Eastern Ontario 2016

[Galena]

I'm curious to hear what you learn from your experiment, Karen. I've often wondered if there would be a difference in taste.

Batch #5 finished at just over 3.5l, looks like a gorgeous amber. Am actually almost caught up...only 110l in holding outside, barely any in the buckets, just 10l inside to be evaped off when I get home. A tiny bit disappointed that this year's sugar content seems a little lower, but not complaining! Plan to spend most of this week getting syrup into litre mason jars and those lovely 1/2g jugs so I can store them in dry storage and not my fridge, for once :-)

[Bushfrosh]

Just collected a portion of my bush with my brother-in-law. I brought a small sample into the house to warm up and I think I smell the nasty smell of buddiness. No complaints though - it's been a heck of a year and I'm still catching up with stashed sap as long as it holds.

[sinker]

Well, I wasn't going to bother collecting last night because i didn't think anything would run with over night temps above zero...but...I couldn't resist looking.....please just make it stop!!!

Another 180 litres collected.

Filled up on propane again for the weekend, and it looks like I'm not getting a break at all. :cry:

[Galena]

Wow, you're still getting tons...mine have all sensibly slowed down, some cloudy sap but none buddy. I got a measly 13l or so today, so now I only have 100l in holding to get through! :-)

[Run Forest Run!]

I brought home another 100L today. A new boil is now under way. I'm pleased to hear about the freezing over night temperatures because, with any luck, we'll be able to chuck ice in the morning.

Just received a photo from my nephew. It's of his first sap boil over a newly purchased propane burner. He's toast now. :) No turning back.

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[Lespetras]

Lesley, in an attempt to answer my own question about different flavour profiles of syrup made over wood vs. propane I conducted a major experiment yesterday. From the same storage buckets I split the sap, with half going to wood fired and half to propane fired. The nearup is very close to syrup now and I'll be able to offer up my thoughts on any differences very soon. My sample size was something upwards of 75L+ being directed to each cooking method.

Did you find a difference in taste?
We are just about finished boiling our last bit of sap and pulled our spiles today! Sad it's coming to an end

[Run Forest Run!]

Lesley, there is certainly a difference in taste. Once I'm finished making dinner and my palate isn't overwhelmed any longer with the flavours of that, I'll put a more thorough explanation together. I was very pleased with the test as the conditions were perfect. I didn't have any mishaps, no accidental burnings, scorching or any such thing. So, there was nothing much to account for the difference other than the method of cooking. On the surface the propane syrup tastes lighter with brown sugar notes while the wood syrup has more depth of flavour with (believe it or not) a definite cinnamon finish. Weird.

[Galena]

...On the surface the propane syrup tastes lighter with brown sugar notes while the wood syrup has more depth of flavour with (believe it or not) a definite cinnamon finish. Weird.

Cinnamon is there on the flavour wheel, so all good :-) Now how much did you boil the sap down on the propane and wood - did you just get it to nearup then finish the final batches on the stove, or did you actually finish it off to syrup over propane and wood? I do all my boiling from sap to syrup on an electric stove, but want to get some smokey syrup, so plan to try and make some on the outdoors arch.

[Lespetras]

Karen,

I do agree that there is a difference.. It's hard to pinpoint, but cinnamon is an interesting take. Ours (we did 2 batches approx 10 litres of wood fire syrup) tasted still very sweet but Darren swears there's a smokey hint to it which he loved. I thought more heavy tasting. Definitely had more niter (or wood byproduct) than the propane evaporated syrup. But nevertheless both ways produced amazing results!

[Run Forest Run!]

Galena, I finished both batches over electric heat so that there was no chance of messing things up with a scorch. I had a really hot fire going, and an efficient flue, so there was next to no ash etc in my wood batch. There was only the slightest hint of smokiness, which I found very surprising. I had expected a very pronounced smokiness. I suppose if you don't divert the smoke away like I did you'll get a smokey syrup.

Lesley, like your husband does I can also detect a slight smokiness which is really nice. Nothing pronounced, but it's there. I also agree that the flavour, as you say, seems more heavy tasting. I'd say it tastes like it has more depth of flavour, if that makes sense. The propane boiled syrup isn't exposed to as much direct flame and heat so I suspect that the flavours remain more delicate.

For the wood boiled syrup I get the following flavours in order: dark brown sugar, a mild smokiness, marshmallow, sponge toffee, cinnamon with a black licorice taste left in the mouth.
For the propane boiled syrup I get: molasses (big time! just like the orange wrapped Hallowe'en kisses), light brown sugar, marshmallow and also with lingering black licorice flavour finish.

Both syrups finished to the same colour. I haven't put it in bottles yet, but it looks like it will register as light. I didn't notice any more niter one way or the other.

[Ghs57]

I brought home another 100L today. A new boil is now under way. I'm pleased to hear about the freezing over night temperatures because, with any luck, we'll be able to chuck ice in the morning.

Just received a photo from my nephew. It's of his first sap boil over a newly purchased propane burner. He's toast now. :) No turning back.

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Karen,

You are right, he's toast. It might be possible for a professional to de-program him, but the success rate is very low.

What is the burner he using? I think you had the same ones in your picture of your setup. I'm looking for a burner, but have not seen anything like that.

[Run Forest Run!]

