First year doing this

[bigjohnsons]

This has been my first year trying to make maple syrup and I'm frustrated with the quantity that I'm getting.
Last weekend I boiled my first batch and it took over 45 gallons of sap to make 1/2 gallon of syrup.This weekend that just passed I cooked over a 100 gallons of sap and created just 10 pints of syrup. Don't get me wrong the syrup tastes great but it just seams that for all my efforts that I should be getting more product.
My question, is it to late in the season? or is the sugar content is low?, or are my trees just not producing as much sugar content as they should? The method to make maple syrup is pretty basic, just boil sap until it reaches 219 degrees.


Any advise would be great.

Thanks in advance

[CTfarm]

Sounds like your sugar content was around 1.25. Mine was running low one of the weeks we had all the rain so I just dumped it. Sugar went back up the following week.

[batsofbedlam]

219 is a estimate. You should boil sap until it is 7.5 degrees above the boiling point of water. The boiling point of water can vary by as much as 3 degrees on a day when a strong weather front moves through.

[TerryEspo]

I think you will find for better or worse, each any everytime you boil it will change a bit. Pretty hard to get it to an exact science for each and every boil.

Stick with it and it will change, sometimes in your favour, hopefully next boil.

Good luck.

Terry

[Spolcik]

Sometimes it goes that way. This is only my second year but I will say that a hydrometer is worth the money. I used temperature last year and worked well. I bought I hydrometer for this year and it greatly improved the quality of syrup. The taste and consistency where hands down better.if this is something you think you are going to do for a while buy one you won't be sorry. They aren't too expensive anwhere from 14 to 20 bucks.

[aws]

A sap hydrometer will let you know ahead of time if it is worth your time to boil the sap, or dump it. It will tell you the concentration of sugar in your sap, and by using the rule of 86 (plenty of info out there on this, do a search) you can estimate how many gallons of sap you need to boil in order to make one gallon of syrup. My sap has been about 2% sugar and therefor I have been boiling about 43 gallons of sap for one gallon of syrup. Also, it always feels like to much sap and not enough syrup. Welcome to the game.

[PerryW]

I would never dump sap unless it was spoiled (then again, I've never owned a sap hydrometer). Put your money towards a bigger evaporator and more taps.

[lafite]

The root of your frustration seems to be how late you got in the game. Sugar content in the beginning of Feb was close to 3% (29 gallons to make 1). You need to remember that we are well south NH and VT and just when they are getting up and running, we are close to pulling the taps. I just checked my sugar content of some sap outside and it is at 1.1% (78 gallons to make 1).

It's a fun hobby and you should be proud of what you made!

[Agent914]

Sounds like you got some water, from the recent rain storm, inside of your collection buckets. My sugar content is holding at 1.75 here in Middlebury, CT. Old school trick - try skimming the ice off before you boil it is a simple way to increase you sugar content before you boil. We are expecting some freezing temps over the next several nights.

[Friedrich_Sugarhouse]

Agent914 has the right idea, I'd say get a good solid freeze in your buckets and then chuck the big block of ice (there should be sap inside the block so let it drain) and then boil what is left, this year I tossed almost an entire 5 gallon bucket as ice but what was left at the bottom had a darker color and a sweet taste it hardly needed boiling at all. You'll still get small returns but it'll save loads of boiling time and wood.

[bigjohnsons]

Thanks for all of your suggestions, I really appreciate it. I was planning on buying a syrup hydrometer for next season but now I think that I will also buy a sap hydrometer as well. It will be very interesting to see where I start and where I finish.

I really don't think that I had any water in my buckets, because I am using pastry buckets with sealed lids and a Small hole drilled through the top the size of the hose. When the bucket over fills with sap I can see the sap line filling up my hose. most likely if it's not leaking out of the bucket, I don't think that it's leaking in the bucket when it rains.

It's funny to think what people did 20 years ago before the internet, the information that I've learned from this web site is unbelievable, I could not imagine going to the library and taking out a book on how to make maple syrup.

