Backyard syrup enthusiasts

[Mvhomesteader]

Mapletrader has a large contingent of impressive larger scale syrup operators, but who/where are the backyard people? I thought I would create a thread where small guys can share "mapling". Who are the backyard operations, where are you from, how do you collect sap, what do you use to boil, how much are you getting, etc. Though listed under Maine Tapping 2018 all backyarders, no matter your location, step forward!

So here is my setup. I live in Mount Vernon, northwest of Augusta. This is my third season, the second here and the first being in Hermon, by Bangor. I started out with an old wood stove and stream tray, which worked fine except it took many boilings to get a moderate quantity of syrup. This is my second season in Mount Vernon and my first with a new stove arrangement of concrete blocks and 3 steam trays in conjunction with the original wood stove/tray as a warming pan. After some tinkering, my last boil was around 7 gallons per hour so I can easily get a gallon of syrup a day without being out all night. My wife and I finish it on the kitchen stove.

I collect in milk jugs attached to 5/16 spiles with a piece of tube and jute as a hanger. This has worked well over three seasons, but now that I have some really productive trees I will be using a combination of jugs and buckets next year to cut back on collecting time. I drag a homemade sled (old generator frame on downhill skis) around with 5 gallon pail to collect. The pails go in a snow bank for storage. Free frosting buckets from Hannaford are great for storage.

We are looking to make 4 to 6 gallons a season for our own use. The property is blessed with a large number of maples so I can let some trees rest every other year. Trees are mostly sugar maple with some red. Some trees are well over 150 years old. With 13 trees tapped (15 taps) so far this season we have made nearly 3 gallons of syrup off 110 gallons of sap, brix between 2.2 and 3.4 depending on the tree. I've got 50 gallons waiting for Sunday, perhaps the last boil for this season, but we'll see. Heck of a run this past week.

I find backyard syruping a great way to "get out in it" in winter-kind of a tie to the people of yesteryear. Just got my daughter into it in the city. You can do this anywhere. She even uses a neighbors tree!

Thats my brief-what's your story?

[Mitchman]

Great Story Myhomesteader!! We are still out here, and remembering those day's you are having fun with!! It's supposed to be fun right!!:lol: But my soon to be 62 yr. old body say's make it a little easier, so instead of milk jugs, galv.buckets etc. i have gone to 3/16ths line and bring it all to me. It empty's into a 275 gallon tote. I have a friend who picks it up and trades me syrup for the sap. He has a new CDL Evaporator and needs volume. I still finish bottling it for my own touch and style. I was using 2 turkey burners, with a 10 gallon and 5 gallon pan, The 10 gal. pan i could fill at 9pm, and cook all night, but get right out there by 4 am or burn down the shack. Needless to say i didn't sleep very good those nights!! I made 9 gallons 2 years ago that way, and said i can't do it this way no more. I do Love playing plumber with all the lines and getting it to flow to the tote. You have made the bigger outfits day, they are sitting back and smiling, and remembering when they wore a younger mans pants. I am 7 miles away from Sugarloaf, the season has pretty much just started, and i plan on tapping 125 tree's, 55 all done. The rest today. With Luck!!

[highlandcattle]

Great idea! I've been posting about our change of circumstances. We had to sell our farm about 2 years ago and it's been a real hard transition. We had an off grid set up,built the place ourselves. 15 acres sugarbush on tubing and vacuum. All run with a custom Indiana pump. 3 microturbines and solar panels,woodstoves and a variety of evaporators. Ended with a real nice Bill Mason 2x4 xl. About 500 taps. Getting older and sick ended that. Now we're in a tiny rural village with 4 mature maples. Ron tapped 3(the huge silver has budded)6 taps and he can put in 1 more on each of the other 3. He's making a pint a day. Boiling on a propane fish fryer and finishing inside. We got a couple of steamer pans also. The neighbors are a bit amused(we don't know anyone)so far a gallon that we never expected. It's golden with a light flavor. Nothing like the rich syrup we made at the farm. I'm glad he's able to do this. Sugaring was a huge part of our life for 20 years. The garage is making a great saphouse. Concrete floor with a drain,right next to the house. Improvising with equipment as we had to leave everything with the farm. So all in all we're doing OK. My 2 cents from beautiful upstate NY.

