16x24 Sugar Shack Set Up 2023 Season

[@chrisdaniel1339]

I love a traditional sugarhouse with a cupola, iconic New England. Do you have plans to add a Leader Steam Away on the flue pan to preheat the sap to near boiling and concentrate the sap a few percent more, plus having lots of hot water to rinse items is nice? It would still allow a bit of steam coming off the syrup pan to hang in the air. Great idea with the IBC tote cages, you may consider stacking a 3 hardwood pallets and then put the tote of wood on top so that you do not have to be bending down to pick up firewood. I have seen others that put their evaporator on a raised concrete pad so they do not have to bend over.

[@Sawyersmaple]

Very nice sugarhouse you have there. You have laid that out well.

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thanks! It is a work in progress but we have learned much the last ten years.

[@davidwestbye2360]

That’s mint- I’m half way there- we r.o to 7-8 % and boil with a flat divided pan but I’m envious of the Smokey lake equipment…

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thanks!! It’s definitely a work in progress…its taken a while to get here. Can’t go wrong with Smoky Lake, that’s for sure! Boil on!

[@NocturnalButterfly]

Love this! You have an amazingly delicious operation going on! 😊 Glad I found you, new subscriber from Ontario 🇨🇦🍁💖🦋

[@southdownfarm6323]

Welcome to the world of sugaring in the south! If interested, check out our FB page too.

[@adventureawakes]

Very nice sugar shack! Nice setup, too. Thank you for sharing!

[@southdownfarm6323]

Hope someone can find this helpful.

[@randybrenize1114]

Thank you for this video. I built mine almost identical to yours only slightly bigger. And yes….. I made my sliding door 10ft high. Great setup👍

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thanks! What state are you in?

[@randybrenize1114]

South central PA just west of Gettysburg

[@slamrock17]

Wow. Very impressive.

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thanks, it’s a work in progress. 😊

[@KentuckyWoodsman]

Very nice sugar shack and its set up well too! Hopefully one of these day we will have our operation setup and equipped this good!

[@southdownfarm6323]

I believe y’all got bit by that maple bug too! Keep boiling and thinking about what works best for your situation. This is 9-10 years into our Kentucky maple journey.

[@RobertViani]

RO as well super nice!

[@southdownfarm6323]

The RO was a game changer for us, we could handle more sap without upgrading our evaporator until this year.

[@terrybrown9206]

Nice size building and evaporater

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thanks! It is working great for our operation.

[@murdiesel]

Love it!

[@SingleCreekMapleSyrup]

Phenomenal operations! Thanks for sharing!!

[@southdownfarm6323]

you are welcome, Thanks Man!!!

[@simplewoodslife]

Love your setup, really great!

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thanks fellow maple-tuber!

[@Tonnsfabrication]

It's the perfect size sugar house, your entire setup is really nice. Just tapped yesterday here in southern ohio, not planning a big season this year so only put in 150 of the 400 we have. It's flowing like crazy right out of the gate, gonna be some late nights.

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thanks! It is a work in progress, learn something new each season…I thought this video might help someone along the way. I hope you have a great season!!

[@802louis]

Looks great 😊

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thank you! 😊

[@BissellMapleFarm]

This is a very similar setup to how we got going. Ran a 2x6 D&G for several years. I wish I would have kept it... there is always a project that makes life easier in the sugar shack. That's the fun part for me. I enjoyed this!

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thanks for the encouragement! One of our goals on the farm is to fill a KY bourbon barrel with genuine Kentucky maple syrup (I believe y’all know a little about doing this :D ) we are getting there, though this has been a tough winter with above normal temps between cold spells.

[@BissellMapleFarm]

@SouthDown Farm just a little 😉 I hope you can do it! I will be in Louisville on Friday at the National Farm Machinery Show! If you are close - we will be walking around. Make sure you say hello!

[@southdownfarm6323]

We actually talked about the possibility of going to the farm show this evening…Not sure yet if we can swing it or not. Do you have a booth there this year or just visiting?

