# Anyone Here Make Syrup???



## johnpma

Just got into it this year. Having fun with the family tapping trees Finally warmed up enough to start running just doing it for fun to try and break up this winter. Going to boil it outside on a LP single burner cooker

Using milk jugs for the collection and bought the taps and hose off a guy in VT cheap


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## Harman man

I have done it in the past....love the taste....good project to get the kids involved in....don't burn it!!


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## Backwoods Savage

Two I can think of right away are Sappy and Wishlist but they have not been on the forum for a while. I do know that Wishlist is probably tapping this week. Not sure about Sappy but if not now, he will be very soon. He lives in NH while Wishlist lives in MI.


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## Driver

I did when we lived in south western Pa, it was a family run operation, had about 2500 taps. That's about the only thing I miss about living there. Now I'm too far south not many sugar maples here in this part of Va.  There are some maple producers in the north west part of Va. in fact just went to their maple festival this past Sat.


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## Warm_in_NH

Giving it a shot for the first time. Very small scale. I have 5 taps and gf has 3.

Was going to try to reduce it on the wood stove but was warned against it on the diy forum here. Looks like it's going on the turkey fryer, then last night my neighbor said it's going to take me like three bottles of propane to get it done. Well see.


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## johnpma

Warm_in_NH said:


> Giving it a shot for the first time. Very small scale. I have 5 taps and gf has 3.
> 
> Was going to try to reduce it on the wood stove but was warned against it on the diy forum here. Looks like it's going on the turkey fryer, then last night my neighbor said it's going to take me like three bottles of propane to get it done. Well see.


 us too. Collected 2 gallons last night and woke this morning to 3/4 full buckets again. We have about 18 taps out. This warm up has got the sap moving. Some I know use a thermometer and others just accurately measure the oz. Did this as a kid on my great grandfathers farm He did it all by sight and taste

Just make sure you keep it stored in a cool place and out of the sunlight

Good luck let me know how you do


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## bmblank

Taste is the best way to check the syrup. Nothing like that warm smokey sweet flavor of syrup right out of the pan. Cool it off a little be sticking the mug in the snow... Good times.


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## Warm_in_NH

Someone told me to keep the sap from freezing,  it'll spoil it....
This make any sense? It was 45 and flowing two days ago it's 10 now and my jugs have frozen solid sap in them....
Other than emptying them daily I see no way around this? I don't see how it'd be a problem either though. 
Thoughts?


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## bmblank

Ours always froze. We never had any problems


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## johnpma

Warm_in_NH said:


> Someone told me to keep the sap from freezing,  it'll spoil it....
> This make any sense? It was 45 and flowing two days ago it's 10 now and my jugs have frozen solid sap in them....
> Other than emptying them daily I see no way around this? I don't see how it'd be a problem either though.
> Thoughts?


 not true on our farm we had hundreds of buckets that froze however sunlight can do serious damage so it's important to keep emptying them as the sap flows


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## firebroad

I don't know about the sap, but the syrup freezes well.  I usually keep a jug in the freezer, and when I want some just pour into little pitcher and warm up in mike.  Yum.  Now I want to have waffles.
When I was a kid, there were two boys who would tap the neighborhood trees and their mother would boil it down on the kitchen stove with a big pan that straddled two burners.  Bet their house smelled amazing!


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## Warm_in_NH

With another cold snap and the sap having shut off for a few more days we decided to boil off the 2.75 gallons we had.
Did it inside on the regular stove since it was only one pot. Cranked up the vent hood, cranked up the wood stove put a fan in one window near the syrup exhausting and cracked open another window.
Worked great, took 3.5 hours and by taste and measure we ended up w 8 oz worth of oh so good stuff.
Next time should have a lot more sap so it'll be turkey fryer outside and a finish boil inside. Bit now we now what to expect, pretty easy and straight forward.
I didn't think it was done by looking at it as it was still very thin but we pulled it off the heat, tasted and measured it, seemed good, so we cooled it and it ended up with the consistency you'd expect.
Should start flowing again on Wednesday. ...


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## razerface

my wife is getting ready to boil for first time.   I did like helping tap the trees. I think she plans on having 30-40 gals when she boils. I don't eat pancakes or waffles,,so she gets it all. I tasted some from the neighbors friday, that made my teeth hurt.


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## johnpma

We boiled some yesterday....awesome family fun We had about 6 gallons of sap and ended up with 1.5L of syrup. We boiled to 216 degrees on the candy thermometer stuff is thin and sweet. We have a total of 25 taps out now and the kids want to make candy next.....

We used a turkey fryer and a 2 gallon pot. I had 2 more gallons preheating on the wood stove and would add off of the preheated sap......pretty good system


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## Seasoned Oak

I think Scotty Ovrkill makes Big batches of syrup but i havn't seen him posting for awhile.


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## bag of hammers

Got the trees, love maple syrup, been wanting to try this for a few years now but still cannot find the time....


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## Warm_in_NH

Seasoned Oak said:


> I think Scotty Ovrkill makes Big batches of syrup but i havn't seen him posting for awhile.



I have friends that boil 500-1000 gallons at a time, part of the sugaring association. I thought they were pretty "big", then I read a post here in the DIY section about a guy that doesn't start to boil until they have 5000 gallons! Obviously a big commercial operation, but wow! Average sugar shack I've been in is smaller than a one car garage with a boiling table that's maybe 5' by 8'. Can't imagine what one that boills ten times that amount looks like!


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## Driver

johnpma said:


> We boiled some yesterday....awesome family fun We had about 6 gallons of sap and ended up with 1.5L of syrup. We boiled to 216 degrees on the candy thermometer stuff is thin and sweet. We have a total of 25 taps out now and the kids want to make candy next.....


Love to hear this kind of stuff, the kids learn that work can be fun. When I was involved in the maple industry we got all our supplies from a co. in Vt. can't recall the name, but I'm sure they are still in business, but they sold a small back yard wood fired evaporator. Something to consider if you want to expand your operation a bit.


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## maple1

Warm_in_NH said:


> Someone told me to keep the sap from freezing,  it'll spoil it....
> This make any sense? It was 45 and flowing two days ago it's 10 now and my jugs have frozen solid sap in them....
> Other than emptying them daily I see no way around this? I don't see how it'd be a problem either though.
> Thoughts?


 
Freezing won't hurt it - whoever told you that, well, just doesn't know. It'll help to preserve it if you don't want to boil it for a few days. Warm temps & sun exposure will shorten it's life though - not necessarily make it bad if it (warm exposure) doesn't last real long, but moreso result in a darker looking & stronger tasting product. Which some might actually prefer.


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## razerface

we are getting 5 gal a day from our trees by the creek! Actually over that,,but i have no idea how to know how much ran over the top. About 2-3 gal from trees up the hill.


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## Warm_in_NH

Second boil in process. 5 gallons of sap collected from 3 taps in two trees over the past couple of days at the CT homestead. Should yield just about 16 Oz of syrup if we take it all the way down. Running low on propane, we'll see if we make it.

Filtering: I know it's a big deal when you're selling it, but for home use, anyone really worry about it. The first batch we let cool (as we had to run errands) before it's final boil and just poured off the syrup/sap and left the sediment in the bottom. I'd say we got 85% of the crud out by doing that. Anyone have any other methods?

