Newbie Questions

[frjeff]

Greetings,

First year to try sugaring, likely 8-10 taps. Have all of the gear and have a couple questions for the experts:

1) My forecasted temps here in Zip 48750 (N.MI just south of the 45th parallel) are to be above freezing daytime and below freezing nights beginning tomorrow (3/7) through a week from tomorrow. Then a cold spell forecast for a day or two.
So, I'm thinking of tapping tomorrow. Wise? OK?

2) If the daytime temps do not meet the forecast, can I leave the taps in and expect run to resume once it warms up again?

3) When I began my boil, at what point do I bring into the house and do my final finishing on the stove?

4) I have both a hydrometer and a candy thermometer. Which do I use for best results?

Think that's it for now. Probably have more questions the minute I post this.

Thanks in advance to all those who reply.

J+

[happy thoughts]

1-yes, ok
2 yes do not remove the taps until the season is over. They should be good for at least 4-6 weeks which should bring you to the time the tress buds start swelling and the sap smells bad when boiled. At that point the season is over
3 When it's dark and you're cold and tired. Seriously, I just try to guestimate how concentrated my sap is getting. When I've got about 30-40 gallons down to about a gallon or 2 then I bring it in for finishing. I think in terms of a the biggest indoor pot I have to cook in and try not to go over half that volume because you want lots of room in the pot in case of boilovers.
4- hydrometer, hands down if you have one. Just make sure it's a syrup hydrometer and not one for beer or wine. The brix scale won't be high enough.

[bowhunter]

Agree 100%. Hydrometer for finish and try to boil down 30-40 gallons of sap.

[DonMcJr]

1) My forecasted temps here in Zip 48750 (N.MI just south of the 45th parallel) are to be above freezing daytime and below freezing nights beginning tomorrow (3/7) through a week from tomorrow. Then a cold spell forecast for a day or two.
So, I'm thinking of tapping tomorrow. Wise? OK?


I'd Tap...I'm down near Port Huron and it started flowing good today!

2) If the daytime temps do not meet the forecast, can I leave the taps in and expect run to resume once it warms up again?

Yes. My taps have been in since Feb 9th and on some days it ran since then and I got 75 gallons of Sap sinc then. Bateria won't form to close it up unless it's above freezing.

3) When I began my boil, at what point do I bring into the house and do my final finishing on the stove?

It takes about 43 gallons to make a gallon of sap. When I used a turkey fryer I would start with 43 gallons. When it got down to about 2 gallons I moved to a SS Pot on the Turkey Fryer. Then I put my digital Thermometer in that pot and watched the temp. Syrup is 7.5 F above boiling point so when I got to about 4F above boiling them I moved inside to finish.

4) I have both a hydrometer and a candy thermometer. Which do I use for best results?

I use the thermometer to get close temp wise then check it on the Hydrometer.