Backyard Syrup Enthusiasts 2020

[Mvhomesteader]

Well here we are again, on the cusp of another syrup season. I hope everyone has had a fantastic past year. I've enjoyed this Backyard thread over the past few seasons so let's get it going again.

Welcome to all backyarders---tell your story, what's your set up, how much do you make, share your seasons highs and lows, anything maple!

I'll make my own quick intro. This is my fifth season making syrup, third here in Mount Vernon, northwest of Augusta. I use a concrete block arch with 3 steam trays in conjunction with a wood stove/steam tray as a warming pan. This setup will evaporate around 7 gallons per hour so I can easily get a gallon of syrup a day. If I start reasonably early enough I can push 60 gallons.

I collect in milk jugs attached to 5/16 spiles with a piece of tube and jute as a hanger. I drag a homemade sled (old generator frame on downhill skis) around with 2-5 gallon pails to collect. The pails go in a snow bank for storage or the shed of it is too cold outside.

At the end of last season I had three goals before starting this season. I got two out of three done: mortaring my block arch together with a brick lining and adding a hinged door; and gathering more buckets. I did not decide to expand the arch for added capacity. The garden was good, but my bees swarmed and vacated.

Last season I made more syrup than in past years at 13+ gallons, and I've got a little left. This will be a good target for this season as well. Now is the big question -when to tap. It's been a fairly warm January with I'm sure a few sap runs, but I don't generally tap till mid February. However, next week is looking high 30's Monday and Tuesday, so I guess I'll wait till Sunday and look at the week as a whole. Most likely waiting till mid month will be my choice, but I'll get everything ready.

What's everyone thinking?

What are your seasons plans?

Benjamin Rush, early physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson said "The gift of the maple trees is from a benevolent Providence." I couldn't agree more..... I look forward to reading your stories and best of luck to all!!

[In da bush]

This will be my second year in Maine and my six syrup season in my life, I upped my game to 125 taps, Ive also added an RO bucket to my arsenal to cut my boil time. Looking at the current weather I am looking at a run this weekend and early next week and I’m thinking about tapping today and Saturday. With the sporadic weather I don’t want to miss out on too much.

[pcbmaine]

My first post to mapletrader. I've gleaned some good info over the 4 yrs i've been tapping, this to be the 5th, Lord willing. I do about 30 taps here just north of Portland. Mostly reds but a friend of the family has offered a few nice looking sugars this year. Reading with interest folks tapping now and the weather being so warm so early. I won't be able to tap until mid Feb so I'm hoping that the weather will cooperate with that plan. I'm using one of Vermont Evap's barrel stoves with the 20x30 pan (https://vermontevaporator.com/). Served me pretty well. Last year I cooked up a homemade RO system going by this persons ideas (https://sites.google.com/view/mattatuckmadnessmaplesyrup/home). Man, did that make a difference! Removed so much water. Not super fast - i think it was processing about 2.5 gals per hr but just fine for a small backyard op like mine. This year I made a DIY vacuum filter for finishing based on ideas from youtube. Excited to give it a try as gravity filtering is a drag. Best of luck to all!

[troytravels]

My first post to mapletrader. I've gleaned some good info over the 4 yrs i've been tapping, this to be the 5th, Lord willing. I do about 30 taps here just north of Portland. Mostly reds but a friend of the family has offered a few nice looking sugars this year. Reading with interest folks tapping now and the weather being so warm so early. I won't be able to tap until mid Feb so I'm hoping that the weather will cooperate with that plan. I'm using one of Vermont Evap's barrel stoves with the 20x30 pan (https://vermontevaporator.com/). Served me pretty well. Last year I cooked up a homemade RO system going by this persons ideas (https://sites.google.com/view/mattatuckmadnessmaplesyrup/home). Man, did that make a difference! Removed so much water. Not super fast - i think it was processing about 2.5 gals per hr but just fine for a small backyard op like mine. This year I made a DIY vacuum filter for finishing based on ideas from youtube. Excited to give it a try as gravity filtering is a drag. Best of luck to all!


Thanks for the RO link. It looks worth giving a try (especially if someone here has already had success with it!). Let us know how the vacuum filter works.

Looking forward to another season and finding excuses to be outdoors this time of year--

[Pdiamond]

Welcome to the trader and glad you have been bitten by the maple bug. You'll get some good sugar content off the sugar maples. Good luck this year.

[Mvhomesteader]

I like Troytravels by-line about maple being an excuse to be outdoors, it tastes better, and boiling in good weather. I subscribe to the same plan.

I missed the run this past weekend due to several items, but I will likely tap the 8th or 9th to get ready for perhaps warmer weather the first of the week.

I came across a couple of tapping tidbits in the Maple Sugar Book written by Helen and Scott Nearing. They conducted some tapping experiments in 1942 tapping trees in December, January, and February. Later they tapped trees in October and every subsequent month to April. In all cases they had the same following results:

1. Whenever there was a thaw following a freeze-up, sap ran. Autumn or winter, and spring.

2. Tapholes bored in December or January flowed freely in March and into April until there was a prolonged warm spell.

3. Trees tapped in October and November were still running sap the following March, though the quantity was less than tree tapped in the spring. Some tree tapped in December and January yielded as much sap in April as those tapped in February of March.

4. They gathered sufficient sap to make syrup in every month from November to April.

I guess this gives me permission to tap earlier than I usually do. I apparently can't hurt anything in the process or ruin my chances for good run later this spring!!

