max taps on a 2x6

[cadocter]

I was wondering how many taps a person could run on a 2x6 raised flue woodfired. My neighbor told me he used to tap 650 on a 2x6. I've seen factory recommendations between 150 and 450. Has anyone ever run more than that without an RO or steamaway?

[500592]

There is a place in Maine that runs 2500 on one but they do have an ro

[PapaSmiff]

I'm building my 2x6 this summer and have been reading a lot about this topic. It really depends how many GPH you will get out of your evaporator, (which is usually related to your pan - flat pan or flue. You also have to determine how long you plan to boil each day.

You can plan on one gallon of sap per tap per day, on a good day - maybe more. I think the rule-of-thumb is 1.5 GPH per square foot, on a flat pan. So most 2x6 should get 18 GPH on a flat pan without Air over fire or Air under Fire. So if you can boil for 8 hours, 18 GPH, that's 144 gallons per day or 144 taps.

If you get better output than 18 GPH or you can boil longer, then you can have more taps. But be prepared for some long days and nights.

Does that sound about right, Traders?

I'm planning on building both AUF and AOF into my arch. So even with a flat pan, I'm hoping to get 20 GPH or better. But I'm also not going to boil for 8 hours every day, since this is a part-time thing for me. So I'm planning on starting with 100 taps to 150 taps (200 max) until I get an RO or go with a bigger evaporator.

[500592]

With a flue pan and or a preheater you could get much more

[red maples]

650 taps so with my 2x6 averages about 36-38 gallons an hour stock rig no extras, no ro.

650 gallons a day. 650gsap/37gph=17.5 hours of boiling for every day you get 650 gallons. I like boiling but I don't think I could do it. need helpers but I guess you could do it in shifts. that doesn't include washing equipment, collecting if you need to, canning, hauling wood. etc etc etc. oh yeah and sleep. in there somewhere too.

unless you have help and can do it in shifts I wouldn't recommend anymore than 350-400 or so by your self on a stock rig w/o and ro. and if someone doesn't show up for a shift of boiling your boiling for many hours by your self.

just my 10 cents

[Thad Blaisdell]

RO to 20%--- 4 gallons to make a gallon at evaporation of 40 gph you will be making 10 gallons of syrup per hour.... that would be quite respectful.

650 taps = 650 gallons of sap. Say 2% You now have 65 gallons of concentrate. You will be boiling for about 2 hours. (plus the start up time and clean up).

So this will save you 14-15 hours per day of boiling. This will allow you to work another full time job to pay for the RO and still have extra time. At 6 weeks of sugaring you will be able to work 240 hours. At $20 per hour you will make $4800. That is almost enough to buy a good used 250 gph RO or go 2 years and you can buy a 600 gph. The best part is it is all tax deductible. You will also be able to sell most of your wood as you wont need it, again that will help pay for the RO. And if you dont buy the steamaway that money can go toward it.

Do you think that I believe in an RO.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Do you think that I believe in an RO.

but the maple flavor just isn't there:D:D JK Thad, I would lke to do a taste test of my own and see how it goes.

[3rdgen.maple]

I was wondering how many taps a person could run on a 2x6 raised flue woodfired. My neighbor told me he used to tap 650 on a 2x6. I've seen factory recommendations between 150 and 450. Has anyone ever run more than that without an RO or steamaway?

Well theres this idiot out there in Altmar somewhere, Oh wait thats me. To answer your question 2 years ago If memory recalls I was close to 800. It wasnt the boiling that was killing me it was the collecting. I took 400 buckets offline and put up 200 taps on vac and 400 on buckets last season. I have no RO or stemaway. I will say that you have to consider that you are not going to get a gallon a tap or more everyday and I know here I might get a 6 real banner runs a season and the rest are just moderate ones. So there is about 6 or 7 days out of the season Im in way deep and have had the evaporator boiling non stop for a couple days at a time. This is when my dad comes and helps and He will boil between my naps and once he even boiled through the night when I slept through the alarm clock. It is alot of work but I wont have it any other way. I love hard work and love the challenge and most of all love the syrup when its all done. I will say that 200 taps on vac will outperform hands down 400 taps on buckets. Last year I reached my limits on the 2x6 and have an upgrade to a 3x12 for 2013. And dont ask me why but my plans are to drop down to 150 buckets and adding another 250 on vac. That will still keep me at 600 with all the mains run for another 600 plus for when the new rig arrives. So 450 on vac and 150 on buckets for 2012 and hoping to have a steamaway made for the 2x6 or Im in real deep sap. Like Patheron says you GOT TO WANT IT.

[Russell Lampron]

I wouldn't tap more than 350 with a stock 2x6. Add air under and over the fire and you may be able to do up to 500 taps. Either way it will be a lot of boiling time and you will use a lot of wood.

