Need Lots of Information

[new_n_ky]

Hello, Everyone,
I'm the new guy in this usergroup. I live on about 20 acres in South Central Kentucky and have recently retired. In taking inventory of the assets of the new farm, I discovered that I have about 60 maples of tapping size, with about 50 being sugar maples. Since I want to try a lot of new things here in my second childhood (pastured poultry, greenhouse, organic garden, bees, etc.), I decided to start by trying to make maple syrup. Mind you, I have never even seen a sugaring operation and know of no one in this area or in my native East Tennessee who does this. I guess what I'm asking is whether it is feasible in this area. My son-in-law is willing to build a stainless pan for me. What I envision is a 2' by 2' pan about 8" deep. My heat source would be an apartment-size propane range that I could set up outside. This would give me 30-35,000 BTU's. Would this be enough heat? If so, what would be the estimated evaporation rate? Should the pan have dividers? I wouldn't want to boil more than 3 days each week, so approximately how many taps should I have? Most of the trees are tall with small crowns. I don't want this to be a commercial operation, just to make enough for family and a lot of friends. I know that I have asked a lot of questions, but any help or advice that you can give me is appreciated.
Thanks,
Gill Jessee

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Gill,

The first thing I would suggest since you are retired and it is getting winter, is to spend about a week on this website and read every post on it. By the time you finish, you will know a ton. There are also many members with websites in their signatures which have lots of pics of their operations which will help you a lot.

For starters, instead of building a pan, I would recommend you check out Bascoms. They have a lot of 24 x 72 cross flow syrup pans that are all stainless and used, but in very good condition and with proper care would outlast you or me. They already have at least 1 divider in them and outlets already welded on. You can build you a cinderblock arch to start with and by looking at the websites of some of the members, you can develop a lot of ideas. With 60 tapable trees, that could mean you have at least 100 to 120 taps or more. On a normal day with 100 taps, you could get a 100 gallon of sap. With a 2x2 pan that would mean about 20 to 25 hours to boil it down. With a 24 x 72 cross flow pan, good dry wood and some draft on your furnace, you could probably boil it down in about 6 or 7 hours once you get your setup perfected. Propane would be fine, but you would have a ton of money into it very quickly.

If you would like to drive up and spend a day with me, I live on the outskirts of Beckley, WV and I could show you more in a days time of hands on stuff.

Either way, good luck and keep the questions coming. Probably any question you could possibly have has already been answered, so I would recommend just taking several days and reading everything on this website.

The website address for Bascoms is : www.bascommaple.com

:D

[fk]

You have found the right place in this forum to get great trial and error info from some awesome maple people. I love this site for the great maple banter! Congrats on your retirement/second childhood! As far as a rig goes, I had an awesome barrel job once. Had a 2x2 flat pan with one divider. Draw off on one side. I used a large coffee can with a hole punked in the bottom to regulate my cold sap feed. It all sat on top of a horizontal barrel with the top 1/3rd cut off and it had some steel rails welded down the cut edge to allow the stainless 2x2 pan to sit on. Also, seems like one of those leader half pints would work awful nice for a 60 tap bush. Heck, 60 taps...that almost commerical level right off the bat! that could create alot of sap for a hobby person. I wouldnt get a rig too small. There seems to be quite a few of those hobby rigs available used-especially of late. A few are listed in here in the posts. Have fun and welcome.... :D
Frank Kneeland

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[sweetwoodmaple]

Gill,

As with the rest of us, I'm sure you'll be addicted to typing here in no time.

I have assembled quite a few links on my web site that you might find interesting. www.sweetwoodmaple.com/sugaring_links.htm

These include an on line version of the NA maple producers manual. Kind of a pain to look at on line, so it's worth the $10 to have the real version. Plus, you would miss the fun of getting the pages sticky when trying to look things up while doing syrup. :D

Good Luck sugaring this year. I hope it's a good season for all of us...

[mapleman3]

Gill, Welcome
Alsp take a look at my website, I have many of the Mapletraders operations on my site, look in Sugarhouses around New England and enjoy the many different ways to have a setup


www.desjardinsmaple.com

[MASSEY JACK]

Gill, everyone seems to be getting technical on you. You need to get your hands on the book "Backyard Sugarin". It is a small book and is easy reading with lots of pictures. It is a great place to start. If that hooks you, then you can take it from there. Most dealers like the Mapleguys or Bascoms have the book.

[DougM]

Gill,

To answer one of your original questions, yes it is feasible in your area. My grandfather sugared in the Knoxville, TN area for years, and still would if he were able.

He even talked a maintenance guy at the nursing home he is in into tapping a single tree last year, and my aunt managed to make him a little syrup from that.

You'll just be starting earlier than everyone else.

[Sugarmaker]

Gill,
Welcome, Seems like as far south as you are you will need to really watch the weather for that first thaw and warm spell. You may need to tap in early January? As several folks mentioned, that If you get into this and have a good run of sap on a small rig you could be boiling for hours. I have a friend using a barrel stove and taps about 10 taps. He was spending the same time boiling as me with 400 taps and having just as much fun. Start small but give your self room to expand. This hobby is a bit addictive. Gill what city are you near? The company I work for has a plant in Bowling Green from a weather stand point they are usually out playing golf when we are getting ready to tap in Mid Feb.

Chris

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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