[newmaplah]

I am just outside of Waterville and have been making syrup in the yard for about 10 years now. It started with as a fun thing to do with my daughters. We lugged buckets to the turkey fryer and made a couple gallons that first year. Then it quickly became something that dad did by himself, although, I did get some bucket help along the way. I moved up to a 55 gallon barrel evaporator and then a 275 drum made into an evaporator with two flat pans covering the roughly 2 X 5 opening. Made all of those myself. I also managed to upgrade to a 10 X 16 sap house with the traditional cupola on top. Two years ago had about 100 taps out mostly on buckets and made 12 gallons. Skipped last year because we still had plenty and I was otherwise busy. Tapping mostly reds in a swampy area, but some sugar maples on the lawn. It has become something my friends and family look forward to as well, stopping by for a day and helping with a boil. They are always amazed at how much beer it takes to make good syrup :) I really enjoy the challenge of making my equipment plus it helps keep expenses down. Mostly give my syrup away to friends and family so no income in it - it's just for fun.

I joined Mapletrader several years ago, but haven't been on here much for a while. I was happy to see info on the more cost effective upgrades. Just bought a Shurflo and getting that set up to try this year. Got a good spot with 17 or 18 taps I can get to it pretty easily. If it works out well, I may try going deeper into the woods with another next year. I am also planning to build the vacuum assisted filter setup this year as waiting for the syrup to drain through a filter drives me crazy. I have also been all over the internet pricing parts for an RO.

Should be at about 100 taps again this year by the time I am done getting them all out. The other upgrade I really want to make is a drop flue back pan. Several years ago I read Big Eddy's posts about making his. I have made the brake, but opted for a flat one first to get going. Now I need to finish that effort and make the drop flue. We welded up my flat pan in friend's garage not far from you Mvhomesteader. It was done in Readfield.

Very helpful people on here and I really appreciate the information and advice that has been shared. It is the kind of community you want to be a part of.

Hope everyone has full buckets soon.

[woodsy]

I'm on the fence this year on whether to tap or not. Have a couple gals. syrup from last year still.
Will probably fall off the fence once I get antsy to get out and enjoy some warm and sunny days at the shack in March.

[craigwade2005]

Cold this week, but next week looks pretty amazing. With my work schedule it looks like I’ll be drilling holes Monday. Anyone else planning the same?

[troytravels]

Today is the perfect day in midcoast--40 degrees and sunny--but we have snow tonight and a cold spell through the weekend. I'll probably take a day off and tap mid next week.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Cold this week, but next week looks pretty amazing. With my work schedule it looks like I’ll be drilling holes Monday. Anyone else planning the same?

Jamie will try to stop me no doubt but I am currently charging the batteries!! I'm gonna see what the week looks like as a whole and I may tap ours next week.

[Mvhomesteader]

I had great plans to tap the last two weekends but my son got the flu, my wife got the flu, you get the idea. I'm just getting over a nasty cough as a parting gift from this flu so tapping has had to wait. Probably just as well as temps have been mostly cool.

Next week looks like a mixed bag here...nice Sunday and Monday but snow and clouds Tuesday and Wednesday then cold for next next two days. Probably i will venture out Friday or Saturday and put those taps in. Everything is ready.

Woodsy-glad to see you back. You should make more wine to ensure you run out and therefore are compelled to tap.

[woodsy]

The Maple wine was a interesting experiment. It takes a good amount of aging and isn't particularly flavorful like red or white wines.
Colonial Spruce beer with Maple Syrup as the lone fermentable is on tap for this spring boiling fresh spruce tips on the block arc .
Good to see everyone getting excited about backyard sugarin.

[ddociam]

Hello fellow sappers. This is my fifth year in Southwest Minnesota. I’ve learned so much on this site. We had the international conference here in MN this year it was great. There was a class put on by the Univ of Maine I believe, judging maple syrup. It was so good I’m thinking of taking it again.
I started five years ago with 9 taps on 1/4 inch tubing. Simmered on a hot plate. Old cooler for storage. Next year thirty taps. 2.5 gallons. Then got serious and bought a 2x4 Smoky Lake evaporator and flat filter and bottler. 130taps. And got 20 gals of syrup. I seem to find ways to waste sap by spilling, burning or spoiling. Last year I planned on upping again but my wife became ill and that really threw a wrench in the works. I added a 4x40 single post R.O. and that helped a lot. I ended last with 20 gallons of good syrup and three of ropy. This year I have a plan. I added tubing in three groves and sureflow pumps. I’m hoping to do about 600 taps but there is so much snow and it’s been so cold I haven’t been able to finish putting in my laterals. I still plan to do a lot of buckets. This year I will have three posts of R.O.
I don’t know when it will start here. Typically mid March. I just turned 65 this year so I’m taking the month of syrup season off. My goal is a 100 gallons. I think that after boiling that much on my 2x4 and flat filtering that much. I might want to upgrade. I’m fortunate that I have two groves within a mile of my house that have 2-300 Silvers. So I have some room to expand if I want to. We will see how this year goes first.
Jerry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mvhomesteader]

fortunate that I have two groves within a mile of my house that have 2-300 Silvers. So I have some room to expand if I want to. We will see how this year goes first.
Jerry


That's a lot of silvers! My daughter taps a nice silver in the Portland Maine
area and the syrup is very delicate compared to sugar/red maple. You've got it cold out there. Too cold for my blood! Good luck this season!

[Mvhomesteader]

Well I got my 40 taps in yesterday and today, so here we go. There were a handful of trees that were damp, but most were still frozen. I might have collected a gallon, but it was still cool and windy. I'm holding my breath for Saturday on till at least Tuesday as the temps are all 40/20 give or take a degree, so perhaps a good first run if things can get thawed out.

[Mvhomesteader]

I'm optimistic about the next week starting Saturday! Looks like 40+ for a good portion of the early week and high 30's till Friday. I've gathered 11 gallons since I tapped last Saturday (mostly on the one nice day this past week) so 40 or so more and it's fire up the pans. If all goes as expected I bet I'll have that by Monday evening if I can get 1/3 gallon per tap per day over 40 taps. Some trees are on, others still frozen. I'll need Saturday just to thaw out from this deep freeze.