As you can see in my signature I have a 2x6 and an RO and Chumlee the syrup still taste just as good as syrup made without an RO. Like Thad I am a firm believer in RO. I have had mine since 2004 and have never regretted making the purchase. Save your pennies and go with the 600 gph RO. That is what I am planning to do when I upgrade and then double the number of taps that I have.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

.

Chumlee the syrup still taste just as good as syrup made without an RO.

well experiance really does walk the walk and you guys are starting to get me to believe, just would like my own taste test.

[brookledge]

You have the info you need Now all you need to do is decide How many hours you can devote to boiling and that will determine your capacity. Is there anyone near you that you could either sell or give extra sap to if you can't keep up? I know some producers will over tap their capacity and on poor days they can keep up and on good days they sell the extra sap and then use that money to go towards upgradeing
Keith

[Monster Maples]

well experiance really does walk the walk and you guys are starting to get me to believe, just would like my own taste test.

You just want FREE syrup!!!!:lol:

[BryanEx]

but the maple flavor just isn't there
An awful lot of syrup wins in competitions that has been run through an RO and those competitions are based heavily on taste. I can't say as I like the idea of using a RO but at the same time, from a business and final product standpoint, I can't argue against it either. It works and it works very well.

[xyz5150]

The problem i have with estimating 1 gallon per tap is for me it always seams like i get a run of 2 gallons + per tap for about 3-4 days straight and the temps go into the 50's and 60's and its a killer to keep up. Over 300 taps on a 2x6 without a ro for me would mean a lot of spoiled sap at the end of a good run.

[heus]

We did 331 taps on buckets with our 2x6 this past season and made 127 gallons. I was the only one boiling and there were many long (12-16 hours, with full time job) boiling sessions. This year I will train my dad to run the evaporator so he can boil when I am at school. Tubing on vac hopefully this coming season.

[3rdgen.maple]

We did 331 taps on buckets with our 2x6 this past season and made 127 gallons. I was the only one boiling and there were many long (12-16 hours, with full time job) boiling sessions. This year I will train my dad to run the evaporator so he can boil when I am at school. Tubing on vac hopefully this coming season.

Hues that is a nice number of gallons of 331 taps. .38 gallons a tap on buckets. I want some of those trees. They are going to explode when you get them on vac.

[spud]

[QUOTE=Thad Blaisdell;158117]RO to 20%--- 4 gallons to make a gallon at evaporation of 40 gph you will be making 10 gallons of syrup per hour.... that would be quite respectful.

650 taps = 650 gallons of sap. Say 2% You now have 65 gallons of concentrate. You will be boiling for about 2 hours. (plus the start up time and clean up).

Thad,

If i had a 600 GPH Ro how many passes would i have to do to get it to 20%? If i had 2000-3000 taps on high vac what size Rig should i be looking to buy? I don't mind spending 6-8 hours a day boiling but that would be max and only on great runs. Thanks.

Spud

[Thad Blaisdell]

Thad,

If i had a 600 GPH Ro how many passes would i have to do to get it to 20%? If i had 2000-3000 taps on high vac what size Rig should i be looking to buy? I don't mind spending 6-8 hours a day boiling but that would be max and only on great runs. Thanks.

Spud

Spud... say 3000 taps... average run 3000 gallons. RO to 20 percent roughly 300 gallons of concentrate. For a 6 hour boil time you would only need to be able to evaporate 50 gallons per hour. I would want to evaporate a little faster and boil about 3 hours at most so that you can spend more time in the woods as well as sleeping.

Possible to do 2 passes but most likely 3 passes with a One post machine. A Two post machine could easily do it in 2 passes.

[spud]

So if i bought a 3x12 or 4x12 i should be fine. Those rigs are doing 95-115 GPH if it's a plane jane rig. On a one post RO what % would i get with a second pass? Do you draw off syrup or use a finisher? I would be setting up a one man show even know the kids say they want to help.

Spud

[red maples]

Well theres this idiot out there in Altmar somewhere, Oh wait thats me. To answer your question 2 years ago If memory recalls I was close to 800. It wasnt the boiling that was killing me it was the collecting. I took 400 buckets offline and put up 200 taps on vac and 400 on buckets last season. I have no RO or stemaway. I will say that you have to consider that you are not going to get a gallon a tap or more everyday and I know here I might get a 6 real banner runs a season and the rest are just moderate ones. So there is about 6 or 7 days out of the season Im in way deep and have had the evaporator boiling non stop for a couple days at a time. This is when my dad comes and helps and He will boil between my naps and once he even boiled through the night when I slept through the alarm clock. It is alot of work but I wont have it any other way. I love hard work and love the challenge and most of all love the syrup when its all done. I will say that 200 taps on vac will outperform hands down 400 taps on buckets. Last year I reached my limits on the 2x6 and have an upgrade to a 3x12 for 2013. And dont ask me why but my plans are to drop down to 150 buckets and adding another 250 on vac. That will still keep me at 600 with all the mains run for another 600 plus for when the new rig arrives. So 450 on vac and 150 on buckets for 2012 and hoping to have a steamaway made for the 2x6 or Im in real deep sap. Like Patheron says you GOT TO WANT IT.

