2022 Go big or go home!

[TheNamelessPoet]

2021
http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?36263-2021-Can-I-improve

So... I haven't stopped thinking about sugaring since I stopped last year.
I ordered a new pan from Silver Creek, to replace my warming pans. Part of the reason is I felt like I was losing too much heat out the side, even with bricks lining the edge of the grill http://www.maplesyruppans.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=93

This baby fits right over the 3 "turkey" burners, I am SUPER excited to try it out.

I also after going back and forth for months, got an RO bucket, the RB10. I only expect to have 40-50 taps this season and most likely at MOST 75 in the next 5-6 years.

I just got my order of glass and taps (and a couple metal tins) for the season and I think I may this weekend, start cutting some drop lines. It is still too early around here to tap for sure, but I am itching to start getting things ready.

Last season I ended up with about 145 OZ total which was awesome. This year I am hoping for 3-5 gallons. I also am going to make candy again, and I think i am gong to take some down to granulated sugar. I have always wanted to do that. Hey next Christmas, sugar cookies can be MAPLE sugar cookies!

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NOTES
1) Note to self, until I can figure out how to hook up 2 tanks at the same time, need to swap out tanks every 1.5-2 hours.
2)When precutting drop lines, put the taps in one end, in the house when cutting them. Will make it much faster in the bush.
3)After washing out buckets at end of season, make sure they are all dry.
4)Re-hook up trailer as soon as tank is drained
5)Heat tape for Ball valve?

Things to buy for next year
FILTER PRESS!!! MUST
65 gallon tank MUST
Sap Hydrometer
Syrup Hydrometer
Trailer Stand
40 gallon Propane tank
Hand-truck
Finishing pan for on stove? (with some kind of drain) or coffee pot that goes up to 190 but big enough for filter inside?
2x55 Gallon drum for sap and permeate? (will have a 35 for concentrate if I get the 65 gallon tank)

[TheNamelessPoet]

Well, put 30 buckets in, yesterday 2/6 (probably 35-40 taps total) I am going to get my Evaporator all set up tonight in the garage so all I have to do is pull it out tomorrow night and ill be ready to go! Should be a decent run the next few days. Going to get the RO going at the same time and try and take care of both at the same time. I would like to do a little boiling in the pan with regular sap before I start with concentrate, just to figure out how it goes. Plus what I don't get done tonight I can save for tomorrow and have the RO going while I go collect. I am thinking I will probably be about 1 day behind until this weekend. I am thinking of RO'ing up to 8% 1- 5 gallon bucket. I want to boil that down separate, to see how it comes out on it's own and if the taste is off or it is spoiled. I am curious about it but I do not want to mix it with the rest just in case. I suppose I could do one bucket 1 round through for 4% or so and try that separate also.

Actually 30 Gallons of sap RO'd should take about 1.75-2 hours to get to 4% so if I can figure out how to have

This year is a trial and error year. Might as well see how everything works out in different scenarios when I am expecting so much more syrup than I had last year.

I am thinking of selling it next year, if things work out this year.

Notes for next year: When precutting drop lines, put the taps in one end, in the house when cutting them. Will make it much faster in the bush.

[TheNamelessPoet]

2/9 update.
I collected between 8 and 9 gallons last night. 1ish from my house, the rest from a friends. Not enough to RO, BUT enough to try out the new pan!. Boiled it down to about 10% (1.25 gallons). I should have gone probably 10-15 minutes longer, just so I could get it into the 1 gallon container, but I don't want to burn the pan. Not to mention the propane tank was starting to freeze too much and the boil had died down quite a bit. Note to self, until I can figure out how to hook up 2 tanks at the same time, need to swap out tanks every 1.5-2 hours. I think I am going to add all my notes for next year, into the 1st post, so I remember them lol. I don't want to miss any of them.

Felt great to get the pan boiling however. Took about 7-8 minutes to get it really boiling which I think was pretty good for the 1st boil. The warming pan is AWESOME, and I like being able to open it just a little and not have to add every once and a while to the main pan. Keeps the boil more steady, and I can just fill that pan when it gets to about 50%. It holds a TON which is great! Not overall happy with the boil itself, as it is definitely uneven, but I will get that sorted out here (http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?37107-Propane-grill-burner-advice&goto=newpost).

I forgot to note that my concentrate, is in the fridge. I did that last year. If I can get it down to 2 total gallons, I can keep it in the 2 glass jars I have in the fridge for a day or 2. I might freeze some straight sap in the chest freezer so I can drop it into the buckets on Friday. I won't be able to boil tomorrow so I should actually have quite bit Saturday, and can use my RO!

[Paul01036]

TheNamelessPoet, can you tell me a little bit about your set up. What type of propane system are you running? I have a Smokey Lake 2'x4' 5 burner hobby evaporator hooked to a 125 pound tank. I hope not to have to deal with the freezing issue but one never knows as this is the first time I am running this.