[Ltr77]

Here in Mt. V as well. My wife and I put in about 20 taps near Torsey Pond. We give maple syrup as gifts and use it as an excuse to get outside. Haven't tapped yet, waiting until next weekend with the weather turning colder on Thursday and Friday with snow coming on Wednesday- which is fine, I still have to move cider to a new fermenter from the fall and still have to process some honey that my bees when my bees decided they would rather die than eat the honey. Hate losing the girls, but we were running low on honey so we will start anew again- again.

[Mvhomesteader]

Here in Mt. V as well. My wife and I put in about 20 taps near Torsey Pond. We give maple syrup as gifts and use it as an excuse to get outside. Haven't tapped yet, waiting until next weekend with the weather turning colder on Thursday and Friday with snow coming on Wednesday- which is fine, I still have to move cider to a new fermenter from the fall and still have to process some honey that my bees when my bees decided they would rather die than eat the honey. Hate losing the girls, but we were running low on honey so we will start anew again- again.

We need to talk about those bees. Mine swarmed twice last summer and left, leaving a super of honey. I'm going to get some more this spring and give them the honey super from my last bees.

I'm surprised how many maple sugar operations there are in Mt.V. I'm over by Cottle Hill/Wings Mills area. Good luck with your sap season!

[newmaplah]

Got 85 taps out this past weekend. Still messing with the shurflo to get that set up. Probably would go quicker if I stopped breaking parts ... plastic threads aren't made to take abuse :) Looking forward to getting enough to fire up the evaporator soon.

[Mvhomesteader]

Nice run today! Collected 20 gallons for a total stored in the snowbank of 45. I expect another good run tomorrow. Looks like I'll boil Saturday!

[Mvhomesteader]

First boil of the season netted just under 1.25 gallons off 50 for a 2.4% sugar. Crazy day with a cold start, sun, clouds, wind, and snow. When your outdoors the whole time you are at the mercy of the weather. I had planned on boiling 60 gallons but got a later start, so I'll put the left over 10 toward the second boil. Next week looks good, at least some days!

[Mvhomesteader]

Holy moly! I woke up to jugs partially full. I guess the faucet turned on last night after a co!d uneventful day. By 5 pm I pulled in 30 gallons, so I've now got 55 waiting to boil. I suspect I'll wake up tomorrow to a similar situation as it was still running strong. I see two boils in my late week plans.

[Mvhomesteader]

Second boil of the season went smoothly today, netting just under 1.5 gallons off 55 for a 2.4% sugar content. I don't know what happened temperature wise last night but I ended up with 30 gallons of sap by days end. Next boil is Sunday after the high winds (plus I need to clean my pans). That load today will go toward the next boil following Sunday. The weather next week looks prime for a large sap run.

How different this season is compared to last year. I didn't have a first boil till March 12 it was so cold. This year I'll likely have four done by that time.

[Mvhomesteader]

Third boil today. Thanks to the time change I got a later start so I did 50 gallons. The good news was a 2.5% sugar so we put up 1.25 ga!lons.

And what a sap flow! Collected 39 gallons during the day and I am headed out to relive a few jugs so there is room for overnight storage. Yikes ! Next boil will be Wednesday. Hopefully I've got enough storage volume till then.

[Mvhomesteader]

Fourth boil today and the sugar is staying steady at 2.5%, another 1.25 gallons from 50. No sap to speak of in the jugs.

It looks like some off and on sap runs till mid next week, but then the temperatures look to be rising day and night. Hopefully it will be temporary. I need to boil 3 more times to get enough syrup for my yearly sugar fix. I guess beyond that is gravy. I've got enough sap to do a boil Saturday and half enough for one after that. Looks like a small run tomorrow as it will be cold tonight.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Decent run in the rain yesterday. Not a ton but more than expected. Boiling!

[Mvhomesteader]

Finally got the fifth boil done after two time delays. The sugar is still in the 2.4+ range so I jarred 1.25 gallons and a pint. The color remains amber as well with little sugar sand. I think that may start to change soon.

My wife and I kind of cheat on the finishing. We strain the hot sap to be finished through a felt filter, boi! it to finish, and direct bottle. Since it's for us or family we accept the small degree of sugar sand that may settle out in favor of a faster bottling and not wasting any syrup in a finishing filter. I actually like the sugar sand and mix it in with my oatmeal.

I am doing #6 tomorrow and #7 this weekend which will catch me up with the 110 gallons currently stored. I expect a nice sap flow tomorrow afternoon and this weekend through Tuesday looks good too. I would anticipate gathering sap for two more boils from that period. Then I see some warm days/nights so.......wait and see. Nine boils would net me over 11 gallons for the season so that would do.

[Mvhomesteader]

Finished the 6th boil Wednesday and the sugar is hovering at almost 2.5%.

Heck of a run yesterday and into this morning -I stashed near 45 gallons. A lot of jugs were full and overflowing. I have 55 set for Saturday, 55 for Monday, and am working toward probably Wednesday! Still nice and clear. From Saturday on for several days looks like a real good run.

[Mvhomesteader]

This is my daughter's syrup set up on a 1/4 acre lot in the Portland, Maine area. Using a two steam tray arch she has made 2.5 gallons so far this season. With permission she taps a neighbor's silver maple, a pretty big boy, with three taps, and two maples at a nearby aunts. Pallets and scrap wood feed the fire, and the final product is finished on the kitchen stove. The "tent sugar shack" is new this year to buffer from bad weather. I may be biased (well ok I am) but this is a cool set up and shows that you can syrup in any area as long as you can get at some trees!

[Pdiamond]

i think that is a very creative set up and applaud her for that. Keep it going as long as you can. Once bitten the bug stays with you.