[Tom59]

Welcome to the site, also the addiction. I cant answer all of your questions but I hope I can get you in the right direction. You answered a lot of your own questions. Yes, the ratio of 40 to 50 gallons sap/to gallon syrup is close. But as you mentioned it all depends on the sugar content of your sap. Early in the season sugar content is usually higher, later it tends to drop off. Also has a lot to do with the weather and type of trees you are tapping. There is a lot of variables in the equation. Also, boiling sap to 219 degrees does not automatically make it syrup. Your best bet is with a hydrometer. But there are are other ways to get close. Some say that 7 to 9 degrees over the boiling point of water on any given day it is syrup. I have used this method with good results. Some old timers can tell by the way the bubbles form when finishing, or the way it aprons off a spoon. As long as you are not selling it whatever works for you is good Tons of good info on this site. Do some searching around. I learned a lot from this site. Best of luck to you. Just ask questions , lots of great people on this site!!!! Most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

[hodorskib]

When I started we put holes in the top of the lids of the buckets like you are doing and ours were tight as well. However, rain and melting snow still managed to get in. We solved this by drilling a small hole in the side of the pail just under the lid and put the tube in there. This way it had some protection and we never got rain water again. As for a syrup hydrometer I total recommend but as for a sap hydrometer I would go with a refractometer (don't go by the prices you see in the catalogues) check this one out on Amazon.com for 20 bucks: http://www.amazon.com/0-10%25-ATC-BRIX-REFRACTOMETER-Coolant/dp/B000K312Q8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1363268626&sr=8-3&keywords=syrup+refractometer
Someone on the site sent me information on this and I ordered one and to be honest was skeptical but it is right on and believe it or not is not made of cheap plastic. Very easy to use and you will never guess again on sugar content. Good luck

[lafite]

I agree with the amazon recommendation. very well made and I tested it 2x this season against my sap hydrometer and it was spot on. VERY easy to use!

[bigjohnsons]

Thanks hodorskib, I just placed my order. Does it matter where I test it from , either tcatch a drip out of my tap or take it from the collection bucket?

[hodorskib]

Depends on how crazy you want to make yourself. I normally test it after I have it in my storage barrel before going through RO and then again after to make sure everything is set OK. However, if you want you can test individual trees and monitor how they are doing throughout the season. Just be aware that the amount of sugar a tree gives varies from the start of the season to the end and from year to year. I have a few trees that consistently produced higher sugar and lots of sap but most of the others are different all the time.

[bigjohnsons]

My refractor came in and was able to use it this weekend. Looks to be a great little tool.
Quick question:
I calibrated it inside the house and then brought the sap samples in from outside to test. It seems like I want to keep the refractor in a 68 degree area or else it won't read correctly. Is this yhe right way?

[hodorskib]

I could be wrong but I believe the 68 degree mark was only for calibration then you could use it at any temperature. I would avoid extreme conditions though. Check the paperwork again. Good luck and have fun with it. Only a couple of days left of the season.

[Run Forest Run!]

My refractor came in and was able to use it this weekend. Looks to be a great little tool.
Quick question:
I calibrated it inside the house and then brought the sap samples in from outside to test. It seems like I want to keep the refractor in a 68 degree area or else it won't read correctly. Is this yhe right way?

My understanding is that the sap should also be at the temerature at which you calibrated your refractometer. I warm a small sample bottle of the sap before I take a reading. If the sap is cold it will register a higher sugar count than what it actually is. If you want to check your sap while you are outside, keep that in mind.

[jrgagne99]

My understanding is that the sap should also be at the temerature at which you calibrated your refractometer. I warm a small sample bottle of the sap before I take a reading. If the sap is cold it will register a higher sugar count than what it actually is. If you want to check your sap while you are outside, keep that in mind.

No, this particular one is a temperature compensated device. Supposedly, it "automagically" corrects for temperature deviation from the calibration temp.

[Run Forest Run!]

Oh, then you've got a much more advanced model than I have you lucky guy!