Those propane burners are available here in Canada in our Home Hardware stores and our Canadian Tire stores. They put out 60,000 BTUs which really get the sap ripping.

[JeffB]

Omg!!!!!!!!
My son in all his greatness decided while I at work today to try and boil some SAP to show his girl friend how.:mad:
He burnt a section of the finishing pan near the draw off.
Now my new pan has a mild upward warp and a 6x6 black burnt area any ideas how to clean this off and restore the polished mirror finish.
I need answers before I kill him and go to jail and never make syrup again !lol

[Ghs57]

Those propane burners are available here in Canada in our Home Hardware stores and our Canadian Tire stores. They put out 60,000 BTUs which really get the sap ripping.

Very nice. Might have to make a trip over the border. I'm boiling the last of my sap left in the pan on a burner made for heating irons for copper roofing and gutters. Seems to be working, but not ideal.

[Galena]

Ouch, Jeff. I would start by using white vinegar, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and let it sit awhile to help loosen up the burnt stuff. Then - drawing on my past experience in a fine-dining resto as a dishwasher - then REALLY scrubbing at it with those green scouring pads, try some baking soda too and lots of elbow grease. Go to Bulk Barn and get a lot of baking soda (it's very cheap) - make sure it isn't baking powder, which looks just like it but is 3x more $$$!! I would NOT use SOS pads due to the chemicals in them. That and the fact that they seem to rust out right after you use them! Then rinse is best you can with multiple changes of hot water til there is no odour of any kind left. Hope this works!!

[Run Forest Run!]

Very nice. Might have to make a trip over the border. I'm boiling the last of my sap left in the pan on a burner made for heating irons for copper roofing and gutters. Seems to be working, but not ideal.

This is the one at Canadian Tire
http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/masterchef-stand-fryer-0853259p.html#.Vv84QJr5PDc

This is the one at Home Hardware:
https://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Outdoor-Living/Seasonal/Barbecues/Outdoor-Burners/Propane/1-Burner-Outdoor-Propane-Stove-with-Hose-and-Regulator/_/N-ntmdk/R-I6420768

There are Canadian Tire and Home Hardware stores all over the country. With the current $ exchange rate, we'll likely pay you to buy one. :lol:

[MaxJ]

Omg!!!!!!!!
My son in all his greatness decided while I at work today to try and boil some SAP to show his girl friend how.:mad:
He burnt a section of the finishing pan near the draw off.
Now my new pan has a mild upward warp and a 6x6 black burnt area any ideas how to clean this off and restore the polished mirror finish.
I need answers before I kill him and go to jail and never make syrup again !lol

The one way to get the pan straight again is to anneal the bottom again with a high speed pad. It heats the stainless up again through polishing and then let it cool, then repeated again. Having burnt my pan the shop got it to lay flat again, but the centre section still had a valley to to where the syrup lays deeper.
The black stuff stuck to the pan I found that a one sided razor blade works the best for cleaning stuff off the pan. The creosote build up on the under side of the pans comes right off with the blade.

[MaxJ]

Ouch, Jeff. I would start by using white vinegar, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and let it sit awhile to help loosen up the burnt stuff. Then - drawing on my past experience in a fine-dining resto as a dishwasher - then REALLY scrubbing at it with those green scouring pads, try some baking soda too and lots of elbow grease. Go to Bulk Barn and get a lot of baking soda (it's very cheap) - make sure it isn't baking powder, which looks just like it but is 3x more $$$!! I would NOT use SOS pads due to the chemicals in them. That and the fact that they seem to rust out right after you use them! Then rinse is best you can with multiple changes of hot water til there is no odour of any kind left. Hope this works!!

The green scouring pads will scratch the mirror finish right off the pans! I say this as I scrubbed a small section in the middle of the 2'x4' back pan and now it has a scrub mark of scratches. Baking soda and water paste will help and it will neutralize any pan cleaner if you go the way, rinse, rinse, and do another to make sure.

[Galena]

The green scouring pads will scratch the mirror finish right off the pans! I say this as I scrubbed a small section in the middle of the 2'x4' back pan and now it has a scrub mark of scratches. Baking soda and water paste will help and it will neutralize any pan cleaner if you go the way, rinse, rinse, and do another to make sure.

True, you may lose that mirror finish...but at least you'll have got the worst of the burnt on stuff off. Remember I said I worked in a restaurant kitchen - they don't care too much about cosmetic details like that, they just care about getting stuff as cleaned up as much as possible. You should see how battle-scarred those pots and pans are!

There is also a cleaning product I use in my business whose texture is roughly like that of toothpaste, that I used to help get cooked-on food residue off of my buffet pan, but don't know how it would do on such a bad burn. But it does clean without killing the finish. If interested, it's called Scour-Off and is a Shaklee product.

Oh, and silly me, thinking that today would a sap-free day cause it's nice and cool out. Nope! As I was loading up the car with laundry I heard that telltale plink-plink-plink...checked...looks like all my late runners, who've been sitting back giving good but not crazy amounts of sap, are now starting their run! And it's still clear and gorgeous sap...Noooo!!!!!

[cheesegenie]

It happens. Even to me this spring when the front leg of the evaporator slipped down putting it off level, didn't see it, but did smell it. Just scraped it with a razor scraper. Don't be too hard on him, I'm sure he feels bad. The problem would be the distraction, the girlfriend !