Anyone have anything other than a turkey fryer they use? my buddy was telling me that steam trays work better because of the surface area, or a stainless sink dropped into a 55 gallon drum with a wood fire, not sure how you'd seal the drain though. For this year the fryer is fine, but now that I'm hooked, I see this operation growing next year.  This is how my buddy started out 5 years ago, he now has 350 trees tapped, a sugar house on wheels (he was sure he'd get tired of it and that way he can sell it) and he just upgraded his pre-heat system for the sap, and put in a gutter system to catch the condensed steam that goes into a bucket with a pump so he has warm water to clean up with, pretty cool. His only problem this year is he borrowed from his cord of wood set aside for boiling to keep his house warm.

This weekend is "Maple weekend" in NH. Anyone part of the "sugaring association" has an open house, usually samples, maple candy, boiling in process, educational talks, MAPLE SYRUP ON SNOW, and other good things, great to do with the kids even if you're not boiling at home.
http://www.nhmapleproducers.com/maple-producer-events/maple-weekend-and-month/



	

		
			
		

		
	
 chairs are blocking the wind...


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## bag of hammers

There are about a dozen or so maple sugar producers close to here - Spring festivals now starting up - all you can eat pancakes, sausage, and maple syrup.  There are a few folks on the forum here that "warned" about getting hooked on this hobby.  I wish I had the time to try it.  Looks like a lot of fun, great way to spend some outside time with the family, etc.  And tastes awesome...


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## razerface

Made a small run yesterday on a block evaporator,,,just for fun.  Boiled off 45 gal.


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## simple.serf

Razerface, Operations like yours are what initially got me interested in syrup. It honestly looks like more fun than what we do now. The lack of snow in your pic looks nice too, we tapped in 2 feet of snow.

We made 38 gallons of syrup yesterday, from about 2000 gallons of sap. I was making multiple passes through the RO before we boiled, which helped cut oil consumption. It's a nice winter crop for our small farm.


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## webbie

Visited a local small house today - they have a great eatery for pancakes, french toast, etc.

Was surprised to hear they only make 5 to 7 gallons per day!  Lots of work for a very small amount of syrup.

Was once promised some syrup 3x over from a forum member....never got it. Can't complain too much, though....never asked for it either.


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## webbie

Oh, shoot - that was my 12,000th post!


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## razerface

simple.serf said:


> Razerface, Operations like yours are what initially got me interested in syrup. It honestly looks like more fun than what we do now. The lack of snow in your pic looks nice too, we tapped in 2 feet of snow.
> 
> We made 38 gallons of syrup yesterday, from about 2000 gallons of sap. I was making multiple passes through the RO before we boiled, which helped cut oil consumption. It's a nice winter crop for our small farm.


It was big fun! We had some this morning for breakfast.
38 gallons of syrup is more work then I want! I would do more if I had an evap machine. I looked at a couple operations today,,but they were all bigger then I want. I want to boil around 500 gal a year, max.

I am not happy about the snow gone,,,I hate mud. I wish it would go directly from 20 deg to 70 deg in one day. Forget spring! But no syrup then,,,,,,,


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## johnpma

kids continue to have a blast with this. Turkey fryer woks well but as the above pic shows you need to block the breeze or you waste BTU's

This warm/cold is helping the flow real well.....next year I hope to do a pipeline. We are going to comb the property and mark trees in the spring.

Lots of fun!! Kids don't want to do homework they want to collect sap


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## loadstarken

The real question is...... who makes syrup and sells it?


I have bought some in past years from a member on a 4x4 board I go to but they haven't had any sap flowing this year.


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## Blacknight318

Trying it out with a few red maples we have, git started after the neighbor tapped his black walnuts and made syrup.


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## johnpma

did our 3rd boil yesterday and still have 20 gallons of sap. Kids made candy last night.......good stuff

one more boil and we are done. Pulled the taps yesterday afternoon. 

Plan is to come up with a better way of boiling for next season. Single burner propane takes too long when you have 50 gallons of sap.....

Looking for ideas??????


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## Warm_in_NH

johnpma said:


> did our 3rd boil yesterday and still have 20 gallons of sap. Kids made candy last night.......good stuff
> 
> one more boil and we are done. Pulled the taps yesterday afternoon.
> 
> Plan is to come up with a better way of boiling for next season. Single burner propane takes too long when you have 50 gallons of sap.....
> 
> Looking for ideas??????




I'm thinking along the lines of a rectangular steam table type of stainless tray over a long burner out of an old gas grill. Put it together in some sort of a welded frame.


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## Blacknight318

Going to do our first boil tonight, have about 10 gallons.  We're due to get a minor cold spell Herr next week so we're thinking of tapping the remaining half dozen trees for that.


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## johnpma

made maple leaf candies...good stuff

Syrup and butter and a good thermometer


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## Blacknight318

Boiled down a little over 2 gallons into a cup and a half of syrup!


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## loadstarken

So no one is selling this year?


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## Warm_in_NH

loadstarken said:


> So no one is selling this year?



I think most people on this thread are just getting into it on a hobby level. Given a 40 to 1 ratio, without a commercial set up, you gotta treat the stuff like gold.

My buddy sells his, same stuff, just he does it on a slightly larger scale (hundreds of gallons of sap). Nice guy, cool little sugar shack, boiled over a wood fire.

hope there's no conflict of interest throwing this link up jere. My apologies if there is.

https://m.facebook.com/pages/Spikes...om/pages/Spikes-Shack-o-Sugar/510844762290903


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## simple.serf

loadstarken said:


> So no one is selling this year?



Kind of a late reply (I haven't logged in in a little while), but we are. We made about 250 gallons, and burned about 600 gallons of fuel oil to do it. My wife actually has been canning all day today.


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## begreen

Wow, that is impressive. Do you sell it locally or on the internet?


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## johnpma

came across a homemade evaporator for free. Two steel barrels joined with legs welded along the bottom. The rear barrel has a cut-out for a 2' X 3' pan, and a 6" stack at the end of the barrel. This will allow me to burn all the crap that falls to the ground, or cut up pallets, pine ect... can't wait!!


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## maple1

Make sure you have decent pans. Something stainless & welded is best.

It's a pretty simple recipe - just boil the bejeebers out of it until it's 219°F (or so). But anything 'off' with the pans will transfer directly to the taste of the syrup. One prime suspect to off-tasting syrup is soap. Don't use any. Of any kind. On anything that will touch the sap & syrup in any way.


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## midwestcoast

maple1 said:


> Make sure you have decent pans. Something stainless & welded is best.
> 
> It's a pretty simple recipe - just boil the bejeebers out of it until it's 219°F (or so). But anything 'off' with the pans will transfer directly to the taste of the syrup. One prime suspect to off-tasting syrup is soap. Don't use any. Of any kind. On anything that will touch the sap & syrup in any way.


I dunno, for home use a stainless requirement may be a bit much. 
We boiled for years on a mild steel pan & later my dad made another out of 1/4" steel plate.  We oiled it at the end of the season & that syrup tasted as good as any I've ever bought.


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## maple1

midwestcoast said:


> I dunno, for home use a stainless requirement may be a bit much.
> We boiled for years on a mild steel pan & later my dad made another out of 1/4" steel plate.  We oiled it at the end of the season & that syrup tasted as good as any I've ever bought.


