Garden Improvements 2016

Rough plan view of garden and improvements, more or less to scale

We installed the garden in year two on the site, that would have been 2014.  Basically that involved designating a space, installing the five 4 foot by 8 foot raised beds, on contour, and filling those beds with topsoil.  The soil profile on the home-site is 2 inches of topsoil, atop five feet of clay, almost clean enough to throw pots with straight out of the ground, resting on sand, almost as fine as powdered sugar.  In short, it is not great soil as-is for a vegetable garden.  This year so far, we have added about 4 cu. ft. of compost to each of the raised beds; call that a wheel barrow full in each.  Now though, we are getting a bit more ambitious.

There are a few reasons why we are getting more ambitious, and why we are perhaps a little impatient in making our garden more productive.  First of all, our diet has changed pretty radically over the course of the past two years, for reasons I may go into in detail in a later post, but for now suffice it to say that it is for health-related reasons.  This past year we have got a better handle on what we put in our mouths, and we want to grow more of that food ourselves, organically.  Secondly, in partnership with a friend, we are going to raise a few meat chickens this summer and into fall; if allowed, chickens can be hell on a garden.

So, the two biggest improvements to the garden for 2016, are:

• bigger garden beds (cross-hatched areas in the sketch), not raised in the conventional sense, for the growing of root vegetables, squashes, and other produce I'm sure (Geri does the detail work regarding the plantings), and,
• fencing to exclude the chickens from the garden during growing season.

Other improvements are:

• two "herb spirals" (see circular crossed-hatched areas in the sketch), actually these are more like herb concentric circles; think of a round layered wedding cake with three layers, and,
• the addition of 8 cu. yd. of screened top soil.  Because of the heavy clay soils in situ, and our desire for a productive garden in the near term, I will till the cross-hatched areas, top-dress with the top soil, and re-till.  We will plant into that prepared soil this year, and then continue to build the soil organically.

Before picture, facing east; north is to your left

Yesterday was planning day, to include development of the layout pictured above, and preparing the garden for today's work.  Today is tilling, top-dressing, and re-tilling day.  Hopefully we will be planting late afternoon into early evening.  The next big undertaking will be the design and installation of the fence.  I will keep you posted.

Thanks for reading, and kind regards,
John

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p.p.s. soon, this blog will be ported over to our new website, and the name of the Facebook page will change to Primal Woods; more on that as the date approaches

2016 Maple Syrup Season Lessons Learned

This season was disappointing in some ways, and a grand success in others.  On the disappointing end of the spectrum, is the low yield this year.  This low yield was due to a confluence of factors, some within our control, and some not.

1. We got into the woods late, we tapped late, as our process was not yet ready for sap.  We started tapping, and collected the first sap, on the 28th of February, all 100 taps were not in until March 3rd.
2. The weather did not cooperate very well.  We had a couple of decent snows, but it warmed up so quickly that the snow melted in a couple of days.  In prior years we had used snow to keep our sap cool until we could get it processed; no such luck this year.  The result of insufficient cold storage was that some sap never made it to the evaporator.
3. By March 13th I was evaporating the last of the sap, and there was no sap flow favorable weather in the 10-day forecast.

So for us it was a two week season, as opposed to the usual four to six weeks, and in that two weeks, we had five days of no sap flow, between March 1st and the 5th.  The short story is, we ended up with about a quarter of the syrup that I had been planning for.

On the grand success end of the spectrum, is everything we learned, and the enjoyment of doing the work and sharing it with our community in Michigan, on Facebook, and with all of you here on the blog.  Based on what we learned, I anticipate that we will do much better in the spring of 2017.

To ensure that we actually do better in 2017, we will be making a number of improvements to the process this year, based on the lessons learned in the table below.  I have highlighted in yellow some of the key things that did not go well, and in green some of those that did go well.  Solutions have not yet been identified for all of the problems, but Geri and I met and have already decided that while some things will stay the same, there will be some changes for next year.  We decided to:

• not tap more trees, we will stay at 100 taps
• expand the capacity of the Half Pint; specifically an arch extension kit and pan will be added, which can increase evaporation rates by up to 65%
• add a combustion air blower to the Half Pint
  
  (together these two modifications to the Half-Pint should take it to 100 tap capacity)
• improve water management in front of garage/sugar house
• put a wood chip/pea gravel "floor" in sugar house
• and we will not finish the syrup in the Half Pint; we will draw it off when it is "near syrup," and finish it in pans over propane burners

These decisions have mostly to do with what it would take to go bigger than 100 taps.  It would take a larger evaporator than the Half Pint, and the evaporator I have in mind would require a larger sugar house; there would probably be a need for some labor help, more buckets and taps, more sap handling and syrup finishing equipment, etc.  That is simply more than we want to take on, while at the same time ramping up the Sawyer and Soaper businesses.