[Rangdale]

Great idea!! We are out in Durham and started about 5 years ago with one tree and a turkey burner. Had a lot of fun (and spent way too much money) working on perfecting the propane setup. Made a homemade RO which helped save a fair bit of propane and we got it down to about 3 gallons of syrup on two tanks of propane but it was SLOW. My wife bought me a Mason 2x3 two years ago for my birthday and what a great gift that was!! The first year (2017) we made 10 gallons and look to be on track to make that or maybe a little more this season. We (daughters and I) put out about 55 taps or so and they are a mix of 3/16 lines and individual buckets. The new evaporator is great and soo much faster but need to come up with a good pre-heater. So far this year has been unbelievable on sap volume and sugar content!

[Bugsmudbooksandsticks]

I agree, many people are large producers. I am a Kindergarten Teacher and I have been making syrup as a part of our school program for the last 7 years. The goal is to have the children do as much of the work as possible, this means simple. We have 41 taps and collect in 5 gallon buckets, we use an old steel wheeled WW2 Ammo cart to haul the 5 gallon buckets (as a class they are able to pull it with little help). We bring it back to our sandbox. Now we have sort of an evaporator set up--make shift that is. We started using open fire pits and cast iron cauldrons, I have made it safe enough now so that the children can do nearly all of the work. I finish on the stove in the classroom. They even make hand made labels. Making syrup is a great way to teach kids EVERY subject..evaporation, condensation, liquid conversions, tree identification, boiling points of water, using tools, chopping wood, primitive fire starting skills, discovering tracks while collecting sap, we keep track of gallons collected (200 so far), pints of syrup made/gallons made and most importantly children see where their tasty treats come from and spend HOURS outside. I have been trying to keep track of our Sap-N-School History-check out the photos..http://bugsmudbooksandsticks.com/sap-in-school/

http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/riley-school-open-house-maine-maple-sunday/98984

[achesser]

That kind of schooling is very productive. I have 3 boys and my oldest is 7. They can't help with everything but just being around and watching how stuff works is a great education. They explain stuff to me that I never even realized they were learning.

[Bugsmudbooksandsticks]

I agree, many people are large producers. I am a Kindergarten Teacher and I have been making syrup as a part of our school program for the last 7 years. The goal is to have the children do as much of the work as possible, this means simple. We have 41 taps and collect in 5 gallon buckets, we use an old steel wheeled WW2 Ammo cart to haul the 5 gallon buckets (as a class they are able to pull it with little help). We bring it back to our sandbox. Now we have sort of an evaporator set up--make shift that is. We started using open fire pits and cast iron cauldrons, I have made it safe enough now so that the children can do nearly all of the work. I finish on the stove in the classroom. They even make hand made labels. Making syrup is a great way to teach kids EVERY subject..evaporation, condensation, liquid conversions, tree identification, boiling points of water, using tools, chopping wood, primitive fire starting skills, discovering tracks while collecting sap, we keep track of gallons collected (200 so far), pints of syrup made/gallons made and most importantly children see where their tasty treats come from and spend HOURS outside. I have been trying to keep track of our Sap-N-School History-check out the photos..http://bugsmudbooksandsticks.com/sap-in-school/

http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/r...e-sunday/98984

[woodsy]

Hello fellow sugarers and neighbors.
Another backyarder here, going on 25 years off and on.
Not far from the OP , sugarin in New Sharon, Maine.
1ST post on Maple Trader
New setup last year, 3' x 4' concrete slab with concrete block Arch, stovepipe and damper. New SS pan 2'0 x 2'0 x 6" deep w/ drain valve(15 gal.) plus 5 gal SS Preheater pan , Works good, efficient doesn't use much wood. Some blocks crack
but the price is right.
Can boil 7-8 gals hr. on average.
Only one gal. syrup so far this year, had 1 gal. by March 1 last year . Every year is different. It is agriculture so you get what you get.
Great spring time hobby , always enjoy getting out after some brutal Maine winters, birds chirping, snow melting, bright sun etc...
And best of all is the best maple syrup on the planet ! Cheers !

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Welcome woodsy, lots of good knowledge on here. Best of luck. Looks like next week will be a gusher!

