How much maple syrup needed

[caters]

On this New Earth my momma and I have a forest that has lots of maples. I once figured that 40 gallons of sap and thus 1 gallon of maple syrup is enough but now realized that it wouldn't.

How much maple syrup would 2 people need? Also what is the maximum number of maples 2 people can get sap and ultimately maple syrup from?

[western mainer]

How much? All depends on how much you use, We use it in place of sugar in cooking we use 4-5 Gallons a year. for how many tree you can handle read this. http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?23704-max-taps-for-one-man-operation
Brian

[motowbrowne]

My wife and I go through about 5 gallons a year. Goes quick when you start putting it in coffee.

How many taps could you run? Depends on how much work you want to do. Somewhere between 5 taps and 5,000 taps should be right.

[maple maniac65]

12 gallons a year since I drink coffee and the jug sits next to the coffee maker

[caters]

Okay so 1 tree in 4 weeks yields on average 10 gallons of sap. 40 gallons of sap per gallon of syrup * 5 gallons of syrup = 200 gallons of sap which means 200 gallons of sap/ 10 trees = 20 trees to yield the 200 gallons of sap. For 12 gallons it would be 48 trees which is about 2.5 times as much as for 5 gallons of syrup.

[western mainer]

On a good year 40-1 It could go to 50-1.You are over thinking this at this point. My 1st year we had 45 taps and got 7 gallons.
Brian

[happy thoughts]

Okay so 1 tree in 4 weeks yields on average 10 gallons of sap. 40 gallons of sap per gallon of syrup * 5 gallons of syrup = 200 gallons of sap which means 200 gallons of sap/ 10 trees = 20 trees to yield the 200 gallons of sap. For 12 gallons it would be 48 trees which is about 2.5 times as much as for 5 gallons of syrup.

That's probably as good a rough estimate as any but I wouldn't count your chickens yet. :) You could get a lot less or a whole lot more. You just can't factor in what the weather will be like for an upcoming season. Mother nature is always full of surprises.. And the type of maples you tap and their location and size are also important. Large trees in an open sunny location will produce a lot more sap than ones in the woods. I usually aim for 2-3 gallons of syrup/year and generally place about a dozen taps in large open yard trees. I tried to make less this year. From just 9 taps we collected 208 gallons of sap and made about 5 gallons of syrup this year. I'm not complaining. :) But it took a lot of hours to boil off that much in a 2 hotel pan block arch. You might want to work your equations from a different angle. How will you process the sap, on what kind of set up, and how many hours of boiling can you handle?

[motowbrowne]

Rule of thumb is 1qt of syrup per tap.

Vacuum producers, and lucky guys like me do better sometimes, but 1qt/tap is a good place to start.

As someone else mentioned, making 5 gallons on a small setup can be a lot of work. Economy of scale really plays in here. Personally, I wouldn't want to go back to flat pans, so I wouldn't make syrup from less than 100 taps on a 2x6. Anything less than that and I'd feel like I wasn't using my time efficiently.

[caters]

I can handle as many hours of boiling as it takes. I have a big pot at home that can hold much more than 1 gallon and I have been told to put more sap in once you start to keep it at the half full level until you are done. I get all my sap from the woods since I leave the full sun area for my large garden and full sun + dappled sunlight out of the woods for the farm animals and cooking outside like in the case of making maple syrup or cheese. Since on this New Earth we don't have electricity our best bet is either a solar oven or a fire outside for the heat to cook things.

[Ittiz]

what's with the interesting use of word Caters? I'd pad all your numbers a bit, if you end up with extra I'm sure you could find a use for it.

[maple flats]

It sounds like you are going to make syrup using the most basic methods. Collecting in buckets usually does well. You might want to do a test boil using what ever you will boil with in maple season. Just put water in. Keep track of your evaporation rate. From there you can get a rough calculation for maple season. Keep the fire hot, split your wood wrist size, and don't fill the pot too deep. 2" boils faster than 6" depth, but you must keep a close eye on 2" more, because you have less to evaporate away before it goes dry and burns.
Those who boil on a flat pan or evaporator frequently run 1" deep, but they have a float valve to maintain depth (In fact I run 3/4-1" in my flat pan and 1/2" over the flues in my flue pan. Without something to keep the depth I'd never run that shallow.
You say you have no electric, do you have solar? I ran my sugarhouse on 1480 watts solar supplemented by a 6000 watt diesel generator for a few years. I then added 4840 more watts solar, ran grid power to the sugarhouse and send my excess thru net metering to the grid and it is then consumed at my residence about 3 miles away., (I still have the 1480 watts, on a battery back up system, also grid tied and run thru the same net metering)

[happy thoughts]

I can handle as many hours of boiling as it takes. I have a big pot at home that can hold much more than 1 gallon ......

