How to stop collecting

[Trapper IV]

This is my 1st time making maple syrup. I have all the sap I need at this time. How do I stop th esap from flowing?

[mapleack]

If you're done for the season simply pull your taps out and walk away. As soon as warm weather stays for good the tap holes will dry up and begin the healing process. Nothing else to do.

[red maples]

nothing...pull your taps and let nature take it course.

[happy thoughts]

Turn off the faucet:lol:

Seriously, just pull the taps but if the season isn't over yet expect a lot of leakage from the taps until mother nature either seals the tap hole or tells the sap to stop running.

Why not just take what the good Lord gives you. Make some more and donate it to a church or fire hall for a pancake breakfast. Or find someone in your area who's still boiling and offer them the sap if they come and pick it up.

[Trapper IV]

The reason I am asking is that I don't have a place to keep the sap cool. I am new at this & only using a turkey fryer as my "evaporator" & it takes forever to cook it down.

[happy thoughts]

How much sap are you collecting daily? If you can't store it in the fridge you can freeze a couple of gallons in clean milk jugs and float those in your storage tank or whatever you're using. Some people use large, clean, sanitized food coolers. The interiors are food grade. Keeping it in a cold place outdoors with some frozen sap and a closed lid should help hold it.

If you're only getting a couple of gallons of sap a day then you might want to try what I do and what I'm sure sounds insane :o. But it works. Try concentrating the days collection in a couple of crock pots. I started doing that during last year's tsunami when I had more sap than I could handle at times and it's what I'm doing now a week into this season with only 2 taps. Nine quarts of sap started last night after dinner turned into 3 quarts by the time I got up this AM. Give that a quick boil on the stove to kill off whatever bacteria is still in there and then store the sweetened sap in the fridge. I use recycled gallon glass jars I get free from the deli. Then when you're ready to fire up the turkey fryer, you'll have a lot less sap to boil off until it's syrup. Should save a little time, at least. Money, too since running a crock pot is basically just like running a big light bulb. Your finished syrup will probably run dark though it should still taste great.

If you try this, a word of warning. Don't throw cold sap into a hot pot. You might crack the ceramic insert. Leave the lid on for the first hour on the high setting to help get the temp up quicker. My pots get the sap up to at least 155F once they're cooking. Remove the lid and keep on high. You won't see boiling, just steam evaporating. Also, now's the time to start planning for next year:)

Happy pancakes:)

[smokeyamber]

This is why everyone upgrades :lol: You could check around for someone who is boiling and give them the sap...

Usually I give up when I run out of wood, though last year I was dragging dead trees back to keep going...

[smokeyamber]

The boil a bit is a good idea, with wood fired I would fill my pans, stoke the fire and walk away. You could do the same with propane, just figure out your boil rate and set a timer and go do something else. With wood it's a bit harder to predict, but I would think with propane it would be predictable. Key as happythoughts says it to try and keep ahead of the supply.

[smokeyamber]

This is why everyone upgrades :lol: You could check around for someone who is boiling and give them the sap...

Usually I give up when I run out of wood, though last year I was dragging dead trees back to keep going...

[moeh1]

Make your morning coffee with it, or find a local homebrewer who wants to make some maple beer and trade....Lots of creative ideas for the leftovers.

[crawflyer]

as long as we are on the subject..I've read somewhere that if you want to stop a hole mid season just cut a small piece of 1/2 dowel and tap it in the hole. is this a good idea or should the hole be left open to seal on it's own?

[crawflyer]

Make your morning coffee with it, or find a local homebrewer who wants to make some maple beer and trade....Lots of creative ideas for the leftovers.
get a french press coffee maker and use some sap instead of water.

[Ausable]

[QUOTE=Trapper IV;176219]This is my 1st time making maple syrup. I have all the sap I need at this time. How do I stop th esap from flowing?[/QUOTE

Trapper - Welcome to Maple Trader. I know You are serious and the answers you have received to Your question are right on. But - Boy would I like to have Your problem - Smile -----Have all the Sap I need and I can't get it to stop........I would imagine a few years from now - when ya have a boil rolling on your giant evaporator and short of sap ---- You will remember the too much sap problem of 2012 and have a good laugh ----- Mike

[wiam]

as long as we are on the subject..I've read somewhere that if you want to stop a hole mid season just cut a small piece of 1/2 dowel and tap it in the hole. is this a good idea or should the hole be left open to seal on it's own?


Not a good idea.

[sugaringman85]

as long as we are on the subject..I've read somewhere that if you want to stop a hole mid season just cut a small piece of 1/2 dowel and tap it in the hole. is this a good idea or should the hole be left open to seal on it's own?

thats not a good idea. trees naturally heal themselves by compartmentalizing. meaning they heal over the wound not heal from the inside out like humans do. The best thing to do for any tree damage weather that be a tap hole or a pruning cut is to leave it alone. back in the day people used to paint over pruning cuts with tar or paint. Studies have shown that the paint or tar actually creates more decay because it holds the moisture on the fresh wound. Same thing with tap holes. Stuff inside of the hole inhibits the trees natural abilities to heal itself. Ever break a tap off and notice it takes a lot longer for the tree to heal over it compared to other holes that were drill years afterwards?

[CBOYER]

make nothing, sap goes back to the roots, minerals return where thet came.

[Trapper IV]

Thanks everyone, I now know more than I did. I am still collecting but I am afraid it may go bad before I get to cooking it down. I've read that you can't freeze the sap & in other places I've read that you can. Any thoughts on this?

[500592]

Yes you can freeze sap if you look early in the morning sometimes buckets will be froze solid.

[Ausable]

Thanks everyone, I now know more than I did. I am still collecting but I am afraid it may go bad before I get to cooking it down. I've read that you can't freeze the sap & in other places I've read that you can. Any thoughts on this?

Trapper - It is just like 500592 says -- It can freeze solid and still be good. I tapped some of my trees a bit early again and the 25 gallons I have so far is frozen solid in five gallon buckets in my sugar shack. I use 5 gallon buckets to store early sap - cause the are tapered and I can get the frozen stuff out to thaw for a boil. Try to keep Your sap as cold as possible and in the shade till You are ready to boil. If it get nasty-snotty-stringy looking dump it - If it just gets dark looking it will still ok to boil.... best of luck---Mike