[woodsy]

Thanks mainebackwoodsyrup , I hope, been slow going so far but what we have got so far is good amber and wicked sweet ..
Oh, 20 taps over 6 acres, mostly sugar maples. use antique snowmobile to collect the sap from 1 gal jugs.

[Mvhomesteader]

Great posts and stories-fun to see who is out there and how they do it. Everyone has a slightly different take.

Woodsy- your set up sounds just like mine, right down to the jugs on the trees. I just finished a boil yesterday that was 8 gallons per hour- even the boil rate is the same. I ended up buying the steam trays, but the rest was free from the town's swap shop! I lined the inside of the arch with brick which, so far, keeps the block from cracking. Not mortared yet, just gravity keeping it together. I built it too late last fall to mortar it. Not sure I will either as it has worked fine so far.

[woodsy]

Great posts and stories-fun to see who is out there and how they do it. Everyone has a slightly different take.

Woodsy- your set up sounds just like mine, right down to the jugs on the trees. I just finished a boil yesterday that was 8 gallons per hour- even the boil rate is the same. I ended up buying the steam trays, but the rest was free from the town's swap shop! I lined the inside of the arch with brick which, so far, keeps the block from cracking. Not mortared yet, just gravity keeping it together. I built it too late last fall to mortar it. Not sure I will either as it has worked fine so far.

I noticed our setups were quite similar. My blocks are not mortared either.
Its nice to have a large evaporator so the old days out finishing till midnight are history.
Paid $ 230.00 for my new pan but well worth it and the drain valve in it is a big improvement .
Still struggling with filtering though. Orlon flat sheet material seems to be too heavy for gravity filtering even small amounts.
Last batch was filtered through doubled up cotton t shirt material and so far so good. No sediment a week later almost

[maple flats]

Back in the late 70's and thru the eighties, we made syrup on our woodstove in the living room. We made some every 2-3 years for our own use back then. We had 4 kids and they enjoyed helping. We rarely boiled the sap, it more sort of simmered, but then as it got close to syrup we boiled it on the gas stove to finish it. At that time we had 1 large sugar maple and 3 large box alders (also called an Ash Leaf maple.) We set out between 7 and 9 taps. and made between 5-8 qts. Then in the 90's life got in the way and I didn't make more until 2003 when I got into it enough to start selling some. That year I bought a used Half Pint and started by putting in 27 or 29 taps, not sure which. This time they were all in the woods where my current sugar house is. I then collected the sap and said, I can do more. It kept going like that until I had 70 taps at which point the sap REALLY started to flow. My half pint was set up on our patio, with a vender's tent over it. I had the stack sloped up at about 50-60 degrees with a double leg brace made out of some 1/2" EMT to support it. The stack then had about 12-15" clearance from the tent covering the evaporator. I was hooked. I made 10.5 gal, used 2 or 3 and sold the rest at work. (I drove school bus in my retirement and other drivers bought the syrup).
It was obvious that when the sap really flowed I could not keep up with a half pint. I then bought a used 2x6 and later a 3x8 as I got deeper into the addiction. That summer I cut enough hemlocks in my woods to get sawed into lumber to build the currant sugarhouse. That went ok to a point. I hauled the logs to a sawyer about 3 miles from me, with a cut list. The first (of 6 loads total) was ready in 1 week. By the time it came to the 5th load (I could only haul about 7-8 logs on my 16' trailer pulling it with an Olds Bravada, I was overloaded for sure). That 5th load took 6 weeks to get done. At that point I bought my own sawmill. That sawyer did a 6th load while I awaited to have my sawmill built and delivered. When my mill came in, I sawed everything still needed on my own sawmill.
We had a party (work party that is) on 12/31/03 when I had my first help and we set the trusses I had built. At that time I had no tractor with a loader nor my excavator, so I built a lift that I attached to the 3 point hitch on my little 20 HP compact diesel tractor. With that I was able to lift the trusses high enough to get them up on the 10' high walls and set them. During that week I put up the purlins spaced 8" apart and the next weekend my oldest son came and helped me put the steel roofing on. Had I known then how much it would "rain in the sugarhouse" I'd have put plywood down. I had lots of rain in there for the 2004 season, then I made a hood for 05 and the problem was solved.

