Season #8 for me, thinking of upgrading to an RO system.

[Lethalbowman]

The question I have for the group is this. For those that have made syrup without an RO and then started using one, did you notice "any" change in quality of your finished product?

Dan

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

absolutely Not

[MISugarDaddy]

No change what so ever. Not one of our customers have said that they notice any differences.

[Russell Lampron]

Yes, from concentrating too high, around 18%, I was making all dark syrup without the dark syrup flavor. I then added a bubbler system to my evaporator which solved that problem. Now I get a lot of "this is the best syrup I've ever tasted" compliments on maple weekend when the visitors have tasted a lot of syrup before they came to me.

An RO isn't going to ruin the flavor of your syrup if that's what you're asking. Once you've boiled concentrated sap you won't want to go back to boiling raw sap and you'll be wondering why you didn't get an RO sooner. It only took me 4 years to decide to get one and that was 15 years ago.

[bmbmkr]

The worst part of my RO is I use 75-80% less wood, and I love cuttin wood. I split it all by hand. My two fiskars splittin axes are gettin lonely. I RO'd 1050 gallons of sap this week, boiled 275 gallons of concentrate on 5 wheelbarrow on loads of sycamore, ash and silver maple. I got my RO for the 2018 season after boiling raw sap the first season. I'm still burning wood that I cut and split 4 years ago.

[blissville maples]

I Find that I don't make that dark dark syrup that some want. Always seems to stay lighter with more toffee/caramel taste vs smoky flavor and dark.

[iby]

The worst part of my RO is I use 75-80% less wood, and I love cuttin wood. I split it all by hand. My two fiskars splittin axes are gettin lonely. I RO'd 1050 gallons of sap this week, boiled 275 gallons of concentrate on 5 wheelbarrow on loads of sycamore, ash and silver maple. I got my RO for the 2018 season after boiling raw sap the first season. I'm still burning wood that I cut and split 4 years ago.

you cut down a maple tree to burn? OMG... Not the sacred Maple :)

I certainly haven't noticed a difference... but I went from 20 taps to 290 taps when I got my RO...

[DrTimPerkins]

For those that have made syrup without an RO and then started using one, did you notice "any" change in quality of your finished product?

There is no difference. https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m1015reverseosmosisflavor/

[ennismaple]

No noticeable difference - other than the smile on your face when you look at all the syrup you made and how little wood you burned!

[bmbmkr]

[QUOTE=iby;377252]you cut down a maple tree to burn? OMG... Not the sacred Maple :)

The wind blew it down across my driveway. We sawed the butt log on the band mill. Real pretty color in silver maple lumber.

[Lethalbowman]

Thank you to all that have replied to my question. I have approval from the boss to spend the $$ on the RO In A Bucket that I have been looking at so now have another question for this group.
Is the optional pressure guage they offer really needed or is it just for visual effects?

[ecolbeck]

I have an RO bucket and I haven't bothered with a pressure gauge although it might be nice to have. I just tune it so the permeate and concentrate outputs are roughly equal.

The one extra option that I really like is the intake suction strainer. It obviously keeps big chunks of stuff out of the system but it also weighs down the end of the suction line so it stays at the bottom of the tank.

[Lethalbowman]

I pulled the trigger and ordered the RB10 unit yesterday. I am really looking forward to see how this new addition to my set up will pay for itself in reduced hours required in my sugar shack and the amount of wood I need to keep on hand.

[maple flats]

The only thing better than a RB10, is an RB15, RB20 or any larger RO, as you grow. I boiled straight sap from 03 to 2011. I bought my RO which I first used in the 2012 season. I kept adding taps for the next5 seasons and it took me 6 years to finish the wood I had split to be ready for a real good year in 2012.
Even if you only cut your boiling time by removing half of the water, you will like it. My first 2 years I just took it to 8% concentrate (from about 2% sap), then I started going to 10%, the last 2 seasons I've often gone to 12%. Once I started going to over 10% the syrup grade started to be lighter colored. My sales are heaviest in Dark, I as a result, often blend a little dark into borderline dark or even darkish Amber to make more dark. If you start blending, add the darker slowly, it takes very little to darken a lighter syrup. On the other end, molded sugar and maple cream are often made using lighter syrups.

[blissville maples]

The question I have for the group is this. For those that have made syrup without an RO and then started using one, did you notice "any" change in quality of your finished product?

Dan

The quality and taste is no different. However You will make a different syrup at the end if the season. Say goodbye to that really dark dark syrup that some of the old-timers ask for. I have not made any dark smokey ashy good old fashioned syrup since I upgraded to an ro. However I am not complaining as the Packers generally don't pay as much for the very dark anyway. And since going to reverse osmosis Dark robust is my darkest

[30AcreWoods]

I have a 3 membrane RO Bucket system. I've not noticed any difference in the taste of my syrup, and no noticeable difference in how it grades out. The biggest change is how much more syrup I make and how much less time and wood it takes. I think you will be amazed. And start plotting how to add more taps for next year!