[@BissellMapleFarm]

@@southdownfarm6323 just visiting... but I can see us in a booth next year. Depends on how some discussions go. 😁

[@southdownfarm6323]

If we can make it to L’ville on Friday I will give you a holler! Hope your sap is sweet and the boil is hot!

[@briancardella177]

The wash bucket… is that for mixing preservative for your RO between runs?

[@southdownfarm6323]

After each ro use we do a rinse-wash-rinse cycle. It’s for the wash cycle where we recirculate the ro soap to clean the membranes.

[@briancardella177]

@@southdownfarm6323 thanks for the reply! Definitely will be looking more into depth on the process. Last year I didn’t wash between runs and the filters got funky. I believe I did clean them somehow and they were fine luckily.

[@fredA1234]

Fantastic thank you

[@southdownfarm6323]

Our pleasure!

[@fredA1234]

Great video thanks. I’m building mine this year. So what type of insulation did you put before the metal roofing to keep down the condensation? Thanks

[@southdownfarm6323]

Used a white/foil radiant barrier that is commonly used for metal roof installations. It’s like bubble wrap and about a quarter inch thick. I purchased it locally from a metal roof supplier.

[@southdownfarm6323]

Silver side down also reflects light nicely.

[@lbohen]

Very helpful video. Thanks Tell me about your floor and its base. It looks like cement or cement board.

[@rholbrook0587]

Great set-up! I am jealous, but I think my 2 Black Walnut taps will never know the difference. :)

[@southdownfarm6323]

Black Walnut Syrup is amazing! I have one Black Walnut tree tapped for our Kentucky Maple Syrup Day event so people know there are other tree syrups to enjoy! Boil on!

[@bobbelanger6426]

Very nice set up. I see a Smokylake hood and preheater in your future 😏. Generate your hot water and increase the boiling rate.

[@southdownfarm6323]

Yes, I have actually thought about that, that would be really nice! One step at a time though.

[@bobbelanger6426]

@@southdownfarm6323 I’m running Smokylake’s Silverplate 3 x 12 with hood/preheater and SSR, auto draw. Purchased for the 2019 season. Prior to that we had a traditional 4 x 12 Waterloo Small raised flue, open pans. 110 gallons evaporation rate. The Silverplate is cranking 250+. I see an ro in my future…maybe.

[@Tonnsfabrication]

@@bobbelanger6426 You can build a fairly simple RO with twin 4 x 40 filters and a 330 procon pump. Even running lower cost brackish RO filters it can easily process over 700 gallons of sap a day and quadripple your brix in one pass. That's what I built.We have 400 taps running twin 2x4 smoky lake divided pans that will do about 40 gph and it works very well together. I'd spend more money on the RO then I would evaporation products if you're 300 taps plus on your set up. The savings in wood and more so your time pays you back ten fold. Anything you did for evaporation after having a decent RO is just a bonus in the set up

[@geoffoutdoors]

Great sugarhouse! 👍 how many tap operation do you have?

[@southdownfarm6323]

Thanks, 330+/- taps this year.How many for you? Ohio right?

[@geoffoutdoors]

@@southdownfarm6323 👍 nice. Yep Ohio. I am very small operation I may put out up to 100.

[@brucedunn7083]

Beautiful Set Up!! However,could you ever produce enough syrup too cover all that cost??

[@northernwoodsvlogs]

What is your evaporation rate with this unit and does it have the forced air unit as well

[@southdownfarm6323]

I have not really pushed the unit hard yet though yesterday I ran 200 gallons of cold sap thru at 67 gallons/hour. I am really happy with the unit so far. Yes, it has forced air…I am glad I spent the extra dollars for it as the forced air speeds up the heat like crazy.

[@northernwoodsvlogs]

@SouthDown Farm Thank you I've been thinking of upgrading out evaporator so we dont have ro boil as long.

[@southdownfarm6323]

@@northernwoodsvlogsI boil in the evenings after working a full day. That is why I upgraded this year, to save time and firewood. I am very pleased with this evaporator…it is fast!