With 48 taps you're going to need a MUCH bigger pot :). My advice- start small and figure out what you're going to use to boil on first. You can always expand in future years as your situation allows Try to get a feel for the evaporation rate you're going to get using your set up and then plan your taps around that. With a large stock pot you're probably talking 1-2 gals/hr evaporation rate. On my 2 steam pan set up each of which can hold 5 gals we're lucky to get 3 gals/hr evap rate. Over a 4 week period estimate at least 100 gals of sap or more/week with 48 taps then do the math. Boiling takes constant attention and frequent firing. It's not something you can turn your back so you can do other things. With a single large pot do you have an extra 50-60 hours /week to spend on boiling? Not trying to discourage you but you may need to think beyond how much sap you can collect. It's how much you can process comfortably.

[motowbrowne]

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I like the new kid. He's a little goofy, but I like it.

Solar cooking of syrup won't make much sense, unless you are talking about photovoltaic panels and converting electricity to heat. A solar oven just ain't gonna cut it, because you can't count on sunny days when you want to cook during that time of year.

Since you have internet on this New Earth, Google "hotel pans" for 50taps, you'll want two or three. Then search on here for a cinder block arch. You'll want one of those. Burn whatever kind of wood you want, but split it small so it burns fast and clean.

[caters]

I am having a problem here. With Memphis, TN temps I get very few days throughout the year that have an above freezing high and below freezing low and a lot of warm weather even during mid and late winter and early spring.

Because of this there is a problem with collecting sap during the winter.

So how am I going to collect sap from my maples if I am on New Earth in the same place as Memphis TN which has an early spring last frost and very few warmer than 32 days with colder than 32 nights when the best time to collect sap is when the day is above freezing and the night is below freezing?

[maple flats]

That is a problem. You must have below freezing/thaw cycles for the sap to flow. If you are on buckets you might get some but very little. With vacuum that might improve but not enough to warrant running vacuum. If you get temps in the low 30's it might generate some limited flow, but without a freeze it will be very limited. The partial vacuum generated in the tree during a freeze is what draws large quantities of moisture in thru the roots and the rise in temperature following pushes that water up, with dissolved sugar to feed the buds.
While the buds will get fed without a freeze thaw cycle, the quantities will be slight. You may have a hard time getting enough to make syrup.
Do you have birches near you? Look into making birch syrup if you do.

[happy thoughts]

So how am I going to collect sap from my maples if I am on New Earth in the same place as Memphis TN which has an early spring last frost and very few warmer than 32 days with colder than 32 nights when the best time to collect sap is when the day is above freezing and the night is below freezing?

There's a reason why maple syrup production is concentrated in colder climates. As Dave said, without the freeze/thaw cycle you won't get sap flow. Have you considered raising bees for honey? That and sorghum syrup may be more realistic sweeteners that you can produce in your area.

[Ausable]

Okay so 1 tree in 4 weeks yields on average 10 gallons of sap. 40 gallons of sap per gallon of syrup * 5 gallons of syrup = 200 gallons of sap which means 200 gallons of sap/ 10 trees = 20 trees to yield the 200 gallons of sap. For 12 gallons it would be 48 trees which is about 2.5 times as much as for 5 gallons of syrup.

As a Hobby - making Maple Syrup is Fun, Tiring, Boring, Rewarding, Frustrating etc. etc. -- I have been making it for over twenty years now - I skipped doing it for a year - as I had a lot of maple syrup stashed - I was miserable and realized making maple syrup is important for me to do - as it adds a fullness to my life. I have never sold any - but we use it in the many ways mentioned and give it to family and friends. It is a great thing to give to someone who has done you a favor and is usually much appreciated. Now that I'm an old man - tapping trees in the snow and hauling sap is the hard part. So now - some of my kids and grandkids tap trees too and haul it up for me to turn into syrup. Our oldest Son even helped us can it this year. So it has become a family thing over the years. It is not an exact science and varies year to year - and week to week during the season. Some trees flow better than others and some seem to have a higher sugar content. So Caters - Do You Batch Boil or do You have a Continuous Flow rig and draw off? ----Mike----

[maple flats]

caters, those production figures are for rough calculations in maple producing regions. You are at best, slightly south of the maple region. You will not get those numbers, if any at all.

