Those roof jacks ar pretty sweet aren't they, Gary.
Those roof jacks ar pretty sweet aren't they, Gary.
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
Yes it is going to fit well over the ribs of the metal roof. I was able to get it for $135.Originally Posted by Pdiamond
Once I get the base stack base and base stack, and stand them up, I will see where the double wall pipe will line up and I will make a support for it. I will then lower the double wall pipe into position and make a mark on it showing the roof line and as mentioned before I then remove it, slide the roof jack down onto the double wall pipe to almost the line, then lower both and connect the double,wall pipe to the base stack, secure it to the supports, then add my butyl tape to the perimeter of the roof Jack under the metal strips, push the roof Jack all the way down to the roof and secure it with metal roofing screws, then add the roof sealant.
Other than putting the pan in place with the float box, I will be ready to boil.
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.
Today was +1° and the sap was running a little in my early taps. 3 of the next four days will be possible sap flow days, with Tuesday maybe being the best day.
We are still 3/4 weeks away from the sap really flowing and installing the majority of the taps. I may get enough sap to make a litre or so of syrup this week.
We snowshoed the lines on the steep hill today. The narrow tracks are getting a solid base, but constantly have to be trekked with snow or blowing snow almost each day.
My butyl tape arrived today from Amazon. Tomorrow prior to heading out to pick up my pan, I will stop and get the roof sealant. I am very excited to head out tomorrow to get the pan. It is 6’30” drive there and back in good conditions. I have a lot of questions for the pan maker when I get there about the pan and especially the float box.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/083C...9qa67WbtM2FnzA
https://share.icloud.com/photos/07d_...2eXMpSRrTytgFg
DDF084DA-BA87-4E88-BBC8-F13AFBF98464.jpg
Last edited by Swingpure; 02-05-2023 at 04:17 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 was a 6.5 hour return trip, but I picked up my 2x4 divided pan, float box, pan cover, base stack, base stack plate and 2 foot section of stainless 8” stove pipe today. It all looks great.
The base stack plate will have to be welded onto my existing metal rectangle frame that the pan sits on. It might take a few days for my welder to get to it and I can’t really do a lot with setting up the base stack until it is done, but I can do a few things.
To reverse the flow in this pan, you reverse the positions of the draw off valve and the float box. I wasn’t really set up that way, but I have time to make it so that I can.
I am very happy and in a few days or a week, I will be all set up to go. The second last picture is a photoshop of the base plate at the end of the metal frame. I will get the welder to run a bead across the entire width of the base plate, then weld two small plates at the ends over both pieces for extra strength.
7569E24B-C062-4C34-924A-CDA56125C67E.jpg
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0411...uQaYqkn5ZH5xAQ
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0c7R...0dFxrWemO_aTFg
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0cbD...UiJezbyuXlwquQ
https://share.icloud.com/photos/077Z...FlgWgun-FlNk7A
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b2V...smOauMR2QHlNrg
https://share.icloud.com/photos/004r...u4ExMEiePV1-Hw
https://share.icloud.com/photos/03co...5JbJdW9PDDpjIg
https://share.icloud.com/photos/08dt...xCfBpD6ei2WY2A
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.
Pan looks like it was worth the wait. Can't wait to see steam rising from it!
2x3 Patrick Phaneuf Divided Pan
Homemade arch
RB20 RO Bucket
121 taps total
Sugar Shack in future
Wife into it as much as me
Also do homebrew
http://s928.photobucket.com/albums/ad121/ZMANSYRUP/
Looking good Gary. Won't your first boil be fun. Your moving pretty fast for a second year sapper. Looks like you moved up from this being a hobby to an obsession. I realized that this year when I plunked down $800 for a filter press.
Dan of Jack & Daniel's syrup.
2021 - First time tapper, 40 TAPS, 7 GAL syrup, 400gpd RO
2022- 105 taps, 17 gal syrup, 2x 400 gpd RO
2023- 143 taps, 27 gal syrup New 12x16 shack. Lost my father in law Jack who helped me build it. New Badgerland filter press.
2024 - 210 taps, 37 gal syrup, 6x 400gpd RO Procon pump
Equipment looks very well made, trusts it serves you well for many many years.
