# Anyone making maple syrup this year?



## BucksCoBernie (Jan 16, 2010)

I have about 7-8 maples on my property that I plan on tapping in March. 1st time trying it out. I know that sugar maples are preferred but I read that you can tap just about any type of maple for syrup, it just wont be as sweet.


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## porkie (Jan 16, 2010)

yes you can use red maple -soft maple to syrup make maple syrup sweetness will be about the same but where hard maple sap takes about 40 or 50 gals to make 1 gal of syrup useing other maples will take 60 to 70 gals of sap to make 1 gal of syrup so it takes more boiling and more energy to use other maples we made about 125 gals last year useing hard or sugar maples


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## freeburn (Jan 16, 2010)

I've got 6 silver maples on my property, they are huge. This will be my third year doing it. You bet I'm going to keep on doing it. You can still get your product just as sweet, just don't boil it down as far, less risk of it candying up on you too. I like mine  a little runny. I don't have a thermometer, so I boil mine until it foams up once, then bottle it. Tastes just as sweet, others say the same thing.


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## midwestcoast (Jan 18, 2010)

Great memories of syrup time from my childhood.  We'd put in 25-40 taps with a brace & bit, store sap in old milk cans & boil in a big (~3'x5') pan over a stone & mortar firebox (30-40cu ft?) in the tin "Sugar Shack"; Ussually got 10 or so gallons for the year. There's nothing like spending a weekend cutting & splitting wood and collecting sap in the first warm days of spring & tending the fire & pan in the Shack amid a cloud of sweet-smelling steam. Dang I miss that.
Got a half-dozen nice Silver (soft) Maples in my yard now, maybe I'll give it a shot for fun.  
Tips:
 Boiling sap in the house can leave some sticky residue in the kitchen if you don't have exhaust.  I've done it outdoors too, but you need to have a well-sheltered spot to keep-up a hard boil (a shed w chimney is best). 
Keep the heat low & a bit of cold sap handy when you're getting close to finishing-off the syrup, it can foam up & burn fast with too much heat.  I like mine a bit runny too (you get more that way!). 
Don't leave the raw sap sitting around long. It starts to sour after a day or so (less if it's warm). Syrup will keep for years in the fridge & forever if you freeze it (I've had 15 year old frozen syrup that tasted great). 
Oh, flies add flavor.
Do it & have fun.


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## BucksCoBernie (Feb 19, 2010)

well I waited too long to order metal taps and everyone has them on back order. I know the native americans made them out of wood so i did a little research and found someone who used 3/4" dowels and drilled 1/4" hole in the center. I picked up a 4' dowel rod at the hardware store for $1.50 and made (4) 3" taps so far. you have to widdle away about 1/4" or more in depth for the 1st inch or so. They came out well and I just came in from tapping my big maple out back.


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## BucksCoBernie (Feb 20, 2010)

here are my homemade taps. I still have more to make but I have a nasty blister on my palm.


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## ramonbow (Mar 2, 2010)

soooooo........dumb question time

do you pound the tap in all the way into the hole?  I have heard that you can use PVC pipe or copper tubing to make taps.  anyone ever tried this?  Will the tree drip sap from the outside of the tap?  We only have two maples on the property that i am aware of and they are too small to tap.  I may try out this taping business on a couple of boxelder tree just to see how it works this year.


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## Adios Pantalones (Mar 2, 2010)

My brother lives in the burbs and he and a neighbor are tapping everyone's trees (big silvers and some reds).  The boil it on a campfire in his yard (and drink beer).  Said it's the best he every had- probably partially due to B grade taste as well as the satisfaction of DIY stuff like that


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## BucksCoBernie (Mar 2, 2010)

Ramon Bow said:
			
		

> soooooo........dumb question time
> 
> do you pound the tap in all the way into the hole?  I have heard that you can use PVC pipe or copper tubing to make taps.  anyone ever tried this?  Will the tree drip sap from the outside of the tap?  We only have two maples on the property that i am aware of and they are too small to tap.  I may try out this taping business on a couple of boxelder tree just to see how it works this year.



I drilled about a 2" hole and the tap went about 1.5" in....I left room for "flow room"...i dont know if that was correct or not but its working for me. The tap is snug and I dont have any dripping around it. I wouldnt use PVC or anything plastic as I dont want any kind of chemical in the finished product. I dont use PVC in my garden either. Plus a 4' section of 3/4" dowel only cost $1.50. 

hope this helps


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## karri0n (Mar 3, 2010)

How much sap can you get out of one moderately sized tree?


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## BucksCoBernie (Mar 3, 2010)

karri0n said:
			
		

> How much sap can you get out of one moderately sized tree?