The decision regarding how to finish the syrup has to do with the fact that temperatures at the Half Pint draw-off are relatively unstable, especially when drawing off, which is to say the temperature can climb to well above 219°F.  If the temperature climbs above 219°F the syrup is too dense, and if the syrup is dense enough, 68 Brix or above, the sugar can precipitate out after it is bottled.  Not good.  In my view, a cause of the temperature instability is the small capacity of the evaporator, and another is that the heat under the Boiling Pan cannot be quickly modulated.  In any event, there is too much risk in burning the syrup, so we are changing the process to ensure we produce great syrup, first pass.

I will leave it at that for now.  If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments; I respond quickly.

Please "follow" the blog, and Like and Follow us on Facebook.

-- John, 09 May 2016

(See the Process Flow Diagram at http://swmichiganhomestead.blogspot.com/2016/03/maple-syrup-process-flow-diagram.html)

2016 Maple Syrup Season Lessons Learned
Process Step	Lesson Learned	Comments
	What did not go well?
0 Process Management	Need to develop an evaporator log sheet based on checks per 8 minutes	White board worked well, but not a permanent record. Fix it for 2017.
0 Process Management	Pallet flooring was better than nothing, but unsafe	Melting snow and rain, plus condensation from evaporation. Fix it for 2017.
0 Process Management	Equipment cleaning is an issue	Investigate for 2017.
0 Process Management	It was very wet and muddy at the front of the sugar house	Fix it for 2017.
0 Process Management	Personal hygiene facilities needed	Using the house is okay for now; when more help is required we will need facilities.
0 Process Management	We were not ready, enough	Develop timeline for 2017 set-up.
0 Process Management	Being tapped in Feb would have resulted in much more sap/syrup	Develop timeline for 2017 set-up.
0 Process Management	Too many trees, not enough evaporator	Expand evaporator capacity in 2017; Consider Half-Pint extension, combustion air blower, propane-fired finishing evaporator.
0 Process Management	Freshness of sap is KEY	It should be like looking through water; milky sap has gone off.
0 Process Management	We were not ready with pricing, labeling, marketing
1 Obtain Necessary Equipment & Supplies	Needed to get the evaporator earlier for construction and installation	Adjust plan for 2017 accordingly.
3 Tap Trees	Need to mount the inverter, stable and dry, in/on the Ranger	Fix it for 2017.
5 Sap Handling	A barrel lifter for the 30 gal barrels to/from the back of the Polaris would have been handy	This may not have been required had we had enough evaporating capacity, or enough storage (275 gallon tote) capacity.
5 Sap Handling	More 30 gallon barrels	These may not have been required had we had enough evaporating capacity, or enough storage (275 gallon tote) capacity.
5 Sap Handling	Electric sap pumps would have saved time (look at solar powered (12VDC) well pumps)	Investigate for 2017.
5 Sap Handling	The 30 gallon barrels move around too much in the back of the Ranger	Fix it for 2017.
5 Sap Handling	The funnel/filter was not well secured to the top of the 30 gallon barrels; it would move around and even come off altogether	Fix it for 2017.
5 Sap Handling	Definitely need labor for collecting if we go bigger	Not going bigger in terms of taps for 2017.
6 Remove Water from Sap	Need to manage condensation; it was getting wood and equipment wet inside the sugar house	Investigate for 2017.
6 Remove Water from Sap	We do not seem to be getting as much syrup as I expect from a given amount of sap. Is it true? If so, why?	Investigate for 2017.
6 Remove Water from Sap	The process of removing foam is messy; what can be done?	Investigate for 2017.
6 Remove Water from Sap	The measuring wire for pan depths could have been longer; Geri's hands got hot using it	Fix it for 2017.
6 Remove Water from Sap	Wood needs to be in sufficient quantity, local to the sugar house, and of correct size	Fix it for 2017.
6 Remove Water from Sap	Size of evaporator; plan for 3 gallons per day per tap "worst case," and plan to evaporate it in 20 hours of operation	See expansion plans for 2017. Use this rule of thumb for later years.
6 Remove Water from Sap	More, and DRY wood (see YouTube "Maple Syrup with Skip Drake 42 min 1920x1080" for 3-step firewood process)
6 Remove Water from Sap	Evaporation on this scale (Half Pint, 5 – 7 gallons per hour) is not truly continuous flow; the syrup/”near syrup” comes off in batches.  It is also typical to go past the “syrup state” of 66 Brix at the boiling point of water plus 7 degrees; density reduction is then required.	Plan for drawing off as “near syrup,” finish under tighter control over propane burners.
7 Syrup Finishing	Need syrup/"near syrup" storage for before finishing/filtration and bottling	Investigate for 2017.
	What went well?
0 Process Management	The regular 6-8 minute process checks
3 Tap Trees	The 1000W inverter worked pretty well, maybe a little under-powered for the 3/8" drill for tapping	This solution to insufficient drill power from battery powered portables, will not scale to 1,000 taps, but it's good for 2017.
5 Sap Handling	The Polaris Ranger was indispensable	Also used in process step 3 Tapping Trees.
6 Remove Water from Sap	The pan depth measuring wire worked extremely well and was convenient
6 Remove Water from Sap	White board for recording evaporation process management
6 Remove Water from Sap	Good lighting is a must	The string of 5 LED lamps worked very well in the sugar house.
7 Syrup Finishing	The filtration and canning unit worked well
7 Syrup Finishing	Reducing density process worked