Stay safe on the roof work and get some help even if they only do the fetching on the ground.
Looking forward to see pic's of the whole sugar pavilion making steam.
Best of luck.
Black Walnut tapping
2021 - 3 trees 5 taps enough to boil a sample.
~ 2 acres, 35+ mature Black Walnut
2022 - 30 Southern Ontario Walnuts tapped, 69 spouts.
650 litres (143 Imp gals) on sap bags, 14 litres (3 Imp gals) walnut syrup on turkey fryer.
2023 - 35 trees tapped, 28 mech vacuum & 7 on gravity. Propane fired custom evaporator, 2'x2' divided pan, 2'x1' preheat pan.
882 litres (194 Imp gals) mechanical & gravity vac turned into 18.25 litres (4.8 Imp gals) syrup off my DIY evaporator
Looks great! Is it normal that a base stack doesn't have a flange to use to attach it? I don't have a base stack, just curious.
One thought - if there's a way to attach your base stack to the arch with screws or something, I wonder if that might be better, so you can re-use it if you wind up buying an evaporator next season or the one after. That stack will last forever, and it would be a shame to have to chop it up to move it to a new arch.
GO
2016: Homemade arch from old wood stove; 2 steam tray pans; 6 taps; 1.1 gal
2017: Same setup. 15 taps; 4.5 gal
2018: Same setup. Limited time. 12 taps and short season; 2.2 gal
2019: Very limited time. 7 taps and a short season; 1.8 gals
2020: New Mason 2x3 XL halfway through season; 9 taps 2 gals
2021: Same 2x3, 18 taps, 4.5 gals
2022: 23 taps, 5.9 gals
2023: 23 taps. Added AUF, 13.2 gals
2024: 17 taps, 5.3 gals
2025: 17 taps
All on buckets
Thanks, I can’t wait to see it all set up and working as well. I will have a big smile when the steam starts rising.
When I started thinking about tapping two summers ago, it was going to be 16 taps, with an unknown way of boiling, but my personality trait of wanting to do the best I can, with a dash of obsessiveness has got me here. Hopefully I will be content with what I have now.
Thanks I have a buddy up for a couple of days, I am hoping we can get the hole cut in the roof while he is up, although today is a wash with driving snow, freezing rain, and rain. It is supposed to get to +4 C / 40 F so I should get some sap running in my early taps. It is more likely this sap will be boiled on a turkey fryer though. Thanks for the good luck wishes.
Thanks! I do have a base stack plate with a flange for the base stack, it may not have been obvious in the earlier pictures. I was working on it this morning as I had to cut and ground a portion of it to fit the inside width of the evaporator.
The basestack and pan will fit my pan makers evaporators, if money magically appeared to allow me to buy a professional evaporator.
F758CDA0-DF65-4D2D-AC2D-9B014921E17D.jpg
https://share.icloud.com/photos/03eo...kVEpO9cVteZ3jw
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ddk...rvmEh4vW3x_Rnw
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.
Speaking yesterday with my pan maker, he suggested I start with 3” sap depth until I get comfortable with the divided pan and learn how quickly things can happen when they do.
I also asked about the draw off and I said I was going to trickle the syrup out. He told me that is a good method when you have a really large evaporator, but for the 2x4 pan he made for me, he said you want to open the valve and let it flow out. He also said, that let’s say 220° was my target temperature, that once I open the valve, the temperature may rise to 221°, but the instant it starts to drop, close the valve.
He also said if the sugar sand builds up, that the pan could burn between the bottom of the pan and the sugar sand, so not to let the sugar sand build up.
The way this pan is designed to reverse the flow was different than I thought. In this case, you switch the float box with the outlet valve. Right now my feed tank is on a raised stand that I screwed into place. I have three options. Get a longer RVk hose and string it over the pan to reach the other side, build a second raised stand on the other side, or unscrew the existing raised stand and just move it each time, but there may not be a good spot for it. First world problems, I will figure it out.
Now in simply flipping the float box and valve around, you have your gradient in the wrong place, so I see draining some of the sweet into pails and then pour it back in, in reverse order on the opposite side, to try and reestablish the gradient.
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.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote