Mike Haasl

Jay Angler wrote:

If it's frozen solid, I just boil the whole thing cuz the sugar is in there somewhere.

I wonder if you put it in a sieve over a second bucket what would thaw first? I've bet that the sugar with some water would come out first, but it would take someone who has plenty of raw material to test this.

I bet it would. I probably won't try it cuz when I'm in that situation, I often have 20-40 blocks of ice in the 1/2 to 2 gallon size range so it would be quite a process.

I'm.....  dubious.....   It sounds like he's freezing all his sap, then letting it thaw out 1/3 of the way in a bucket that drains the thawed sap out the bottom.  The ice remains and is discarded.  Since water freezes before the sugar, you're getting rid of the waste water.  

I can't help but think there's still a fair bit of sugar trapped in the ice block that is only 1/3 thawed and you'd throw it away.  Maybe it's an acceptable loss if you save so much boiling time though.  

This would only work early in the season when you have reasonable access to below freezing temps outside.

I practice a related technique.  When I go out to my bucket, if it's half frozen, I celebrate and remove and discard the ice after letting it drip back into the bucket for a while.  If it's frozen solid, I just boil the whole thing cuz the sugar is in there somewhere.

In case anyone is interested in learning more about getting into maple syrup making, I made an instructional video of the process last year.  Maple Syrup for Beginners

The sap was flowing yesterday in northern WI!

I'm gonna guess that your whole property saw a dusting but the elevated deck was a couple degrees colder so the snow didn't melt on contact..

Good work gentlemen!  If that pulley is attached to the top corner of the gate, I think, over time, it will put a lot of twisting load on that door.  Not when it's closed, just every time you open it there will be a twist applied to it which would likely shorten it's life.  Could the rope be attached closer to the handle where you're pushing/pulling on the gate?  Then there'd be much less twist...

Thanks Ben, I didn't think about the possibility of glue in the seam but that makes a ton of sense.

My plan is to have two of these side by side with a central run of blocks to support where they meet.  The fire would be at one end, the heat would run to the other end, do a U turn and come back under the second tank and end up at a chimney next to the fire opening.  Any thoughts on why this would or wouldn't work?  That way I can do a 2 or 4 person hot tub experience...

Thanks for posting this Ben! I was imagining something similar with dry stacked cinder blocks but I hadn't thought of capping the walls with roofing tin. I was just going to use the stock tank to contain the fire but this seems smarter.

How hot is the bottom of the tank to sit on?  

As I understand it, ice dams are primarily caused by air leaks from the house up into the attic that warm the roof deck and melt snow.  That snow melt runs down the roof until it hits a colder section of the roof deck, typically over the eaves.  There it freezes, forming a dam.  

So you can yell at your roofer all you want but the problem stems from a lack of good air sealing between the house and the attic.  Or heat from other hot things in the attic like a chimney or heating unit.

Currently I know of 39 Otises!

Otis #12:

30 wooded acres in the North East TN area with an artesian well, barn, tractors, livestock, sawmill and a bunch of tools.  No houses currently but there's room for building them and camping in the meantime.  

I'd go oddball or homesteading oddball