Assembling the Leader Evaporator Half Pint - Parts 3 and 4 of 4

In this installment will be documented the moving of the bricked arch to the sugar house, leveling the arch/evaporator, installing the stack, and the first (test) boil using water and baking soda.

To see how we got to this point, see:

Part 1, "Assembling the Leader Evaporator Half Pint - Part 1 of 4," can be found at http://swmichiganhomestead.blogspot.com/2016/02/assembling-leader-evaporator-half-pint.html, and Part 2, "Assembling the Leader Evaporator Half Pint - Part 2 of 4," can be found at http://swmichiganhomestead.blogspot.de/2016/03/assembling-leader-evaporator-half-pint.html.

We knew that moving the arch from the house to the sugar house would be "challenging."  Unfortunately the controlled environment of the house was necessary to facilitate the curing of the refractory cement used in the process of installing the firebrick.  Getting the sheet metal and cast iron shell of the arch into the house was no real problem, Geri and I accomplished that in less than 30 minutes, using only the garden cart as a simple machine.

Moving the shell of the arch onto the garden

cart for transport to the house

Moving the firebricked arch out to the sugar house, and getting it up onto its foundation, was another matter altogether.  The firebrick alone weighs ~200 lbs, plus at least 3 gallons of refractory cement (MEECO'S RED DEVIL 610 Refractory Cement ), that is ~60 lbs, plus the weight of the arch shell, I put that at 50-75 lbs, and we are somewhere between 310 and 325 lbs of dead weight.  We used a few 2x4's that were lying around, and fashioned a sort of litter, although carrying the arch in that way simply did not work for more than a couple of steps.  We ended up sliding the 2x4's under the arch, picking up one end, sliding the arch down to the other end, and repeating that process, a couple steps at a time.  It literally took four men to lift and carry the arch out of the house, with an additional man to supervise the operation.  Things got a bit easier after the arch was clear of the house.

Once outside the house, we manhandled the arch onto the utility trailer, and towed that behind the UTV over to the sugar house.  Then, more brute force getting the arch off of the trailer, into the sugar house, and onto the pads I had prepared for it.  Moving the arch from the house to its pads in the sugar house, was definitely to toughest part of the commissioning job.

Many thanks to (l-r) Nathan Douglas Smith, Gene Feid, Tommy Smith, and Dennis Goss, these guys put the man in manpower.

Concrete and cedar "pad,"
plus shims for leveling

After the arch was on the pads, we leveled it front to back, and side to side, using a 4 foot level and softwood shims of the type that are normally used to level and plumb a door or window frame.

The final step of the arch installation, was to install the stack.  Dennis and Nathan had helped me to select the various straight sections, elbows, and the cap we would need, all in 6 inch diameter stove pipe from the local hardware store.  At first I had thought that we would go straight up through the roof, but as usual, two or more heads are better than one, and we decided to go up and out the back of the sugar house, between the top of the rear wall and the peak of the roof.  The amount of vertical stack recommended by Leader Evaporator is a minimum of 9 feet; when assembled our stack stood with a height from arch outlet to stack cap at 7 feet.