[Page Meadow Maple]

I agree, many people are large producers. I am a Kindergarten Teacher and I have been making syrup as a part of our school program for the last 7 years. The goal is to have the children do as much of the work as possible, this means simple. We have 41 taps and collect in 5 gallon buckets, we use an old steel wheeled WW2 Ammo cart to haul the 5 gallon buckets (as a class they are able to pull it with little help). We bring it back to our sandbox. Now we have sort of an evaporator set up--make shift that is. We started using open fire pits and cast iron cauldrons, I have made it safe enough now so that the children can do nearly all of the work. I finish on the stove in the classroom. They even make hand made labels. Making syrup is a great way to teach kids EVERY subject..evaporation, condensation, liquid conversions, tree identification, boiling points of water, using tools, chopping wood, primitive fire starting skills, discovering tracks while collecting sap, we keep track of gallons collected (200 so far), pints of syrup made/gallons made and most importantly children see where their tasty treats come from and spend HOURS outside. I have been trying to keep track of our Sap-N-School History-check out the photos..http://bugsmudbooksandsticks.com/sap-in-school/

http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/r...e-sunday/98984

I checked out your photos. What a wonderful way to children to learn!

[woodsy]

Big boil of the season today, 50 gallons sap on hand . Sap has been running good. some trees been running overnight.
Wind is right, temp is right, some clouds and possible light precip later .
I had a couple boils already and both were just before Noreasters. Wind in my face, not good. Today good.
Imagine everyone in this neck of the woods is boiling this weekend.

[highlandcattle]

We began our small farm on 32 acres of old hayfields over 20 years ago. All off grid with 3 microturbans and solar. Built it from logs from our land by ourselves.15 acre sugarbush. Started on the woodstove with a few buckets. By the time we had to sell in 2016 500 taps on vaccum. Went through a few evaporators ending with a Bill Mason 2x4(great) now in as tiny rural village. 4 trees. 6 taps. Ron has made 2 gallons of light so far. He's boiling on a propane fish fryer in the garage(his new sugar house) I guess you just work with what you've got.

[Mark B]

Mainer here as well. 2nd year in, although I jumped in almost over my head by my choice this year. My uncle passed away last year and his little operation was called Ducktrap Valley Maple Farm. I found his sap lines up and decided to continue sapping on the property. Last year we finished the year with 7 gallons made.

This year, I have about 210 taps out, and I staying busy between life and sapping. I needed to prove I could handle the business at the level I'm at. Next year I plan to license the business again, calling it Ducktrap Valley Maple in honor of my uncle.

[Mvhomesteader]

We began our small farm on 32 acres of old hayfields over 20 years ago. All off grid with 3 microturbans and solar. Built it from logs from our land by ourselves.15 acre sugarbush. Started on the woodstove with a few buckets. By the time we had to sell in 2016 500 taps on vaccum. Went through a few evaporators ending with a Bill Mason 2x4(great) now in as tiny rural village. 4 trees. 6 taps. Ron has made 2 gallons of light so far. He's boiling on a propane fish fryer in the garage(his new sugar house) I guess you just work with what you've got.

Your experience with off grid living is very intriguing, especially the log home from onsite trees. 20 years is a long time to be off grid, and what you learned and experienced is invaluable. Its not the number of taps or gallons of syrup that matter, but the joy of tapping, collecting, and quiet reflection during a long boil. It is fortunate that that is still available in your current living conditions. Life is dynamic.

Processed 58 gallons Saturday into 5+ quarts with still another 40 gallons left to go. I think I'll collect another 10 early this week, pull the taps, and boil next weekend. That would bring a 6 boil total to 6+ gallons for the season.

