Ice - toss, or boil?

[Kilroy]

I typed in 'ice' in the search bar (tried 3 times actually) but came up with zero hits...
Seems the general concensus is to toss ice found in a bucket.
Just wondering if anyone has actually melted their chunks of ice to see how the sugar content compared with the sap in the bucket.
If no appreciable amount of sugar is in the ice, am I correct in assuming that one would be better off making early rounds to their buckets just to get rid of the ice & let time and weather concentrate their sap?

[psparr]

If there's only a couple inches of ice in the buckets. Then the sugar content is basically zero. And it's like a poor mans RO.

[jrgagne99]

As long as there's some liquid left in the bucket, throw the ice away. Obviously doesn't make sense to through out a solid block of ice, that's a waste of sugar... Although if you had a mind to, you could chip away the outer portions and only melt/boil the center where all the sugar likely concentrated to.

[Ryan August]

I have read in the past that the Indians used this method of making syrup. Freeze the sap, pull off the ice, repeat.

[Cabin]

As long as there's some liquid left in the bucket, throw the ice away. Obviously doesn't make sense to through out a solid block of ice, that's a waste of sugar... Although if you had a mind to, you could chip away the outer portions and only melt/boil the center where all the sugar likely concentrated to.

While cider freezes from the outside(apple jack!!) in I have only see sap freeze top to bottom so my theory is the sugar would be near the bottom not the center.

[DrTimPerkins]

Just wondering if anyone has actually melted their chunks of ice to see how the sugar content compared with the sap in the bucket.

Research was done on this a long time ago. Basically if the buckets haven't mostly frozen, then toss the ice.

[Big_Eddy]

I typed in 'ice' in the search bar (tried 3 times actually) but came up with zero hits...
Seems the general concensus is to toss ice found in a bucket.
Just wondering if anyone has actually melted their chunks of ice to see how the sugar content compared with the sap in the bucket.
If no appreciable amount of sugar is in the ice, am I correct in assuming that one would be better off making early rounds to their buckets just to get rid of the ice & let time and weather concentrate their sap?

Try Freezing in the search. Search ignores 3 letter words.

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?22527-freezing-sap

Short story - overnight temperature between 0 and -9C, ice is all water and all sugar is in remaining liquid. Below -9C and the sugar solution will freeze.
See this post for the science behind it
http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?18892-Maple-Syrup-Chemistry-101&highlight=chemistry

[handtapper]

I've personally collected the ice when its not totally frozen in the bucket and put it in a desperate container. Melted it and tested with hydrometer at under .5% sugar. As others said toss it unless its completely frozen and you will be ahead of the game

[BreezyHill]

Last season with the week of subzero I had buckets freeze that the evap was drawn into. Worked great as the SS pails would freeze and I skimmed the ice off the top. Thirty gallons of buckets froze down to 5 gallons. I used a dairy strainer to allow the heavy water to drip into another pail. Seemed like I just got the evap up to temp and it was ready to draw off.

There was a lot of ice that went out side and none of it had any taste at all.

[Maple Ridge]

I set it aside and when the weather gets warm, I add it to my holding tanks to keep the sap cold.

[Kilroy]

Thanks for the info all - I'll file this away in the old brain box.

[BreezyHill]

I set it aside and when the weather gets warm, I add it to my holding tanks to keep the sap cold.

Fill plastic gallon milk jugs with water and freeze for this purpose. This way no extra water to boil off. I hate having to cut extra wood.

Started this season using large cage tank holders for fire wood storage. Parking them in a greenhouse to stay dry and to season more and just pick up a cage and set in the big door of the sugar house. Pallet jack will move it to the right spot after that. Very easy to fill in the woods with wood and move 2 on tractor at a time. One strapped in bucket and other on a set of forks on the log winch. Big wood 4" plus goes to the outside wood furnace.

Much easier than cut and bring back and stack it in sugar house. We stack it in the cages to get more in them.

Ben

[jrgagne99]

Often times it freezes at the top first, then down the sides and bottom of the bucket, leaving the middle as liquid.

[3GoatHill]

[QUOTE=Big_Eddy;261172]Try Freezing in the search. Search ignores 3 letter words.]

I have a couple four letter words for searches that ignore three letter words:lol:

[Jmsmithy]

Research was done on this a long time ago. Basically if the buckets haven't mostly frozen, then toss the ice.

This may sound dumb Dr. Tim but what if pretty solidly frozen? Assume chop it up and toss into holding tank?