Done for 2013 - need a better setup!

[MarkL]

We've made 17.5 gallons on our little half pint and have to call it a season after running out of wood :cry:

We went through 6 bundles of softwood slab, plus some hardwood scraps and a bit from the wood pile; with the weather as it is I bet we'll have 1-2 more weeks of a run, which means I'll be missing out on at least 3 if not 6 more gallons of finished syrup. This would've put us at or past our previous record season of 22 gallons (2011). All on a little Half Pint!

But we worked our asses off for it. Went through a lot of wood. Maybe got the boil rate in the 7-10 GPH range at times.

So I am looking ahead to 2014 and thinking about placing my order right now for the "Full Pint" pan from Smoky Lake Maple.

I want to make more syrup in less time. Maybe even sell some to recoup some of my costs. I don't have the room to change my setup to a bigger arch, nor do I have room for storing a ton more wood. Anything that gets me more syrup per hour and uses less wood is something I want to get.

Anyone have any feedback on the Full Pint pan?

MarkL

[jasonl6]

I would go buy some wood. Seasoned firewood should be avail this time of the year a little cheaper than before winter. Not sure how many gph you can do but $50 worth of wood (one face cord) should generate you a couple gallons of syrup @ $45/gallon. Your doubling your money.

Jason

[Bucksaw]

Full pint pan looks like it would be a great upgrade without the need to get a new arch. Does anyone know if this pan sits w/ the flues in the firebox and the syrup pan towards the stack?

[maple flats]

Do you have a sawmill nearby? See if they have any dry slab, it will be free or cheap. As for needing more room for firewood, you need nothing more than a place to stack it. I have my excess stacked in a field, between steep fence posts. Each post is about 10' apart and the stacks about 4-4.5' tall. I stage my wood there for 1-3 years. Then I move it to the side of the sugarhouse, where I have a long overhang, for final drying and then move it into the sugarhouse as needed. This is a little more handling but the method works good. My grandson usually does the moving for me.
Whatever you need to do to get more wood, it will easily pay for itself in syrup.

[jrgagne99]

Anything that gets me more syrup per hour and uses less wood is something I want to get. MarkL

Two words: Homemade RO.

Only $300 and cuts your boiling time by about 75%. See my "Homemade RO" thread and also the Flux Capacitor thread.

[Waynehere]

When I use to have the half-pint, I use to make 10-12 gal syrup with about 2 face cord of hard wood. I would think 1 cord should keep you boiling for quite a while.

[not_for_sale]

I am pretty new at this and as soon as I heard RO I just had to make one. I don't understand why people don't do that first? It seems such an excellent time and fuel saver?

What if there was someone selling a Micro RO for Maple- would anybody buy that ? It can be built for $300 in parts with lots of trial and error but would anybody pay for one lets say $600 with tested and working components?

[not_for_sale]

To put the RO into perspective. The wood you just burned this year would last for 4 years. And your boiling time would be cut to a quarter.

[68bird]

I would be interested in a $600.00 RO! also , if you are looking for a full pint pan, check the classified on here. There was one on here a few weeks ago.

[MarkL]

To clarify: when I say I have no more room for wood, I really mean it! I live in a village on a quarter acre lot! We have a huge vegetable/fruit garden and barely any lawn left, plus several cord of firewood for the woodstove. I can't just "put it out back and move it to the shack later." There's no out back ;) !

I have yet to manage to get a good boil with hardwood on the half pint, even with my homemade blower. The coals just pile up and get in the way, and the boil is fairly weak compared to softwood.

Hearing "why not make a homemade RO rig, I did it!" is kind of like watching Norm Peters make an incredible piece of furniture on TV without him breaking a sweat. He say's it's simple, but he has the equipment, the shop, the smarts and the decades of experience. I have none of that when it comes to stuff like this. And wading through an 8 page thread is no help.

So if it really can be done for $300...sell it to me ready to filter, with complete instructions and a one year guarantee for $450. Seriously. My checkbook awaits.

MarkL

[rayi]

I would buy that in a heart beat. House payments can wait

[Troutman10]

I was just looking at the "Full Pint" Pan. The increase in evap. rate is quite impressive. Says it can at least double you're GPH compared to the original pan, but the price tag seems steep (probably worth it). I would probably consider the RO when concerning the checkbook. Either way, wish I was in your shoes. Imagine getting an RO and the "Full Pint". Now that would be one performing son of a gun! Good luck with whatever you do!