[Schroomer]

Hi-De-Ho there neighbors, I loved seeing this thread. First post ever. This is my first season (at the ripe old age of 63) sugaring and I am hooked! Was a little intimidated seeing some of these posts and the impressive collection of harvesting tools. But then I saw posts like these and told myself, just do it. This forum answered so many questions that I took the plunge. I was so clueless I didn't even realize the property I bought here in Exeter, Maine had a few lovely maples tucked between the ash, cedars, and pines. My prep started last fall identifying what I measured for size and good southern sun exposure and put flagging tape so I could find them in winter. I purchased 100 feet of tubing, bought and was gifted some spiles, and bought some food grade buckets and lids from Tractor Supply, and started saving my empty 2.5 gallon water jugs. I watched every video I could find on YouTube, looked at plans for dozens of setups on Pinterest, and ended up with a 2x4 concrete block arch with 3 steam pans. I use a turkey fryer as a preheater. I freakin love this process. I am still amazed. I understand the science, but clearly making great syrup is part art. I have had my ups and downs. My first boil I was reading an article about finishing syrup from a woman in Vermont and she had a picture of her syrup with a thermometer reading 217 (she lived at a 1000 feet or so). My brain knew it was 219, but I finished and bottled at 217. Realized what I did the next day and dumped, reheated, refiltered, and no harm no foul. That first batch was 1.25 gallons from 53 gallons of sap. The second boil was a day from hell.I had 75 gallons of sap and had to boil. The day was clear, 12 degrees, but 30 mph winds all day with wind chills of -4. Lit the fire at 6:45 am and finally finished at 6pm frozen but got it down to 7 gallons that I boiled down to get 1.9 gallons. And my first introduction to niter. When I reheated the sap for bottling, I must have heated the syrup to high and niter precipitated out to a half inch of sugar sand in each bottle. So I decided to dump, heat, filter, and rebottle. What a dumb move that was. I was using muslin and that didn't work. So I must have tried 5 different fabrics. None of them did a great job, and each one absorbed some liquid gold. When I was done (yesterday) I had lost almost two quarts of syrup, and still had some niter in suspension. I learned my lesson and orlon it is for me. I also found out that my digital thermometer was 2 degrees off so don't forget to check that as well. Today will be my last collection for the 2018 season. I am sooo looking forward to the 50 degree and sunny forecast for tomorrow's boil.

Upgrades planned. A redesign of the evaporator to improve the smoke seal around the pans. And if all goes as planned, they'll be a little sugar shack here at Snarky Acres.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

2x4 concrete block arch with three steam trays
Separate propane fired warming kettle
2018 12 taps ??? (3.25 gallons with one boil to go)



18310

[woodsy]

Nice detailed write ups Schroomer and others.
I boiled 45 gallons down to 2 gallons Saturday then finished
up Sun morning with 3.875 qts of the liquid gold. All nice looking amber color so far.
Here's a pic of the outside arch. Have a 12' x 16' sugar shack handy to the arch that I built a couple
years ago just haven't moved inside yet except for finishing/canning and some honey harvesting.
No sticky stuff in the house !

18318

[sap seeker]

Hi-De-Ho there neighbors, I loved seeing this thread. First post ever. This is my first season (at the ripe old age of 63) sugaring and I am hooked! Was a little intimidated seeing some of these posts and the impressive collection of harvesting tools. But then I saw posts like these and told myself, just do it. This forum answered so many questions that I took the plunge. I was so clueless I didn't even realize the property I bought here in Exeter, Maine had a few lovely maples tucked between the ash, cedars, and pines. My prep started last fall identifying what I measured for size and good southern sun exposure and put flagging tape so I could find them in winter. I purchased 100 feet of tubing, bought and was gifted some spiles, and bought some food grade buckets and lids from Tractor Supply, and started saving my empty 2.5 gallon water jugs. I watched every video I could find on YouTube, looked at plans for dozens of setups on Pinterest, and ended up with a 2x4 concrete block arch with 3 steam pans. I use a turkey fryer as a preheater. I freakin love this process. I am still amazed. I understand the science, but clearly making great syrup is part art. I have had my ups and downs. My first boil I was reading an article about finishing syrup from a woman in Vermont and she had a picture of her syrup with a thermometer reading 217 (she lived at a 1000 feet or so). My brain knew it was 219, but I finished and bottled at 217. Realized what I did the next day and dumped, reheated, refiltered, and no harm no foul. That first batch was 1.25 gallons from 53 gallons of sap. The second boil was a day from hell.I had 75 gallons of sap and had to boil. The day was clear, 12 degrees, but 30 mph winds all day with wind chills of -4. Lit the fire at 6:45 am and finally finished at 6pm frozen but got it down to 7 gallons that I boiled down to get 1.9 gallons. And my first introduction to niter. When I reheated the sap for bottling, I must have heated the syrup to high and niter precipitated out to a half inch of sugar sand in each bottle. So I decided to dump, heat, filter, and rebottle. What a dumb move that was. I was using muslin and that didn't work. So I must have tried 5 different fabrics. None of them did a great job, and each one absorbed some liquid gold. When I was done (yesterday) I had lost almost two quarts of syrup, and still had some niter in suspension. I learned my lesson and orlon it is for me. I also found out that my digital thermometer was 2 degrees off so don't forget to check that as well. Today will be my last collection for the 2018 season. I am sooo looking forward to the 50 degree and sunny forecast for tomorrow's boil.

