How much sap can I expect to get from my trees?

[GoldyCon]

Last year was my first year making syrup and I really enjoyed it but only made 6.5 gallons off of 45 ish taps. Our taps were split between 12 yard trees that were very good producers and 33 forest trees that were not. We only collected 240 gallons of sap which I thought was a bit low, online I often read that a maple tree produces 10-20 gal for the season but I only got half of that. Given the production I got this year I was thinking about doubling my taps but if the low production was due to an odd year I want to be careful about drowning in sap.

What do you guys usually see for sap quantity per tree? I was using 5/16 taps on drop lines into buckets.

[maple flats]

I've been making syrup every year since 2003, before that I made it some years just for family use. Last year was my lowest sap yield ever, sap amount was down slightly and everything was on vacuum (19" on one bush and 24" on another bush). Then my sugar % was the lowest ever. My sugar % for the total season was only 1.25% and my highest for any one day was 1.8%.
Sap yield, especially on gravity is extremely variable, but 10-20 gal per tap is very common. While seasons are not the same season after season, there are a few things you can do to get the best you can. Tap a little before the first sap run (watch the weather), use a new tap (and new drop every 3 years if using tubing), use a genuine tapping bit, not any old bit, not even a new hardware store bit, tapping bits ARE different. (then never use the tapping bit to drill anything other than tapping maples). The next thing to increase yield involves vacuum. Do you have any slope to help? Even if just 10-12' using 3/16 tubing can help but only if you can get at least 10 or more taps on a line (Ideal is about 25-30, max is somewhere between 35 and 40 something). Another thing is to add a vacuum pump. Many small operations get a nice boost using a diaphragm pump.
Then it's possible you could get more this year than last with just a good tapping bit and a new tap (or is a metal tap, boil it to sanitize it). Practice good tapping technique, drill in 1.5-2" max, don't wobble the drill and ton't pound the tap in, just gently "tap" it in.

[wmick]

. Another thing is to add a vacuum pump. Many small operations get a nice boost using a diaphragm pump.

Agreed... Last year (2nd year tapping) Added a bunch of taps on 3/16" shureflow system, in addition to my original buckets... Buckets performed very poorly compared to previous year... But thankfully the my little vac system more than made up for it.

[DrTimPerkins]

Sap yields, particularly on gravity, are quite variable. Besides weather, tree size and spout sanitation practices are some of the stronger determinants. On gravity (not vacuum), you can expect a range of about 0.1-0.25 gal syrup equivalent/tap (3-10 gal sap). The 10-20 gal sap/tap (0.25-0.5 gal syrup/tap) range you cite is on the very high end for gravity, and would likely be achievable only with large open-grown trees on a good year with good sanitation.

[GoldyCon]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Last year I had some interested family members come with to install the taps and one of them pounded in the taps WAY too hard in the forest trees so based on your feedback I suspect that might be one of the primary causes.

[berkshires]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Last year I had some interested family members come with to install the taps and one of them pounded in the taps WAY too hard in the forest trees so based on your feedback I suspect that might be one of the primary causes.

Did you see splitting of the tree? This would look like sap dripping down the tree trunk under the tap, rather than into the bucket. This can happen if you drive the taps too hard.

Also, forest trees, if they're crowded, will have much lower sugar percent than trees that have a fuller crown and get more light during the growing season.

[Russell Lampron]

The type of tree will determine the amount of sap that you get too. A red maple won't produce as much sap as a sugar maple will. About 90% of my trees are forest grown red maples and I normally get 12 to 18 gallons of sap per tap on high vacuum. If I was tapping those same trees with buckets I would be wasting my time because some reds will run on buckets, some very little and some won't give a drop all season.

[Swingpure]

I've been making syrup every year since 2003, before that I made it some years just for family use. Last year was my lowest sap yield ever, sap amount was down slightly and everything was on vacuum (19" on one bush and 24" on another bush). Then my sugar % was the lowest ever. My sugar % for the total season was only 1.25% and my highest for any one day was 1.8%.

I have a refractometer for syrup, but not for sap.. How important is it to measure the sugar content of the sap? Is the refactormeter with a different scale, the best tool to measure sugar content in sap?