Dennis supervising the First

Boil

The assembly and installation of the arch having been completed, the next step was to put the Boiling and Reservoir Pans on the arch, and then to conduct the test boil.

As it turns out, we actually performed two test boils.  During the first, we just could not seem to get the entire boiling pan to a rolling boil.  The solution to this problem brought to light that it is not enough to simply Read The !@#$%^& Manual, one must also adhere to the manual, or understand completely why it is unnecessary in a particular case.  The fact that enough vertical stack height had not been installed, proved to be the problem.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, the draft (flow of combustion air) into the fire box and up the stack, is directly proportional to the height of the stack.  Another whodathunkit moment!  I do not know how often I have proven my high school math teacher, Mr. Lauer, correct; all of those equations, and more importantly the science behind them, do come in handy.  Teenagers can be such asses, and I was no exception!  I suppose I am still no exception from time to time.

Per that go-to source, Wikipedia, Flue Gas Stack (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flue-gas_stack):

Flue-gas flow-rate induced by the draft[edit]

As a "first guess" approximation, the following equation can be used to estimate the flue-gas flow-rate induced by the draft of a flue-gas stack. The equation assumes that the molar mass of the flue gas and the outside air are equal and that the frictional resistance and heat losses are negligible:.^[5]

where:
Q	= flue-gas flow-rate, m³/s
A	= cross-sectional area of chimney, m² (assuming it has a constant cross-section)
C	= discharge coefficient (usually taken to be 0.65–0.70)
g	= gravitational acceleration at sea level, 9.807 m/s²
H	= height of chimney, m
Ti	= absolute average temperature of the flue gas in the stack, K
To	= absolute outside air temperature, K

____________________________________

What does all that mean?  Well to me it means that the flow rate of combustion air through the arch and up the stack is proportional to the square root of the the height (H) of the stack.  So, if we assume nothing else changes, and we increase the height of the stack from "1" to "1.3," or a 30% increase, the change in the flow rate would be increased by √1.3 - √1 = 1.14 - 1 = 0.14 or 14%.  In other words, if the stack is 10 feet, and I increase its height to 13 feet, the flow rate through the arch will be increased by 14%, which means hotter fire and more sap evaporation.

I trust someone will check my my math and comment if it is incorrect.

Based on that analysis, we added 3 feet to the 7 foot stack, and voilá, blast furnace-like performance of the arch and evaporation rates within Leader's specified range.  Heck, I may try adding another 3 feet for 2017.

According to Leader Evaporator:

The first boil is done to remove any residual materials from the pans and to “season” the bricking and insulation.
1. Prepare 15 gallons of a baking soda and water mix in proportion as follows:
  a. 1-1/4 ounce of baking soda
  b. 15 gallons of water
2. Fill the boiling pan with the baking soda : water mix to a level of approximately 3 inches.
3. To season the bricking, start by building a small fire in the fire box and very gradually build to a normal fire.
4. Boil the solution for approximately 30 minutes. Watch the boil carefully and replenish the solution as needed to ensure the solution in the pan remains at approximately the 3 inch level.
5. Check all equipment:
  a. No leaks at fittings
  b. Pan is boiling evenly
  c. Valves work properly
  d. Draft is correct (pan boils evenly)
6. Drain the baking soda solution from the pan. Rinse the boiling and reservoir pans thoroughly with clean unsoftened, non chlorinated well or spring water. Drain the water and dry the pans.

Having finally satisfied element 5 d., we were able to drain, rinse, drain again, and dry the Boiling and Reservoir Pans, making us ready for evaporation of the first sap of the season.

Please "follow" the blog, or Like and Follow us on Facebook.

-- John, 25 Apr 2016

Maple Syrup Process Flow Diagram

A short post today, simply to provide something that might be of value to anyone consider the production of maple syrup, on any scale.

Final version for 2016 preparations

I have found that mapping out the process helps me to ensure that we have everything we need, in place, to perform the task at hand, maple syrup production being no exception.  This flow chart is simply a thought-starter, no doubt it is not perfect, nor does it incorporate every possible detail.  However it might be of use to you, I certainly hope so.  You can find 11 in. x 17 in. pdf version at this link: Process Flow-Maple Syrup.  As this process is refined, so will be the pdf.


And, just so you can see how I use the process of actually creating the process flow diagram, below is an earlier version I used in putting together the equipment and supplies for the 2016 season.

