Basics 101- Taps = how much syrup ?

[TerryEspo]

Talking with my friend today, he kind of stumped me when he asked how many taps would a person need to make one gallon of syrup.

I said maybe 5 trees, but now thinking maybe more or less.

Lets go with a hobby person who taps 10 trees with buckets, no vacuum, one tap per tree. In a normal season how much syrup could a person reasonable have at season end?
Hypothetically for this question say sap will be at 2%.

Thanks.

[psparr]

I know vacuum is about .4 gallon per. Give or take.
That's an average over many trees. With a hobby tapper, there are so many variables with each tree. Heck one of my trees I wouldn't have gotten a quart in 5 years! I would be safe to guess about a quart or less per tree.

[regor0]

Same here, I was .0something gallons per tap last year, on vacuum. Makes a huge difference in location, we usually have a little snow in the woods still on June 1. Last year was by far my worst year.

[Run Forest Run!]

Terry, my sap is never less than 2% and last year was a great year for me with just under 1L per tap. I'd be more than happy with that any year!

[tbear]

I figure an average of 1 pint of syrup per tap. That's an average from 65 buckets, silver maples, definitly NOT in the "Maple Belt". I usually do a little better than that though. If he/she were tapping yard trees I think 10 taps wod give them a gallon, over time. Probably more. Ted

[leaky bucket]

Terry, the old rule was 1 litre of syrup per tapper season , I have never achieved that on a continuous basis. Short seasons, poor run , all kinds of reasons. I have SAP at 2.6 and then the same tree at 1.5 mid season. So to put a answer on your q question . if I wanted 1full gal syrup ,batch cooked at 67 brix I would prob tap 12 trees. Hey if they make a gallon and ahalf ,that's a prob we all hope for.

Mike

[Cedar Eater]

I got three gallons of syrup my first year from 15 red maples. Most of the sap came from the full sun trees.

[saphound]

Lets go with a hobby person who taps 10 trees with buckets, no vacuum, one tap per tree. In a normal season how much syrup could a person reasonable have at season end?
Hypothetically for this question say sap will be at 2%.

Thanks.
That was me last year. 10 trees on buckets, no vacuum, one tap per tree. Ended up with just a hair over 2 gals. Cedar got 3 gals on 15 trees. I'd say your guess of 5 trees per gallon is pretty good.

[Big_Eddy]

The general Rule of thumb is 1l per tap in a season on buckets. This assumes a mixture of poor to great bush trees and a full season.
Over ~25 years, my lowest was 37l /200 trees (0.18l/tap - 8 day season - Ontario producers will know which year) and my best was 1.28l / tree. Once I'm over 0.8l per tree, I consider it a good year.

[212Maple]

Last year I averaged about .33 gallons of syrup per tap. 2013 I averaged over a gallon per tap (only 15 taps back then)

[saphound]

Last year I averaged about .33 gallons of syrup per tap. 2013 I averaged over a gallon per tap (only 15 taps back then)

15+ gallons of syrup from 15 taps? :confused: Seems awful high...

[wnybassman]

Last year I had .4 gallons per tap from 59 taps, mostly buckets but 18 on tubing. We had one good run after another last season even though a late start.

[Run Forest Run!]

(0.18l/tap - 8 day season - Ontario producers will know which year).

Ahhh, memories of 2012. The season that there were more tear drops than sap drops. :cry: Brutal.

[212Maple]

2013 was an 8 week season for me, heavy wet snow twice/week. It was awesome!

[Sugarmaker]

A quart per tap if you have good trees, good sap, and good season. Your mileage may vary!
Regards,
Chris

[michiganphil]

I'm not sure if the picture will show up, but here's an old page from the maple producers manual. It bases crop yield on 1 quart of syrup/tap.

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