Upgrades planned. A redesign of the evaporator to improve the smoke seal around the pans. And if all goes as planned, they'll be a little sugar shack here at Snarky Acres.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

2x4 concrete block arch with three steam trays
Separate propane fired warming kettle
2018 12 taps ??? (3.25 gallons with one boil to go)



18310

Great first post! Addiction knows no age limits!:lol:

[Run Forest Run!]

Schroomer, place your filter cloths in plastic bags and put them into the fridge or freezer until the next time you boil sap. Then you gently waft them through the warm sap in your pan and most of the syrup that is stuck in them will go into your next batch. Just be careful to not flip the cloth open and let the niter fall in with it. Once that's done then clean out your filter cloths in the sink so that you are ready for the next filtering. When bottling I even swish out the pot with a little water and save that for the next batch too. I don't want to waste a drop!

Welcome to the forum! :)

[woodsy]

Looks like I've got one more boil to do with sap running good this week. Another day of boiling = about another gallon of syrup.
I can taste those batches of Maple Baked Beans now.
With temps in the 50s this week the red maples will start showing some color and so will the syrup.

[eustis22]

toured three sugar shacks this past sunday in Sumner, Buckfield, and Hebron. got som good feedback, some great syrup, and 2 out of 3 maplers agree my backyard stuff isn't bad.

I'll be doing more regular pan cleaning going forward.

[Mvhomesteader]

Hi-De-Ho there neighbors, I loved seeing this thread. First post ever. This is my first season (at the ripe old age of 63) sugaring and I am hooked! Was a little intimidated seeing some of these posts and the impressive collection of harvesting tools. But then I saw posts like these and told myself, just do it. This forum answered so many questions that I took the plunge. I was so clueless I didn't even realize the property I bought here in Exeter, Maine had a few lovely maples tucked between the ash, cedars, and pines. My prep started last fall identifying what I measured for size and good southern sun exposure and put flagging tape so I could find them in winter. I purchased 100 feet of tubing, bought and was gifted some spiles, and bought some food grade buckets and lids from Tractor Supply, and started saving my empty 2.5 gallon water jugs. I watched every video I could find on YouTube, looked at plans for dozens of setups on Pinterest, and ended up with a 2x4 concrete block arch with 3 steam pans. I use a turkey fryer as a preheater. I freakin love this process. I am still amazed. I understand the science, but clearly making great syrup is part art. I have had my ups and downs. My first boil I was reading an article about finishing syrup from a woman in Vermont and she had a picture of her syrup with a thermometer reading 217 (she lived at a 1000 feet or so). My brain knew it was 219, but I finished and bottled at 217. Realized what I did the next day and dumped, reheated, refiltered, and no harm no foul. That first batch was 1.25 gallons from 53 gallons of sap. The second boil was a day from hell.I had 75 gallons of sap and had to boil. The day was clear, 12 degrees, but 30 mph winds all day with wind chills of -4. Lit the fire at 6:45 am and finally finished at 6pm frozen but got it down to 7 gallons that I boiled down to get 1.9 gallons. And my first introduction to niter. When I reheated the sap for bottling, I must have heated the syrup to high and niter precipitated out to a half inch of sugar sand in each bottle. So I decided to dump, heat, filter, and rebottle. What a dumb move that was. I was using muslin and that didn't work. So I must have tried 5 different fabrics. None of them did a great job, and each one absorbed some liquid gold. When I was done (yesterday) I had lost almost two quarts of syrup, and still had some niter in suspension. I learned my lesson and orlon it is for me. I also found out that my digital thermometer was 2 degrees off so don't forget to check that as well. Today will be my last collection for the 2018 season. I am sooo looking forward to the 50 degree and sunny forecast for tomorrow's boil.

