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Post by dinorocks on Mar 2, 2016 14:12:43 GMT -5
…or, to quote my son, “tap line”! Okay, not as exciting as checking a traps but still cool checking sap from the taps…sounding like Dr. Seuss with all this rhyming (today is his birthday)! Never tried this before…did a bunch of research, spoke to people at a local sugar shack, and helped someone in the Franklinville area tap some trees…and things actually worked out quite well! I started with 20 plastic taps connected to empty milk jugs, bought a food grade 55-gallon plastic drum, drum pump, a couple clean buckets, and two 5-gallon stainless steel surge milk vessels (or whatever they are called). We collected 40 gallons of sugar maple tree sap between Saturday evening and Sunday, boiled it down on Monday to about 3 gallons. We finished the boiling in the house and yielded 1 gallon of maple syrup! Took about 13 hours to boil the sap down…if it wasn’t as windy as it was on Monday, I think it would have taken much longer! Three more hours of boiling in the house and we were able to get the finished product… amber syrup (compared to store-bought amber syrup). A couple things I would do different next time… • Replace plastic tabs and jugs with metal taps and buckets…a much more nostalgic look in the woods…hopefully metal buckets will be cheaper now that sap collected in metal buckets cause lead poison in people who live in California (I’m an environmental geologist with a strong technical background…I’m not worried). • Invest in a proper boiling pan…a stainless steel pan (maybe 24x18x8 inches with lead-free solder costs about $100…a welded pan of the same size is $300…roughly). • Boil sap a bit longer outside…we brought 3 gallons in the house…if I cut that down to 2 gallons, it would not have taken 3 hours to reach our 7.5 degrees F over the boiling point. • Have a cord of wood stacked and ready to go…I was constantly scavenging for wood. Again, a great experience that the entire family could enjoy! I would like you hear if anyone makes maple syrup and if they have any suggestions for a greenhorn! Below are some photos to share (sorry some are not very clear...the family shot makes us look like zombies)!
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Zagman
#2 Newhouse
Posts: 2,186
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Post by Zagman on Mar 2, 2016 16:07:28 GMT -5
Love it...this is my next big thing! I have a nice set-up tailor-made to do this on a small scale....though, Gina says I do nothing on a small scale. Put another way, I was looking at a 5000 dollar evaporator today!
Next year!
My buddies get one gallon per 42 gallons of sap normally, so I'd say you guys were spot-on....
Can't wait....
MZ
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Post by jeckman on Mar 2, 2016 16:40:18 GMT -5
Syrup season ain't done... Keep on keeping on...
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Post by bmtrapper on Mar 2, 2016 18:39:54 GMT -5
Looks like some good old family fun! ??
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Post by coyote44 on Mar 2, 2016 19:41:42 GMT -5
I say with the boiling set up you have get a still and make some moonshine.
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Post by trappermac on Mar 3, 2016 6:16:23 GMT -5
We make 4-5 gallons every year, we always enjoy the process. I've cooked over an old woodstove outside and over a firepit like you have there Dino. Last couple years its over 2 propane outdoor cookers. Much easier to control the boil and I can get a large SS pan over each one. Important to have the largest pans you can handle for the fastest evaporative time. As for tapping we have metal as well as the lidded plastic buckets, i use traditional taps. We store until ready to boil in 5 gallon food grade covered pails, we have 12 of these but i boil once I have 25 gallons so that i can boil after work if needed and still get to bed! I have one bucket set up over the cookers with a spigot and drip line running to each pan that i can adjust. We just keep topping off that bucket. A drip allows you to maintain a boil. I have found restaurant supply stores to be a good source for SS pans
We take it inside once we're very close to finishing. We use various sized maple syrup bottles and even have our own custom labels, family members look forward to getting their bottles each year.
Like Zag we've thought about going bigger with a modest evaporator set up in a sugar shack.....someday.
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Post by jimbison on Mar 3, 2016 8:13:15 GMT -5
be very careful with this maple thing use extreme caution it becomes an addiction I started with afew taps then afew more then a few more needed abigger evaporater to handle them bought one boiled faster added more taps boiled longer needed bigger evaporater sold mine bought a bigger one it is like a virus just keeps on growing anyone looking for evaporaters should check with Sunrise Metal Works probably the cheapest for new also maple trader and sugarbush info have used for sale sometimes best of luck to you all may your buckets always be full
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Post by milkie62 on Mar 3, 2016 12:17:49 GMT -5
Love it...this is my next big thing! I have a nice set-up tailor-made to do this on a small scale....though, Gina says I do nothing on a small scale. Put another way, I was looking at a 5000 dollar evaporator today! Next year! My buddies get one gallon per 42 gallons of sap normally, so I'd say you guys were spot-on.... Can't wait.... MZ I wonder what would happen if sap time coincided with 'yote time ? Just askin'......