 
Yes, I said 'is best' - what the home guy uses is up to his resources. A stainless pan might not be so bad though, if you spend some time scrounging - even if you found something that needed re-manufacturing to fit, a sheet metal guy could cut bend & weld for not much $$ I bet.


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## aeblank

My parents boiled for years.  Probably 10-15 gallons when done.
Used custom built wood-fired stoves for most of it, and then propane to safely finish it off.
Mmmmmmm.


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## johnpma

Decided this year after finding a bunch of maples on the back of our new property that I'd like to do a sap line using tubing and having it flow into 30 gallon barrels. Would most likely be around 30 taps. Has anyone installed a sap line? How do you support the tubing? I think a 1/2" mainline and 5/16" feeders would work fine based on what I'm reading


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## maple1

For 30 taps, just string the 5/16 from tree to tree. No mainline needed for that few. We have some lines with 60+ trees on one line, although on a pretty good slope. If the tapped trees are quite far apart, you can usually run the pipe around/against non-tapped trees for some support in between . Using the odd smallish nail under the pipe where it refuses to stay up won't hurt anything much either. Could branch off a few 5/16 Ts if spread out a lot.


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## johnpma

maple1 said:


> For 30 taps, just string the 5/16 from tree to tree. No mainline needed for that few. We have some lines with 60+ trees on one line, although on a pretty good slope. If the tapped trees are quite far apart, you can usually run the pipe around/against non-tapped trees for some support in between . Using the odd smallish nail under the pipe where it refuses to stay up won't hurt anything much either. Could branch off a few 5/16 Ts if spread out a lot.


 Awesome info thanks for the help Very excited for this season. Buddy gave me a barrel evaporator just need to find a pan. I'm cutting and splitting all the pine that has fallen over the years for my boiling fuel thanks again for the help


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## maple1

Just have to remember that sap (like a lot of other things) generally doesn't run uphill and you'll be good.


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## johnpma

Maple1 can you recommend a supply house for hose, fittings ect??? I am going to have to use buckets on some trees.


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## DuckDog

My family has done small scale syrup since the mid 70's.  We typically run 60-75 taps and do 2 weekend boils.  Ran through 325 gallons of sap and finished with about 7.25 gallons of syrup.  No sales. Only personal and give away.

We run a 2'x4' SS pan on a temporary block arch and then finish in propane turkey fryers.


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## johnpma

getting gear ready for the 2015 season ordered tubing and fittings to go to a new system Wife still wants the traditional buckets in the yard for aesthetics

Picking up pine slats for the boiler on the weekend.......kids are getting anxious


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## johnpma

This time last year we were starting to put our buckets out.......this year haven't even thought about it yet

We can't buy a day over 30 degrees and the snow keeps piling up GRRRRRRRRRRR


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## DuckDog

Just checked my spreadsheet.  Didn't tap until Mar 30 last year.  Typically we tap between Mar 5-10. Looking pretty cold around here for the foreseeable future. Another month for us at least.


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## maple1

Same here, still lotsa winter left...


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## johnpma

No end in sight........this crap can end any time now!!


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## Warm_in_NH

Just picked up 25 taps, 5/16 line, and some T's. Think I'll try to start setting it all up tomorrow. Trees are going to start thinking about running here soon, but I'm pretty sure that the 3' of snow at their bases may have them lagging behind a bit. 
Last year we collected 6 taps worth into buckets and milk jugs. This year we're stepping it up a little to 25 taps, into a few collection points of 5.8 gallon jugs, and then we'll have a 30 gallon juice barrel for storage. Or, that's the plan for now, I'm sure once it starts flowing, things will be modified as needed.

Just dealt with the owners of Normans Sugar house in Woodstock Ct. (about 3 miles from my house, found them on Leader's page as a dealer) IF anyone is in need of anything in this area, they have a pretty good stock on hand, and they're just a really nice couple to deal with, it was more like a visit with friends than a supply run. I can't say enough nice things about them.  Just call first, leave a message on the generic answering machine, and they'll call back and let you know when they'll be around.
*Norman's Sugar House*
Richard & Avis Norman
387 County Road
Woodstock, CT 06281
(860) 974-1235
r.norman@snet.net


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## Warm_in_NH

Just wondering. 
Could I use my IR thermometer to read the temp of the sap during a boil?
I'm thinking it should work, although I could see interference from either steam or bubbles. Dunno.


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## maple1

We tried that once - but I forget the results. Must have been wonky, but I think my IR gun is kinda wonky to start with. I should try that again sometime.

I spent the whole day in the woods today, time split between drilling holes and shovelling mainlines out. In places we never had to before. This February was one for the record books here for snowfall. Still going to be a couple more weeks at it. My back is complaining tonight.


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## Smoke Signals

Warm_in_NH said:


> Someone told me to keep the sap from freezing,  it'll spoil it....
> This make any sense?



Just for the record if you let the sap freeze (not solid, this will break your pales) and break a hole in the ice and pour out the sap it will already be concentrated some and you will not have to boil it as much. Discard the ice. Also you can boil a pot of water and check the temp with your thermometer, note the temp and then add 7 degrees and that is where sirup will be boiling that day or at that time. This will compensate for changes in barometric pressure.


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## simple.serf

I've got to work on the R.O., the vacuum pumps, and the evaporator burner next weekend. Burner is a Carlin 800 series 2 stage unit set at around 10 gph. It was smoking too much when switching stages during the last two burns, probably needs nozzles, as it has been a few years. The pumps just need an oil change (10 gallons each), and the R.O., well there's  no telling what that will need. I talked to the owner yesterday, and he said there's about 4 feet of snow in the woods, so I figure tapping will probably take about a week this year. I tried the ir gun lsst year, just to see what would happen, and it didn't work. Probably the steam messing with the ir signal.


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## johnpma

Found a local ole'timer that is out of the syrup business. He has traditional 15qt buckets with a tap and cover for $7.50/ea

Family helped put out about 40 taps yesterday between a tubing system, and the buckets. Snow in the back of out property is 48" deep. that made things real interesting. We have a ton more maples but this will the max for this year.

Our line system runs into 30 gallon heavy duty trash barrels. We seem to have a decent pitch to our lines so I'm curious to how this will work once it runs. Learned a lot hanging this tubing system. My boys are troopers for young teens helping me out for a full 5 hours with this project.


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## Warm_in_NH

We did 13 taps on a tubing system yesterday.  3 collection points, plan on dumping into 6 gallon food grade jugs. Then we have a small army of 5 gallon pails with liners for them to store in until a boil.
May do another 6 taps but access is a little harder, we'll see.

Johnpma,  sounds like you got a sweet deal. You putting a liner in that 30 gallon pail or just gonna go for it?  

I also have a new respect for all the tubing systems I see around, there's a little more to installing them than I gave credit to.


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## johnpma

No liner in the barrel. Most of anything solid sinks to the bottom, and we skim the surface before boiling. We use our ATV with a trailer and have 5 gallon pails from Tractor Supply for collection. I swap out the 30 gallon barrel with an empty one when full.