[Bruce L]

Jeff ,if you are finished Sugarmaking for this year,go to a TSC store and get phosphoric acid,or millstone remover,put it on pure,then scrub of with a brush.If you use any thing that wil scratch the pan,the scratches will immediately fill up with nitre and reburn your pan down the road.If you are not finished Sugarmaking you can still do this,but then I would rinse and rinse and rinse again,and even boil water in the pan to be sure,drain and rinse again.Good luck ,let us know how it turns out.Sounds like something our son would have tried also,was going to fire the arch once,started to open the door without turning the blowers down.

[JeffB]

OK I have calmed down.
Update 3gallons of vinegar added 8 gallons of fresh SAP and a really small fire in the arch to bring it up to a simmer,then let it sit 4 hours.
Pan came pretty clean without scrubbing, went to Grainger and got a ultra fine polishing marron and within 5 minutes and a very light scrub the burn mark came right off with out scratching the pan, it did take the mirror finish off in the area I scrubbed .
I'm sure with buffing wheel I can get the mirror back later in the summer.
As far as the warp, it's a upward warp only about a 1\8 to 3\16 not to bad I don't think it will hurt much will just have to run pan a wee bit deeper.
As far as the son goes he is banned from sugar shack with anything that he might be able to start a fire with !!!!!!
I think he knows how "frustrated" I was when he maned up by the choice words I used ! Lol
Someone once told me take the time to know yours kids.
I know my kids and his intentions were great and ment well. So how can you stay mad at that ?
But next time he feels like sugaring I have a ton of wood to split before he is upgraded to sugar maker !! LOL
And as far as me ! . In my next life it's gonna be "Have more dogs then kids" LMAO

[JeffB]

Cheers !
Here's to good season total production 0f my last run and clean out finished and bottled . 30.25 liters of great tasting medium grade.14122
Hope you had a great season and as much fun as we did .
Maple season 2016 is in the books for me !:)

[Galena]

Looks great Jeff, and glad you were able to clean up your pan without damaging it. Great looking syrup too!

Did a happy dance this morning around my frozen solid sap storage bottles, letting them thaw now. Frozen sap in the bottom of the pails, letting it be cause it's windy and keeping the pails on the trees :-) Also had fun playing hooky from sugaring yesterday and went for an afternoon jaunt down to Brockville. Came back up by way of Smiths Falls and Rideau Ferry, I wanted to get some 1l jugs, but sadly Covell's was closed by then. Ah well.

Finished off batch #6 last night, very nice amber with a terrific strong maple flavour. Haven't tried to Brix it yet, letting it finish going through fresh filters this morning as they clogged up last night. I have to put up all my syrup because I have no room left in my fridge for stuff like food, so will be carefully re-heating and re-filtering today. At least that's the plan!

[Ghs57]

This is the one at Canadian Tire
http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/masterchef-stand-fryer-0853259p.html#.Vv84QJr5PDc

This is the one at Home Hardware:
https://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Outdoor-Living/Seasonal/Barbecues/Outdoor-Burners/Propane/1-Burner-Outdoor-Propane-Stove-with-Hose-and-Regulator/_/N-ntmdk/R-I6420768

There are Canadian Tire and Home Hardware stores all over the country. With the current $ exchange rate, we'll likely pay you to buy one. :lol:

Thanks Karen. I don't usually follow the exchange rate, but sometime hear it on the radio. Didn't know it was that low. Seems like I will have to visit though; these stores do not seem to ship stateside. I was last in Ontario many years ago (Kingston) which is funny because my address here is Kingston, NY.

[Bushfrosh]

Finished boiling about 1.5 hours ago. Finally tally (before any reprocessing efforts to eliminate niter clouds that have emerged in the odd batch) is 103.28L and 16 batches of syrup. Over 2L per spile. Insane. I thought it would be 10 years before I saw anything like last year. Now last year looks small. My brother-in-law has got the boiling bug too and he is going to attempt to boil the sap we collected April 1. However, I think it is buddy but time will tell. My season is done. Except for the reprocessing. And the cleaning. And the puttering for next season. Aah, sweet, sweet, maple syrup making!!!

It's been a pleasure reading everyone's posts over the past 1+ months. What a season!

[maple75]

Boiled my fourth batch today, had 200 liters of sap and got 5.75 liters of syrup. I am now over half way to my 40 liter for 40 tap goal. Long range forecast says below freezing here for the next week then a few good days before highs of 21C. Looks like I am just a little too far north to have benefited from the sap tsunami everyone else got but it is not over yet!

Hoping to try some birch syrup, anyone have experience to share.

[cheesegenie]

I made some birch syrup a few years ago, takes forever to boil down, 120 to 1. Don't care about the taste of it, tastes like old fashioned candy kisses. Won't do it again, but got it off the bucket list and THAT is important.

[Lespetras]

Finished boiling about 1.5 hours ago. Finally tally (before any reprocessing efforts to eliminate niter clouds that have emerged in the odd batch) is 103.28L and 16 batches of syrup. Over 2L per spile. Insane. I thought it would be 10 years before I saw anything like last year. Now last year looks small. My brother-in-law has got the boiling bug too and he is going to attempt to boil the sap we collected April 1. However, I think it is buddy but time will tell. My season is done. Except for the reprocessing. And the cleaning. And the puttering for next season. Aah, sweet, sweet, maple syrup making!!!

