mason evaporator 2x3...how much sap can I boil?

[efoyt]

On masons web site it says this evaporator can handle 50 taps...does that mean 50 taps boiling non stop or 50 taps boiling on the weekends.

[Loch Muller]

Guess that depends on how crazy you are. I did almost 50 taps last year on an evaporator that boiled half as fast as yours so I'd say you'd have no problem with 50 taps. I was also working full time at 45 - 55 hours per week. 50 buckets x 10 gallons sap/bucket = 500 gallons sap. 500 gallons should take you 50 - 65 hours plus warm up time, canning, clean up and all that. Seems reasonable to me when you spread it out over a 5-6 week season. Have fun!

[BlueberryHill]

I used a Mason 2x3 last year with a small blower and I had about 55 taps. I was pretty busy at times and had some late nights but I got it done no problem. I think you should be all set. If you include my commute, I work 55-60 hours a week and I basically just boiled weekends. Took 2 vacation days I think. Plan to take a couple more wednesdays off here in the next few weeks.

[RC Maple]

To just boil on weekends and be able to go to bed too I think you will have to fire up one night a week or so. That all depends on the runs and your storage. If you boil hard and get 6 gph for 15 hrs that takes care of your first 90 gal... That's about how many taps I have and I boil on a 2x3 pan. I like to boil some on Sunday too but don't get started until the afternoon and I do like to get in the house in the evening. But like Loch Muller said - it all depends how crazy you are.

[steve J]

I had a 2x3 from Mason with no blower averaged 6 gal per hour. I had far more taps than 50 but I was boiling a lot more thn just weekends and during the peak runs I had to dump sap . A blower would increase it to maybe 10 or 11 gallons per hour. I get 15 to 16 out of his 2x4 with a blower. So do some math and tap based on your evaporation rate.

[Big_Eddy]

2x3 will evaporate 5-6gal/hr comfortably without a blower. Maybe 10 with.

50 trees might produce 75 gals on an exceptional day, but typically will produce 150-200 gals / week.

So in a typical week you will be looking at (150 to 200)/6 or 25 to 30 hours of boiling with 50 trees. Weekends only or every day is up to you.

I ran a 2x3 flat pan with 100 buckets for 20+ years. I could keep up with long weekend boils (Friday at 4 till Sunday at 2am) and the occasional weekday boil. There were lots of sleepy days at work though.

[eustis22]

you'e very helpful, Big Eddy.....

(owner of a new 2X3 continuous divided pan after 3 years of batch boiling).

[miner1]

I get between 7-9 gal/h on a mason 2x3, no blower. Split the wood small >3" dia and stack it log cabin style, feed it every 15-20 min. I also found that I got a better draft if I ground away the material between the fire grate slots. The air was actually being restricted by the fire grate when I first tried it. The grills are tapered and the seam for the casting had a little seepage during the casting process that closed the slots up, grind that away and it increases the area air can get through your grate, without a blower. I also preheat sap to 80-90deg with a copper pipe rough through the stack, not sure this helps much though.

[efoyt]

Great information!!! We have a blower. I think maybe ill push it up to 70 taps with the idea that we will be boiling all weekend and a weeknight or 2. Last year I just had a small pan on an old wood stove...had to boil every night.

[miner1]

You should be fine with that blower helping, we boiled about 700 gallons of sap from 53 taps in 17boils over the course of 4 weeks with our 2x3. We did about 4 boils a week, you may have some long weeknights. Be sure to have plenty of storage available and be ready some long weekend boils, if the weather breaks late next week we may be in for a fast and furious season.

[40to1]

I'd go with a 2x4.
My 2x3 gets about 8-9 gph if I baby it right, but I'd rather do more, shorter boils.
Marathon boils are not without their charms, but they can burn you out. It's more gratifying to have the most efficient setup devouring your sap yield.

Consider too that marathon boils can lead to burnt niter sand in the pans and darker syrup.
Boil it and be done. You still have filtering and bottling to do....

[efoyt]

We already have the 2x3...this will be the first year with it.

[Loch Muller]

If you had a 2x4 you would probably end up like me anyway... marathon boils, but its what I love to do so it doesn't bother me. I will have to keep a careful eye on niter build up on my pans.

[JuniperHillSugar]

I run 150-170 taps on my Mason 2x4, averaging about 10gph from start-up to cool down, without a blower and really no great preheater. I've got bone dry wood that helps a lot. Marathon boils get old too, but the season might be a flop so I usually "overtap" and deal with the long boils. OR you can overtap this year, upsize your evaporator next year, overtap again the next year, buy an RO, overtap again the following year, lose your shirt and close the whole thing down. Welcome to the Trader. No really, have lots of fun, you can't beat it with a stick.

[Snowy Pass Maple]

Definitely get a blower - I just put one in this year and love it. Just posted pictures of the fire and blower on our facebook page last night... the flames are amazing and it was a really easy upgrade to make.

I even threw in in some unsplit wet 3-5" rounds and within 3 minutes, I was right back up at 1000 stack temp.

The only comment I'd make here is that I sized it at 150 CFM based on mapletrader research and I think that's WAY too much for my setup - I have a pretty tall chimney - I think around 14 feet, mostly class A - and I have to dial this way down to keep the stack in the 900-1100 range. Using the harbor freight router speed control recommended by others on here to do so.

I also had to make a gasket for the ash pan door and drill a couple pins to keep ash from blowing out the front flap.

[Loch Muller]

Well said JuniperHillSugar. The sad thing is that we can see what is coming and it doesn't stop us! Sure is fun though.

[GotSap?]

I have a mason 2x3 and made 30 gallons of syrup from 120 taps last year. When the sap is really running, I boil every night after work until 9 or 10 pm and all weekend. I have had it up to about 9gph with really good wood and a lot of diligence, but it usually runs at about 6-7gph. The only issue I have had is when the days start to get really warm and the sap is sitting in storage, but even then I still get good syrup, just a bit dark. This year I added a blower and increased to 153 taps and I'm not the least bit worried about keeping up. What's better than listening to the Sox on the radio with a cold one in hand, and surrounded by the smell of maple syrup?

[Loch Muller]

Listening to the Yankees on the radio, but I'd say your right on with the rest of it.

[MarkNB]

On masons web site it says this evaporator can handle 50 taps...does that mean 50 taps boiling non stop or 50 taps boiling on the weekends.

What I want to know is how many gallons of sap (or a minimum amount, I suppose) does the average Mason 2'x3' owner have on hand when they fire up their evaporator? I read in another thread the sap calculator would indicate somewhere in the vicinity of 150 gallons, but that sounds like a lot.

[steve J]

I fired my old 2x4 with as little as 24 gallons. I always made sure I had 6 gallons available at the point that I stop firing for the cool down process.

[Loch Muller]

I haven't measured mine out exactly, but the flat pan and the warming tank on my 2x4 seem to take about 12-15 gallons of sap. I like to keep the evaporator going for at least a couple hours once I bring it to a boil so 30-40 gallons of sap would be the minimum. Your 2x3 probably holds a few gallons less so 25-35 gallons might be a minimum for you. 150 gallons is probably about what it takes to sweeten the pan. I'd give Bill Mason a call, he has always been glad to answer my questions.

[MarkNB]

Thanks guys