After we boil we run our syrup through a filter that I bought from Leader Evaporator

We are going to boil on a barrel evaporator we built fueled by cut up pallets. I have a rack that fits in the barrel that holds three large and deep steam pans. I finish it in the house where I have more control. I lined the inside of the barrel with bricks so it's like an oven.

Grew up doing this the old fashion was on my great grand father's dairy farm. We had a horse drawn sleigh that we would use for collection, and a 10 X 16 sugar house we built......boy I miss those days!! Trying my best to recreate those days for my kids.

Its all recreation but a lot of fun. On our boiling days we get a box of beer, and have a cook out. My nieces come and they slide on the hill out back. Lots of cheap family fun

My cousin has a very large operation which includes a reverse osmosis evaporator.......too much work lol


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## Warm_in_NH

Last year was our first try, had fun, got plenty of syrup (think 1 gallon), think we had 5 or 6 taps into buckets. We boiled in the turkey fryer pot, far from ideal, but it worked for us!
This year, stepping up to at least 20 taps, got a steam table pan to go on my two burner propane stove, got a 1/2 table pan that will sit of the turkey fryer burner nicely for either pre heating or finishing, may finish inside, all depends on how it goes. It's fun and yet another reason I'm glad I got snow shoes this year!


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## johnpma

snow shoes are on my short list.....standing ballz deep in snow for 5 1/2 hrs is not my favorite thing lol

Last year we used the turkey fryer as well. I preheated on the wood stove.

My buddy used his wood stove exclusively......but he gets layed off all winter


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## johnpma

Temps are looking promising for a run by the weekend


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## Blacknight318

Just tapped 2 tonight, Western Wisconsin, 1 tap each tree, 3 more tomorrow.  All are red male about 3' on diameter.  Last year we did buckets and tubing, had more sap than we could handle.  This year fewer traps over more trees and bags with hangers.  Looking forward to checking them tomorrow after work.


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## johnpma

Not running here in New England yet. Fired up the barrel evaporator yesterday to burn off all the crap. This year I lined the barrel with red brick I had hanging around seems to really contain the heat well

This should be the week....they are talking 50 by the end of the week.


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## Blacknight318

Well the red maples didn't do diddley, tapped what is either another red maple or a black walnut, and it flowed good.  Going to be above freezing tonight, kinda bummed.


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## pen

Out of 69 taps, we got the first sap of the season today, a whopping 6 gallons!  It'll happen eventually, didn't even have the weather to tap until 3/14 last year...... we finished our syrup in its entirety 3/13 the year before that!

It will do as it pleases, we just need to be positioned to make the best of it.


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## Smoke Signals

Blacknight318 said:


> Well the red maples didn't do diddley, tapped what is either another red maple or a black walnut, and it flowed good.  Going to be above freezing tonight, kinda bummed.



Don't be bummed about the lack of a freeze for a night or two early on. That may be what you need to get those maple warmed up a little and running.

We hung buckets on Saturday and I think it hit ~50 but it has been so cold they didn't do much. 18 that night and 50's again on Sunday and still not much. No freeze last night and lower to mid 50's today and they are starting to come on a little now.


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## johnpma

Got some drips late in the day on the trees which receive the most sun. The tap line in the woods is bone dry......it'll happen I'm sure it will be the week I'm in FLA


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## firefighterjake

I don't tap . . . but a good friend from high school has a decent sized commercial operation and the other day one of my Amish neighbor's boys asked about tapping some of my trees (and of course I gave him permission.)


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## Warm_in_NH

I got maybe a little over a gallon total yesterday out of about 20 taps. The weather Is here now and they should flow like crazy by the end of the week.

We've had a few days in the past week sunny and above freezing but got nothing. A couple old timers already warned of a delayed start due to the extremely cold February and the 4 feet of snow that's around the trees.

Well see, they're big old trees that get great sun. I've got this week to play with them and then it's back to NH and real paying work again for the first time in 2 months.


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## Warm_in_NH

firefighterjake said:


> I don't tap . . . but a good friend from high school has a decent sized commercial operation and the other day one of my Amish neighbor's boys asked about tapping some of my trees (and of course I gave him permission.)




You will receive some sort of sweet payment for your kindness,  no?


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## firefighterjake

Warm_in_NH said:


> You will receive some sort of sweet payment for your kindness,  no?



Probably just good karma . . . I don't mind . . . I know it's probably bad to say . . . but while I tend to like the real stuff for most things I actually prefer fake syrup.


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## Blacknight318

Trees starting to run a little today, got about a gallon from 4 trees, 5 taps.  Put three more on tonight after work.


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## johnpma

Yes sir it's happening now


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## Warm_in_NH

drip...drip...drip...drip...drip...

Doing a preliminary boil today of the 8 gallons of sap that I have. Since it's a small set up it's easy enough to do a run through.

The cheapo little camp grill I bought off of Amazon for the boiling came in a crudely taped closed box, with broken parts, pre-cut zip ties, missing screws, but after all that I finally got it together to realize that one of the two burner valves wouldn't let any gas through.
Thankfully found a nice 3 Burner coleman camp stove hidden deep in the bowels of the garage, higher BTU's and more even heat than the cheapo.

Figure today's boil will work out any other kinks that I may find along the way.




So far so good....


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## pen

69 taps, 32 gallons of sap collected today.  Temps are supposed to drop tonight then warm back up tomorrow, hoping for a good afternoon run.


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## begreen

Wow, that is awesome. What are you using for an evaporator?


----------



## midwestcoast

Jealous of you guys making the liquid gold...  I had a visit back to the family farm (Ontario) for a visit last week & we could barely even get into the woods on skis. 3 feet of powder over some crusty snow.  I was reminiscing on many late winter/early springs spent in the sugar bush tapping, collecting & boiling sap, splitting wood & feeding the fire.  If there's a better way to soak in the first few hints of spring I haven't found it.


----------



## pen

begreen said:


> Wow, that is awesome. What are you using for an evaporator?



Our setup is homemade, not the most efficient, but it's worked for 15 years for what we need to make in a year.  I'll take a pic tomorrow night.


----------



## pen

midwestcoast said:


> I was reminiscing on many late winter/early springs spent in the sugar bush tapping, collecting & boiling sap, splitting wood & feeding the fire. If there's a better way to soak in the first few hints of spring I haven't found it.



I have to admit, when we do sap, we don't use wood.  We all burn wood throughout the year, and when it comes to sap season, we just don't feel like burning more of the stuff at this point in the season!  For the 5 to 8 gallons of syrup we make a year, the propane doesn't cost us much considering the convenience for something that is an "early spring / fun" activity.


----------



## begreen

Has any of that syrup gone into brew making?


----------



## pen

begreen said:


> Has any of that syrup gone into brew making?



With beer, yes.  Never added any when making cider tho.


----------



## begreen

How did it come out?


----------



## pen

begreen said:


> Wow, that is awesome. What are you using for an evaporator?



Here's the setup.  A 5 gallon SS stock pot on a turkey fryer serves as our pre-boiler.  Then a homemade SS pot sits above a Northern Tool (or wherever we bought it from 15+ years ago) 3 burner gas range, is the next stage.  We boil things down here until we get close, then bring things into the house for finishing where we put them into mason jars.