It's been a pleasure reading everyone's posts over the past 1+ months. What a season!

Woo-wee! And I thought I was doing well! That's a great yield per tree, congrats!

[Galena]

I've decided that I'm going to keep on going, for as long as the trees continue to produce good clean sap, which they are (albeit it's frozen at the moment). I have only 17l left in the backlog (harhar) to get through so I need something to keep me from getting bored!

Oh yeah so far...601l collected and just over 20l syrup. So got my 1l syrup per tap quota!

[Big_Eddy]

I'm done. 14 batches total. Drained the flue pan yesterday and finished off the last 6l of syrup. Pans are soaking in vinegar.

We had collected 25 gals Saturday evening but by Sunday morning it was not smelling like something I wanted to boil.

Here's the progression. Extra Light / Golden (78%) to Amber / Dark (30%)
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Yes. That is snow in the background!:rolleyes:

Of course - our buckets are still hanging on the trees, so if there were to be a nice run of sap it probably wouldn't take too much arm twisting to convince me to boil it down. :lol:

[ennismaple]

Thank goodness for this deep freeze! Making 0.6L/tap from Sunday-Saturday is about all we could handle - both physically and mentally. The woodpile and the ambition are both getting low but once the weather warms up we should be ready for one more hard push to the end!

The syrup on Friday and Saturday was definitely getting darker with a very robust taste - just the way I like it. There was no off taste so I think we're OK with respect to the trees budding out. All the tanks are clean and empty waiting out this week's weather.

[saphound]

HEY! POLAR VORTEX! Get your big cold *** over here right frickin NOW and stop the trees from giving any more sap for a few days!

Let's see if that helps :-)


Ok Susan.. *tappin foot* ..I realize y'all needed a break, but next time you go to summon up the polor vortex gods, could you please add "AND STAY THE FRICK ON OUR SIDE OF THE BORDER!" Dam thing swooped down here and knocked our power out for a day and a half..along with about 100,000 other people! :mad::cool:

[Galena]

Ok Susan.. *tappin foot* ..I realize y'all needed a break, but next time you go to summon up the polor vortex gods, could you please add "AND STAY THE FRICK ON OUR SIDE OF THE BORDER!" Dam thing swooped down here and knocked our power out for a day and a half..along with about 100,000 other people! :mad::cool:

Oopsie! My bad:emb: Want me to yell at the Polar Vortex gods now to not do that again? Besides, you now have a brand-spankin new toque to keep your head warm when the power's out, hehe!

[saphound]

Yes I do..and good thing too...could hit single digits here tonight. Yes.. yell "GETCH YER COLd A** BUTTS BACK UP HERE
RIGHT NOW!" at them and I won't tell my neighbors who was responsible, lol.

[Galena]

Yes I do..and good thing too...could hit single digits here tonight. Yes.. yell "GETCH YER COLd A** BUTTS BACK UP HERE
RIGHT NOW!" at them and I won't tell my neighbors who was responsible, lol.

Yessir! Just let me turn the burners on and make another giant batch of nearup and get the batch from April 2 going....

Ok the PV gods will obey if you post a selfie with the hat on. That would please them.

[Clamer33]

I'm with ya Bruce, I think I might have a couple of days left in me, everything is cleaned and waiting...Just don't know how much more I can take. Our wood pile is only good for a couple of hard days. I have one 34 and one 13 gallon barrel left to fill and I would love to get there. If we can fill that we would be 230 gallons on 775 taps. 1.2L per a tap. That would be a nice year!

[Vandy]

Drip, Drip onto a bed of sap ice that's been sitting for a few cold days.. I will be collecting tonight or tomorrow again :)

[Run Forest Run!]

Things are starting to drip here in Caledon. Ready for another go.

[MaxJ]

Got the pans all cleaned up, containers washed out again and everything started to run this afternoon, collected 95 gallons by 7pm so it's back to boiling in the morning again. Pulled a couple of buckets as the trees had gone to bud just in the past day it seems, so it's getting close to the end.

[ennismaple]

We ran the pumps all day yesterday and got barely better than 1/4 gallon per tap which is not enough for us to fire up the RO and The Beast. A lot of that sap had been in the tubing for almost a week so it came out very grungy - so we dumped it. Hopefully Monday/Tuesday's run is strong and worth boiling.

[Clamer33]

WE did the samething yesterday. And dumped all of yesterday collection till late afternoon once it ran clear. Boiled off about 100 gallons on a few hours that passed thru the RO a couple of times. Brix was low to start a 1.4% Heading out to shut the pumps off and see what we collected. Cant see it being more then 300 gallons. And that will have to wait till monday also. Though I think Monday and Tuesday will likely be the end. Buds are breaking and it could be anytime

[JeffB]

Hey all...
Well i pulled the trigger and decided to build a proper sugar house 14x16 rather then boil in my sugar 3 sided lean too.
I started drawing up plans this afternoon and putting together a supply list for each section of house . (floor, walls,roof ect )
After reading a lot about design they say it best to have evaporator in the center of everything what i would like to know is there any disadvantage to having evaporator in the center but pushed toward the back wall to optimize space and ease of having it fed by the feed tank planned for the north side outside.
I plan on building the cupila above the arch but just closer to the north wall intead of the center of the house.
Any thoughts on this or opinions

[Galena]

I think you may want to check with local building codes, see if there's anything about clearance to the back wall. If you're building out of brick, maybe you would be OK, but with a wooden structure it may not be such a good idea.

