Complete Newb Question

[frjeff]

I will have a very small volume of sap this first year (next Spring) as I only have four taps possible on my property. So, I am contemplating doing my boiling on a propane cooker such as used for turkey frying.

I already have a 6" high full size Vollrath steam table pan for my "evaporator".

Is there any minimum PSI or BTU's necessary for this? I see the cookers advertised with varying numbers. Or, will any propane turkey fryer work?

I have a 12x28 lean to on the back of my man cave to use as my "shack". I ordered some used alum. pails, spiles and covers off Ebay. So, I'm nearly ready.

Anxious!

[Ausable]

I will have a very small volume of sap this first year (next Spring) as I only have four taps possible on my property. So, I am contemplating doing my boiling on a propane cooker such as used for turkey frying.

I already have a 6" high full size Vollrath steam table pan for my "evaporator".

Is there any minimum PSI or BTU's necessary for this? I see the cookers advertised with varying numbers. Or, will any propane turkey fryer work?

I have a 12x28 lean to on the back of my man cave to use as my "shack". I ordered some used alum. pails, spiles and covers off Ebay. So, I'm nearly ready.

Anxious!

Hey Jeff - Welcome aboard. For the amount of sap You are talking about - The Turkey Fryer Burner and the Steam Table Pan should work just fine. There are a lot of little odds and ends You will need to pickup - but - what you need will become obvious when you do your first boil. You will need something to store and collect sap in - pickup some four and five gallons buckets with lids from a bakery that had say pie filling or other food product in them - they usually are free - but - you will have to clean them up. Also - to filter debris from your sap - a square of cotton or muslin material attached with cloths pins or clips to a five gallon bucket makes a good filter for this. --- there is much more to make the job easier --- but - as you check out this site and ask questions it will all come together... Don't be overwhelmed by all the chatter from the big producers - they are doing the same thing we are - boiling about forty gallons of maple sap down to a gallon of maple syrup - except they are doing it on a much much grander scale and need bigger stuff to do it with...... Great bunch of Guys and Gals on this site and they will help you with your questions --- except don't take a little kidding personal - cause it is all part of sugarin ----

[maple flats]

If you boil sap from 4 taps you had better start drawing up plans for a sugarhouse. Once you make the nector of the Gods, you will be hooked for life. You will soon need a hobby size evaporator and then a 2x6, then a 3x8 and on and on.
Welcome to our addiction. The only addiction that has nor needs no cure.

[Haynes Forest Products]

frjeff Welcome, When you use the burner wind will blow the heat away so a wind shield is a good idea. Getting the heat to the pan and keeping it there is key. Now if you enclose the wind shield to tight at the top the flame will flame out due to oxygen deprivation. Plus test test and test. Having the rig fine tunes using water is you best strategy.

I don't buy the 4 taps........yea you don't have any friends:rolleyes: As soon as you start and the word gets out what your doing your toast........in a good way. Ill bet your up to 25 taps within the first week..NO days and will be turning away trees.

[Dennis H.]

Find your self a good thermometer. You will need this to finish your syrup. And when you get the extra cash a hydrometer.

Are your trees yard trees? If they are the should produce more than trees out in the woods, they have a larger canopy. So you may get more sap than expected.

You will need to find a way to filter your syrup when it is done. The cheap way is to put your syrup into mason jars and wait, all the sugars and will settle to the bottom and nice clear syrup will be at the top. Using coffee filters work also but a little slow. If you are going to filter do it when the syrup is hot.

Good luck and keep the questions coming.

[KenWP]

How come your guys get a man cave.I am lucky to get a man anything.

[BryanEx]

Is there any minimum PSI or BTU's necessary for this? I see the cookers advertised with varying numbers. Or, will any propane turkey fryer work?
Any turkey fryer will work but the more BTU's you have under your pan the faster you will boil. Think of it like horsepower in a car. The red welded propane burners are usually running around 60~65,000 BTU to give you a comparison to regular turkey fryers. With 4 taps you will be okay but if you approach 10 or more be sure to have two propane tanks so you can switch them out as they ice up. At 65,000 BTU you will be drawing more propane than a BBQ tank can handle over a longer period and they will freeze up reducing your boil rate.

[Ausable]

How come your guys get a man cave.I am lucky to get a man anything.