Working copy while in use and under development

-- John, 2016 March 05

Assembling the Leader Evaporator Half Pint - Part 2 of 4

Part 2 involves assembly of the Reservoir Pan and the Boiling Pan, which are relatively simple and easy tasks, as well as installing firebrick in the sheet metal structure of the arch, a seemingly simple but very tedious task.

Draw-Off valve and thermometer at right front

corner of Boiling pan

I assembled the pans first, which only involved the addition of draw-off valves and thermometers ( 2 each) to the Boiling Pan, and the addition of what I am calling a "make-up feed valve" to the Reservoir Pan.  The only tool required is an adjustable wrench, and aside from the parts supplied with the evaporator, the only item required is a roll of teflon tape to seal the pipe-threaded joints.  Pictured is the draw-off valve and thermometer installed at the right front of the boiling pan, there is an identical set of valve and thermometer at the left rear of the boiling pan.  Having draw-off capability at opposite corners allows the flow through the Boiling Pan to be reversed, which minimizes the build-up of "sugar sand" in the Boiling Pan.  A "solid, sand-like material in the bottom of the syrup pan ... is sugar sand (commonly calcium malate crystals containing varying amounts of sugar).  Excessive amounts of sugar sand on the bottom of the pan can burn, giving the syrup an unpleasant strong caramel or bitter taste, and possibly damage the pan."¹  In our first two years as hobbyists we did not experience trouble with sugar sand build-up in our boiling pan, probably because we did not take the sap all the way to syrup in the boiling pan; we drew off the final 3-4 gallons from the boiling pan and reduced it to 12-16 cups of syrup on the range in the house.  I will have more to say on sugar sand and the operation of the evaporator in a later post.

If you look closely at the picture you might also find it interesting that the thermometer has an indicated range of only 0 to 50 degrees, and that the "7" is made to rest at the bottom of the dial as installed.  Syrup boils at approximately 7° F above the boiling point of water, regardless of altitude or barometric pressure.  Taking advantage of this fact, it is possible to adjust these thermometers to "0" when pure water is boiling in the pan, so that when "7" is indicated with the evaporator in syrup-making operation we know that its sugar content is approximately 66%.  With the "7" placed at the bottom of the dial, only a quick glance at the thermometer is required to know that the sugar concentration is at or near 66%; the final determination of sugar content is made by hydrometer (measure of specific gravity) or refractometer (measure of index of refraction).

Now on to the fun stuff, installation of the firebrick.  Let me just say up front that I am no mason!  And, eventually the job of "firebricking" the arch was done in spite of the inexperienced hand on the trowel.  This more difficult than it needed to be, for at least three reasons:

1) The instructions call for putting "about 1/8” on each edge of the brick to be installed and a skim coat on the side facing the metal," but the "fit" having done so is not as depicted in the instructions, and
2) I decided to fit the bricks to/around the nuts and bolt ends that protrude into the arch, versus simply pushing the bricks up against the fasteners, and finally,
3) the cement needs to dry at "room temperature (approximately 65°F)," and the only place I could maintain that temperature for extended periods of time was in the house.  This third difficulty was not a problem until it came time to move the arch to the sugar house!  The process of moving the arch to the sugar house will be included in Part 3 of 4.

Sample of brick instructions for floor of the arch

First came a leveling of the arch using a 4 ft. level and quarters for shims.  This is an absolutely necessary step, as was found out when the team and I were leveling the fully bricked arch in the sugar house; with the brick fully cemented into the arch, the arch becomes very stiff.  What I mean by "stiff" is that the arch will hold whatever shape it was in when the brick was installed.  In still other words, if it is not square and the top surface is not level before bricking, it will be extremely difficult to make it so after bricking.  The top surface is key, because when the Boiling Pan is mounted the sap needs to flow front to back, left to right, right to left and back to front, with equivalent ease, for the evaporator to work as designed.

Bricks laid out for floor of arch, with

refractory cement and instructions

The instructions (Leader Half Pint Assembly and Operation Instructions) depict a dry fit of the bricks, which is to say they do not allow for the 1/8 in. of refractory cement on the edges of the bricks.  If you count the joints between bricks front-to-back in this picture there are 6 (at 1/8 in. per joint that is 3/4 in.), and side-to-side there are 2 (1/4 in. at 1/8 in. per joint), which resulted in the need to do more trimming of brick to fit than was accounted for in the instructions.  Surely my joints were a bit wider than 1/8 in. which contributed to the need for additional cutting. Fortunately I did not need any additional bricks, in fact there was one Half Brick (HB) left over.

