The Sugar Shack is a small cabin the player may choose to build for the purposes of converting maple tree sugar water into Maple Syrup. The build site is located just up the road from the Mobile Home, on the eastern side of the player's plot of land.
It takes 64 Pine Logs to build the Sugar Shack; each tree drops 6 logs, so 11 pine trees must be harvested, in total. The two leftover logs can be split into Firewood to fuel the equipment inside, so no wood is wasted.
After the player has started making maple syrup, they may choose to fill Barrels that can be sold at the Maple Syrup Federation, or Cans that can be consumed for their own use, or gifted to characters for faster Friendship gain.
The vacuum pump and press both need electricity to function, so the Generator must be switched on, or the shack must be connected to the Power Grid before any syrup is produced.
How to Make Maple Syrup[]
Connecting Maple Trees[]
To start making syrup, a few Maple trees must be connected to the Sugar Shack. To do this, purchase a pack of Spouts and a roll of Tubing from the Maple Syrup Federation. It can be helpful to have a couple Tubing Posts as well, as these allow the tubing line to branch and daisy chain between groups of trees.
To begin, remove a spout from the pack, and find a mature maple tree to place it in. Once a number of trees have spouts, they can be connected with the tubing roll: With the roll in hand, click a purple orb on one spout. Walk to a different spout and click one of its orbs to connect the two spouts together. Each spout has two connection points, so multiple trees may be connected together in a continuous line.
The trees should all be connected back to the blue Vacuum Pump on the outside of the Sugar Shack. The pump will draw the sugar water out from the trees, and store it in the large tank beside it.
Running the Vacuum Pump[]
It requires electricity to run and collect sugar water, so the Generator will need to be switched on, or the Sugar Shack must be connected to the Power Grid. It has an indicator light on top: Green means it has power and is running; red means it is not. The pump has one connection point for tubing, so it is advised to connect it directly to a Tubing Post; this allows trees on either side of the Sugar Shack to have their sugar water collected.
The pump works only between 09:00 and 16:00: This is when the weather is warm enough for the sugar water inside the trees to thaw and flow, and be harvested through the spouts.
Filling the Water Tank[]
As sugar water is collected by the vacuum pump, it is dumped into this storage tank. The tank has a capacity of 9,600 liters and can be filled in a single day by approximately 100 maple trees. When the tank is full, no more sugar water can be collected, and the vacuum pump will shut itself off.
Running the Evaporator[]
The Evaporator is where you'll spend most of your time making syrup. It takes the sugar water from outside, and boils the excess water away.
There is a valve located on the back wall to let sugar water flow in from the storage tank: When the lever points across the pipe, it is closed; when it points along the pipe, it is open.
On the front of the evaporator, you'll find the door to the firebox. This is where you'll place your Firewood to heat the unit. To burn the firewood, add a couple pieces of Crumpled Newspaper to act as kindling, and light it with a Map Torch. On the chimney, there is a temperature dial showing you the optimal range to keep the fire at. Burning hotter or cooler than this is not as efficient, and will end up using more firewood.
For the most effective operation, start the fire with 4 pieces of firewood in the firebox; this will raise the temperature to the top of the optimal range. Only add an additional piece of firewood once the temperature drops below 350°F/180°C to ensure it stays in the green area. Since all types of wood have the same heating abilities, it does not matter which one is used. Other combustible items, like empty Tubing Rolls or Harvest Baskets, can also be burned in the Evaporator's firebox; they give the same amount of heat as Firewood, but burn significantly faster.
With a fire lit, the temperature dial on the front of the unit will begin to rise: This shows how hot the sugar water is. Boiling occurs between 100°C and 107°C, and is shown by the presence of steam rising from the boiling chambers.
Running the Press[]
The Press will automatically pull syrup form the evaporator, and clean it before it enters the syrup reservoir. It also requires power from the Generator or Grid to work, so make sure the electricity is on before attempting to let it run.
Filling the Syrup Reservoir[]
This is where the finished syrup is stored. From here, a Barrel can be placed under the spout to fill it, or the Can Sealer, if purchased, can be used to make it drinkable by the player.
To fill a barrel, line up the white stopper in its lid under the spout, and turn the valve. When the lever points across the pipe, it is closed; when it points along the pipe, it is open. Syrup will flow from the reservoir and fill the barrel. Once the barrel is full, close the valve, exchange it for an empty one, and continue the process. The default reservoir holds 240 liters of Syrup, meaning two barrels can be filled up before it has to stop to refill.
The Maple Syrup Federation will buy full barrels Monday through Friday, from 08:00 to 16:00. They will return the empty barrels to the next business day, placing them on a pallet near where they were sold. The player will receive $200 instantly for each barrel, plus an additional $200 every Sunday for the next 5 Sundays, for a total of $1,200 per barrel. This effect stacks for multiple barrels.
Sugar Shack Upgrades[]
There are six permanent upgrades available for purchase from the Maple Syrup Federation. They can be found in the Federation's showroom, and will be installed the same business day as they are purchased.
- The Can Sealer will let the player package their maple syrup in Cans that they may later consume. It provides an alternative to buying Maple Syrup Bottles from Kali-Gas. It requires power from the Generator or Grid to work, so make sure the electricity is on before attempting to use it.
- The Reverse Osmosis Unit will let your Evaporator work more efficiently by stripping away 50% of the water present in the sugar water. It requires power from the Generator or Grid to work, so make sure the electricity is on before attempting to let it run.
- The Electric Auto Heater will replace the wood-fired evaporator with an electric one, eliminating the need to burn fuel and monitor the temperature of the sugar water. This is the ONLY upgrade that REQUIRES being connected to the Power Grid to function; the Generator cannot supply enough energy to run it.
- An upgraded 480L Syrup Reservoir with a faster flowing valve may be purchased to double the storage capacity of finished syrup, and allow faster filling of Barrels.
- An additional 9,600L Water Tank may be purchased to double the storage capacity of sugar water.
- A 1,200L Syrup Tank and Outside Pump may be purchased to allow for delivering your syrup without the use of barrels; instead, the syrup is loaded and sold directly from the tank.