[cheesegenie]

You will not be sorry you built it. My evaporator is over to one side, gives me space for other stuff, like the tractor and loader in the winter and my bee hives in the summer. Also table and radial saw for workshop. It does have a cement poured floor, glad I did that, I was only to use gravel but my boys talked me into cement.

[JeffB]

Lol, building codes that would involve talking to a inspector that might alert them to a possible structure and inspections and so on.
This sugar house is going in the middle of my sugar bush, out sight,outta mind kinda thing.
I can't do a concrete slab because of cost and location, I'm planning 2x8 floor joist on 16 inch centers with 5/8 floor sheeting with cement board under arch fire box extended wider and longer in the front to catch any embers that might fall out of door.
Other then Windows a cupula and large doors ,any good ideas that I should consider while making some rough plans

[Jim Coleman]

Jeff: I just finished my 10 by 12 sugar house before boiling started, I couldn't afford to pour a slab so I found some used patio stones on Kijiji (free). They were the big stones 24" by 30" I just leveled the area put down some screenings tamped it and laid the stones, I have a good solid fire resistant floor. I think it is preferable to wood and there are lots of stones available for free. I place the cupola as you say towards one end for space considerations. After boiling season I slide the evaporator off to the side which provides more room until next year. I built the cupola separately and errected afterwords. I build a steam hood out of some used galvanized steel which captures the steam quite nicely and directs it out. My chimney goes out the wall (insulated pipe through wood wall) and then runs on the outside bracketed to the facia board so it is quite a ways from the wall.

Here is a photo of the semi-finished sugar house that suits my needs as a hobbyist.

14188

[MaxJ]

The one thing that the previous owner installed in my shack was gable openings on hinges, so the inside has a rope running through a couple of eyelets screwed into the rafters, and attached to the gable. The other end of the rope has cable ties with the replacement links one would use in a light chain. So as I open the gable up more I can just hook a different link up to the hook on the wall. Just have to pull the rope at night to close the ends up again. It really lets the steam out also, it would help to have a little more over hang on the roof line, as the driving rain can get in a bit. For a steel roof, go a natural colour as Gal-alum. sticks out like a light beam on the mapping for the counties, impact,tax,:rolleyes:

[JeffB]

Lmao I hear you on the gal aluminium lol .wonder if I can order green and brown camoflage coloured tin for the roof.
Also thanks Luke I tryed to mail you but says user not found.

[Galena]

Well, just cold-Brix'd #7 and it's wayyyy over! Dang! So I got my work cut out for me this morning, once I get showered and dressed. I've also been turning some of batches #1 and #3 into sugar with my awesome new toy, a KitchenAid stand mixer :-) Works great! It's just getting the **** syrup to 265ish without it scorching that takes forever. I've found that 1l syrup in a 5l pot is about right, and my mixer can turn that into nice demerara-like sugar in like 4 minutes, on no more than setting 6 (for some reason my model didn't come with a spatter shield - grr) So lugging syrup out to BC will be easy this year cause it's going to be sugar, and it can be reconstituted back into syrup!

[MaxJ]

Well, just cold-Brix'd #7 and it's wayyyy over! Dang! So I got my work cut out for me this morning, once I get showered and dressed. I've also been turning some of batches #1 and #3 into sugar with my awesome new toy, a KitchenAid stand mixer :-) Works great! It's just getting the **** syrup to 265ish without it scorching that takes forever. I've found that 1l syrup in a 5l pot is about right, and my mixer can turn that into nice demerara-like sugar in like 4 minutes, on no more than setting 6 (for some reason my model didn't come with a spatter shield - grr) So lugging syrup out to BC will be easy this year cause it's going to be sugar, and it can be reconstituted back into syrup!

265F is high! I've done a few 150's for taffy treats for friends but never thought about going higher. Great to hear that the mixer works well, on my wish list for this year to get one. Gee since you're only lugging sugar out to BC you'll have have room to lug some syrup out for me. :mrgreen:

[Galena]

265F is high! I've done a few 150's for taffy treats for friends but never thought about going higher. Great to hear that the mixer works well, on my wish list for this year to get one. Gee since you're only lugging sugar out to BC you'll have have room to lug some syrup out for me. :mrgreen:

I've heard from 260 to 275, so figured 265 would be good. Trick is to use medium level of heat and a deep enough pot. And don't panic when you see the foam start to darken and it smells almost scorchy, though by then it's usually pretty much ready to be taken off. And watch out for steam when you KitchenAid it, I have a tea towel handy to wipe the underside of the mixer so condensation doesn't fall into the mixing bowl and make sugar rocks.

And hah, nice try, but I'm actually trying to travel light for once. Try is the operative word here :-)

[Clinkis]

Made it official today and pulled all my taps. I know it looks like we will get a run the next couple days but we are leaving on vacation Thursday so don't have time and need to get things cleaned up and put away. No complaints, been a great year especially considering all the doom and gloom with our bizarre winter weather. Everything worked well, made just over a litre per tap (195 litre from 194 taps) and syrup quality was excellent.

Wheels are already spinning and making plans for next season. Good luck to all of you that are going to stick it out to the bitter end.

