ice in sap

[irisrhblood70]

I have a question does anyone if the ice in the sap storage tanks hold any sugar? or would i save evaporator time by removing it

[valleyman]

I'm a weekend boliler, so I keep the ice in my sap storage barrel to keep the sap cold. Come boiling day I remove it. What I have learned from the maple trader folks is it's just about all, if not all water.

[Jeff E]

Tested some last year with the refractometer.
The unfrozen sap was at 5% sugar, and the ice, when melted had 1% sugar.
About 1/3 by volume had been frozen. We kept the ice, as it kept sap cold, and we run an RO.
If I was pressed for time, I would toss the ice out.

[Springfield Acer]

I just did my own test and found the sugar to be 4.5% in the unfrozen liquid and when I melted the remaining ice it tested a zero%.
From now on, I will not save the ice other than to keep the sap cold.