ontario want to buy a DYI brand new RO? Lol. I just posted in on Facebook Marketplace.
Last edited by Swingpure; 11-02-2022 at 09:18 AM.
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.
I must say, I enjoy reading you thinking out loud but there is definitely a certain whiplash aspect to it!
I suppose if you can sell your stuff for most of what you paid, nothing really lost, but may I suggest an in-between option?
It seems you were stressed by the thought that the system must be balanced and absolutely all sap must be R.O.'d before entering the pan.
But clearly you are prepared to boil with no RO at all for this year.
So... what if you used your system once this year? Twice? Just to get to know it a bit? Maybe you'll find you even use it more. Or not. Doesn't matter.
Any amount you use it will be a bit less boiling, and a bit more learning. Or, even use it zero times but you've got a head start on your 2024 system in that case, and plenty of time to find deals on any remaining pieces you need.
I haven't R.O.'d yet, and I think I'm not going to get to it this year, but I've decided I'll be easing into it when I do. I won't try to stress about all or nothing or getting the balance just right. I'll RO what I can RO. And it will probably be the bucket, for avoiding re-inventing any wheels and the product support, and just to throw him a bone for all the free videos and documentation I've already read and watched.
On the flip side, if you've realized you've got the wrong stuff for what you want to do, might as well cut bait. The point is more that things don't have to be all or nothing first time out.
Last edited by Andy VT; 11-02-2022 at 10:27 AM.
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