[Mvhomesteader]

I decided to pull the taps this weekend. I've got 175 gallons in the snowbank to boil (starting tomorrow) which means three more boils over the next week. That's enough to keep me going. I've seen a few taps dry up and the sugar drop on several others. I recently limited collecting to those taps above 1.8%, the theory being I boil 55+ gallons at a time and at that level I can get a gallon. I'll update the results of the boils and a yearly total as I proceed. I hope everyone enjoys the last days of the season!

[Mvhomesteader]

As of today I've got 55 gallons left to boil which is planned for Saturday. I've tested the sugar and it is all near 2 so that will give another 1 to 1.25 gallons, which will make the yearly total at around 13.7 gallons which is nearly identical to last season. I will have boiled nearly 582 gallons which gives an overall sugar of 2.4%. There is the difference between seasons. I put more effort into this year due to a lower sugar content. I never had a boil with anything near 3 or more which I did last year. Still tastes just as good! Actually, the batch I did Tuesday was still a nice amber, no buddy taste, and quite a delicate flavor. I assume this last batch will be the same though it has been in the snowbank longer and could be clouding up some. My return was 1.37 quarts of syrup per tree.

I need a few more buckets of storage for next yeat, plus I've already acquired a bunch of 2 gallon buckets for select trees that overrun gallon jugs on a daily basis. This will make collecting easier and I won't miss any.

A good season overall- I hope all have found it enjoyable. Take care!

[Aaron Stack]

Hi Folks!

First time sugar-er and poster, long time dreamer, here looking for some advice. I ran a proof of concept this season here in the middle Springfield, MA by tapping the lone Norway Maple in my yard. 2 buckets boiled on a turkey fryer. I tapped very late (March 13) and it stopped giving me sap around the 27th. A grand total of about 3 gallons of sap gave me at best a whole half-pint, but it sure tasted sweet!

I’m planning for next year and wondering if there is any correlation to the amount of sap you would get for a certain number of buckets? I’m working on connecting with the fire marshal to see if I can get a permit to build a wood-fired cinder block arch topped with a 20 gallon (I think that’s what the add is telling me) 18x34x6 divided maple syrup pan so I can do the boiling here at home. At least that’s what I have in mind as working with for equipment. If the fire marshal says no I can set it up at my Dad’s so either way IT’S ON!

I see in a lot of people’s signatures on their post stats like 2016 12 taps, 3 gallons … 2018 15 taps, 7 gallons … 2019 38 taps, 13.6 gallons … etc., and wondered how many trees or taps I would need if I wanted to get some good usage out of the setup…? I have access to 15 acres of woodland that is a couple miles from a currently running sugar shack (but about 45 minutes away), there are about 12 good-sized Norways in the adjoining neighbor’s yards (several of which are large enough for 2-3 taps) I will ask to tap, plus Dad’s yard has a couple and a friend has two huge Sugars. There is also a former sugar shack turned dairy farm down the road from the friends I'm working on an introduction to (darn COVID!) … so finding trees shouldn’t be an issue.

For storage I was thinking of getting 2 55-gallon barrels which would be around 2 gallons of syrup if they were filled to the brim. I can store them in my unheated garage, collect during the week, and boil on weekends. I’m a homebody so even if it takes all weekend to boil and finish, I’m good with that.

That’s the master plan anyways, any thoughts on how many taps I should be thinking of?

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[Mvhomesteader]

Welcome Aaron! Once bit by the maple bug I'm afraid you're doomed.

I plan on a quart of syrup per tap, which generally is a slight underestimate. I do 40 taps figuring I'll get 40 quarts of syrup or 10 gallons. I end up with 30% more than that but you can see the logic. It is really about sugar content of the sap that will dictate the amount you need to collect. A 40:1 ratio is 2.5% sugar, so in my scenario above in order to get the 10 gallons I would need 400 gallons of sap at 2.5%. I use the 2.5% as an average for my trees as it seems to be close. Your mileage may vary. I would highly suggest a portable refractometer. They are not expensive and a great tool to check sugar content. The more you can do to keep the sap cold, the better the product. There are standards for how many taps per tree based on tree diameter which are readily available on-line. The type of maples make a big difference with sugar content, and thus the potential number of taps to get your goal. Mine are mostly sugar maple with a few reds.

I hope this helps. Your syrup looked great! Enjoy planning for next season.

[Aaron Stack]

Thanks MV!

A refractometer is already on the list as is a chainsaw and measuring wheel to help map the property, among other things.

40 taps/10 gallons of syrup sounds good to me – not knowing what I’m signing up for – HAH! My family and friends were very sad I didn’t get bucket loads of syrup but enjoyed the video and picture updates I sent during production this year so let’s see what I can do. I’m also a bit of a baker and cook so starting a collection of recipes to try once I have tons of syrup next year.

Made a field-guide of sorts to help with tree ID and once I get the spring lawn cleaning done I’ll be doing some spring camping at the property to see what I have for trees. If I have the 40-tap potential there I foresee the chainsaw purchase very early this year along with sore arms and shoulders from splitting wood all summer…..
My x-wife used to call it the bee in my bonnet and I am a production planner/project manager by trade – so that bee is buzzing like mad planning the details trying (really… trying my best) not to run for world domination all at once .

[Mvhomesteader]

Aaron: You'll have a great time managing your maples, and it sounds like you'll have plenty to do in the off season. Even though I have quite a bit of acreage and a lot of trees, I find a considerable amount of wood along the roadside particularly from power line trimming. They leave it for people to pick up. I burn most anything, and I find pine, nice and dry, to make a hot fire. It doesn't last long, but it heats up quick. I use a mix of pine and poplar since I have an abundance, and as long as I don't mind feeding the fire, the wood is free. I save the better hardwood for the house. If you're ax splitting, pine might be a pain. Since I love Stihl saws, I'll put in a plug for those. I've got an 026 from 1996 and an MS390 with a larger bar. Never a problem. Love em!

Good luck throughout your off season and see you next year!

