Anyone out there... anyone getting ready?

[Skeller001]

I have the itch to get started this year. I know... I will be waiting a while yet.

We moved over the summer to where my maple trees are so I am excited for the sap run. Instead of carrying buckets of sap around I will haul them in my ranger. Instead of hauling buckets of sap to my old house to cook/finish I will take them right to my pole barn. I also had time to ID trees better this year so I plan to tap 3 more trees this season.

Over the weekend I...
brought my barrel stove closer to my house and pole barn, leveled it off, and got it ready
ordered some new spouts, another roll of drop line, and some cone pre-filters
ordered a drill stop so none of my holes will be too deep
ordered a real pan to replace my 2 kitchen warming pans
ordered a thermometer for the pan

So at this rate the supplies I purchased for this little hobby will pay for themselves in the maple syrup I don't have to buy in 2025...LOL But I enjoy it and each year I have become much more efficient. I am using wood from the property now instead of propane. My boiling time has dropped by about 70% since I started and the new larger pan with a warmer may drop it some more.

[ir3333]

there is a lot of prep that is better done in the fall.What pan did you order?

[Skeller001]

there is a lot of prep that is better done in the fall.What pan did you order?

It is a 21x24 pan with 2 dividers. It has a preheat pan on the top back with a valve. then the side has another valve and a spot for the thermometer I also bought.
21627

[maple flats]

Is the drum stove designed so the heat is directly on the bottom of the pan? If not, try to redesign it.

[Skeller001]

Is the drum stove designed so the heat is directly on the bottom of the pan? If not, try to redesign it.

well last years model is... but... I just got home from picking up a new barrel to make a few changes from last years design.

[Openwater]

Good morning.
I'm a newbie to the forum and the hobby from Central PA.
Last year was my first "trial" year. I tapped a few black walnuts (10 trees) late in the season due to quarantine boredom and boiled in a pan on propane turkey fryer. I was surprised how easy it was to make some pretty tasty black walnut syrup, although only about 4 pints. Now I'm addicted.
I did a little walk-about around our property and found a stand of red maples in a low swampy area of about 2 acres which will need some cleaning out and bushwacking to get access to for next year. At this time, I've ID'ed a mix of 30 other black walnut and red maples on the property to tap with some plastic taps I got, drop lines and buckets. Can't even remember what size the taps are, and still need to get a drill bit for them. Over the fall, I build a free file-cabinet evaporator from watching youtube videos. Also planning in building a vacuum filter out of some old pots.
If you have any advice, tips, tricks, let me know.

[Skeller001]

Openwater, I dont have any advice for you but I am jealous! My property is mostly open so I really only have about 15 maples to tap. I am curious what your black walnut syrup tastes like! I have a few of them but not enough to tap on their own.

[Openwater]

It's been a while since I've had any real maple syrup to compare to, but my black walnut syrup is definitely sweet with a little nuttiness to it. It's pretty dark, can't see thru it, but I may have overboiled, scorched or something else; I'm really not sure what color or clarity it should be. I didn't have a hydrometer at the time, so I just went by temp before stopping the boil.

21675

[220 maple]

Openwater,
Latest rumor on Black Walnut Syrup. 320 dollars a gallon Bulk!
Mark 220 Maple

[mspina14]

Sounds like you're on your way to a new hobby.

I have about 80 red maples on 5 acres of low lying, flat, wet land. Problem I had was getting any of them to produce sap with just buckets. None of them would really run unless I used vacuum. Bought a small diaphragm pump and ran 5/16 tubing to the taps. That produced about 5 gallons of sap per tree per season.

Also, red maples have a lower sugar content than sugar maples. Mine generally ran about 1.5% to 2.0% brix. But they made a great tasting syrup.

[Openwater]

Oh my. I guess I'll be keeping the walnut and maple sap separate and do some real head2head comparisons on the final products.
What is the typical price on a gallon of maple syrup?