----------



## Smoke Signals

pen said:


> Here's the setup.  A 5 gallon SS stock pot on a turkey fryer serves as our pre-boiler.  Then a homemade SS pot sits above a Northern Tool (or wherever we bought it from 15+ years ago) 3 burner gas range, is the next stage.  We boil things down here until we get close, then bring things into the house for finishing where we put them into mason jars.
> 
> View attachment 155713



Thats cool! Do you put in the jars hot so they seal?


----------



## pen

Smoke Signals said:


> Thats cool! Do you put in the jars hot so they seal?



Yes.  Hot syrup, hot jars, hot lids.


----------



## Warm_in_NH

Pen, nice, similar to our set up.
How do you measure for "finished" syrup? 

Last year was my first year, I just reduced everything we collected by 40 to 1. Somehow it all seemed to work out well.

this year I bought a hydrometer, but apparently not a sap hydrometer,  so I know the first batch of sap had nearly 3% sugar but I have no Braume or Brix scale on it to measure finished product.

So this year I'm boiling to 7.5 degrees above boiling point of water and calling it "finished".


----------



## pen

Warm_in_NH said:


> Pen, nice, similar to our set up.
> How do you measure for "finished" syrup?
> 
> Last year was my first year, I just reduced everything we collected by 40 to 1. Somehow it all seemed to work out well.
> 
> this year I bought a hydrometer, but apparently not a sap hydrometer,  so I know the first batch of sap had nearly 3% sugar but I have no Braume or Brix scale on it to measure finished product.
> 
> So this year I'm boiling to 7.5 degrees above boiling point of water and calling it "finished".



It's fun.  We do the same using a candy thermometer and find that works very well.  We go by about 35 to 1 for a ballpark to let us estimate when we are close for bringing it in the house and to make sure we have a big enough finishing pot in use as you need to leave room for it to foam up.  We find 3.5 gallons in a 5 gallon pot for finishing is about as full as we go.  But, the ratio will surprise us sometimes, last time the sugar content was very high and we were looking at 25 to 1!

Also, the "drip test" works well.  When you are close with the syrup, the last drop of syrup to fall from a spoon will leave a "tail" or "string" as it falls from the spoon.

We have a hydrometer but honestly have never tried using it.

Been running OK so far.  Collected about 80 gallons since Monday.  If we collect another 20 or so today, we'll be looking to finish up the first batch on Saturday.


----------



## bag of hammers

midwestcoast said:


> Jealous of you guys making the liquid gold...  I had a visit back to the family farm (Ontario) for a visit last week & we could barely even get into the woods on skis. 3 feet of powder over some crusty snow.  I was reminiscing on many late winter/early springs spent in the sugar bush tapping, collecting & boiling sap, splitting wood & feeding the fire.  If there's a better way to soak in the first few hints of spring I haven't found it.


I envy all the folks here too.  Some really nice setups.  And the folks who find a way to make a gallon or 2 on a shoestring - kudos.  Unfortunately this will be another year that I don't get to jump in and try my hand at it.  But there is definitely an outside fire or 2 on the radar.  Maybe  we'll manage to get out to visit one of the producers in the area during their annual maple syrup festival.  A stack of pancakes smothered in fresh maple syrup - yum.....


----------



## simple.serf

Up to 400 taps now, my wife is going up to keep working on it today, I'm  on call this weekend.


----------



## pen

Wound up with a ratio of about 34:1 this year and bottled up 22 1/2 pints around lunch time.  

Was darker than we were expecting for the first run, but that doesn't bother me any. 

We also let things get a bit warmer in the house than we wanted to just before bottling, and wound up with some sugar sand.  As my father reminds me , sugar sand is why the commercial guys like to use brown bottles and charge the poo out of anything that goes into glass.


----------



## midwestcoast

pen said:


> Wound up with a ratio of about 34:1 this year and bottled up 22 1/2 pints around lunch time.
> 
> Was darker than we were expecting for the first run, but that doesn't bother me any.
> 
> We also let things get a bit warmer in the house than we wanted to just before bottling, and wound up with some sugar sand.  As my father reminds me , sugar sand is why the commercial guys like to use brown bottles and charge the poo out of anything that goes into glass.
> 
> View attachment 155833
> View attachment 155834
> View attachment 155835
> View attachment 155836


Awesome! A lil overheat doesn't matter a bit. The syrup you made yourself always tastes better than anything you buy anyway.
I like it dark.


----------



## pen

midwestcoast said:


> Awesome! A lil overheat doesn't matter a bit. The syrup you made yourself always tastes better than anything you buy anyway.
> I like it dark.



I prefer it darker too, but usually we get that towards the end of the season, and the lighter stuff comes first.  With the weather we've had, this was the first sap could run and just didn't expect that. 

Didn't burn anything, but just brought it up a little hotter than we wanted back in the house (up to 210 instead of keeping it under 200 on the reheat after filtering for canning) and think that's why we got the sugar cloud in the bottom of the bottles this year. 

As always, we'll try it a little differently with the next batch.


----------



## begreen

pen said:


> Wound up with a ratio of about 34:1 this year and bottled up 22 1/2 pints around lunch time.
> 
> Was darker than we were expecting for the first run, but that doesn't bother me any.
> 
> We also let things get a bit warmer in the house than we wanted to just before bottling, and wound up with some sugar sand.  As my father reminds me , sugar sand is why the commercial guys like to use brown bottles and charge the poo out of anything that goes into glass.



Awesome!! We have to buy our maple syrup. Always try for grade B. It has the most flavor.


----------



## Warm_in_NH

Good  results yesterday. Looks like a good week or so ahead for the sap to keep flowing. 
New set up this year seems to be working well. The step flashing around the bottom of the pan to keep the heat trapped makes a big difference.  Will probably fabricate something a little better for next year.


----------



## johnpma

My boys and niece collected about 30 gallons of sap. We did our first boil, and finished on the stove. Had a blast.....


Very tasty indeed


----------



## johnpma

checked the buckets in the yard  this morning..........running really good now


had one bucket from a 10" dia maple on Sunday that had piss yellow sap........anyone know why this would happen?


----------



## Warm_in_NH

johnpma said:


> checked the buckets in the yard  this morning..........running really good now
> 
> 
> had one bucket from a 10" dia maple on Sunday that had piss yellow sap........anyone know why this would happen?



Think it's bud sap, don't mix it in and pull the tap. Seems early for it but it could just be a confused tree. It'll make a darker syrup. Could be a sick tree, either way, I'd back off that tree and try it again next year.

On a big production it'd just get watered down in the mix, but small scale you can eliminate the less than ideal trees and keep quality to notch.


----------



## johnpma

thanks for the reply.....i was also wondering if any of the meat from drilling flushed into the bucket and spoiled it. in any event my son did ditch the bucket full........gonna check tree and if it happens again I'll pull the tap.


----------



## Smoke Signals

johnpma said:


> checked the buckets in the yard  this morning..........running really good now
> 
> 
> had one bucket from a 10" dia maple on Sunday that had piss yellow sap........anyone know why this would happen?


 
Big Foot has to go some where ya know.


----------



## Warm_in_NH

Good run this week in CT. Works taken off for me again this year so my wife's been busy boiling this time.  Good yield, well worth the $200 we put into it all this year,  and that will average down over the next few years with the same stuff.
In my second year of it, I must say that I think I like this new hobby.