[TheNamelessPoet]

Well, I can tell you, I let the flames go wild and almost froze my measly 20lb tank Wednesday after about 2.5 hours lol I'll take some more pictures tomorrow while the RO is working. I don't know why but I can not get here OR imgur to accept my pictures. Ill figure it out.

[TheNamelessPoet]

TheNamelessPoet, can you tell me a little bit about your set up. What type of propane system are you running? I have a Smokey Lake 2'x4' 5 burner hobby evaporator hooked to a 125 pound tank. I hope not to have to deal with the freezing issue but one never knows as this is the first time I am running this.

This is the grill I have. 3 Turkey Fryers basically, 75k BTU's each.
http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?35121-2020-Looking-forward-to-looking-back&p=379581#post379581
I just got a fan that fit's it perfectly.
Here is the pan I just got http://www.maplesyruppans.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=93
I have 3 20 lb propane tanks that I rotate every 3 hours or so to keep them from freezing, though I had it CRANKING way to high Wednesday lol. I would liek to get some type of "reverse splitter" that let me hook up 2 tanks to the 1 output on the grill, but all I seem to find is the other way around.

Oh and I just got a BucketRO that I will be firing up tomorrow for the 1st time!

[TheNamelessPoet]

https://youtu.be/lsTTA60YVPQ

I ❤️ this RO!

[TheNamelessPoet]

TheNamelessPoet, can you tell me a little bit about your set up. What type of propane system are you running? I have a Smokey Lake 2'x4' 5 burner hobby evaporator hooked to a 125 pound tank. I hope not to have to deal with the freezing issue but one never knows as this is the first time I am running this.
https://i.imgur.com/8TfjYhY.jpg
I'll be back with more

[TheNamelessPoet]

https://i.imgur.com/TV6GnFw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GNBaUGf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mmnQlek.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/wyzIYSA.jpg

[TheNamelessPoet]

https://i.imgur.com/LrQDrcQ.jpg

Yea!!! already made 136 oz. I made about 140- 150 last year

[TheNamelessPoet]

Might not have a ton of sap today, but between today and tomorrow, I expect a good haul of Sap. I am getting all the sap today, and tomorrow because my buddy won't be home this weekend to boil. I have to save him a couple of buckets from Sunday and RO it for him. I give credit to all the guys out there with the 40+ hour continuous boils. As much as I LOVE making syrup. That is WORK. Im beat after a 8-10 hour boil lol

[MRFNY]

[QUOTE=TheNamelessPoet;400055]2/9 update.
Not to mention the propane tank was starting to freeze too much and the boil had died down quite a bit. Note to self, until I can figure out how to hook up 2 tanks at the same time, need to swap out tanks every 1.5-2 hours.


Have you tried putting the propane tank in a tub of water? Would prevent it from freezing

[TheNamelessPoet]

2/9 update.
Not to mention the propane tank was starting to freeze too much and the boil had died down quite a bit. Note to self, until I can figure out how to hook up 2 tanks at the same time, need to swap out tanks every 1.5-2 hours.


Have you tried putting the propane tank in a tub of water? Would prevent it from freezing

Hmm, interesting idea. only problem is, often when I am boiling it is below freezing, and I don't want to assist it in being colder :-p
If it is warm out however...

[TheNamelessPoet]

2/20 update
So, had about 65 gallons which I RO'd (In the garage after everything froze with teens overnight temps). I removed all the ice from the buckets and put it into its own empty bucket and put it in the house to let it melt.
There is a lot of back and forth on whether or not to throw out the ice because it may have sugar left in it. I did this last year and it was 0%, and again this time (with about 3+ gallons of ice melted down to water) again it shows as 0%. I am going to wait until it is completely melted along with the ice from the concentrate (for my buddy) that i put in a separate bucket. Then I am going to run it through the RO one or two times just to be sure there is no sugar.

Interesting note, the RO water that I also left outside, froze CRYSTAL clear. To the point that my wife thought at first I broke a large glass when I left the ice in the sink. I have to remember next time to take a picture.

So, I RO'd it to about 7.5-8% but this time I did the "Infinite" pass since it would have actually helped by warming up, since the tank had 1/2" or so of ice, and the ball valve at the bottom froze all the way through into the tank. It didn't really help but it did let me get it up to about 4% and then I just made the last pass through into buckets to drain the tank. I had to move the while tank on the trailer into the garage, because everything was frozen, BUT at least I was warm lol.

I have about 1.5 or so gallons that I left outside (it was around 10 degrees last night and isn't supposed to get above freezing tonight). Ill put that in the chest freezer tonight and finish it off either tomorrow or most likely on Tuesday.

I expect it to run well tomorrow since 25 tonight and 50 tomorrow. It is SUPPOSED to go down to 28 tomorrow night so I am going to freeze a few blocks of sap to put into the concentrate Tuesday morning, to help keep it cold. I may even stop home at lunch and put in more frozen sap. It is going to reduce the concentrate, but if it saves it for the 24 hours I should be fine. Hey I wanted to test it anyway, after 24 hours.