[Aaron Stack]

I've been busy the last couple months.

Shooting for 25 taps next year and I identified 14 red maples that will support 16 taps at Dad's. The rest are coming from about 10 minutes away at a friend's place, 9 sugar taps. Also walked my Uncle's property an hour away with a state forester yesterday. In two hours we tagged 75 maples (70 sugars and 5 reds) which covered only about 40 percent of the 15 acres. He mentioned the word "exceptional" quantity of sugars. At least I can point them out pretty easily now. That land is probably on the three-five year plan due to the distance and I need to come up with a way to get the sap out of there.

Took a ride up to Mason's last week and picked up an arch to fit my 20 x 30 Vermont Evaporator pan. Bricked it today and I have to say I'm pleased with how it turned out. Waiting to mortar it until the site at Dad's is ready. Going with a carport and a 10 x 10 vendor tent because I realize I am going to spend a bundle on either a ATV/UTV/Tractor before next year.

Arch and bricking progress pics below:

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[Aaron Stack]

And the rest :)

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Oh and I have access to all the free wood I can burn. My son works at a pressure treating plant and they have untreated "ends" I can grab by the truckload. Nicely bundled to load with his forklift. I'll still need that chainsaw to cut them as they are too long for my firebox, then split them... so exercise will be had. Hazzah!

[maple flats]

Is that how Bill Mason suggests bricking that arch? Back when I had a half pint the bricking design called for a partition about where you start the elevated part. Leader said the partition was to be up to about 1.25-1.5" from the bottom of the pan, then from there back to the flue exit it was like what you have. According to the directions that forced the heat up to the pan. The partition was just fire bricks laid flat and refractory mortored in. You may want to check with Bill to see if he suggests that.

[Aaron Stack]

Thanks for the tip Dave! Checked in with Bill and he agrees to raise the front up to the 2" below the pan mark. I'll take care of that when I mortar.

[Aaron Stack]

OK now really done bricking.

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[maple flats]

It will become very obvious how that helps when you boil, you will see a very hard boil over that partition. It will be the hardest in the entire pan. Much of the heat causing that would have otherwise gone up the stack.

[phil-t]

That is just how my half-pint is bricked. You will like boiling with that rig.

[Mvhomesteader]

Hope everyone is having a great, albeit dry, summer so far. I was surprised to see some new posts.

I have had an issue with my rear pan (of three) not getting hot till the fire has been going a while. This partition might be a good idea to get it hotter faster. I'll put it on the fall list of things to do!

Good luck Aaron with your new set-up. Looks great.

[maple flats]

The next piece of advice is to never use a damper on an wood fired evaporator smoke stack and give it loads of combustion air. A blower help with that. An evaporator works best when it burns as hot as you can get it, but be sure to never run low in the pans or you will burn them. A good starting depth is about 2", but after you get familiar with that gradually start reducing the pan depth until you get to 1-1.25". Then don't leave it unattended and keep an OH $#!T bucket of sap or potable water ready if things get away from you.
Keep it fun!

[Aaron Stack]

Got the carport (a.k.a. woodshed & sap storage building) set up today. The instructions that came along with the free carport were for a totally different model so that was a bit of excitement. The back and front walls were useless so I’ll be getting creative on coverings for those. Next step is to build a box out of pallets for the back end next weekend – should be able to hold about 3 cords of wood. Pallets are free and I have nails, a hammer, and a circular saw so total cost so far is about $10!

My tree count is growing. The friend’s place I was hoping for 9 has loads and loads of sugar maples right on the edge of their lawn so I’m increasing my tap goal to 50 for next year, and seriously considering RO as a result.

So two questions today:

Just how big of a storage tank do I need if I’m planning to boil on weekends? I’ve read I should be planning for a max of 2 gallons per tap, 4 times a week… so should I really be thinking in the 400-500 gallon range? There’s room in the carport for 2 of the IBC totes if that assumption is realistic.

On RO ratings, I’ve seen some postings for 100 gph rated RO units that have my attention – is that generally a sap processing rating or the concentrate produced? The RO bucket might be enough to use “in-line” but it might be worth the extra spending this year to think larger RO and cut down the boiling time and have room to grow.

[Aaron Stack]

Well… I’ve become a full addict spending every minute of free time scheming and building my beginner maple empire. Dad and son pitch in quite frequently so we have a multi-generational team working on the future.

Got the carport/woodshed in place and spent a few days on the chop and table saws cutting the 2’ 4x4 untreated post ends into 11 1/2” x 1 ½” pieces. The right side is almost full so about 1.5 cords of three cut so far. Changed the interior design putting a doorway behind that center post to accommodate an IBC tote elevated by a 4 x 4 platform so I can put a 5-gallon bucket under the spigot (my first “deck” building experience!) and still get a wheel barrel up to the wood.
I have new respect for the cost of pressure treated wood. So far all the wood was free off the scrap pile at my sons work, but had to buy some at Depot for the gravel base frame which went in last weekend. But, based on the treating codes, my son was the treater of that wood so we kept it in the family. Stone coming tomorrow and compactor rented to finish off the pad. Small 8x14 sugarhouse plans purchased and that will be next year’s family project so the pad is for that.

Also on this weekend’s the plan is moving the garden and compost pile and taking out a couple small trees to allow for a driveway right up to the site this weekend.
Then need to move the arch to the site and mortar the bricks, sticking to the overall plan of getting the arch in place by the end of September. Just going with a 10 x 10 vendor tent this year to keep out of the weather.

October plan - Once the frost hits and the poison everything dies off I’ll need to work on thinning the woods to get better access to the trees. And cutting more wood until the carport/woodshed is filled.

Some pics of the progression:

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I did have a quick question though. Should I put a door in the front of the deck there so the sap is inside vs exposed? That's what the concrete footings are for, and I can rig something up with the door piece that came with the carport. It wasn't in condition to hang like it should normally, so I was thinking of making a wooden/removable frame to hang it once the winter hit.