[Big_Eddy]

Well, just cold-Brix'd #7 and it's wayyyy over! Dang! So I got my work cut out for me this morning, once I get showered and dressed.

Susan - short story - add 20ml of water / sap for every litre of syrup to reduce the density by 1 Brix. Empty your PM box, and I'll send you a more detailed response to your questions.

[Galena]

Susan - short story - add 20ml of water / sap for every litre of syrup to reduce the density by 1 Brix. Empty your PM box, and I'll send you a more detailed response to your questions.

Just chucked out a ton of PMs, go for it! I way overdid it yesterday in terms of adding water to #7 and now I have 3 f****d batches that are all around 15hashmarks over Brix :-(

I am now trying to do it the *right* way, with hot syrup and heated hydrorthem in cup, letting it sit several minutes, blahblahblah, and all I'm getting is more frustrated, and losing syrup. I kid you not, I am on the verge of tears.

[Vandy]

Just chucked out a ton of PMs, go for it! I way overdid it yesterday in terms of adding water to #7 and now I have 3 f****d batches that are all around 15hashmarks over Brix :-(

I am now trying to do it the *right* way, with hot syrup and heated hydrorthem in cup, letting it sit several minutes, blahblahblah, and all I'm getting is more frustrated, and losing syrup. I kid you not, I am on the verge of tears.

For us hobbyists, these tools create bad then good on our small batches.. I stressed over the perfect syrup for first year and a half with a hydrometer and hydrotherm and now just go by the way it drips off the ladle...

Don't stress over it, go back to they way u used to do it and enjoy your delicious syrup..

[Galena]

For us hobbyists, these tools create bad then good on our small batches.. I stressed over the perfect syrup for first year and a half with a hydrometer and hydrotherm and now just go by the way it drips off the ladle...

Don't stress over it, go back to they way u used to do it and enjoy your delicious syrup..

Thanks for the advice, but sadly I don't have a choice. I don't have a chest freezer that I can dedicate only to maple syrup storage - though my mentors have about 7 of them! I need to get these batches out of my fridge and into dry storage. I plan to finish sugaring #1 and #3, but not everyone wants sugar. I need to get those batches, and any subsequent batches, to Brix so I can do it right. I also plan to compete and enter syrup in local fairs so it has to be up to snuff. Or Brix.

What I really need is someone to show me how to finish syrup. I don't mind travelling. I'll bring my syrup and hydrotherm etc cause maybe this time it actually is a faulty therm. But I need to be able to watch and see and ask a billion questions, then take my Brix'd off syrup back home, 185 it and bottle it in good conscience. Any volunteers?

[Galena]

Oh yeah sorry to piggyback, but those asking me about making sugar...may I suggest checking out the excellent forum here on making sugar and candy, as I am still very much a noob and am experiencing some growing pains in that department, too. Sugarmaker in particular gives very good advice.

Let's just say that today I learned the hard way that humidity is NOT your friend!!!!!! Two days ago I easily sugared a batch in less than 5 minutes. Today it's taken much longer, almost 40 min, and I finally twigged that the rainy weather was mebbe having an effect. So I'm trying to dry it out on a cookie sheet in the oven at 170, door cracked open, just as though you were making beef jerky.

[Clamer33]

Finishing is the easiest and yet pain staking part to do, unless you can finish on your evaporator. What I do is boil till about 98% finished on the evaporator. Then finish by propane. This way it is controlled. I tired an hydrotherm and they can be ok but fussy. So I stay with a hydrometer. It is finished when the redline on the paper floats even with the syrup "60 F". Only need to keep an eye out to make sure the syrup doesn't boil over the pan. As the bubbles get smaller it is getting closer. Test many times, making sure the cup is hot, slowly lower the hydrometer into the cup, let it sit a second, check a couple more times. Done filter and bottle or put into drums. Very simply I like our syrup to be around 67.5 so I normally will go one to two marks over. Then add water to adjust before bottling. I would rather have it just over then have to boil it down again. Plus not all of the hydrometer or hydrotherm's are a like so you should always have more then one, just in case. And check both to make sure they read the same.

When not boiling, and you need to check the density. Just refer to the density correction chart. Put a digital thermometer in the syrup, insert the hydrometer, look at the chart to the add or minus number add together and that is your density.

[OCHTO]

Clamer33, Where did you find a density correction chart. I was wondering how that works! Thank You

[Clamer33]

http://en.cdlinc.ca/Data/Sites/7/SharedFiles/use-a-hydrometer.pdf

just make sure your hydrometer is rated to the same scale.

[OCHTO]

Thank You for the quick reply. I will have to study that. I think my syrup I packed in 2 qt jars is too thick and I didn't want to take it to a boil to check it. I can test it at 185 before I put it in smaller bottles.

[cowboy729]

Looking forward to drowning in sap for the last couple of days of the season up here. If only I can keep the flying squirrels out of the buckets so I don't have to dump the good sap. Collected yesterday and had 5 flying squirrels out of 150 buckets with lids.

[MaxJ]

Looking forward to drowning in sap for the last couple of days of the season up here. If only I can keep the flying squirrels out of the buckets so I don't have to dump the good sap. Collected yesterday and had 5 flying squirrels out of 150 buckets with lids.

