ice in buckets

[ir3333]

Has anybody ever melted ice from partially frozen buckets and checked for sugar content?
Rumours are it is just water while others say it will have sugar.I like some ice in my reservoirs!

[jrgagne99]

I measured 0.2% in mine years back. Throw it on the ground.

[DrTimPerkins]

There are several threads on MapleTrader about this. Do a search and you'll find plenty.

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?12620-To-throw-ice-away-or-not
http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?8035-Ice-in-buckets
http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?29788-Question-on-ice-in-sap-buckets
http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?24070-Ice-toss-or-boil

In general, research on this subject has demonstrated and maple producer consensus is to toss the ice (unless the bucket is almost completely frozen). The frozen component is mostly water, but can have a small amount of sugar entrained in it. It is kind of a poor man's RO. You might lose a small amount of sugar, but you'll save a lot of fuel. Now if you have only a few trees and a lot of fuel...keep the ice.

[Ghost]

I’ve used freeze for years, works wonderfully. I leave 5 gal buckets out, and transfer the liquid the next morning, dumping the ice, usually about 1 to 2 inches thick.

[ir3333]

What a great idea! Thanks to this sight... i would not have known.This year i'm going to take some brix readings of my own before freezing
and then after ice is removed and also the melted ice!

[Bushfrosh]

I filter my sap through an Orlon filter. A benefit of this is I remove all the slush and frail ice disks from the collection before I store it. I did this this past Sunday and removed ~30L of loose slush from a collection of 134L. The storage barrel should now be encased in ice which I can also avoid boiling when it comes time.

[ir3333]

i have now taken an inch of ice off my sap barrel, thawed it and checked the sugar content.
a pretty consistent .04%

[Sugarmaker]

Good work, looks like the "others" were right, there is some sugar there. Is it worth boiling? Another decision in life.
Regards,
Chris

[berkshires]

I typically toss the ice too. Definitely not worth boiling. But the reason I say "typically" and not "always" is that if you check the weather and it is going to be very warm, and you can't boil right away, it's worth keeping the ice in my storage barrel so the sap I add won't spoil. I would rather have 60 gallons of 1.8 sap than 50 gallons of spoiled sap.

So always think about the forecast and when you can boil before tossing that ice.

Cheers,

Gabe

[Sugarmaker]

Gabe is right on how better to keep your sap cool on a warm day! And you were going to boil it anyway.
Regards,
Chris