I worked in the order provided, which was Floor, Back, Side (1), Side (2), Front, and Firewall.  Things went more smoothly as I learned, but I definitely spent more time in this endeavor than anticipated.  As work was started, the included image shows the sheet metal and iron structure of the arch, the refractory cement (which was not nearly enough to complete the job), the instructions, and a "dry fit" of the bricks needed to complete the Floor.  With the use of 1/8 in. tile spacers during the dry fit stage I might have realized what was going on earlier, or perhaps if closer attention had been paid to the caveat in the instructions, which is, "Measurements in these drawings will vary depending on the technique used in bricking."  Well of course measurements will vary, why didn't I think of that!

Left side; (L) bricks dry fit, (C) brick 8 relieved for protruding nut/bolt, (R) brick 8 installed and cemented in place

Those pesky nuts and bolts; I was simply not content to only push the firebrick up against them, for among other reasons there would be a 1/2 in. gap between the brick and the sheet metal shell of the arch.  So, like is done when installing drywall around an electrical outlet, I measured and made cuts, in this case drilled 3/4 in. holes, in the brick to allow it to fit around the nuts/bolts.  The picture above shows the process using "Block 8" as an example; I numbered the blocks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 from front to back on the left side, and 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 from front to back on the right side, to keep things in order when going to and from the garage.

The left and right sides were the most difficult parts of the firebrick installation, this was due predominantly to the number of projections into the firebox, including the grate rail (where the fire grate sits) and the nuts/bolts securing the grate rail and the nuts/bolts in the corners securing the front and back panels to the side panels.  Still, things went as well as could have reasonably been expected.  I am very happy with the outcome, and I expect the attention to detail to pay off in the life of the arch.Please "follow" the blog, or follow us on Facebook.

-- John, 02 Mar 2016

Easier said than done, the evaporator positioned on leveled blocks in the sugar house

1. Randall B. Heilegmann Ph D, “Chapter 7. Maple Syrup Production,” in North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual, ed. Melvin R. Koelling Ph D, et al. (Ohio State University Extension, 1996), 79-80.

Assembling the Leader Evaporator Half Pint - Part 1 of 4

This year our plan is to put 100 taps in 100 trees.  By Leader Evaporator's account, in their on-line catalog, processing the sap that is produced by those 100 taps may be a bit of a stretch with the Half Pint.  My supplier assures me that they have at least one customer managing 100 taps with the Half Pint, and with the Flat Pan at that, while we chose the newly introduced Supreme Pan for increased capacity and efficiency.  We shall see.

Leader's Hobby Evaporator Buying Guide (accessed on-line 08 Feb 2016)

On a good day, of which we have had several in each of the past two seasons, we will collect two gallons from at least some of our taps.  If we assume half of the 100 taps flow 2 gallons on that hypothetical high-flow day, and the other half flow 1 gallon, we would need to process 150 gallons of sap, preferably on that same day.  The Leader sales rep told me that they assume a 9 hour day for evaporation, so worst case we might have to work a very long day to make syrup of the entire 150 gallons, or perhaps we would extend evaporation into the next day.

Half Pint unloaded on to 2 pallets in the garage

I picked up the Half Pint on 14 January; it fit nicely, if with very little room to spare, on a pallet in the back of a Honda Pilot.  Sugar Bush Supplies Co. had it palletized and ready to go, and after measuring twice, they loaded it into the Pilot using a fork truck.  

The story of its assembly and the "first boil" will be split into four parts, Part 1 being assembly of the structure of the evaporator; the bottom, sides, back, front, legs, corner brackets, grate rails, and grate.  

Part 2 will include assembly of the boiling and reservoir pans, and installation of the fire brick.  

Part 3 will be the installation and leveling of the evaporator in the "sugar house."

And finally, Part 4 will document the first boil.  I anticipate that the installation of the fire brick will be the most challenging for me; bolting stuff together I can do, masonry of any sort is not something I have done a lot of.  Also, the refractory cement is supposed to dry at "room temperature" (65 F), which may prove challenging in our unheated garage.  Of course that is part of the allure of this adventure, a life of learning something new every day.