Upgrades planned. A redesign of the evaporator to improve the smoke seal around the pans. And if all goes as planned, they'll be a little sugar shack here at Snarky Acres.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

2x4 concrete block arch with three steam trays
Separate propane fired warming kettle
2018 12 taps ??? (3.25 gallons with one boil to go)



18310

Schroomer has hit the philosophy on the head- just get involved and do it. Though there is a ton of information available from many sources, it is easy to be overwhelmed with doing things "right" and then suffering from analysis paralysis. This is only my third season, and each year there are changes and modifications I see for the next season. How boring would it be anyway if everything went right! A super book I came across two years ago on mapling was The Maple Sugar Bookby Helen and Scott Nearing, the pioneer homesteading couple of fame. They spent many years in Vermont with a big sugar bush before moving to Maine in 1950. This book, from the 40's, is a superb history of sugaring from the colonial period to their present and a lot of old fashioned how to. I read it over every winter to get in the sugaring mode.

This forum is a great opportunity to share ideas and problem solve. Karen had a great idea on saving the syrup trapped in nitre/fabric. That's a new one I'll try. Help, support, and commradery are a continuing necessity!

Schroomer-i lived Hermon for 20 years, not far from you. Exeter is a nice area. It appears that you, Woodsy, and I all have similar boiling systems. My wife and I also struggle with finishing to get a well oiled system. We're getting closer each time we boil, so we've had our messes too.

Grand finale this weekend!! 60 gallons to boil! My daughter, new to
mapling this season, discovered the joy of sap instead of water for coffee. I make sap tea, and use it for oatmeal. She suggested freezing a few gallons in quart bags to use it all year. I think that is another great idea!

[woodsy]

11* F this morning. Probably have blocks of sap storage instead of liquid gallons.

[Schroomer]

Great idea, thank you. I will adopt this one starting tomorrow with my final finishing boil of the season. OK, truth be told, I just put two 5 gallon buckets in the freezer for some summer evening I get the urge.

[woodsy]

Final boil today with 40 gals sap on hand. Pulled taps last night. Still running but the pantry is full.
My finger tips are blackened and coarse like sandpaper. Lost 4 lbs since starting Mar 1.
Its been a good season overall.
2nd year with the new setup on blocks and happy with that.
My investment for the new setup is now paid for after 2 years so next year is free syrup.
Made some new friends at the shack, chippy the chipmunk and red the squirrel plus the chickadees and finches at the feeder.
183661836718368

[sap seeker]

Surprisingly running fairly well today even with no freeze last night, central Mainers should be making syrup until mid April if they choose.

[Mvhomesteader]

Final boil today with 40 gals sap on hand. Pulled taps last night. Still running but the pantry is full.
My finger tips are blackened and coarse like sandpaper. Lost 4 lbs since starting Mar 1.
Its been a good season overall.
2nd year with the new setup on blocks and happy with that.
My investment for the new setup is now paid for after 2 years so next year is free syrup.
Made some new friends at the shack, chippy the chipmunk and red the squirrel plus the chickadees and finches at the feeder.
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Glad your season went well and your little friends enjoyed your company. We have 15 resident gray squirrels, "little guy" the chipmunk, and "doobsy" the red squirrel, along with myriad birds, that frequent our feeders daily providing endless entertainment throughout the day. Got to love the country.

Slowly I see the season drawing to a close. Daily trees are falling out of rotation as sap flow drops off and taps are pulled. My wife and I gathered our last bucket today to bring our storage total to 65 gallons for Saturday's boil. I think I'll pick the highest brix 55 gallons to boil. There are still 5 trees left running, so I'll collect and freeze a few gallons in quart bags for tea, oatmeal, and a cold summer drink. By the end of the weekend they'll all be pulled, washed, and put away till next season. I have been keeping detailed records of daily sap flow per tree that I will review when all is done.