[Brian]

750-1000 gallon tank, plastic tanks hold bacteria so, it will reflect the syrup quality. I would go with stainless holding tank and use the plastic for a transport tank. The sap is like milk, it sour. Keep it cold. I think a week is to long to store sap.

[Shaggy acres]

How are you making out? Trying to decide to build a brick arch or weld one for my new to me pans.

[Aaron Stack]

Doing GREAT! Every weekend plugging away.

Gravel pad is complete, canopy up, stove in place, top row of bricks rounded (might still round the front and back yet), chimney went up this past weekend, and plugging away on cutting up the wood. Wiring the blower this week and more wood cutting planned for the weekend... almost done with that. Taps bought, tubing cut, buckets drilled, Went with the 275 gal tote due to costs and need to make a cradle for two 55 gal drums to fit in my truck or a trailer for collecting and buy a few more accessories that Santa might not provide, but the end is in sight! Very excited and keeping busy.

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[maple flats]

If that stack arrangement doesn't work as you expect, try moving the first 45 closer to the arch, and extend the next section to be 2x as long, then the 45 to go up. Oftentimes a long flat will not be ideal.
Aside from that everything looks real nice.

[Aaron Stack]

Thanks for the tip Dave. The run to the first 45 is angled about a half bubble off on the level, but I'll see what happens on the test boil and change if needed. For now focusing on getting the wood finished before any snow moves in. I definitely have enough for this season but trying to fill'r up anticipating for 2022.

(AND!! The chimney survived last night's wind storm - wasn't totally sure it would but the garden stake braces held it in place)

[Pdiamond]

Very impressive. Keep up the good work.

[Aaron Stack]

Got the blower wired (another first - never wired a motor before), installed bucket covers for what will be my collecting drums, and ordered the pan cover this weekend. Might run over during the week to attach the blower to the arch as it looks like rain the next two weekends, but have a couple of inside projects I can tackle - cradle for the drums to sit tightly in my truck bed and doing the initial wash/sterilization on 33 5 gallon buckets & covers I picked up at Tractor Supply. 11 weekends (+/- 2) to go!

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[Aaron Stack]

Hi Folks - A couple questions on hot water supply.

I'm trying to come up with an idea for hot water at the site for sanitizing and cleaning and wonder what people do when the house is a good distance away.

Question 1 - The hose: The house has a basement sink with a hot water spigot on the faucet and is about 150 feet away. I have regular garden hose long enough from my yard that I was planning to run for the hot water supply. I won't use it for sap, just cleaning and sanitizing and wondered if that is a good idea or not. If I were going to use it for the sap or syrup I'd get the right kind of hose, but any issues with a garden hose for cleaning, would I actually be "cleaning" with a garden hose or introducing contaminants? Amazon has a 150' drinking water hose that isn't totally outrageous, and a 125' that's a bit cheaper. I'd have to measure precisely before buying if that is what I should be doing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XNJ6PSG/ref=twister_B076QLSYQB?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Question 2 - HOT water: A neighbor showed me a propane-driven hot water system he rigged up that he said was basically an RV hot water heater. Cost wise it's about the same as the hose would be so if the garden hose idea is bad, bad, bad I'll take a look at that.

Something like this mounted on a dolly with the propane tank under it is what he had rigged up https://www.amazon.com/Camplux-Outdoor-Portable-Propane-Tankless/dp/B01CJPU6JI/ref=asc_df_B01CJPU6JI/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=193984242218&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9041041019939194785&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001702&hvtargid=pla-311367582208&psc=1

Thanks for any advice!

-Aaron

[Aaron Stack]

Moving right along...

Drum connection T and sap hauler complete, bucket cover installed on tote, made kindling out of a small birch tree that we took out for the driveway this summer, and installed the sight glass. Ran my first 2-hour test boil to initially clean the pan and set the mortar yesterday - EXCITING! Granted it was just water and a "small" fire, but hit a solid 10 GPH on my little 20x30 arch maintaining a 2" depth so I was pretty pleased.

Stack temp hit 600 at one point and maintained around 400-500 degrees so I assume a bigger fire will bump that up once the setting fires are complete (4 to go). I believe I am aiming for 650-800 based on postings I have read. I noticed backing down the blower to the medium/high point rather then full blown "on" upped the temp, and also saw it drop dramatically just as the timer was hitting the 6 minute mark for refilling wood.

Decided on the propane tankless hot water heater and will get that assembled and running shortly. Then the trailer-to-tote pump setup needs installing. The building phase is almost complete!

Couple things noticed when boiling:
Had ashes blowing into my bucket where the syrup discharge/filter will be so will probably add some of the leftover ceramic blanket to seal that off. Also, the sight glass has no way to be removed if sap still in the pan, so picking up another ball valve to add before the gauge to handle that (unless there is some sort of plug...?)

Finally, starting a new job tomorrow and ended 2020 65 pounds down (who knew sugaring was an exercise plan!).

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[maple flats]

Your valve arrangement is basically how I did it when I had to haul sap 7-9 miles ( 2 bushes, one 7 miles, and another 2 more miles past #1). I had a 18' gooseneck trailer and used 2 tanks of 275 gal each at times, 3 at other times, valved together like that. It worked well. However, I always filled one at a time, so I only had a max of one sloshing around for the haul to the sugarhouse, easier on the brakes and the corners. Even though I have a 1 ton, I still felt the weight especially down the one long hill I had with a stop at the bottom.

[DrTimPerkins]

Question 1 - The hose: The house has a basement sink with a hot water spigot on the faucet and is about 150 feet away. I have regular garden hose long enough from my yard that I was planning to run for the hot water supply. I won't use it for sap, just cleaning and sanitizing and wondered if that is a good idea or not.