----------



## pen

Don't know what anyone else is finding but as the season wears on here, my buddies who are still boiling are finding the sugar content is going up.


----------



## johnpma

our first boil was very sweet our second boil will be this weekend.......it has been hit or miss in the hills for sap flow Still pretty cold up there where I am


----------



## pen

johnpma said:


> our first boil was very sweet our second boil will be this weekend.......it has been hit or miss in the hills for sap flow Still pretty cold up there where I am



Update from folks at work today said it's going backwards this year here, getting lighter in color as the season continues!


----------



## Warm_in_NH

Flowing good in CT. Hard to say about sugar content going up since I switched out with my wife on boiling duties, but it's certainly staying very light. But she's collecting and boiling every other day in smaller batches.


----------



## pen

Compared to any store bought stuff, even if we have our preferences, no matter what color it is, it's good eats.


----------



## Warm_in_NH

I find new uses daily for it. Most recent, maple bourbon glazed pork chops.  Milk, 1.5 oz maple,1.5 oz spiced rum, made a kick butt batch of waffles on Sunday,; I have a bottle of maple balsamic vinegar that I bought too, good stuff.

Update: 88 gallons of sap collected so far this season in CT from 15 or 17 taps, over 2 gallons of finished product! Thank god my wife works for a dentist!


----------



## johnpma

flowin hard now collected about 25 gallons over the last two days. The line system in the back wooded lot ain't doin squat!! still 1 1/2 feet of snow at the base of the trees in the woods


----------



## fossil

Interesting article this morning:

*Americans vastly prefer fake maple syrup to the pure stuff*


By Christopher Ingraham / The Washington Post

Published Apr 1, 2015 at 12:02AM

WASHINGTON — It’s peak sugaring season in much of the Northeast, when the country’s maple syrup producers tap their trees to collect the sap that flows freely this time of year. It takes about 40 gallons of maple sap — and nothing else — to make one gallon of real maple syrup. By contrast, the artificial stuff — think Aunt Jemima and Mrs. Butterworth’s — is mostly corn syrup.

Fake maple syrup resembles real maple syrup about as much as Velveeta resembles a good Camembert. But when 1,000 Americans were asked which they preferred on their pancakes, the artificial brands won out big time. More than 25 percent of respondents to a Google Consumer Survey panel said real maple syrup was their top choice. Seventy percent chose Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Butterworth’s, Log Cabin or Hungry Jack. Another 3 percent chose something else.

Looming behind this preference, of course, is the specter of price. A gallon of Mrs. Butterworth’s will set you back less than $8 at Walmart. A gallon of the real stuff, on the other hand, retails for $40 to $60 — owing to the labor-intensive process of collecting and reducing all that sap.

And this process happens on a commercial scale only in the Northeast. Vermont is the nation’s undisputed king, accounting for more than 40 percent of the total U.S. output of more than 3 million gallons in 2014. Seven of the top 10 maple-producing counties are in Vermont. There’s a surprisingly robust maple syrup industry in Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan, too. (Our annual supply is a fraction of the 12 million gallons churned out in Canada, mostly in Quebec.)

U.S. maple syrup output has risen by more than 50 percent since about 2008. In 2013, the national maple industry’s output was worth about $132 million.

Some producers are growing creative in their search for more revenue. The latest innovation is a push to sell “maple water” — the raw sap, straight from the tree. Producers are marketing it as a competitor to coconut water.

Here’s why: Say you have 40 gallons of maple sap on hand. You can boil that down to syrup and sell it at retail for about $40. Or, you could package it in 16-ounce cartons and sell them for $3 each — or a yield of $960 in revenue for 40 gallons.


----------



## pen

fossil said:


> 1,000 Americans were asked which they preferred on their pancakes, the artificial brands won out big time.



If their experiences with real maple syrup were anything like what mine were when I was a kid, then I'm not surprised.  I remember trying real syrup a number of times, and always having it be burnt, or too thin.  It wasn't until a friend started making it, and I tried his where I was able to recognize what it should taste like that I got into it.

Interesting concept on selling the maple sap.


----------



## fossil

I think price has more to do with it these days, but I dunno.  I prefer the real thing, it's readily available, I don't use all that much, and I don't mind paying for it.  But then, I like molasses and sorghum, too.  Like they say, "there's no accounting for taste"


----------



## BrotherBart

May be like something we read about back in Marketing class in college. One of the food giants spent a fortune developing instant coffee that couldn't be distinguished from fresh perked. It was a total failure. People that were used to drinking instant coffee preferred its flavor to fresh perked.


----------



## johnpma

bottom line is most people think price before quality in this country.......and that's very sad but the government has done a fine job of putting the working middle class in this situation. I have a cousin that has a huge operation here in New England....the majority of his syrup goes to high end hotels in big cities, and the casinos

Other medium sized operations in my area have breakfast shacks where they use their own syrup on the breakfast preparation.......

Right now we are still learning and pretty much give it to family and friends.......my great grandpa did sap for years but I was too busy having fun collecting, and making maple flavored slush with the fresh snow to have learned all of his tricks

It's all good fun Big boil Saturday....it's running hard this week


----------



## Warm_in_NH

johnpma said:


> The line system in the back wooded lot ain't doin squat!! still 1 1/2 feet of snow at the base of the trees in the woods


Did it start flowing yet? I had one line system (first year I tried these) that for some reason wouldn't flow, the lines filled up with sap, had plenty of pitch, but it just backed up repeatedly. I ended up cutting it and adding another collection barrel, all was good again. 
Judging by the weather, overnight lows, and the lack of space to keep any more sap and lack of time to boil, I think today is our last collection in CT. We're going to have about 50 more gallons of sap to boil off this weekend, and we've got Easter plans for Sunday, so it's going to be a late night Friday and a long day Saturday.




pen said:


> Update from folks at work today said it's going backwards this year here, getting lighter in color as the season continues!


Yep, odd, (I think it's odd, only two years into this stuff) but that seems to be what we're finding as well as some others I know. Really really light. I like light, but it'd be nice to get some amber stuff going as well.




BrotherBart said:


> People that were used to drinking instant coffee preferred its flavor to fresh perked.


I wouldn't touch real maple syrup until I was in my 20's, thought people were nuts for not buying the better tasting, much cheaper Aunt Jamima! Now I won't even consider pouring corn syrup all over my food. 




fossil said:


> Some producers are growing creative in their search for more revenue. The latest innovation is a push to sell “maple water” — the raw sap, straight from the tree. Producers are marketing it as a competitor to coconut water.
> Here’s why: Say you have 40 gallons of maple sap on hand. You can boil that down to syrup and sell it at retail for about $40. Or, you could package it in 16-ounce cartons and sell them for $3 each — or a yield of $960 in revenue for 40 gallons.


Been wanting to do this! They must pasturize it first then bottle it to keep it from going bad, or anyone getting sick. I wonder what the market is for it. I think if I took it to a local farmers market and tried selling it for $3 a pint I'd get laughed or chased away.

Anyone sell their sap to others to boil? Just curious what sugar houses pay for raw sap if anyone knows?  
I told the guy I bought my tubing from this year to be careful on how much info he gave me or I'd be his competition in a couple of years, he laughed pretty good at that one and then told me that I'd just end up selling my sap to him like everyone else does. Guess I should've asked then.