[DonMcJr]

I was gonna say a Cord of wood is around $50 and I split it all smaller in like 4 hours and had it stacked by my half pint ready to go... I know if I run out of wood again it's $50 and 4 hours to make more syrup and I'll be a wood splitting fool! LOL

[325abn]

$50 for a cord of wood?!!!!

Not around these parts.

[chicken123]

We've made 17.5 gallons on our little half pint and have to call it a season after running out of wood :cry:

We went through 6 bundles of softwood slab, plus some hardwood scraps and a bit from the wood pile; with the weather as it is I bet we'll have 1-2 more weeks of a run, which means I'll be missing out on at least 3 if not 6 more gallons of finished syrup. This would've put us at or past our previous record season of 22 gallons (2011). All on a little Half Pint!

But we worked our asses off for it. Went through a lot of wood. Maybe got the boil rate in the 7-10 GPH range at times.

So I am looking ahead to 2014 and thinking about placing my order right now for the "Full Pint" pan from Smoky Lake Maple.

I want to make more syrup in less time. Maybe even sell some to recoup some of my costs. I don't have the room to change my setup to a bigger arch, nor do I have room for storing a ton more wood. Anything that gets me more syrup per hour and uses less wood is something I want to get.

Anyone have any feedback on the Full Pint pan?

MarkL


How many taps did you have?

[MarkL]

How many taps did you have?

We set out 69 taps, all run to some degree, some better than others. I've given away at least 3 runs of sap, about 65 gallons each, to a friend, so that's about another 3-5 gallons of syrup made from these trees this season. The sugar content's been 2.5-3 thus far.

If I get the Full Pint pan next season and we have a good run I can see making more than enough syrup to sell to recoup the price of the pan in one season, assuming I can sell it all fairly easily to neighbors. That's a big assumption though, I live in maple country and there's plenty of competition.

MarkL

[325abn]

Those are some crazy good numbers! What part of Western mass are you in?

[MarkL]

We're in the Pioneer Valley. I tap primarily street and yard trees around the village. Sugar content on a couple of trees gets close to 4 at the beginning of the season. Hovers around 3 for a few weeks then drops, as expected.

And I just gave away another 60+ gallon run this morning. At least it's getting boiled!

MarkL

[DonMcJr]

$50 for a cord of wood?!!!!

Not around these parts.

How much is it there? I have enough to cut from my woods I just can't use the Chainsaw with my bad arm... So I bought a cord and it was $55... some had it for $40...

[ericjeeper]

A cord is 4x8x4 1/3 of a cord is 16" by 4x8

[MarkL]

How much is it there? I have enough to cut from my woods I just can't use the Chainsaw with my bad arm... So I bought a cord and it was $55... some had it for $40...

A cord of seasoned hardwood here in New England is easily over $200, delivered. You can get it green for $125-$150.

I buy bundles of softwood slab which I take home on my truck, $12 each, 8 foot by 3 foot by 2 foot.

I can get 10 of those delivered by a different mill for $100 total, but I don't have room for that much wood. I can store 6 bundles tops.

MarkL

[jgrenier]

Is that $55.00 for a face cord or is that for a full cord (128 cubic feet 4'x4'x8'). Sounds like a face cord 4'x8'x16"

[twofer]

Is that $55.00 for a face cord or is that for a full cord (128 cubic feet 4'x4'x8'). Sounds like a face cord 4'x8'x16"

Don is probably talking a face as that is primarily how it is sold in Michigan.

You're looking at ~$150 per cord around these parts and the amount that is seasoned is HIGHLY variable.

[mellondome]

just a quick tip on getting it boiling good.. make sure your wood is cut small. it shouldn't be any bigger than your wrist. you should be able to get 3 or 4 pieces out of one "house wood" piece.

[PerryW]

A cord of seasoned hardwood here in New England is easily over $200, delivered. You can get it green for $125-$150.

I buy bundles of softwood slab which I take home on my truck, $12 each, 8 foot by 3 foot by 2 foot.

I can get 10 of those delivered by a different mill for $100 total, but I don't have room for that much wood. I can store 6 bundles tops.

MarkL

I sell green cordwood (cut, split and delivered) for $200 and I am cheaper than most. (That's $67 per face cord for the New Yorkers)