LOL - I keep my Sugar Shack locked and the only key in my pocket. Or - it would become another Hobby on Hold storage area - Full of totes filled with yarn, material, baskets etc. ---- Also - It makes a good dog house - I can cook in there and stay warm and put a plywood cover on the evaporator to hold my sleeping bag and possibly me -- lol -- Actually - the Sugar Shack is a Man Cave in camo.

[3rdgen.maple]

How come your guys get a man cave.I am lucky to get a man anything.

Well Ken when you wear the pants in the house you can have a man cave or 2. I have my sugarhouse, my garage, my workshop, hunting camp and my hunting, fishing, flytying, deer mounts and fish mount display room. Oh yeah I got the cellar too. Heck some nights I have the couch to myself as well:rolleyes:
Now back to the thread. Im not going to bash the turkey fryer thing too much cause I realize some guys just got to do what they got to do but I always wondered why they dont setup a small block arch and fire it with wood with their pan setting on top. With the cost of fuel these days I cant see how anyone could afford to make a few gallons of syrup with a turkey fryer. I also think by the time you pay for all that propane you could have a good amount of money you could put towards a used halfpint or a custom made small arch of sorts. Im going to take a swing at this so dont beat me up guys. A turkey fryer with the gas valve wide open to get max heat would last what 8 to 10 hours, If you got semi sweet sap and had a ratio of 50 to 1 what is one going to boil at 2gph, so to get that 50 down to one your looking at 25 hours of boiling, that would be 2 1/2 tanks of propane at almost 20 dollars a fill here you just killed 50 bucks. Heck just order some syrup from me instead:D. Okay so after my redneck math It might not be as bad as I thought if your only putting up a gallon or so. Any more than that I would consider another heat source.

[Ausable]

I will have a very small volume of sap this first year (next Spring) as I only have four taps possible on my property. So, I am contemplating doing my boiling on a propane cooker such as used for turkey frying.

I already have a 6" high full size Vollrath steam table pan for my "evaporator".

Is there any minimum PSI or BTU's necessary for this? I see the cookers advertised with varying numbers. Or, will any propane turkey fryer work?

I have a 12x28 lean to on the back of my man cave to use as my "shack". I ordered some used alum. pails, spiles and covers off Ebay. So, I'm nearly ready.

Anxious!

So Jeff -- Now You have a couple of years under Your belt. You are hooked on Sugarin and now are tapping 50 to a 100 trees and have advanced on to a larger more efficient arch and pans.......... Hold on to your Turker fryer burner and steam pan cause they work great to finish your near syrup on. I have a steam pan with a valve on the end - center - towards the bottom.... that I finish syrup on and use the valve to draw off samples to a test cup to test with a syrup hydrometer -- works great -- for now. Point is this - as you get larger and you will - don't be to quick to cast off your old syrup making gear - you might adapt another use for it or get another Newbie started.......

[BryanEx]

Okay so after my redneck math It might not be as bad as I thought if your only putting up a gallon or so. Any more than that I would consider another heat source.

My math my first year worked out like this...

Single 65,000 BTU burner with a rented 100 lbs propane tank, 16 1/2" wide pot, and 3.2% sap cost me $12.50/liter to produce plus packaging. I sold each liter for $20 and sold out. I was "bucks up" but not by much. It did pay for a hobby I would have been doing anyway with the added convenience of instant on - instant off on the deck near the beer fridge which was especially helpful weeknights after work. Recommended from a business standpoint? No. Recommended for someone getting started and wanting to have some fun with it while learning? Yep.

- Bryan

[maple flats]

With a propane fired turkey frier you are better off just enjoying the syrup and not calculating any profits. If any they will be slim. As you get a little bigger propane can be more cost effective. The difference is in the lost heat out the side. With an evaporator the sides are sealed to minimize loss. At this point in your production don't count the cost of fuel nor your time. It is just a hobby. As you begin to grow that is when you begin to use some of the costs and when you get bigger than I am you might consider calculating a few more expenses. If you start calculating costs too early in the game , you get discouraged.

[SDdave]

Recommended for someone getting started and wanting to have some fun with it while learning? Yep.

- Bryan

My fun last year (propane costs for 8 gallons syrup) was $4.75 an hour. Now if you count the beer...