----------



## BrotherBart

I stick with my King Golden Syrup.


----------



## johnpma

sap line is flowing have around 15 gallons as of yesterday....sap line is a slow process

I build tools for the plastic bottle industry........I would not eat maple syrup from a plastic bottle period. I'll put jar honey on them first. We put all of our syrup in glass bottles.


----------



## Warm_in_NH

I'm not sure Vermont really thought their syrup logo through all the way.
Hehehehehehe....


----------



## BrotherBart




----------



## Warm_in_NH

Taps are pulled. 40 gallons of sap left to boil. Wind has been howling all day, moved boil into garage, much better now. Wind would take it from a boil to no boil. 
Just want to get it all reduced to be ready for a finish boil.
Put half pints out front with the eggs for sale, $6, hope some sell, we've got a lot of syrup! 
Trying to talk the wife into doing a mason jar full of the dry ingredients for pan cakes to sell along side syrup n eggs but she's not yet convinced.  Farm around the corner sells milk. Full breakfast without leaving the block!


----------



## Michael Golden

Warm_in_NH said:


> Taps are pulled. 40 gallons of sap left to boil. Wind has been howling all day, moved boil into garage, much better now. Wind would take it from a boil to no boil.
> Just want to get it all reduced to be ready for a finish boil.
> Put half pints out front with the eggs for sale, $6, hope some sell, we've got a lot of syrup!
> Trying to talk the wife into doing a mason jar full of the dry ingredients for pan cakes to sell along side syrup n eggs but she's not yet convinced.  Farm around the corner sells milk. Full breakfast without leaving the block!



How far do you boil it down before you do the finish boil? Thanks


----------



## begreen

fossil said:


> I think price has more to do with it these days, but I dunno.  I prefer the real thing, it's readily available, I don't use all that much, and I don't mind paying for it.  But then, I like molasses and sorghum, too.  Like they say, "there's no accounting for taste"


I agree. I've only had artificial syrup a few times in my life. Never liked the sweet goo. I prefer to have some good grade B maple syrup or nothing and will pay the price for quality.


----------



## Warm_in_NH

Michael Golden said:


> How far do you boil it down before you do the finish boil? Thanks



As far as we can. I'm no pro we just do what works for us. But I try to take it down to where I have to reduce it by half or so again to finish.
So we may boil 25 gallons of sap down to 2 gallons and then bring it in and reduce that to about a 3/4 +/- gallon of finish.
A lot depends on how much sap and time we have.

Edit: my buddy takes it up to 217 ish on tje big wood fired evaporator then finishes on propane from there.


----------



## johnpma

This is our last week. Storing the sap in buckets in the snow this week. Had a solid 40 gallons of sap that we boiled on Saturday.  Made this batch thicker. Color was gorgeous.....time to upgrade the evaporator for next season.


----------



## maple1

This has been a brutal season here. We were only a couple of days away from being all tapped up & ready to go 3 weeks ago - well, we got tapped but still haven't finished digging the lines out of the snow from the 2-1/2' of it we got 2 weeks ago. Bad enough having to do it once, but 2 or 3 times is over the top when you've got KMs of them.

We boiled for the first time on Friday - finally got some syrup the next day. But the way the long-range forecast looks, it's going to end before it really gets going. All freezing temps this week, all mild the next. Winter just lasted waaayyy too long, looks like it's going to turn warm like someone flipped a switch. This is the first time in the decades we've been at it that we didn't make any syrup until April.

Just brutal....


----------



## Warm_in_NH

maple1 said:


> Just brutal....


I've been following how it's done for a while, but only boiling my own on a hobby level for two years now. I can't imagine how devastating this is for people like you. It's a TON of work, for what should be a good reward, if it doesn't come, that just sucks. Here in NH, it trickled a bit, then shut down, my buddy just start collecting sap like crazy this week, a late flow, but it's flowing like crazy now. It's hard for him to compare to previous years because he tapped a new lot this year, but "per a tap" he's having a good year, finally. Hope you get the same!




johnpma said:


> time to upgrade the evaporator for next season.


Didn't you just buy that set up this year from an old timer getting out of the business? We need a new evaporator set up for next year too. I just came from my buddies house, saw the tell tale steam rising up as I was driving by, he's a really smart guy, with lots of free time in the winter (like me, but smart), he built his whole set up and modifies it regularly. He's almost got me convinced to spend the $1200 on a small evaporator from Leader. I think it's a crazy idea, then he starts throwing out the numbers at me, for time and fuel costs. Still think I can figure out a wood boil option for far less... $100 in propane this year!

His set up I just came from, can't see much, too much steam!


----------



## maple1

That's a couple pics I snapped real quick those 2 1/2 weeks ago. Mainlines are about 4' or so off the ground. Thought we were almost done. Came back a week later & couldn't even tell there was a trench dug, the snow not only filled the trenches back in but filled in up to & across the tops of the piled up snow. Pretty discouraging, to say the least. There are a few producers around here that called it quits before getting started, some threw in the towel half way through getting started, and some are still wavering.


----------



## Michael Golden

maple1 said:


> View attachment 156807
> View attachment 156808
> 
> 
> That's a couple pics I snapped real quick those 2 1/2 weeks ago. Mainlines are about 4' or so off the ground. Thought we were almost done. Came back a week later & couldn't even tell there was a trench dug, the snow not only filled the trenches back in but filled in up to & across the tops of the piled up snow. Pretty discouraging, to say the least. There are a few producers around here that called it quits before getting started, some threw in the towel half way through getting started, and some are still wavering.


Wow!


----------



## Michael Golden

What's a good read for getting into this as a hobby? I have a hillside of rock maples, I'm anxious to try this out next year.


----------



## johnpma

maple1 WOW that is crazy!!




Warm_in_NH said:


> Didn't you just buy that set up this year from an old timer getting out of the business?


 He gave it to me but I'm hooked I have a ton more trees I can tap out back so I need something more efficient  Thinking this unit and it's made in the USA lol
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	







Michael Golden said:


> What's a good read for getting into this as a hobby? I have a hillside of rock maples, I'm anxious to try this out next year


 You came to the right place ask away


----------



## Warm_in_NH

Michael Golden said:


> What's a good read for getting into this as a hobby? I have a hillside of rock maples, I'm anxious to try this out next year.


The best source I found was picking peoples brains (not like zombie picking brains, but talking to them) stopped at a couple of sugar houses. Look up the local "leader" dealer (they've got the patent on most tap designs), then when I went to get my taps the guy gave me a little book put out by the CT maple sugar assoc., was FULL of useful info, then I scoured the internet, more picking brains, then it was time to just do it and figure it out the rest as I went. Last year I knew very little about the boil, temps, etc... this year I know a lot more, but there's always something to learn or figure out.




johnpma said:


> Thinking this unit and it's made in the USA lol


Where'd you find that? It looks perfect!

I like this:
https://www.leaderevaporator.com/c-25-small-and-hobby-maple-syrup-evaporators-150-taps-or-less.aspx
Think I saw it was 1200-1400

Only sold two jars for $6 so far. That's another 198 sales I need to make!