Despite the fact that most of us probably grew up drinking from garden hoses from time to time, they are not water potable due to their often being made from recycled/regrind materials. Better to go with the drinking water hose you linked.

[Aaron Stack]

Despite the fact that most of us probably grew up drinking from garden hoses from time to time, they are not water potable due to their often being made from recycled/regrind materials. Better to go with the drinking water hose you linked.

Thanks Dr Tim - I went with the drinking water hose and will be rigging up the tankless hot water heater for cleaning. Going food safe with everything to make growing easier.

Dave - Thanks for the tip on filling one side before the other. I was thinking of an equal fill to more or less distribute the weight but will give your input a try. Thankfully the only large hill is on the way "to" the bulk of my trees about 5 miles away... maybe a little more, and I can take the longer route back which has no hill to worry about if it stresses the truck pulling a full load.

[Tuckeradams2012]

How is everyone's season prep coming? I still have a few things left to fabricate with my 275 oil drum evaporator and to paint it. As it is my first season I am a little worried about getting it right the first time that I boil. I do have a few buckets out there, however I am worried that I might not have the right buckets. I ended up getting 5 gallon water jugs from work that look like they will work perfectly, small opening for the drop line, however, I am now worrying about ice forming on the inside of them. Any one use these in the past? Pros and Cons?

[Pdiamond]

i like my five gallon buckets. never had any freeze solid just form ice on the outside. I would pick it out and pitch it. you are not losing any great amount of sap. Kinda of natures way of removing water. they work just fine.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Been taking advantage of no snow and working in the woods. We got our new mainline up, 500' of 1" and 350' of 3/4". 28 laterals all hooked up for 146 taps. This one will be set up with a shurflo, solar panel and S3 controller. Only thing left to do in these woods is run the spinseal and that one is already to tap. Put 125 zap bacs on the new bush we installed last year and replaced a few damaged drops, that one is ready to tap. Put new taps on our last old bush which will be torn down and redone next year, that one is ready to tap. Only woods work left to do is run the new 3/16" line and the spinseal which should be done this weekend. We're ahead of the game thanks to the lack of snow and ice (haven't been fishing yet!) Still plenty to do around the shack and setting up controllers, pumps and solar panels. But that's easy roadside or inside work, don't need snowshoes for that!
Also enjoyed our best holiday sales season ever. Over $1500 of syrup in November and December.

[eustis22]

I think small openings will make picking out ice problemmatical. Do you have a pic of the buckets?

[Tuckeradams2012]

Been taking advantage of no snow and working in the woods. We got our new mainline up, 500' of 1" and 350' of 3/4". 28 laterals all hooked up for 146 taps. This one will be set up with a shurflo, solar panel and S3 controller. Only thing left to do in these woods is run the spinseal and that one is already to tap. Put 125 zap bacs on the new bush we installed last year and replaced a few damaged drops, that one is ready to tap. Put new taps on our last old bush which will be torn down and redone next year, that one is ready to tap. Only woods work left to do is run the new 3/16" line and the spinseal which should be done this weekend. We're ahead of the game thanks to the lack of snow and ice (haven't been fishing yet!) Still plenty to do around the shack and setting up controllers, pumps and solar panels. But that's easy roadside or inside work, don't need snowshoes for that!
Also enjoyed our best holiday sales season ever. Over $1500 of syrup in November and December.

Backwoods, Great to hear! The lack of snow has made it quite easy for everything. I am very much waiting for the deep freeze that I don't think we will get this year for ice fishing, so should make for an interesting syrup season. Glad you were able to have a great sales season. I am hoping to get rid of my 2021 stock as soon as I make it.

To answer your question eustis22, I don't have a picture but think about the water cooler at the office where you have to flip them in order to get them into the dispenser. I have attached a web link to one though. I just don't have a clue as to if they might freeze when I pickup for collection.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/American-Maid-5-gal-Water-Bottle/51200565?wl13=1788&selectedSellerId=0

[eustis22]

ok, please keep in mind that they will freeze at the top so you will have a considerable ice plug blocking your attempt to drain that. I would recommend the 5 gallon food grade buckets ate home depot or lowes before using a water cooler jug. That way you only need a little melt to pull the frisbee of ice out.

[Super Sapper]

I have used some of the square 5 gallon containers for several years and so like them. You will not be able to remove the ice but usually can get a hole in the top of the ice to drain the liquid. The remaining ice will keep the next run cool.

[West Sumner Sugar]

We have spent the fall getting the inside of the sugarhouse finished. When we built it we got the evaporator in just in time to start boiling and the inside never got touched. Its fully insulated with Roxul and it was getting annoying having Roxul dust everywhere. Is it wrong to have tile on the walls, and a heat pump in your Sugarhouse? We will find out! Ill post pictures once its done.
We sold our 2x6 and ordered a 2.5x8 CDL Venturi back in August...but it still has not arrived yet. Still lots of prep to get done and get our learn on with the new evaporator whenever it arrives. Just started getting parts together for a new autodraw that will have a stack temp controller as well for monitoring when we need to toss more wood in. Hopefully soon!

Lots of new drop lines to prep. 5 years on tees and taps is to long as we have seen huge drops in production on our original 3/16 runs, even with Shurflo's on them.

[eustis22]

I'm not following. What does this:

> 5 years on tees and taps is to long as we have seen huge drops in production on our original 3/16 runs

mean, please?

[West Sumner Sugar]

I'm not following. What does this:

> 5 years on tees and taps is to long as we have seen huge drops in production on our original 3/16 runs

mean, please?

It is recommended that you change your taps yearly. Obviously not many of us could afford to do this. But as the years go by bacteria forms in the taps and tees and when the sap slows at night it causes the bacteria to back into the tree which will cause it to heal up hence shortening your season. Changing the taps and tees/drop lines should get us back to year 1 production rates. We are also testing check valve taps this year to see if there are any benefits to this.