I found one the other day in a bucket, it kind of took me back when I opened the lid getting ready to take the bucket off the tree. I took a photo of it floating around in the sap, as I didn't quite know what it was at the time.
I donated a couple of bottles of syrup to a local fundraiser and over coffee yesterday everybody was commenting on the one old fellow that won a bottle and he opened it up and drank some on the spot. He was raving on how great the syrup tasted and I told the committee that it was made with "Tree Rat Sap" and showed them the picture. Everyone had a great laugh over this and commented that I have to show the ol' fellow the picture when he comes over to buy some syrup.

[Vandy]

Anyone else getting sap worms also? I want to bottle one and see if it will be like a tequila worm :)

[Galena]

Jeez, flying squirrels, sapworms...all I get are bugs in my sap!

[ennismaple]

The sap ran well overnight on Monday so I had yet another big day yesterday. Sap quality was good and we made a couple drums of 48 LT (barely into Dark-Robust) syrup with great flavor! Filtering went well and it definitely didn't have the "end of the year" smell while boiling. When I turned the pumps off last night the new sap coming in was crystal clear. It froze hard so I expect a decent run today and tomorrow. We might finish up tomorrow, maybe Saturday if the quality is still good. We haven't made any Very Dark yet and there is some demand for it so one more boil on the weekend may be worthwhile. After that it's all over but cleaning 100,000 feet of tubing!

[Galena]

Sadly my trees have started to slow down quite a lot, from almost 22l yesterday to barely 7l today. Basically 1 active spile per tree, and only 3 trees are really doing the heavy lifting now. I think my little 5-tree bush is...well...bushed from the sap tsunami a couple weeks back. Can't complain though, record amount of well over 600l sap and 8 batches (though the latter may be augmented by the 'dirty diapers' - the nitre-soaked cloth filters I've kept in the freezer) depending on how much if any I get tomorrow and Friday.

[MaxJ]

Well I pulled all the taps today and hopefully finishing off the last boil tomorrow, 75% of the buckets were over flowing by late morning, and all the 5 gallon containers on the lines were full. By the time I got to pulling the taps from the lines there was still a steady little flow coming out. When I removed the first tap there was this long sucking sound so the natural vacuum was really working well. This has been one hard year for some reason, maybe it was the simple fact of trying to do too much with what I have in place. Too many taps for the evaporation rate so it was a huge bottle neck right there, this plus equipment brake downs were daily it seemed to the point the repair shop was saying see you tomorrow.:) Overall things are levelling out getting into the groove so to speak, but bone tired from all the lugging and splitting. I'll add up the numbers of what's what when I'm all done, then the wish list starts.

[Galena]

Approx 11l sap today, absolutely beautiful clear, scent-free sap from trees whose buds are only just starting to show...a good 2-3 weeks after my reds by now. I pulled the spiles on #5 and #6 today, the poor things seem beat. #1 is the little dark horse this season, roaring up the butt of this season's superstar, the big #2 (who is about 3x #1's size). And #9 is quietly sitting there on the north side of the property, quietly plunking out a couple litres each day.

[Galena]

*crickets chirping* Wow everyone must be busy boiling down the last batch and/or cleaning equipment, only reason I can think of for zilch activity for last day or so!

Can't complain. Three spiles left, one per tree, all dripping perfect sap, but all noticeably slower. The ones I pulled a day ago are bone-dry around the spile holes, thank gawd, as I hate to see the trees cry. Kinda bummed out, have those last-day blues.

Grand total (pulling last three spiles today, out of time): 700l sap, as there is definitely no more than 1l between those three last stubborn spiles, and somewhere between 25-27l syrup. About 1l less if you take into account all the tinkering I did to try and Brix it, and still no better at it than I was before :-( So I am just going to reheat to 185 and jug what I can, keep the rest in the fridge, maybe put another batch into the sugar production line. You can make an awful lot of sugar from syrup!!

[ennismaple]

We had one last boil on Saturday. We dialed the RO waaaaay back and pushed 2500 gallons of sap through the membranes for about 4 hours before firing up. I went to go pull taps and wash one bush with 450 taps just after we started to send concentrate to the feed tank. By the time I got back my brother had maybe 50 gallons left to boil! The auto-runoff was open more than it was closed for those 2 hours. The syrup was definitely in the very dark category (18 LT) but still tasted great! We will have no problem selling that as table syrup. We pushed 300 gallons of permeate through behind the concentrate and boiled until we couldn't get any more runoffs.

Yesterday we drained the pans and filled them with 300 gallons of sap so they can sit for a month. The RO got put away and we managed to pull another 750 taps in the afternoon. All the drums are back are in the basement at the house (is my back ever sore!) and you can finally turn around without running into something in the camp. We will get the rest of the taps pulled and washed this weekend.

Some seasons you are sad to see the end - but not this year!!!!

[Bruce L]

Finished back washing the tubing yesterday morning,lots of snotty looking yeast came out! Vacuumed the arch clean of any ashes this morning,brought the generator home so it wouldn't grow legs. Back pan has lines in it already where the crap is lifting off the flues. Not sure how we'll wash next year if I get a steam away on top of the pans.

[saphound]

And so goes 2016. It's been great talkin to y'all again this year. Thanks again for the hat, Galena...I'll get that pic one of these days. Hope everyone has a good rest of the year enjoying the fruits of your labor! See ya's around next January.*wavin* :cool:

[Galena]

*sniffing* Bye, Saphound! Send me that pic when you get it and have a good rest of 2016! :-)

[Run Forest Run!]

