Newbie low budget set up

[cjric]

I'm having fun, and have just over 1/2 gallon of syrup to show for it. Boil is taking alot longer than anticipated, but oh well, work is slow so I have plenty of time.
12 taps in 6 Norways is giving me 5-6 gallons a day.
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Storing in the basement fridge and boiling once a week.
Boiling in 2 borrowed hotel pans on a borrowed all night wood stove sitting on my deck.
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Using free pallet wood from a company down the road.
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So far I've been rewarded w/ 76 oz of gold from roughly 50 gallons of sap.
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I'm helping out on a small farm and will be taking over the sugar operation there next year. Will be building a new shack this summer and setting up to tap 50-60 trees in about an acre sugar bush.

[PerryW]

that's some nice looking syrup. Looks like fancy to me.

[DonMcJr]

Your Syrup looks Great! Good Job!:cool:

[cjric]

Thanks!
Looks like fancy to me too.
So far I've got a total of 15 dollars invested.

I've been using a cone shaped apple sauce maker lined w/ blue shop paper towels for filtering. I'm filtering once when I bring it in to finish and a second time into the jars after finishing. Seems to get it pretty clear.

[happy thoughts]

Congratulations!:D We hooked another one. Ain't sugaring grand?

Personally, I'd ditch the blue shop towels. The color tells you there are dyes in it and who knows what else. Either invest in a proper filter that will last a few years or just let the sand settle out naturally. Not to be unkind and maybe it's just your pic, but your syrup looks a tad cloudy to me. If it is, then whatever filtering method you're using is not doing it's job.

Other than that, I'm glad to see you showing others that sugaring does not have to cost an arm and a leg if you keep it small. Good luck and may all your "sweet" dreams come true.

[3fires]

Very nice! It will definitely go quicker if you get the flames on those pans and lower the level of sap in the pans. But, for an investment of 15 bucks I'd say you're doing just fine. :)

[TerryEspo]

Just buy the prefilters about a dollar or two,,,Small batches,,,I put two insdie each other it it does a great job.

Not a lot of money either for what is does.

Great looking syrup too by the way.

Good luck.

Terry

[cjric]

what are the filters made of? I'm not sure if I can find any locally. Can I buy felt or wool or something at a fabric store?

[DonMcJr]

Goto this site and click the entire catalog and look for their hobby filtering kit...get that then they sell filter kits for it for $7 if you need more filters...

http://www.sugarbushsupplies.com/online_catalog.html

They are in Mason, MI... Might even be close enough for you to take a little trip there!

I ordered stuff from them Monday Morning and got it by Wednesday...Great Service!

[Maplehobbyist]

I'm in Kalamazoo also and I went to Sugar Bush Supplies and picked up the hobby filter kit. It's not working out well for me although it did a really nice job of filtering. I lost a bunch of syrup; I was thinking I would get about 2 gallons but ended up with less than 5 quarts. I'm not sure if I'm going to use it again. I think I may just let it settle and pour off the clear from now on. If you want to give the filter a try, send me a pm.

[michiganfarmer2]

Very nice! It will definitely go quicker if you get the flames on those pans and lower the level of sap in the pans. But, for an investment of 15 bucks I'd say you're doing just fine. :)I agree on everything

[michiganfarmer2]

I think I may just let it settle and pour off the clear from now on. .I do a lot of that. For a small producer, the filter absorbs a lot of syrup. You might try just using the pre filter, then squeezing it out a little

[cjric]

Yea, a quicker boil would be nice. Both pans are bubbling, but it's not a rolling boil. I blocked the back part of the stove off w/ cement blocks and a piece of plate steel. That helped some, but I need to play with it more and see if I can get the flames to stay up higher in the stove.
Thanks for the offer maplehobbyist! But, it sounds like I would probably have the same results as you. I cant afford to loose any since I'm not getting much syrup from this Norway sap to begin with.
After sitting for a week, I ended up w a small amount of sediment in my first quart. Is it ok to leave there or do I need to refilter it?

[happy thoughts]

After sitting for a week, I ended up w a small amount of sediment in my first quart. Is it ok to leave there or do I need to refilter it?

You can leave it there. When you use it pour it carefully so the sand stays at the bottom. As long as your sap and syrup didn't come in contact with anything containing lead (as in really old style lead soldered sap buckets) it won't hurt you. It just doesn't have the most pleasant texture and feels like eating grit.

In the future you can let bigger batches sit refrigerated in larger jars (go to your food market or deli and ask for used gallon glass jars with lids). Then carefully pour out the clear stuff and reheat it to between 185-200F. Rebottle into smaller containers at around 185F. If you bring the temp up higher, more sand will start to form.

Enjoy those pancakes:)