Mikeh
04-03-2011, 10:15 AM
Since this was my first year I figured I'd share what I learned, my plans and a few questions. Sorry for the long post but hopefully it helps another newbie out there. One thing I've had to work around is that my trees are 102 miles from my house so I have to collect sap all week and boil on the weekends. So far I've make 1.25 gallons on 6 taps.
I'm using tree saver taps and 3/8 ID vinyl tubing running under the partially snapped down lid of 5 gallon bakery pails. I drilled the holes low on the trees which meant shallow tubing slopes. One weekend the sap was flowing but it was 32 degrees out so the sap would freeze in the tubing:o. Also sap has enough surface tension that it will hang up at the end of the tube (in the pail) and freeze there. My solution is to cut the 3/8 tubing an inch or two below the tap and run 5/8" tubing from there on (coupled together with electrical tape). I think that will prevent hanging up and hopefully help with freezing. Plus I'll drill higher on the tree next time for steeper runs.
I packed a snow volcano around my yellow pails (next time I'm getting white ones) for insulation. And I laid a 2x2' piece of 1/2" foil sided styrofoam against the snow on the SW side to keep the snow cold. After a week of 40-45 deg highs and upper 20 lows, i had a bit of ice in one bucket at 5PM Fri.
Despite a couple weeks with highs from 50-55, I didn't have any sap spoil in the pails. The season is coming to a close so I'll see if anything spoils this week since I've heard they spoil faster later in the season.
I boiled on a block arch using two full size steam pans. They seem to hold about 8 gallons pretty nicely. I've tried adding sap slowly thoughout the boil and I also tried just pouring in 2 gal of cold sap every once in a while. I got better evap rates by pouring in 2 gal increments and the syrup was lighter. I was able to sit back and really let the fire blaze. I got around 4-5 gal/hr. When the two pans were gettting to 1" deep I'd lift one off, let it cool for a few minutes and pour into the next. If I didn't wait, I'd burn syrup as it pours over the hot metal on the side of the pan. In use, the foam still burns and the pans are pretty ugly right now. I definately have dark syrup but it tastes good.
In the photo you can see how I added drawer pulls to the pans to lift them easier. The chimney on the left is the real one, I didn't get a chance to try the one on the right. The bent sheet metal on the front lets the heat get up around the first pan and definately helps it boil better.
I used pine/cedar paneling scraps and also some very dry pine firewood (split to wrist/arm size). We used about half a face cord of wood so far.
I found that you can finish 30-40 gallons worth of sap in a steam pan. Any less and you risk burning. For smaller boils I finished it on a Coleman camp stove. I got a hydrometer for Christmas and I couldn't imagine being without it. It cost $12 from Sugarbushsupplies.com so cost shouldn't be a reason to be without one.
Filtering sucks. Coffee filters really really suck. Orlon and prefilters are better but they still kinda suck. Next year I need to come up with a way to hold them over the pot and keep a lid on (per other threads).
I got 1/2 pt and 1 pt bottles from Anderson's Maple Syrup (along with filters and other misc) and the price was good and they were here in 2 days. It's nice to give away syrup to family when it's in a pretty bottle vs. a mason jar.
Next year it will be 15-20 taps, a longer block arch and four steam pans. I'm going to build an angle iron assembly to rest on the blocks and hold the pans so they only stick 1" down into the flames. I hope that doesn't reduce my evap rates too much. The pan by the chimney really boils hard on the chimney side. If I'm really good I'll come up with a preheater so when i dump in the sap it won't kill the boil as hard. I'll probaby still be outside next year so i can fine tune the design before building a shack.
Ongoing issues/questions:
-The added trees I'll tap next year are 150+ yards from my evaporator. With 5 gal pails that's a bit much for carrying. I'm having trouble selling the missus on a 4 wheeler. I think I'll make a sled/cart that she can pull around to collect sap. Maybe then we can get a 4 wheeler:lol:
-I need to make a better filter holder arrangement
-I need to figure out how to sanitize the bottles before filling. Boiling with our well water gets mineral deposits on the bottles. I'm not sure if I have to sanitize them but it seems like it should be done?
