"Sap House" Goes To The Woods

Sap House Goes To The Woods BUILDINGS Miscellaneous The best part of my work day is opening the mail You never know what’s going to show up FARM SHOW readers keep coming up with new ideas in every aspect of ag Tapping maple trees to make syrup is one of the most labor-intensive ways you can make a dollar Trees must be tapped and then sap collected and boiled down until it’s ready for bottling Paul and Mark Collins of Delanson N Y were tired of hauling equipment back and forth to the woods so they built a 2-wheeled portable “sap house” that they can take to the woods The base of the sap house is the steel floor off an old IH self-unloading wagon; the axle is from an IH small square baler; and the tongue is off a Deere small square baler The boiler is a converted 275-gal oil tank They made the boiler by cutting the oil tank in half and then shortening it down to 46 in A 2-ft firebox lined with firebrick heats the boiler An old exhaust blower keeps the fire hot at all times A 6-ft long 8-in dia stove pipe serves as the chimney “After we’re done making syrup all the sap-collecting equipment goes back into the sap house and we pull it down the road back to our farm at 45 mph ” says Paul Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Paul and Mark Collins 6128 Schoharie Tpk Delanson N Y 12053 ph 518 577-6801; gcollins11@nycap rr com

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