Rain water contaminated sap?

[Adammp1]

When I collected yesterday after heavy rain, I noticed some of the sap had a slight yellow color to it. I started boiling early this morning, and only two hours into it the sap looked unusually dark, with dark brown foam. I quickly drew off what I thought was burnt syrup, then tested it; the hydrometer fell right to the bottom. Not sure what happened here. I dumped what I had and cleaned my evaporator. Could this have been bad/rain contaminated sap? Or did I just burn the syrup? Although I find that hard to believe having only been boiling for two hours with 1.5" of sap in the pan. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
leader half pint
50 taps on buckets

[happy thoughts]

I'd say it's probably contaminated. In my own short experience I've had the same happen after rain on some trees on buckets. I chalked it up to water running down the trunk and getting into the buckets and coloring the sap. I usually tossed the sap if only because I figured the sugar content was diluted and not worth the trouble of boiling.

[bcarpenter]

I had the same thing happen to me last year as well, from rain running down the tree ending up in the bucket. Like Happy I dumped them out as well, which was tough, because I only had 12 taps last year, but I didn't want one bad apple to spoil the bunch, since I was making so little syrup anyway.

BC

[bowtie]

i would guess it is just from the rainwater, i have had it happen after it rains and the water runs down the tree and some goes in the buckets and the sap is yellowish. depends on what you are doing with it as to whether or not to dump it. you can use it for your own use. unless it was very dirty there is no harm in boiling it down it just is less concentrated and therefore will take longer. i have also read that "early" sap or the first runs can result in darker syrup or have high nitre, but from what you are saying it was probably just rainwater. sounds like you did not waste much time on it. i dump most of my buckets if they have any off color just to be sure, i have found that it only happens to a few buckets depending on the orientation on the tree and how hard it rains.

[Run Forest Run!]

This is why I put a plastic grocery bag over top of each of my buckets - but then I only have 10 buckets. I use duct tape to secure the bag to the bucket and I never have to worry about any sap in my bucket being diluted. It works like a charm. If you have dozens and dozens of buckets then you can likely afford to dump a few diluted buckets, but I don't have that luxury. This year I've also bought myself a sap refractometer so I can always be sure that I'm not wasting my time trying to make syrup out of rain and snow. It wasn't expensive and will be worth its weight in gold, liquid gold that is, over the years.

Wishing you the best of luck for your next batch and have fun Adam!

[happy thoughts]

This is why I put a plastic grocery bag over top of each of my buckets - but then I only have 10 buckets. I use duct tape to secure the bag to the bucket and I never have to worry about any sap in my bucket being diluted. It works like a charm. If you have dozens and dozens of buckets then you can likely afford to dump a few diluted buckets, but I don't have that luxury. This year I've also bought myself a sap refractometer so I can always be sure that I'm not wasting my time trying to make syrup out of rain and snow. It wasn't expensive and will be worth its weight in gold, liquid gold that is, over the years.

Wishing you the best of luck for your next batch and have fun Adam!

I'm not sure the caps are really going to stop contamination if it's going to happen. Again in my short experience it was the angle of the tree, the tap and the bucket that I think caused it as not all buckets had yellow sap after a rain, just some and they were always the same trees- ones with canted trunks, not straight growing ones. On one I could see water actually running from the tap and over it right through and into the bucket.

[Run Forest Run!]

It may be difficult to picture, but the bag also spans, and touches, the top of the spile. That way any water running down the trunk of the tree onto the top of the spile hits the top of the bag and runs off to the right and left. I had a fair bit of yellow sap last year until I put the bags on. Where I live we had a lot of rain during 2012's very brief sugaring season. Necessity became the mother of invention. It also kept most of the moths and other assorted bugs out as well.

[TerryEspo]

Karen, that is a wonderful idea. I can picture it.
Neat idea.

Terry