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, scraping, more scraping and final density adjustments for the last three batches. What a great year we had! 2016 sap and syrup numbers coming soon.

[JeffB]

Hi all
Hows your summer going.
Here is a update on the sugar shack im making
Made a few changes in size but will add on later due to cost .
I have gon to a 8x12 instead of 14x16.
I am looking for framing ideas for the copula i plan in 2ftx4ftby2.5 high but not sure how to frame it into roof. Does any one have pictures that could help.
Here is my progress so floor walls ridge beam are all done and squared and its ready to start framing copula and the rest of the roof.14453[/ATTACH[ATTACH=CONFIG]14453144531445314454

[mspina14]

Not sure if this will help, but attached below are interior and exterior photos of the cupola on my 8X12 sugar shack.

The shack is timber-framed so a little different then yours. But the concept is the same.

The cupola opening is basically a box made of of 2X6's attached to roof rafters on either end. The "walls" of the cupola sit on top of the box.

1446014461144621446314464

Hope this helps.

good luck.

Mark

[JeffB]

Ok thats great thats what i was thinking.Just wasnt sure how siding and flashing would run together. Did you leave a portion of the 2x6 raised above the common rafter or keep it flush then build the box walls on top

[mspina14]

Ok thays great thays what i was thinking.Just wasnt sure how siding and flashing would run together. Did you leave a portion of the 2x6 raised above the common rafter or keep it flush then build the box walls ontop

Not sure I understand the question completely.

But if you look at the 2nd picture in my post, the end of the 2X6's are more or less flush with the top of the rafters at the end of the "box". The rafters in the middle of the shack butt up against the side of the 2X6.

Hope this helps.

Mark

[JeffB]

Ok that's the info I was looking for . Good pictures to go from i like ur design. Looking at your pics I'm assuming your length is six feet long how wide and tall did you go .I'm going to try and copy the look of your shack. My plans also include a lean too off the side of shack for wood storage. If possible I plan on adding another 8x12 shack right in front of this shacks doors to add length for a bottling/ sitting area.

[mspina14]

Ok that's the info I was looking for . Good pictures to go from i like ur design. Looking at your pics I'm assuming your length is six feet long how wide and tall did you go .I'm going to try and copy the look of your shack. My plans also include a lean too off the side of shack for wood storage. If possible I plan on adding another 8x12 shack right in front of this shacks doors to add length for a bottling/ sitting area.

Thanks.

The cupola is 8'X4'. I built the shack with plans and materials from Jamaica Cottage Shop. The cupola is probably larger than it needs to be. 6'X4' is more than large enough.

I don't recall the height of the cupola walls. I think they are 20". I am on the road all week traveling for business. I'll check the plans when I get home this weekend.

Mark

[JeffB]

That would be great thanks .I look forward to hearing from you. I'm on road this week as well and hope to get framing complete this weekend. Then roof then siding then .. then ..then..Lol. It never ends with sugaring your always building fixing improving something !

[JeffB]

Hi
Here is a update all framing is done trusses copula and a 63x24 window I managed to aquire from a friend that just replaced his home windows.
Thanks fo1449114492r the help and pictures.
More to follow1448914490

[JeffB]

Hey all....
Just a quick update the main part of the roof is on.
Hope for better weather Sunday.
It never fails weather man called for showers and as soon as i set up to start working is started raining.
I managed to plow forward in the rain and got the roof on , not near finished but panels are on.
14516

[mspina14]

Looks great!

Cupola is a nice size in proportion to the sap house.

Now that the roof is on, at least you can stay dry when you work on the inside!


Mark

[JeffB]

Here's a pic of completed so far . Finding time to build when I can with work, family and other household stuff is cutting into my free time .lol.14542

[jimmygarison]

looks great let me also try ....and wait for me i am also going to post my pictures within a week or more....

[JeffB]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...
Worked on shack as much as I could pretty much done. The stain hads been started and arch is moved in.. still a lot more to do tho...
14622146221462314624

[johnpma]

Outstanding job the only thing missing is..............SAP:lol:

[JeffB]

Who needs sap I test boiling water as soon as i can to see my new copula work it's magic .Lol
I am reworking my blower I had alot of trouble getting my front pans to boil last year some tests are gonna be needed

[johnpma]

Who needs sap I test boiling water as soon as i can to see my new copula work it's magic .Lol
I am reworking my blower I had alot of trouble getting my front pans to boil last year some tests are gonna be needed LOL Funny I boil water then draw off the hot water to wash all my buckets spouts ect........oh and you can always burn a maple scented candle :)

[JeffB]

Finally it's done ...didn't think I would I get it done ..
Only need to stain the front and side of copula. Will be alot easier with the wood shed roof to work off of.
Installed my homemade double Ridge angle roof jack and installed evaporator chimney.
Electrical and sap plumbing can be done through the winter.
To day seems like a great day to move all the firewood over to the new14669146651466614667

[Clinkis]

Looks great!

[JeffB]

Well it's done evaporator moved in electrical and plumbing are done . I completed a test boil to see if new air under manifold needs more holes drilled in it. Pan was boiling in 10 minutes and I was impressed had flames running the entire length of My drop flues.

[Bruce L]

Looks good Jeff,my concern would be your stack,looks pretty close to cupola