cost involved ?

[John Burton]

currious , on an ro what are the realistic costs to set one up for a 1000 tap operation . everyone talks about how much they save time on boiling and making your operation more efficent. Now that being said what do you have to spend to set up run and maintain this equipment,I.E. membrane life and replacement .soaps, pumps additional costs. Sometimes it seems as though that cost in th catalog is just that tip of the iceberg. I dont know anyone with one so I am just trying to begin to get an understanding so when it may be time i wont be so in the dark.

[mountainvan]

john, this is only my second year with an ro, so my cost should be kinda on. 250gal/hr ro $8,500... plastic tanks for sap and permeate $700... super insulated ro shed $800... fittings/etc $200... electricity for ro last year $50... grand kinda total $10,250!! On the plus side I did not have to but a 4x14 rig, build a bigger saphouse, or cut 20 cords of wood for just sugaring. In the long run I think I made the right choice, short term is a bit tougher, but being a "real" farmer with all the tax stuff I'll make out ok. Won't become rich, but will stay happy.

[Russell Lampron]

John, this is also my second season with an RO machine. I paid $5000 for mine which is a 150gph machine. I also had about $1500 in other expenses to get my sugarhouse set up for it. The only things I had to buy for this season were pre filters and soap, both relativly inexpensive. The membrane should last 10 to 15 years with proper care and I have heard of other producers that have used them longer.

I don't know how many taps you have now but 1000 would be alot for a 2x6 with an RO machine. It would kind of be like doing 250 to 350 taps now. You would still be spending alot of time boiling. I have a 2x6 evaporator and had about 600 taps last year and cut my boiling time way down and used alot less wood.

Russ

[brookledge]

On page 20 of the 2006 Leader catolog there is a section on R.O cost analysis. You can look at it to see if it would help you. Take it for what its worth.
Keith

[John Burton]

at this point I am just thinking out loud. you know kinda curriousabout how the bigger guys do it . someday maybe a 3x8 who knows, if you nailed one of my feet down id spin right into the ground.

[maplwrks]

John,
I look at it this way. At best, with raw sap, that I can produce in an hour is 2 - 2.5 gallons of syrup with 3.5 gallons of fuel. With RO, I can produce 15-18 gallons of syrup an hour with same 3.5 gallons of fuel! It would take me 24.5 gallons of fuel, and 7 hours of boiling to make the same 15 gallons of syrup.With fuel oil being 2 bucks+ a gallon, it doesn't take long for them to start paying for themselves. Another thing to look at is, the USDA has an energy efficiency grant that could pay for up to 25% of the purchase price of a new RO. A lot of paperwork, but worth it in the long run.