Puttin a damper on it

[sawyer40]

I'm in the process of putting in an oil fired 3x10 evaporator. This is going to be more of a hobbie for me but am wondering how any of you are going to make money when oil is 3 or 4.00 a gallon. I think my burner has a 5 gallon an hour nozzel (some one correct if i'm wrong) thats a cost of at least 15.00 a gallon for the syrup just in fuel :( . Any of you using oil will have to pass that cost of production along somehow. How much is a gallon of syrup going to be worth?How can you make any money? Fuel prices have really put a damper on things and it ain't over yet.

[Parker]

if you think your going to make any $ making syrup,,well your not..I cant see the price going up too much,,the big opperations have made huge investments and are ultra efficiant , I was at an opperation this summer where they R.O. the sap so much they said it only took a half a gallon of oil to make a gallon of syrup,,just like farming, it all about efficancy (If your in it to make a living) .most of the people that I know that burn oil also use an r.o. which makes a huge diffrance..Dont forget there is still a huge surplus of syrup in canada that was produced at much lower fuel prices,,.good luck,,,,Ill stick with wood,,,lots and lots of wood

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sawyer,

One thing I can say that will make you feel a ton better. If your evaporator has an oil arch, you should easily be able to make 2 gallons of syrup in an hour. If you get it really efficient, you may be able to reach 2.5 gallons per hour. This may require adding a hood and preheater to get to 2.5 gph, but just stock, you should be able to do around to gph. This would make it $ 7.50 a gallon instead of $ 15. :wink: :D

[sawyer40]

My evaporator has a preheater and hood. I'm in the process of setting up and i'm reroofing the building i'm setting up in and running the steam pipe and fuel stack through the roof.
I could see that this venture was about as profitable as the hay bussiness.Fuel prices are four times what they were three years ago and hay is still 3.00 a bale here. But what else would I do besides farming ,sawmill ,logging,firewood Oh boy i'm gonna be rich :roll:

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sawyer,

No time to get down on yourself. You just have to try to be a little more efficent. Your evaporator with a hood and preheater and the oil burner adjusted to burn efficiently should be able to make around 2.5 gph. Oil will likely come back down soon and if you can buy it for around $ 2.25 @ gallon, that would put your costs around $ 4.50 per gallon of syrup. Not bad since you should be able to sell if for at least $ 11 @ quart! :D

[RUSTYBUCKET]

Sawyer,

Just curious, what are the going prices for a cord of firewood these days? Someone told me the other day a cord was going for $200! I heat with wood but my supply comes from my own woods, $200 sounds high.

[mapleman3]

Russ read my post in sugarbush management on cord wood and price gouging. yep $200 a cord(128cu/ft) here in Ma. but as they say it's all reletive.. gas oil wood , it all goes up and down

[Mike]

I have a 3x10 oil fired w/preheater...I make around 2.5 gals an hour...The way to make a little more money is to sell in small containers.... Bottling in glass gets a good price also....A friend of mine makes close to a $100 a gal by doing this.....Your second option is to but a used RO....Should get you up to 6-8 gals an hour of syrup....

[sawyer40]

Firewood in a nearby town last I heard was 225.00 a cord and yes I think thats gouging things ain't that bad. But that town i'm talking about is a very ritzy rich high class town. I'm getting 150 in my town if I have to drive very far price goes up. I have a firewood processor and can't keep up with orders. I'm booked every day for over a month in advance for deliveries. I'll be out of wood by the end of november. I'm splittin 2 picker loads a week before and after work at the mill.I won't have any wood to do this spring so i'll be all fired up for maple season :D 8)

[Parker]

Do you think you could make your living at $150 a cord if you did not have a full time job?? Support a family, pay your taxes, pay to fix breakdowns?? What does diesel cost in N.J.,,,if you can make it for that more power to you,,I cant afford to......

[sawyer40]

A have a low cost in my wood. When I cut timber for logs for my mill I take the whole tree down to about 8". But to answer your question NO at 200 or even 250 per cord you could not make any kind of a decent living especialy in NJ were taxes and insurance kill you. But I don't want to loose the local customers within a couple miles of me so thats what I charge local but like I said the further I drive the more I get. If I were dependant on the firewood I would have lost the farm years ago. My brother and myself run other businesses. You can't put all your eggs in one basket today you have to do a number of things to keep money flowing.
Diesel is 289.9 here how much is it in your area?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

What is a cord of wood worth?? The easy answer is whatever someone is willing to pay for it! :D 8O

The biggest problem is people are so lazy anymore. Almost anyone can find access to fallen trees and cut their own wood. Most people choose not to, so it is there own loss. No, I don't have a truck either, so don't use that excuse. There are plenty of ways to get around it. I can cut and load a pickup load of wood in around an hour by myself under normal circumstances. You can buy a "good" saw like a Stihl or Husky for around $ 350 which is the perfect "firewood" size and with proper care, should last minimum of 10 years, but more like 20.

It is the same attitude as so many of these lazy good for nothing people in New Orleans have taken. They lived in project housing before this happened and didn't pay any taxes, and when something happens, they cry for Uncle Sam. God blesses those who help themselves and those idiots down there are a good example. They cry for help and then shoot at the ones that come and help them. They brought a bus load of them up here clear from New Orleans and put them up in a nearly new state of the art Natl guard training center and what did the pieces of trash do, they trashed the place and tore it up.

I know not everyone can help themselves and I help those kind of people quite often. I wouldn't mind going and cutting wood for someone who couldn't do it. It makes my blood boil when I think about how much of my paycheck goes to support "rats, trash and these other beuracrats".

Enough said, have a good day. 8O

[mapleman3]

I love fallen trees or branches...the place I work at has apartment complexes and commercial buildings all over.. now our landscape guys know when they take a tree down .. cut it to 4' lenths and I'll come for it, I go thru close to 7 cord for the house.. I try to heat with wood all year... summer too for the hot water(wood boiler)but finding all that plus 4-5 more cord for the sugarhouse if I stayed with wood would be tough. I take any wood I can get. and your right, a good saw and you go thru it in no time, now that I have gotten pretty good at sharpening my Husky, I "buzz" right thru!! now to get a splitter next year.

[Mike]

Off road diesel is around $2.35-$2.40 a gal here............

[Parker]

Just dropped to $2.48,,,WOW,,mabey Ill fire up the processor agine? 8O ,The killer is the $2.75 for the gas in the internationals....