[Moser's Maple]

seriously....is it just me????? why are we bantering with this guy??? New earth, memphis tennesse with an ip address of columbus ohio, no electricity, but internet. call me cruel, jerk, #$@hole, or whatever but this character is a few french fries short of a happy meal if you know what i'm getting at

[mellondome]

Thanks flats.... thought it was just me.

[western mainer]

Moser's Your right on, He's on the other sight also.
Brian

[happy thoughts]

I have often been accused of being too trusting. With that said, I see no malice in the questions caters is asking. To answer with kindness and grace costs nothing except a few minutes of time. We may be making some assumptions here that are not the case. I sincerely do not detect a troll but someone asking honest questions. New Earth can refer to anything from Dr Who to a bible concept and anything in between. As long as caters remains polite I will not judge his motives.

[Moser's Maple]

Happy thoughts. Go over to sugarbush.info and you'll see what I'm talking about.

[maple flats]

I would be very careful labeling any fellow trader as "a few fries short". I think he may be asking a serious question and thought we were the authority. Now we start bashing him. Until someone proves that another trader is not for real, I think we should try to answer their questions.

[Moser's Maple]

It's not just me Dave.
http://www.sugarbush.info/forums/general-maple-discussion/3245-bad-luck-growing-maples-3-times.html#post43775

[Ausable]

LOL - I have been making Maple Syrup and Giving it away for over twenty years. Now that Sir - Is a whole bunch of Fries short of a Happy Meal. Hey! Anyone that wants to make Maple Syrup is ok by me. lol ----Mike----

[Ausable]

It's not just me Dave.
http://www.sugarbush.info/forums/general-maple-discussion/3245-bad-luck-growing-maples-3-times.html#post43775

Perhaps I errored. I just did what You suggested, I see even old Haynes is playing it a bit cautious. Could old Caters be making sport with us? Time will tell.

[happy thoughts]

Jake- I actually read the other forum first before I posted my last reply. I don't want to make a big deal out of this but just saying we all possess different degrees of knowledge and understanding and what has been asked so far seems sincere to me. Like I said before, I've been called too trusting at times, but like cater, we are who we are. He's been respectful of all of us imho. I believe he deserves the same in return:)

All the best,
chris

[motowbrowne]

I'm sticking with "weird, but I like him". Who's never been accused of being a little weird?

And Tennessee might be too far south, but hey, put some taps out and see what happens.

[caters]

It is south enough that I can grow almost anything I need including citrus since very few days have highs of below 45 degrees which does damage to citrus.

Does this mild frost scattered about the winter, fall, and early and mid spring mean that what would be annuals in northern climates are at least biennials if not perennials because most of my plants like tomatoes and potatoes and stuff are annuals in northern climates.

[Ausable]

caters! Do You get maple sap in Your area? If so - have You checked the sugar content of the sap. Many of us have lived in different parts of the Country at various times of our lives and know about how the growing seasons and crops vary with the weather, soil and climate conditions. When I was in the Navy and stationed in Southern California many years ago, we had an orange tree in our back yard and it produced many oranges as long as we kept it irrigated - It would take about nine months from blossom to ripe fruit. But - we drift from the subject and the point of this Site. Maple Sap and how to convert it to Maple Syrup. Do You have access to Maple Trees that produce maple sap in late Winter and early Spring? If so - Would You like to know how to make maple syrup? or do you already know?

[caters]

I do have some maples. I also know the basics of making maple syrup.

[happy thoughts]

Caters- I looked at the historical weather data for Memphis and it looks like you are a little too warm for maple syrup production unless you have a repeat of last winter. You absolutely need below freezing night temps and above freezing day temps to start the sweet sap flowing. Without that freeze / thaw cycle you'll get nothing.

If you're going to get any sap flow it looks like mid Dec - Jan is your best bet. You won't know until you try. You could put in a few taps then to test the waters.

[caters]

I think that the freeze/thaw cycle is needed for any sap flow so that little if any maple sap flow = little or no birch sap flow etc.

[happy thoughts]

I think that the freeze/thaw cycle is needed for any sap flow so that little if any maple sap flow = little or no birch sap flow etc.

No, sap flow in birches is entirely different than in maples because their cell structures are very different. Birch season usually starts in warmer weather after maple season has ended, and if I remember correctly, about the time you see the first butterflies. Freeze/thaw cycles aren't needed for birch sap. But for what it's worth, birch sap is low in sugar and requires a lot more fuel to evaporate to syrup than maple sap. It also scorches easily. If I were you and wanted a home grown sweetener for your area, I'd go with honey bees.