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Post by ellwood on Mar 3, 2016 12:24:54 GMT -5
Addition yes it is. Now that yote season is over I thought it would be a good idea to put a few lures on my shoes and go with my wife to her dog obedience class. Lets just say i wasn't bored! My wife wasn't impressed to say the least. I think she signed me up for AA classes. Animals anonymous that is. Off season is a dangerous time
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Zagman
#2 Newhouse
Posts: 2,186
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Post by Zagman on Mar 3, 2016 13:17:16 GMT -5
Love it...this is my next big thing! I have a nice set-up tailor-made to do this on a small scale....though, Gina says I do nothing on a small scale. Put another way, I was looking at a 5000 dollar evaporator today! Next year! My buddies get one gallon per 42 gallons of sap normally, so I'd say you guys were spot-on.... Can't wait.... MZ I wonder what would happen if sap time coincided with 'yote time ? Just askin'...... I will tell you what would happen....I'd just keep buying my syrup from the locals like I have forever! MZ
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Post by dinorocks on Mar 3, 2016 13:43:54 GMT -5
A labor of Love! Yes very addictive! Now, not only am I rubber-necking at big foxy fields and muskratty creeks, but I cannot stop sizing up every maple tree I see! My dad helped me with wood and company during the boiling process and said the same thing about a still...baby steps!
Folks from Wendel's Poultry Farm out in my part of the woods were very helpful. I stumbled across Maple Trader and Sugarbush forums and found them very helpful too...although a bit overwhelming!! I especially like the posts on the area-specific info regarding when trees are flowing and associated sap volumes. It will help beginners like me to determine the best time to tap and when to throw the towel in.
Hopefully I will be able to find some metal buckets and a better boiling pan for next year. I'm still a bit baffled as to why tig/mig(?) welded seams are so much more ($300) that soldered stainless steel seams ($100)...I'm assuming that it is due to the high cost of the welder??
Thanks, Dino
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Post by markg on Mar 3, 2016 20:12:06 GMT -5
my wife started our maple syrup production several years ago as a home school project with 2 taps in our maple tree in front yard. Got about 2 quarts of syrup. Last year we made 20 gallons. Enough to skip this season. Long flat stainless steel pans are the way to go for boiling. we use 5 gallon buckets at the base of the tree and run plastic tubing from multiple tapps into each bucket. 33 gallon plastic garbage cans from home depot work well for transporting/storing sap. And a good supply of dry wood realy hepls. split it later this spring or early summer and let it sit somewhere dry till next maple season. give me a call any time if you have any questions. 585-402-9081. Nothing better than sitting down to breakfast with hot pancakes and sausage and maple syrup that you made your self.
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Post by 2labs on Mar 4, 2016 15:23:01 GMT -5
Sweet Deal, lol looks like a great time. Congrats and the syrup looks Great.
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Post by REDNECK on Mar 5, 2016 17:59:40 GMT -5
Good looking stuff hope you injoy the fruits of your labor
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Post by lakeeffect on Mar 6, 2016 16:13:35 GMT -5
We make 2-3 gallons for the past 5 years. Just moved from 12 taps to now 25 taps this year. I had a stainless pan 18" x 3' last year and I'm boiling approximately 8-9 gph of water with it. Really happy so far.
There's a local amish guy that does almost exclusively stainless and I had him make the pan. He works on mostly really big rigs, all custom stuff and also single walled stainless stove pipe.
Great to get out on nice days in the spring with the kids, I'm gearing up for the big run this week.
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Post by oldtimer on Mar 10, 2016 20:54:07 GMT -5
dimrocks. when you small scale and finish in house put a potato . in and it will pick any dirt bark etc. that is in the syrup. then put some on snow balls to eat. have fun .
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Post by newfox1 on Mar 12, 2016 6:26:29 GMT -5
sap should run real good today 24 degrees here,forcast is sunny and 50s.have fun
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Post by whistlerwhittler on Mar 12, 2016 18:07:50 GMT -5
That's great. Took my sons to a friend's last week when he was sugaring. Made me think about trying it on a small scale with the family next year.
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