[Tuckeradams2012]

It is recommended that you change your taps yearly. Obviously not many of us could afford to do this. But as the years go by bacteria forms in the taps and tees and when the sap slows at night it causes the bacteria to back into the tree which will cause it to heal up hence shortening your season. Changing the taps and tees/drop lines should get us back to year 1 production rates. We are also testing check valve taps this year to see if there are any benefits to this.

Let me know if you see a more pronounced production rate with check valve taps v. regular ones, I would be interested in hearing! Hopefully your new evap comes soon especially since you sold your old one!

[DrTimPerkins]

....Lots of new drop lines to prep. 5 years on tees and taps is to long as we have seen huge drops in production on our original 3/16 runs, even with Shurflo's on them.

By that point, just from a sanitation standpoint, you'd be down to about 50-60% of Yr 1 sap yield. It could be even less if you had serious plugging issues.

[DrTimPerkins]

Let me know if you see a more pronounced production rate with check valve taps v. regular ones, I would be interested in hearing!

Lots of research information on the subject of sanitation influences of spouts and drops on yield at: https://mapleresearch.org/search/?_sf_s=sanitation

[eustis22]

Thank you

I change out my drops and tees yearly so I just wanted to make sure.

[West Sumner Sugar]

By that point, just from a sanitation standpoint, you'd be down to about 50-60% of Yr 1 sap yield. It could be even less if you had serious plugging issues.
You are correct, we used to think we had leaks in the system resulting in lower yield. Hoping to be back at 100% or close to it with new tees, drops and taps.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

If our 3/16” line works good, I think I’m going to try:
Year 1: all new with smartspouts
Year 2: new tees and zap bacs
Year 3: new tees only
Year 4: all new again and restart cycle

Only 34 taps for us so not really a cost issue. I do not plan on trying to clean the lines.

[Mvhomesteader]

How about boiling taps for 10 minutes like you're purifying water? Will that kill the bacteria? I'm essentially thrifty at heart, but I don't want to sacrifice sap flow just to save $20. I have been boiling taps each year since 2013 just because it seemed like a good idea. I boil my drill bit too.

[Pdiamond]

I've done that and had good results. Now saying that those have been taps for buckets hanging on trees and taps with tubing down to 5 gallon buckets. I do add baking soda to the water while boiling, then put the taps in.

[Mvhomesteader]

Probably a silly question, but why the baking soda?

[Pdiamond]

Helps to clean some of the wood debris off the taps.

[Aaron Stack]

Thanks for the tip Dave. The run to the first 45 is angled about a half bubble off on the level, but I'll see what happens on the test boil and change if needed. For now focusing on getting the wood finished before any snow moves in. I definitely have enough for this season but trying to fill'r up anticipating for 2022.

(AND!! The chimney survived last night's wind storm - wasn't totally sure it would but the garden stake braces held it in place)

Well... Dave was right. Had my first boil this weekend and it was certainly a learning experience! As soon as I tuned on the blower I had ash coming out of every orifice possible, throwing ash in my sap. Thought it was because the gasket caulking dried and started coming off so didn't use the fan and moved forward.

The best stack temp I got was about 350 but only for a short time, mostly it was hovering around 250. Eventually the chimney choked out and smoke was pouring from the stove to pipe connection point and elbow seams, and when I went to fire flames were shooting out the front when I opened the door - HAH! So I shut down and will rip it apart today, clean it out, and seal up the joints. I bet that 24" out the back it stuffed with ash.

Ordered pieces and parts on Amazon today that will be 12" out of the stove, the 45, a 24" section, another 45, then two 48" sections. Going to cement all the seams when putting it together to get a nice tight fit and see how it goes.

I have more sap than I imagined (and it isn't even "running" yet)! Got just shy of 100 gallons since Thursday so going to work with the chimney I have until the new setup comes in (clean it out, seal up the seams, use multiple curse words, etc).

Even with the problems I had a blast. Every 6 minutes stoke the fire, one drop of defoamer, and then split wood until the next timer went off. My Dad and son were right there with me and We had different colors in every chamber. Aside from the chimney issue we were rockin and rollin.

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[berkshires]

Hey Aaron, I'm curious, why did you go with a custom 20x30 setup from Mason, rather than his standard 2x3? If you were only planning on doing a dozen trees max, I could understand that, but with 50+ taps, I'm not sure why you would specifically want a smaller arch. By my calculation, his standard 2x3 arch would have almost 50% more surface area than your 20x30 one.

GO

[Aaron Stack]

Hindsight being what it is yeah I shoulda coulda woulda. I actually started the madness with a barrel arch in mind and the pan was bought for that but then the plan changed/grew a couple times before going with the Mason. I think the pan is rated for 75 taps so didn't think 50 would tax it. I won't go beyond the 50 until/unless there is an RO in the mix, and already see my weekend boil plan is going to be a (stove) pipe dream. Good thing is I have an understanding employer and time during the week for Tues/Thurs mini-boils.

[tapdat]

How about boiling taps for 10 minutes like you're purifying water? Will that kill the bacteria? I'm essentially thrifty at heart, but I don't want to sacrifice sap flow just to save $20. I have been boiling taps each year since 2013 just because it seemed like a good idea. I boil my drill bit too.

we used to do a diluted bleach soak of our drops/taps into buckets, and did again for some of ours this year. given that we scaled up, we have new tees and drops on half, and I plan on just replacing them every year from now on, also moving to tubing with a shurflo on half the trees (hopefully). I read in other threads (from Dr. Tim) that the micro-organisms nibble at the taps and create tiny crevices. boiling/bleaching will kill the micro-organisms, but the crevices that are created are leveraged by the new slew of bacteria that come along much faster, they already have a home that is move-in-ready essentially. if you're using CV spouts then it can be increasingly difficult to properly clean the ball restricting backflow into the tree.