This seasons progression:




Thats the bulk of it. About another 1/2 gallon already given out. Just over 4 gal of finish syrup.


----------



## johnpma

Warm_in_NH said:


> Where'd you find that? It looks perfect!



Here: http://www.wfmasonwelding.com/

I don't understand the reverse flow pan concept and how it all works but I hear it really speeds up production


----------



## maple1

I think the flow reversing is done just to reduce buildup on the pans. Every couple days or whatever you switch the flow. Should make for cleaner pans.


----------



## johnpma

last of our three boils tomorrow. Lines and buckets are coming down today. Evaporator will fire up at 6am and go until the last drop of sap is gone....

maple flavored wild goose breakfast sausage (goose that my son shot in the fall) , eggs, and toast for breakfast.......Sam Adams Lager starting at noon

 God I live the weekends


----------



## pen

johnpma said:


> Sam Adams Lager starting at noon



You are more disciplined than I am.

Good luck


----------



## johnpma

last boil on sat yielded about 2 gallons of syrup......short but great season of coarse it was flowing the best as we were removing the buckets


----------



## Ashful

I think this would be a fun family activity.  The new neighbor cut down most of the hard maple, but I have some very large (> 40" caliper) silver maples, and some young (eg. 4") red maples.  What are my prospects?  I read that both species are used, but obviously less plentiful than sugar maple.


----------



## johnpma

Getting ready soon. Gonna hang the tap line early this year when it's warm so I'm not balls deep in the snow doing it again  Also gonna build a new barrel evaporator......

Anyone else boil out in the open?


----------



## johnpma

Tap lines are going up this weekend.....finishing up the new barrel boiler this week cold weekend going into the 40's should start dripping.....some people have already boiled


----------



## Warm_in_NH

johnpma said:


> Tap lines are going up this weekend.....finishing up the new barrel boiler this week cold weekend going into the 40's should start dripping.....some people have already boiled


Where did ya get that? Did ya buy it or have it made?


----------



## johnpma

Warm_in_NH said:


> Where did ya get that? Did ya buy it or have it made?


Hi Warm_in_NH I made it on the cheap. 55 gallon drum, $48 US Stove Barrel Stove Kit, 1/8" x 1 1/4" "L" from Tractor Supply, .045 thick 12" x 24" sheet metal......most expensive part was the boiling pan and pre-warmer. Guy in VT has them on CL ofr three beans shipped to your door. Took about 6 hours to build all together it will be about $375.00 Have some old 6" stove pipe I'll use for my stack. Only thing I might do is add a small blower to get a hotter burn thus increasing GPH boiled.....then again slower burn means more bent elbows  Going to line the barrel with Roxul insulation then brick it for a hotter fire box. Still some trimming of metal to be done.

Check out www.mapletrader.com some really cool ideas


----------



## johnpma

Last Monday my pipes froze and we had -18 degrees this morning the sap is pouring out of the trees as it was 58 overnight...........I think mother nature is having a hot flash 

Had to use waders to get to my storage tanks this morning but we harvested 60 gallons of pure clean sap for our tubing systems


----------



## Blacknight318

First batch on the stove.


----------



## firefighterjake

Amish neighbors just tapped a few of my trees on Saturday.


----------



## DuckDog

Forecast is showing that we'll start to see the right weather around March 9. This is right on schedule for us. We typically tap Mar 5 - Mar 12 .+3 to +5*C during the day and -2 to -5*C at night is what we need. We tap about 40-50 sugar maples and usually have 2 marathon boils. Still using a block arch but have a relatively new 2'x4' flat pan.  We always finish on a propane. Much easier as it's almost impossible to burn 4 gallons of syrup in a turkey fryer pot!
We've got 3 generations in on it. My dad, myself and my 5 year old son. Such an awesome family activity. I hope my son ends up with the same memories I have.


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## johnpma

First boil on the new unit. Got about a 3.75 gallon/hr boil rate using cut up pallets Unit performed better than expected. Hoping with my air induction system I'm building I can increase the boil rate to 4.5 gal/hr Boiled off 35 gallons of sap yesterday and got about 1/2 gallon of finish syrup A good digital thermometer is your best friend Shut it down at 7pm until next weekend....this is fun


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## begreen

Love fresh maple syrup. We used to get it right from Cream Hill Farm in Cornwall, CT. Always bought grade B or even C if possible. That's something I miss out here on the left coast.


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## jwalter04

Threw this evaporated together two seasons ago. Can do 150 gallons in a weekend if I start after work on Friday. Did about half that this weekend and ended up with a little under two gallons of syrup.


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## johnpma

jwalter04 said:


> Threw this evaporated together two seasons ago. Can do 150 gallons in a weekend if I start after work on Friday. Did about half that this weekend and ended up with a little under two gallons of syrup.


 Nice block arch....what are you burning for fuel to boil?


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## jwalter04

Burning all the uglies and short pieces from cutting and splitting firewood.


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## Warm_in_NH

Started early this year (compared to the last 2 years). Just got home from vacation in Honduras,  too much to do, not gonna do any taps this year. Wish we were, bit the time just isn't there. 
Up side is we have a lot left from last year!
Enjoy!


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## johnpma

Continuing to do small batch boils with this warm weather. The flow pan does a great job for this purpose allows near finish draw off while shutting the pan down with raw sap. It's cool watching the raw sap enter the pan from the pre-warmer and seeing near complete syrup in the last pan chamber

Did a hard boil last night and finished 3-12 oz. bottles of liquid gold The smooth buttery sensation over pancakes this morning makes all the hassle worth the effort  Oh and I found a use for the bucket ice


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## johnpma

Fat lady has sung......buds are out on the trees, and the warm temps have made preserving the sap difficult

Boiled 50 gallons Sunday and made a bit more than a gallon of sap. This last batch had a very high sugar content and when finished had a very smooth buttery taste.....

The barrel unit did very well. Time for her to go inside for next season into the pole barn.

Pulling the buckets and shutting down the tap lines On to gardening, and getting ready for next year's sap production that will be bigger  It's an addiction


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## begreen

Drool.


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## Ihalmiut

It's my most favorite time of year! It started out a bit on the depressing side with a couple of days in the low 70's already. Some of the silver's are already passed the point of no return, so we're pulling those too johnpma. We did 55 gallon's on Saturday, in our shorts and t-shirts, and it finished to 11 pints. An amazing mix of Silver, Red, Sugar, and Box Elder. I came within 2 minutes of burning it!! It's happened to me once before and I hate it when that happens. It did nicely make for a quick finish on the kitchen stove! But anyways, we moved here in late October and have our own trees again after 13 years of living in a place that was a blessing, except NO MAPLES! The weather forecast is looking favorable for a run of 4 or 5 days at the end of the week and in to next week.


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## johnpma

Hello All, Been away busy for a long time but thought I'd check in 

Our sugaring operation has grown to 85 taps this year. We also installed a Mason 2 X 3 evaporator, plumbed in an overhead gravity feed storage tank, and moved our operation into a 10 X 12 shed converted to a sugar shack. We had our first boil of the 2017 season last night and the new wood fired evaporator performed extremely well boiling 8 gph We will be finishing on a propane cooker before bottling in glass.

Hope everyone has a great sugar season


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