Ha I had 6-7 days in a row with 1 gph and got to boil every day for 8 hrs just to keep up got 1 day rest and then it hit again for a few days. everyone says the best bang for the buck. Smaller rig w/ ro. If money was no object I would go for the smaller force 5 what was that? 2.5 x 10 or something with RO (spare $30k in my back pocket yeah sure)you would only have to fire it once every 1/2 hour. with concentrated sap save tons on wood time and energy. I see no difference in syrup flavors with or without RO. everyone's syrup has a different flavor even season to season I taste a differance in mine.

[Thad Blaisdell]

So if i bought a 3x12 or 4x12 i should be fine. Those rigs are doing 95-115 GPH if it's a plane jane rig. On a one post RO what % would i get with a second pass? Do you draw off syrup or use a finisher? I would be setting up a one man show even know the kids say they want to help.

Spud

With either of those rigs you would draw off syrup without a finisher. As far as a one post RO I dont really know as I have never used one. I would think you would be able to go to 8% easy enough on the first pass. Then to 20%. If you start with 2% to go to 8% you take out 75 % of the water. Then the jump to 20% isnt quite as steep. Without sharpening the pencil my guess would be 60% of the water. As always I preach using oil instead of wood. With this setup you are looking at about .25-.3 gallons of oil to make a gallon of syrup. Right now that would be less than a dollar. Easy cheesy

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

So if i bought a 3x12 or 4x12 i should be fine. Those rigs are doing 95-115 GPH if it's a plane jane rig. On a one post RO what % would i get with a second pass? Do you draw off syrup or use a finisher? I would be setting up a one man show even know the kids say they want to help.

Spud

im not sure what you mean by "one post" are you talking membranes?
One night Randy was running 13+% on one pass no problem on one membrane the second one wasn't turned on.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

You just want FREE syrup!!!!:lol:

ok will post up address so every one here can send me a free sample of their finished syrup so I can do my tatse test and I will see if Doc will help so It can't be said I skewed the results:lol::lol:

[500592]

Hey flatlander will it be a small sample of 1 us gallon

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Hey flatlander will it be a small sample of 1 us gallon

sure that would work

[Thad Blaisdell]

ok will post up address so every one here can send me a free sample of their finished syrup so I can do my tatse test and I will see if Doc will help so It can't be said I skewed the results:lol::lol:

I will send you some as long as you promise to drink it all..... (commercial unfiltered) YUM its the "best" syrup ever. OOPS you missed a drop

[500592]

Hey there's a catch you have to drink all the samples at once with no break

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Hey there's a catch you have to drink all the samples at once with no break

wooohooo hershey squirts here I come:lol:
all syrup donated must be of MA or DA and filtered(sorry Thad):D

[500592]

Hey flatlander once you taste Maine maple syrup you will be ashamed of Vermont syrup and one more thing our syrup is so good a cat could puke in it and it would still be the best:mrgreen::D

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Hey flatlander once you taste Maine maple syrup you will be ashamed of Vermont syrup and one more thing our syrup is so good a cat could puke in it and it would still be the best:mrgreen::D

rofl:lol::lol:

[cadocter]

You have the info you need Now all you need to do is decide How many hours you can devote to boiling and that will determine your capacity. Is there anyone near you that you could either sell or give extra sap to if you can't keep up? I know some producers will over tap their capacity and on poor days they can keep up and on good days they sell the extra sap and then use that money to go towards upgradeing
Keith

Yes I have a few bigger producers that I can sell my extra to. If I want to run say 500 taps without buying an RO (no offense to those who use them: too much trouble for an 18 yr. old) what would I need in terms of evaporators? Oh and what are some opinions on different brands of 2x6 evaporators?

[collinsmapleman2012]

Yes I have a few bigger producers that I can sell my extra to. If I want to run say 500 taps without buying an RO (no offense to those who use them: too much trouble for an 18 yr. old)

nonsense in 16 and i am reasonably confident that i could run an RO, i just might need to brush up on everything to make sure i can do it.

[Thad Blaisdell]

Hey flatlander once you taste Maine maple syrup you will be ashamed of Vermont syrup and one more thing our syrup is so good a cat could puke in it and it would still be the best:mrgreen::D

If you have to add cat puke to make your syrup taste better it would be ok by me, except that the law states nothing can be added... Sorry.:lol:

[500592]

If you have to add cat puke to make your syrup taste better it would be ok by me, except that the law states nothing can be added... Sorry.:lol:

Hahaha that was a good one thad:lol: