totes for hauling and storing sap?

[seandicare]

this will be my first year tapping more than a dozen trees...this year i am looking at 70-80 trees. i am trying to figure out how i am going to be able to transport the sap 2 miles from the bush to my evaporator, using my little subaru outback; not alot of room for large tanks.

*** I was wondering if the rubbermaid or sterilite totes from the box stores would work? i can get the 45gal tote for around $18 and a couple would easily fit in the back hatch, and the lid should minimize splashover.

i would also use a couple more at the evap for holding until time to boil.

i've been looking around for the 55gal poly drums and such, but craigslist doesn't show anything within a couple hours of where i live.

[psparr]

Your probably gonna get an earful about the totes, but if it's for your own consumption, go for it.
My concern with them would be the lid. Even a little slosh with a full tote is going to be pretty powerful. Doubt the lid would stay on.
If there's a tractor supply nearby they should have like a 35 gallon sprayer container with a flat bottom and a screw on lid. A bit of an investment but probably better than a maple bath.

[maple75]

I have tried using totes for water before, the problem is they deform when full and the lids don't always stay on well. The Rubermaid were better than the Sterilite. the Sterilite ones actually split in the corners (first use), what a mess! New Rubbermaid garbage cans ($10 each) worked much better for what I was doing but may be too tall for your car.

[Cody]

plasticwatertanks.com any thing you need.Never dealt with them,but a start on your search.

[seandicare]

thanks for the info guys. i hadn't thought how they would hold up really....used them for wood pellets past few years and seemed decent...but liquid is a whole nother story

one thing i forgot to mention before...i am working on a very short shoestring budget, why i was wondering about the totes (cheapest way i had found) looks like i may just have to take a road trip next week.

[maple75]

I stopped by our local CDL supplier yesterday and noticed they had used 55gal food grade plastic barrels with screw on lid for $25. If you look around your area you may find something similar.

[Big_Eddy]

Something like this 13022

[Ghs57]

I use a Rubbermaid 28 gal brute tote, which is food safe, for collecting near the house. Sloshes all over the place even with the lid on. For longer distances, I use 55 gal blue plastic drums I got at Bascome's for $20 each. They have a ring clamp which holds the lid on. They do not leek a bit.

[seandicare]

Big_Eddy, that is my goal for maybe next year with a IBC tank, have a trailer already, but no tow hitch on either vehicle right now.

GHS57, i was planning on the 55gal drum, but the ones i had i didn't realize had corrosive stuff in it before. and no one around here knows anywhere within a couple hours that sells the food-safe ones....that's the problem of living in the "backwoods of nowhere"...lol

i did find a place probably 3 hours away in VT that is selling 5-6gal jugs and 14 gal drums. i have a couple not very likely leads to check out locally, this week first.

[lpakiz]

Have you checked Craigslist? Around here, there are usually several listed at any one time.

[seandicare]

Have you checked Craigslist? Around here, there are usually several listed at any one time.

that is where i found the ones 2-3 hours away...lol like i said not much around me...lol

[maple flats]

My first year I hauled in the back of a Bravada, in 5 gal cooking oil jugs I got free from a Chinese Rest. I had to clean then real well with HOT water, but them did come clean. They had screw on caps with an opening neck size just about 2". To fill then I made a funnel out of PVC, a 1.5" spout about 4" at the bottom, then a 1.5x4" coupling and then a section of 4" pipe. Since I was also using the same jugs to catch the sap in from 2-3 taps, I made a cut out in the top 4" piece to fit the neck of the jug as I poured one into another. I then hauled 10 of those in my Bravada, or maybe it was 8, either 2 rows of 4 or 2 rows of 5, I, which ever fit. That year I got about 30-35 of those jugs free, they worked well.
If you buy a plastic tank, make sure it is for potable water, spray tanks usually say "not for potable water" because they are made from recycled plastic and there is no way of knowing what may have been in it when new or a reuse later on.

[Ghs57]

GHS57, i was planning on the 55gal drum, but the ones i had i didn't realize had corrosive stuff in it before. and no one around here knows anywhere within a couple hours that sells the food-safe ones....that's the problem of living in the "backwoods of nowhere"...lol

i did find a place probably 3 hours away in VT that is selling 5-6gal jugs and 14 gal drums. i have a couple not very likely leads to check out locally, this week first.

Bascome's is a 4 hr drive each way for me, so it has to be a well planned trip for supplies, etc. Also picked up a 1000L IBC tote locally for storage, not transport. But it could be used on the truck if properly secured, and I don't drive like I'm at the races. (I'd like to keep the wheels pointing down)

[MT Pockets Producer]

https://watertown.craigslist.org/grd/5410109686.html

1 1/2 hours from you.

If you strike out In your search send me a PM with contact info. There is a guy near us that has the blue food grade barrels frequently. We paid $10 each for them last season. It would be close to a two our drive though.

[seandicare]

https://watertown.craigslist.org/grd/5410109686.html

1 1/2 hours from you.

If you strike out In your search send me a PM with contact info. There is a guy near us that has the blue food grade barrels frequently. We paid $10 each for them last season. It would be close to a two our drive though.



thanks for that one...hadn't thought of watertown, they are a couple hours away, this place is only about 30min from where i work. i'll give him a call in the morning. again, thank you very much.

[billyinvt]

Five gallon buckets with a tight lid. You just cap them as you gather. Be careful how much weight you put in the back of your wagon. Don't want to bottom out and drop your exhaust.

[seandicare]

Five gallon buckets with a tight lid. You just cap them as you gather. Be careful how much weight you put in the back of your wagon. Don't want to bottom out and drop your exhaust.

that was going to be my absolute last effort......at that it would have been roughly $100+ for the buckets to make 1 trip, and still looking for something to store at the evap.........think i might have a lead now.....should know by the middle of the week.

[JDP]

Coolers with locking lids will hold the sap in. We used them last year on our quads. Wedge a couple baffles into the cooler or use a garbage bag to stop or slow sloshing.

This year we raped an old RV for a square 40 gallon fresh water tank. Fits right on the quad and has fill and drain holes already in place.

Good luck this season.

[Russell Lampron]

Something like this 13022

It's too bad that you don't live closer to me. I have two 35 gallon tanks like the one in Big_Eddy's picture that I could lend or sell to you. Getting back to totes and garbage cans, it's not a good idea to use something that isn't food grade. It puts a black eye on maple producers when people that might buy your syrup see it. Would you eat something out of a garbage can?

[maple75]

that was going to be my absolute last effort......at that it would have been roughly $100+ for the buckets to make 1 trip, and still looking for something to store at the evap.........think i might have a lead now.....should know by the middle of the week.
Bakeries, restaurants, etc are usually a good source of quality used buckets for free.

[seandicare]

Bakeries, restaurants, etc are usually a good source of quality used buckets for free.

i heard that too. but apparently our restaurants don't get rid of their buckets. tried several with no luck.

*****edit: i did find one place that sold extra 5gal buckets for $1ea. but they only had 4.....checking back next week again....still need something bigger for storage/head tank.