Does anyone have a suggestion(s) for cleaning the black sugar coating off stainless steel pans? This is the stuff that, at least for me, accumulates as the boil wears on, particularly near the end from the steam. I let them soak overnight and use a fine sandpaper which works OK, but would love something requiring less elbow grease. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[woodsy]

Does anyone have a suggestion(s) for cleaning the black sugar coating off stainless steel pans? This is the stuff that, at least for me, accumulates as the boil wears on, particularly near the end from the steam. I let them soak overnight and use a fine sandpaper which works OK, but would love something requiring less elbow grease. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Have good luck with Bar Keepers Friend. Specifically designed for SS, non abrasive but works better than anything else we have tried. Check the cleaning
section at the grocery store.
I notice my preheater steamer pan gets some scorching because it sits down in the fire pit whereas my big pan sitting on top doesn't get scorched.
Good luck with the big boil and clean up.

[woodsy]

Final boil: I gave the flat sheet Orlon another try with a couple layers of new cotton t shirt pre filter material
and was happy with the clarity. There was a lot of gunk from this boil. Filtered once from the big pan about 214* entering the finishing pot
and then filtered again when it hit syrup temp . My last batch with just cotton t shirt material was not quite as clear but acceptable IMO.

18378

[Mvhomesteader]

Grand finale for the season today starting at 9 and bottled by 6. I ran 65 gallons through the pans and my wife and I bottled 5.5 quarts, so a final sugar content of 2.1% ish. Looking at the taps that have been pulled I see very little sap run.

So at the conclusion of the third season we bottled 7 gallons, our most ever, boiling 285 gallons of sap for an average sugar of almost 2.5%. The new stove arrangement worked better than I had hoped. We had intended to do only 2-3 boils this year as there was a lot of other things on the table, but the efficiency of the stove made it palatable to do a few more boils. Since the sap ran great in March I always had a ready supply for a weekly boil of 50 or so gallons. I am satisfied with the season, ready to tackle some house projects, and look forward to doing it again next year. I'm sure there will be some improvements, such as excavating the area around the stove and backfilling with crushed gravel to eliminate the mud bath, perhaps a stove door on a hinge, revamped wood pile (affectionately known as the sap and crap pile), etc.

I kept a bunch of volume records for the 13 trees tapped (15 total taps, two had 2) which was interesting though I probably wouldn't bother next year. Of interest, the three best flow days of occurred after the big snow storms-2 in March, 1 late February. I tapped most trees 2/13 and started collecting sap 2/15. Several trees were clear winners but one produced over 30 gallons of sap, a nice sugar maple 18"-20" on a rock wall between a field and orchard. Brix levels began mostly 2.8 to 3.4, but dropped steadily as March progressed.

So wash buckets, pull the last few taps, clean up, and enjoy April 1. Good luck to all who are still in the game!

[woodsy]

Nice haul of syrup for 15 taps homesteader. Those big and healthy maples can really
put out some sap, not that I have but a few like that.

[highlandcattle]

Pulled taps on 2 maples that slowed up. Have 3 taps in the sugar maple that is still running. Dripping good clear sap. Ron will be boiling in the a.m. So 6 taps this year and so far 14 pints golden from 94 gallons sap at 2%. Not bad. Put the cone filter in a coffee urn and worked perfectly. Boiling on the fish fryer. I'm so happy he's had this to do. I stand in our front yard looking around and I'm still stunned that we're living here on this little corner lot in this little village. The memories of the privacy and beauty of our farm comes back in waves to really flatten us at times. Enjoy the last days of the sap run

[darkwoods]

Gorham back yarder here.

This is our second year boiling sap. The first year was when the kids were little - 1998'ish, and kettle syrup over a fire pit. At that time we burned what seemed like a cord of wood and got 1 pint of smoke flavored syrup!

The kids are mostly grown now and for this season we've gone "All in" with a WF Mason 2x4 XL that sits in 12x16 shed. We tapped 50 trees using drop tubes into buckets and collected sap with a 1997 ski-doo. Finished on propane, bottled into mason jars, and ended the season with 9.75 gallons of syrup.

Iv'e got a list of things to improve on for next year. The first priority is better bulk sap storage and a big roof cupola to vent steam. Coolers and buckets buried in snow worked for storage but it's a lot of sap shuffling on big boil days. Hoping to handle the steam issue with a 2'x6' cupola before next season.

Overall, we're pleased with the season and i'm very impressed with the WF Mason 2x4. Looking forward to next season already!