Starting with what was on that pallet that I picked up, the first things you might notice in the picture are the fire brick, and just behind the brick are three 3 foot sections of 6 inch diameter stove pipe, and a 90 degree elbow.  The roll of white material resting on the stove pipe is actually a part of the sugar house, not the evaporator.  Beyond the stove pipe you see some cardboard boxes (Half Pint Arch Parts List):

Cardboard Box A contained the heavy iron and hardware, including the legs for the evaporator, the grate rails, the grate, and the nuts and bolts. The nuts and bolts are all 1/4"(diameter)  x 20 (threads per inch), which is nice, however three-quarter inch and half inch length screws are all packaged in the same Ziploc bag. This has the potential of leading to a mix-up during assembly.  Been there done that of course, and it invariably leads to the need for significant disassembly and reassembly!  I sorted the 1/2" from the 3/4" before starting work.  Box A also contained the corner brackets and the Instruction Manual (link), which is commendably comprehensive and well-illustrated.

Cardboard Box B contained the sheet metal; front, back, bottom and sides, the so-called "draft latch," and the draft latch nut and bolt.

Two other boxes contained the "boiling pan" and the "reservoir pan," and the box that has "Standstrait" printed on it contained the draw-off valves and thermometers for the boiling pan, plus the "rail gasket," which goes between the arch and the boiling pan.  The white plastic pail contains the refractory cement, for attaching the fire bricks to the inside of the arch and to each other.  All parts arrived in good condition.

Steps 1-4 complete

Step 1 of assembly loosely attached the left and right sides of the arch (think of the arch as the fire box) to the bottom.

Step 2 of assembly called for raising the arch up approximately 8 inches from the working surface; I used four stacks of three full firebricks to serve this purpose.  Four 8 inch tall concrete blocks would also suffice.  The fire brick was at hand, because it is required for evaporator assembly. 

Steps 3-4 mount the legs.

Step 5-6 complete, step 8-9
in progress

Steps 5 and 6 mount the front and back panels.

Step 8 squares up the assembly and tightens bolts in the corners (the instructions called for a carpenter's square, a speed square worked just as well)

Step 9 ensures all remaining bolts are tightened

(L) Grate rails installed, (R) grate installed on rails

Step 10 is installation of the grate rail

Step 13 installs the grate assembly.

Draft door latch installed

Step 12 was to install the draft door latch, which will be used to control air flow to the fire box

I allowed 4 hours for the assembly; that included some garage clean-up before starting work, and it included the time necessary to make the photographs and document any process issues that arose.  And, in there somewhere was a break for some homemade pumpkin soup courtesy of Geri.  I estimate the process of assembly took 2 of the 4 hours.

A safety note:  Cut edges of sheet metal can be sharp; I just urge caution, avoid cutting yourself.  There are also some knuckle-banging opportunities when tightening the nuts.

To this point the work has been straightforward.  The holes in the sheet metal panels were well positioned to pull the panels into good alignment; I did not have to do any work to get the fasteners to fit through the holes.  Tools required included a 7/16 inch socket / wrench, a Phillips-head screwdriver, three C-clamps, and a speed square or carpenter's square.  Safety equipment included a pair of leather gloves to prevent the cuts and knuckle-banging previously mentioned.

The assembled arch structure, less the grate rails and grate

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-- John, 09 February 2016

Lessons from A Beginner in the Field

Or the woods, as the case may be.  It was an interesting sit between two big beech trees yesterday.  First, well before light still, I heard a branch come crashing down, I think it landed less than 10 feet behind me and a bit to my left. (Later investigation showed it to be less than 6 feet, the branch 4 inches in diameter.)  I instinctively moved, quickly, to the right around the trunk of the tree my back was against.  Scary.  Widow-maker.  Lesson Learned:  In your scouting for a location from which to hunt, check for widow-makers, be that a ground or tree stand location.  The chances of being hit are small, the consequences large.

I was sitting with my back against the tree to the left

Then, after first light, I heard what sounded like baseballs dropping through the canopy, dropping through the leaves and branches, and hitting the ground with heavy, distinctive thuds.  "That would hurt," I said to myself!  I actually thought seriously about getting one of those hard hat shells that goes under a baseball cap, and Geri mentioned the same when I told her the story later.  I thought this was interesting because I did not hear any of it before sunrise, then, I heard maybe 10 or 20 fall over the course of 30 minutes or so, then nothing.  It had rained an inch the day before and into early hours, and an inch and a half the day before that.  There was a lot of water in the canopy, and under the trees it seemed like it was still raining as I sat.  At the time I believed that they might be black walnuts, that was all I could think of that made any sense, and I saw a relatively dark trunk (compared to the dominant sugar maples and beeches) maybe 20-25 yards in front of me; they are called black walnut trees for a reason.  I also looked this over during my "later investigation," and sho' nuf, there was a big black walnut tree and walnuts littering the forest floor.  Lesson Learned: Do not set your dumb ass under mature black walnut trees in the fall!

