Get out and visit as many sugarhouses as you can. Most sugar makers are more than happy to show you their place and talk maple if you ask. There’s a large range of options from a full commercial setup to a more traditional design but setup for the modern equipment you mentioned above. We’re going to max. Out at only 800-1000 taps but after drawing it up, we want at least a 28x40 sugarhouse which is what we have settled on. The Vermont guys will chime in and will have some good knowledge of requirements for VT and maybe offer you a visit. A few essentials we considered:
-Head tank and permeate tank overhead. Let gravity work with you. Place them over the RO room, less plumbing.
-Bulk tanks under cover is nice to have.
-Don’t skimp on electrical. Know how big you want to be and get enough amperage. The big RO’s draw a lot of power. In any case, I’d go 200 Amps minimum if a new service is needed.
-Leave enough room around all tanks and equipment to be able to clean everything.
-A kitchen of some sorts is nice. We are planning an insulated kitchen in the back of the shack.
Last edited by mainebackswoodssyrup; 08-05-2023 at 08:12 AM.
305 taps on 2 Shurflo's, 31 taps on 3/16" and 229 taps on gravity. 565 in all
Mountain Maple S3 controller for 145 of the vacuum taps
2x6 Darveau Mystique Oil Fired Evaporator w/ Smoky Lake Simplicity Auto Draw
Wesfab 7” filter press