With 1 tree you could probably make a small single serving amount of syrup haha. It wouldnt be worth tapping or the effort to boil the sap. If you have some neighbors who might let you tap their trees then you'd be in business.


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## karri0n (Mar 3, 2010)

Oh, I have 5 acres of woods, and I'm certain some of them are maples. I was just wondering about how many trees I would need to tap to get something like your average bottle of syrup. Considering you can pay over 10 bux for 16 ounces of the stuff, I can see it as being a cost effective solution(and a great homeschool activity for the kids)


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## BucksCoBernie (Mar 3, 2010)

Oh I see what you're saying. I originally thought you had just 1 maple tree available to tap haha. You could probably tap about 5-7 trees and get enough sap to make a 12-16oz bottle of syrup. larger trees you can put 2-3 taps in.

http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/LifeInNewEngland-BackyardSugaring.html


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## vvvv (Mar 3, 2010)

Locally I've seen trees tapped & run into pex tubing so to collect the sap. the pex runs from tree to tree & its left there year round, I think.


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## taxidermist (Mar 4, 2010)

BLIMP said:
			
		

> Locally I've seen trees tapped & run into pex tubing so to collect the sap. the pex runs from tree to tree & its left there year round, I think.



What you are seeing is a setup that uses vaccume pumps to pull the sap to a collection site. The tube is left up year around but the spiles(taps) are removed each year.


Rob


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## dvellone (Mar 4, 2010)

I'm tapping just about 10 trees this year (one tap per tree). Just enough so it's not too much work and for a little homemade syrup. The kids have a lot of fun with it. I'd like to get into it a bit more but it's a big firewood hog without an efficient arch. We also live nearby a fairly large maple producing region and 40 bucks a gallon seems pretty cheap after you've boiled endlessly to finish with about a pint.


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## Tarmsolo60 (Mar 4, 2010)

I've tapped 10 trees for a few years now, this year I'm moving up to 40 taps and a line system. after maple season last year I bought a bigger pan so I think I can handle the increase.


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## Blevesque (Mar 4, 2010)

A good rule of thumb average would be 10 Gallons of sap, per tap, per year. And depending on sugar content 40-60 gallons of sap to a gallon of syrup. We boiled down 240 Gal. Saturday afternoon, and we will draw syrup off the next boil if the sap starts running again. We have 350 taps in this year and are hoping for 70 Gal. of syrup this year. Last year we made 62 Gal.


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## karri0n (Mar 4, 2010)

BRL said:
			
		

> A good rule of thumb average would be 10 Gallons of sap, per tap, per year. And depending on sugar content 40-60 gallons of sap to a gallon of syrup. We boiled down 240 Gal. Saturday afternoon, and we will draw syrup off the next boil if the sap starts running again. We have 350 taps in this year and are hoping for 70 Gal. of syrup this year. Last year we made 62 Gal.




You must really like pancakes...


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## dvellone (Mar 4, 2010)

...and maple popcorn!


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## midwestcoast (Mar 5, 2010)

Ramon Bow said:
			
		

> soooooo........dumb question time
> 
> do you pound the tap in all the way into the hole?  I have heard that you can use PVC pipe or copper tubing to make taps.  anyone ever tried this?  Will the tree drip sap from the outside of the tap?  We only have two maples on the property that i am aware of and they are too small to tap.  I may try out this taping business on a couple of boxelder tree just to see how it works this year.



Hammer the tap in only until it's good & snug.
I've used copper tube as a tap & it works, but with no taper it's tougher to get a tight fit & sap can leak around the outside. That happens with manufactured taps sometimes as well.


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## basswidow (Mar 5, 2010)

Do you pull sap all year for collection or it is a spring time thing when the sap rises?  Seems like a pain to boil it down so much.   A bottle of Mrs. Butterworths is like a $ 1.50. (teasing) Lasts a long time in my house.  Actually - I think it sounds like a fun project - something my kids might enjoy.  A neighbor does it up in a local park.  He has 40 tapped and on pex lines to a central collection area.  He was going to check on things after the 2-3 feet of snow we got.


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## Deere10 (Mar 6, 2010)

I help a couple of friends who do Syrup.They tap near 100 trees,use a line system to an old milk bulk tank for storage,that gravity feeds the Boiler plate system. We actully throw some hot dogs into the first section of the boiler,when the kids get hungry. Well you gotta call them Maple Dogs. After enuff adult beverages we are eating those Maple Dogs just like they are snacks. Best Damn Maple Dogs I ever had..   We end up with approx 70 to 80 gals of syrup.  Its a very long month of March and early April depending on temps. But always a good time doing syrup...


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