A black walnut falls from 80 feet onto your noggin and it is going to hurt,
and raise a lump; hopefully nothing worse

Fall  turkey season opened on the 15th of September; in Michigan in fall you can take either male or female, one per license, whereas in the spring you can only take the male of the species, I presume because it is mating season.  Note:  "After mating, the female turkey prepares a nest under a bush in the woods and lays her eggs. She will lay one egg each day until she has a complete clutch of about 8 to 16 eggs. The eggs are tan and speckled brown eggs. It takes about 28 days for the chicks to hatch. After hatching, the babies will flock with their mother all year."  That from no more an authoritative source than Vegan Peace, at http://www.veganpeace.com/animal_facts/Turkeys.htm  And no, I am not a vegan!  A male turkey is called a tom or a gobbler, a female turkey a hen, and a baby turkey a poult or chick. A young male turkey is called a jake and a young female is called a jenny.

I have seen turkeys as I sat this weekend, this time of year the hens tend to stick with other hens, and the toms with toms.  I am still waiting for that long-beard to come or be coaxed within range.

The first day of fall is the 23rd of September, and deer season opens 1 October.  Hopes are high.

All for now, and thanks in advance for your commentary.

-- John 20 September 2015

Starcraft 11 ' 6" Boat Refurbishment - Part I, Seats

After turning it right-side up, just before towing it

This is part one of a multi-part effort to return this boat to life.  It was last licensed in 1999, I found it upside down in about a foot of water.  No telling how long it had been there.  I was able to float it out; there is a lot to be said for aluminum.  One seat, and the wood on both sides of the transom, were almost completely rotted away, the wood on the two remaining seats was heavily damaged.  There is a lot of work to do, and, I will start with the seats.

I had already removed the seats from the boat, and we power washed the boat and seat boxes yesterday at the local car wash.

Step one was to use a wire brush on my drill to remove surface rust from the galvanized sheet metal box that provides structural support to the seat, and protects the Styrofoam flotation located under the seat.

Step two was to disassemble the galvanized sheet metal box to allow access to blind nuts that with machine screws hold the wood seat to the box. This required the removal of 10 pop rivets, which I did using a one quarter inch drill bit on my drill. 

Before wiring brushing

Before pop rivet removal

Pop rivets removed

The flotation Styrofoam is 33 3/4 inches long by 10 inches wide by 6 inches high.  So,  33 3/4 in. x 10 in. x 6 in. = 2025 cu. in. per float, we know we have two floats, and we know there are 231 cubic inches per gallon, and that a displaced gallon of water weights 8.33 lbs.  Therefore, ((2025 cu. in. / float x 2 floats) / 231 cu. in. / gallon) x 8.33 lbs. / gallon = 146 lbs of flotation; more than enough to float the boat, even if it is holed in a bad way.

Visually the seat is slightly wider at the front than at the back, maybe a quarter of an inch overall. Measuring the length of the installed seat, that is the width as installed in the boat, it is 46 7/8 inches at its fore-aft midpoint, on its top surface. On its bottom surface the width is 46 3/8 inches. So, there is a taper of 1/2 inch in the overall width, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom of the seat; this is to accommodate the narrowing of the hull. This will slightly complicate cutting the seat to fit. The width of the seat, that is the four to aft dimension as installed in the boat, is 11 3/8 inches.

Ready to remove rails from seats

The condition of the galvanized coating inside the box is good. I will not disturb that. On the bottom horizontal surface of the box, the surface facing the hull of the boat, there was significant surface rust. I will remove that with the wire wheel, and paint the box.

Disassembly complete

Step three was the removal of the "angle iron" rails from the bottom side of the wooden seat. This required a flathead screwdriver, impact drill, and 3/8 inch socket. (These rails are then pop riveted to the three-sided galvanized sheet metal box that holds the Styrofoam, the seat then forming the top of the box.) Turns out, these lengths of angle iron are aluminum. I find that a curious choice, since the boxes are galvanized sheet metal. 

As step four, I decided to finish preparing for paint and painting the seat boxes. This involved more wire brushing, cleaning with a spray cleaner, and then wiping down the boxes with paint thinner. The paint is oil based.  Battleship gray, what else. Damn that looks good! You can see the reflection of the paint can!

That's it for today. On to another project while the paint dries.