[220 maple]

Bulk Price of maple is between 2 dollars to 2:30 a pound, 11 pounds per gallon 22 dollars or slightly higher per gallon! Slight difference for bulk Walnut, 40 gallon barrel of Maple 800 dollars plus, 40 gallon barrel of Walnut over 12000 dollars. Some good size walnut tapping systems going in WV and Virginia. Walnut difficult to make but the value per gallon is forcing the issue.
Mark 220 Maple

[Openwater]

Why is walnut syrup harder to make than maple? I only tapped and boiled walnuts last year, so I don't have anything to compare to. Is their sugar content lower? Shorter sap season? Higher nitre content?

[220 maple]

The difference is two fold, because walnut trees have fewer branches than maple trees, nowhere near the sap to work with in a walnut tree, the sap has been found to be as sweet as maple sap though, the second problem is pectin. It is in walnut sap and requires extreme filtering during the boiling process to remove it. Pectin is a wax substance. Basically the ingredient put on jams and jellies to preserve them in the old time canning. The Herby family in Highland County, Virginia is the source of a AP story last Spring that was written by the Roanoke Times, I believe if you google The new Liquid Gold you can read the story?
Mark 220 Maple

[Skeller001]

If I had more than 2-3 walnut trees I would be trying it!

[Openwater]

Pectin huh? Well, that might explain why I just about went crazy last year waiting for my hot boiled syrup to filter thru 1 prefilter and 1 orlon filter; which is why I just completed my vacuum filtering build using a shop-vac.
So are you saying that I should expect more sap from my never-tapped red maples this year than the black walnuts? That would be wonderful.
I'm assuming for the same tree and crown size, the maples have more sugars/sap than the walnuts due to more branching (and leaves).

[220 maple]

Openwater,
From my 22 years of tapping Sugars and Red Maples you will get more sap from any maple vs a walnut tree, I am no walnut syrup producer expert! lots of research being done on walnut syrup by Future Generations University in Pendleton County WV, Should be info on line from them Dr. Michael Rechlin and his under study Kate Fotos, are probably the best source of info on walnut syrup in the USA.
Mark 220 Maple

[Skeller001]

Just saw the weather forecast... lows in the 20's and highs in the high 30's. Hopefully we get these temps when it is time to start tapping.

[bigbeef]

when it is time to start tapping.

Is there a certain reason why you can't start tapping now? since the weather is providing the needed highs & lows right now?

[Skeller001]

Is there a certain reason why you can't start tapping now? since the weather is providing the needed highs & lows right now?

not really, thought I needed to wait. Has anyone else started?

[Sugarmaker]

Hanging tubing, cleaning tanks, the getting ready process!
Regards,
Chris

[Skeller001]

So this past weekend I cut in a trail to easily get my atv to my maple trees. Last night I made a jig to measure tree diameter.

Today I measured all of my trees. One of the trees I tapped the last 2 years is only 11” in diameter and a new one I found is only 11.5”. So it looks like I will have 12 trees this year till those two grow up if I stay above 12". I have a bunch of trees in the 10” range, thinking it will be another 10 years till those are 12". One of my largest trees was pretty much destroyed in a wind storm.

so I have heard that the minimum size to tap is 10" and 12" from different sources. Opinions please!!!

[Sugarmaker]

Tree size is important. Thos small ones should only get one tap hole. Or if you have the patience then you can wait 20 years! Use the smallest spout/ tap you can to minimize the wound.
Good luck with your season.
Several folks in the area getting ready, washing tanks, test boils with water, lines being worked in the sugarbush too. Getting a little anysy in this neck of the woods. Pretty typical. Weather, well its just around freezing. No hard deep frost in the ground. What will the season bring? Tap them and wait six weeks to find out!:)
Our Taste and Tour event will be different this year with more social distancing, "drive in /stay in car ordering and pick up" at some sugarhouses too. Will let you know how that works after mid March.
looking forward to making some nice syrup this year and maybe a little "Fire & Ice" brand syrup too!
Regards,
Chris

[buckeye gold]

I'll make one comment on your tree size. I look at trees and determine their future potential. If they are good relatively straight healthy trees, I leave them alone until they are bigger, but if they are in poor health, broken tops or other damage that will make them a cull in the future I tap them.

[Skeller001]

I wasn't clear in my earlier message on tree size. I have only tapped one tree under 12" in the past and that was before I made my tree diameter gauge this year. I wasn't planning on tapping anything under 12" this year. Is 12" the min diameter I should stick with since I don't want to hurt any trees?