-I need to make a better chimney for the arch. Cinder blocks were cracking and looked a bit precarious.
This site rocks!
I'm using tree saver taps and 3/8 ID vinyl tubing running under the partially snapped down lid of 5 gallon bakery pails. I drilled the holes low on the trees which meant shallow tubing slopes. One weekend the sap was flowing but it was 32 degrees out so the sap would freeze in the tubing:o. Also sap has enough surface tension that it will hang up at the end of the tube (in the pail) and freeze there. My solution is to cut the 3/8 tubing an inch or two below the tap and run 5/8" tubing from there on (coupled together with electrical tape). I think that will prevent hanging up and hopefully help with freezing. Plus I'll drill higher on the tree next time for steeper runs.
I packed a snow volcano around my yellow pails (next time I'm getting white ones) for insulation. And I laid a 2x2' piece of 1/2" foil sided styrofoam against the snow on the SW side to keep the snow cold. After a week of 40-45 deg highs and upper 20 lows, i had a bit of ice in one bucket at 5PM Fri.
Despite a couple weeks with highs from 50-55, I didn't have any sap spoil in the pails. The season is coming to a close so I'll see if anything spoils this week since I've heard they spoil faster later in the season.
I boiled on a block arch using two full size steam pans. They seem to hold about 8 gallons pretty nicely. I've tried adding sap slowly thoughout the boil and I also tried just pouring in 2 gal of cold sap every once in a while. I got better evap rates by pouring in 2 gal increments and the syrup was lighter. I was able to sit back and really let the fire blaze. I got around 4-5 gal/hr. When the two pans were gettting to 1" deep I'd lift one off, let it cool for a few minutes and pour into the next. If I didn't wait, I'd burn syrup as it pours over the hot metal on the side of the pan. In use, the foam still burns and the pans are pretty ugly right now. I definately have dark syrup but it tastes good.
In the photo you can see how I added drawer pulls to the pans to lift them easier. The chimney on the left is the real one, I didn't get a chance to try the one on the right. The bent sheet metal on the front lets the heat get up around the first pan and definately helps it boil better.
I used pine/cedar paneling scraps and also some very dry pine firewood (split to wrist/arm size). We used about half a face cord of wood so far.
I found that you can finish 30-40 gallons worth of sap in a steam pan. Any less and you risk burning. For smaller boils I finished it on a Coleman camp stove. I got a hydrometer for Christmas and I couldn't imagine being without it. It cost $12 from Sugarbushsupplies.com so cost shouldn't be a reason to be without one.
Filtering sucks. Coffee filters really really suck. Orlon and prefilters are better but they still kinda suck. Next year I need to come up with a way to hold them over the pot and keep a lid on (per other threads).
I got 1/2 pt and 1 pt bottles from Anderson's Maple Syrup (along with filters and other misc) and the price was good and they were here in 2 days. It's nice to give away syrup to family when it's in a pretty bottle vs. a mason jar.
Next year it will be 15-20 taps, a longer block arch and four steam pans. I'm going to build an angle iron assembly to rest on the blocks and hold the pans so they only stick 1" down into the flames. I hope that doesn't reduce my evap rates too much. The pan by the chimney really boils hard on the chimney side. If I'm really good I'll come up with a preheater so when i dump in the sap it won't kill the boil as hard. I'll probaby still be outside next year so i can fine tune the design before building a shack.
Ongoing issues/questions:
-The added trees I'll tap next year are 150+ yards from my evaporator. With 5 gal pails that's a bit much for carrying. I'm having trouble selling the missus on a 4 wheeler. I think I'll make a sled/cart that she can pull around to collect sap. Maybe then we can get a 4 wheeler:lol:
-I need to make a better filter holder arrangement
-I need to figure out how to sanitize the bottles before filling. Boiling with our well water gets mineral deposits on the bottles. I'm not sure if I have to sanitize them but it seems like it should be done?
-I need to make a better chimney for the arch. Cinder blocks were cracking and looked a bit precarious.
This site rocks!