Oh, and I swapped out the 1st propane tank for the 2nd one after 2 hours (and had the heat AND depth a little lower to keep the same boil) and it nothing froze.

I am thinking about trying to find a way to use a heat tape on the ball valve if it is going to be freezing overnight

[TheNamelessPoet]

Honestly, I think the warming pan with valve was WELL worth the additional cost in the new pan. The fact that I can turn open the valve and adjust it, to keep the depth at whatever I want, is AWESOME! Lets me monitor the RO and clean out buckets, stuff like that, while the evaporator is going along, and not have to keep adding sap, reducing the boil. It is just a steady, constant stream (with no wind) or fast "drip" (with wind).

The RO takes 4% up to about 8% at the same speed as the evaporator boil's off, so it is perfect to get it RO'd once, then RO 1-2 buckets to 8% or so, start the evaporator up when I have 5 gallons or so. The evaporator hold about 2 gallons or so at the depth I usually run at (just about 1" maybe a little less) and I swear the warming pan holds 3+ gallons. I noticed by the time the warming pan gets about 1/2 way drained ("dripping" into the pan) I can add whatever has been RO'd into the bucket, into the warming pan.

Also the holes in the cover of the bucket, work MUCH better than the holes in the side of the bucket, just below the lip. Last year some sap would get frozen there, and block if, and back up the dropline. Keeping that straight into the bucket avoids that problem.

MAN this RO is AWESOME.

[TheNamelessPoet]

Between yesterday and the day before, we got about 50ish gallons, and as of this morning, my buddy checked a couple buckets and said there is probably another gallon, on average, in each one. So there is another 40 or so gallons. I am actually glad it is going to get cold, because it would be hard to keep up with another couple days of a running. It is official, next year I am for SURE getting a 65 gallon tank for my trailer lol. I can use the 35 gallon to pump into.

I made a big oops yesterday and put a 5 gallon bucket of already RO'd PERMEATE into the tank. I have been recirculating the sap, but I am going to go back to filling buckets. Next year I can use the 35 gallon to put the concentrate into, then the second pass decide what to do with it.

I also have a LOT of boiling to do this weekend, so I have to remember on Friday night before bed, to bring the buckets/tank, back into the garage so it can melt some.

[TheNamelessPoet]

Collected ANOTHER 50-65 gallons yesterday, not even collecting the 2 partial buckets at work, or the ones at my house. Its a high of 33 today so I am not concerned. I'll get that tomorrow. I'll also try separating the ice again, and testing that for any sugar. If there is none, than doing it for the 4th time is a waste to me. I did it last year and this will be the 2nd time this year. Makes for even less work that's for sure lol. I am not sure I would try it with higher than say 3% though. The ice is different the higher the sugar content, and I bet with 4+ it still has some sugar in it.

So, I now have 14 gallons at 6%, and about 40-50 gallons at 2% that I need to boil down this weekend. Glad the weather is giving a few day break tbh. I need it lol

[TheNamelessPoet]

Well after a long weekend... I finally got caught up. I've got 3 gallons and 8oz of syrup so far. I also brought my sap almost to syrup in the pan which was fun, and terrifying lol. All my concentrate is gone, everything is bottled aside from. the 1 gallon in the fridge that I am going to make candy with. I know a guy who makes candy at the end of the season, so I'm going to go down and see him then.

I can tell you this... the #1 thing I am getting for next year, is a filter press. Trying to filter 2 gallons last night took FOREVER. I think also either the coffee urn (if I can find out the temperature in them) for bottling also.

[TheNamelessPoet]

So, another relatively productive weekend. I have about 3 gallons of 30-35% in my freezer now. I have turned down the heat a little, seems to be a little too much as it seemed much longer yesterday. I have to say I am still LOVING the RO. My great Aunt came to check out my "operation" and was apparently quite impressed.

I brought my buddy another bucket at about 6% when I picked up on Saturday morning. The weather is starting to get a bit meh. MIGHT get a good run Thursday/Friday with temps in the 50's.

Again my house though, not getting much at ALL. I got MAYBE 2 gallons from the 5 trees I tapped. That is MAYBE 10 gallons if that, so far this season at my house. I think I just don't say enough nice things to my trees when I am out there.

[TheNamelessPoet]

So I have been really bad about updates this year lol period between Friday and Saturday Saturday I collected 135 gallons. Boiling now And the arrow has been going almost non stop for what seems like 2 straight days lol Karl has made one heck of a product this thing is awesome.

For the 2nd time I am drying off at about 30 to 35 bricks.. I really want to try batching everything and see if I can get it a little bit lighter. Plus maybe I'll have enough to finish it or at least get very close in the actual pain again which made things much easier. Bottling is still my issue with filtering however which filtering sucks lol