Norwesco tank

[TheNamelessPoet]

So I am hoping to get a stainless steel tank next year (running out of funds this year), well hopefully 2 TBH (shhhh don't tell wife I want 2)

I have about 40 taps at a friends house about 4 miles away, that I am going to have to bring the sap home from. I don't THINK I will need more than a 35 gallon tank, and if needed I can always make 2 trips for a year.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/horizontal-leg-tank-35-gal?cm_vc=-10005
This says it is food grade, I just want to be sure I am not missing something. I am going to rinse it out well between each trip to his house. looking at the cost of them, I woudl be better off buying 2 than the 65 gallon one. My plan next year, was to use it for permeate next season. OR, in a bargaining chip with my wife, set up something somehow with it for using rainwater collection and drip hoses for her veggie garden and retire it from maple sap, but that's a different story

[tcross]

If you have a maple dealer near you, i'd check there for the same tank. If i remember correctly i got a 65 gallon tank, exactly like that, and it was the same money as what they're selling the 35 gallon one for.

[Drew Pond Maple]

https://bascommaple.com/collections/sap-collection-new/products/t35
Bascoms has the same one for $50 less

[TheNamelessPoet]

$20 less, and not close enough to save any $. I went there 1st actually:-p

I'd have to pay to ship it

[red/one]

If you have 40 taps I would get the 65 gallon leg tank. I have 20 taps on a slope and on a good 2 day run it will fill a 55 gallon plastic barrel. Just my 2c. :cool:

[TapTapTap]

I have a similar 65 gal tank from when I had a simpler operation.

I recall that filling the tank from buckets through the 5" opening is a challenge in patience. And I still spilled some.

I also used a strainer at the opening to help screen out stuff.

I transferred from the tank by gravity through the lower bulkhead fitting. There are costs involved in the discharge end including a valve.

I secured it to the dump body of my side-by-side and I should have spent more effort to mount it where I could both easily fill and empty the tank, even when the dump body is filled with other stuff.

I still use the the tank (mostly for cleaning water) which I mounted on a pallet to help in the handling. Then I can fork, transport, set in a truck, raise in the air with my tractor, etc.

It still has many uses despite being obsolete in my sap collection process.

Ken

[maple flats]

Whatever tank you get, clean it well before use. Back in my early days I bought a 550 gal vertical tank, quickly rinsed it, and set it to collect sap from about 150 taps. My first batch of syrup had a "plastic" taste, I had to sell about 8-10 gal of syrup to Bascom as commercial at a very low price. I then hauled the tank home, cleaned it using chlorine bleach and then rinsed it 4-5 times, draining it fully after each rinse, it was then good.

[TheNamelessPoet]

If you have 40 taps I would get the 65 gallon leg tank. I have 20 taps on a slope and on a good 2 day run it will fill a 55 gallon plastic barrel. Just my 2c. :cool:
I am hoping to boil every day, but if not it will be every other day at MOST, and the buddy who's house I am tapping at will probably take a bunch, so it will be more like 30 taps. Any other tap's I have will be at my house so no need to add to the tank.

The 35 is going to be repurposed for my wife's garden most likely after the season anyway. I kind blew my budget WAY out of the water this year lol.


I have a similar 65 gal tank from when I had a simpler operation.
I recall that filling the tank from buckets through the 5" opening is a challenge in patience. And I still spilled some.
I also used a strainer at the opening to help screen out stuff.
I transferred from the tank by gravity through the lower bulkhead fitting. There are costs involved in the discharge end including a valve.
I secured it to the dump body of my side-by-side and I should have spent more effort to mount it where I could both easily fill and empty the tank, even when the dump body is filled with other stuff.
I still use the the tank (mostly for cleaning water) which I mounted on a pallet to help in the handling. Then I can fork, transport, set in a truck, raise in the air with my tractor, etc.
It still has many uses despite being obsolete in my sap collection process.
Ken
I did get a stainless ball valve to put on it, but the 5" hole is an excellent point. i am going to see if I can get a really big funnel.

I plan on RO'ing it and then putting it in a chest freezer overnight. Then the next day I am going to let it thaw while I collect the day's sap, and while that starts to go through the RO, I'll boil what I got that day, and RO what I can.

I know its not ideal but, with work, unless I save it all for the weekend, I don't have much of an option. This week's run is kind of a test for everything. I am still doing it as a small hobby, so if the 1st batch is meh, I won't be screwed. I think I have enough people that will be honest when they try it and give me a real opinion.


Whatever tank you get, clean it well before use. Back in my early days I bought a 550 gal vertical tank, quickly rinsed it, and set it to collect sap from about 150 taps. My first batch of syrup had a "plastic" taste, I had to sell about 8-10 gal of syrup to Bascom as commercial at a very low price. I then hauled the tank home, cleaned it using chlorine bleach and then rinsed it 4-5 times, draining it fully after each rinse, it was then good. I have rinsed it out, much like your quick rinse, so I am going to wash it out and fill it a few times tonight, and then rinse it 2-3 times during the day at work before I go collect. Thanks for the heads up!

[SeanD]

I hemmed and hawed about getting a 125 gal leg tank for a collection point a few years ago. I saw it on sale, so I got it. In hindsight, I wouldn't do it again. It is a PITA the clean. You'll never get all the sap out of it - even if you tip it over. If you do go with it, add a new port lower on one of the legs so you can draw from lower in the tank and tip it in one direction to get the liquid that hides in the other 3 corners.

For the amounts you are talking about, I would go with a 55 gal drum or two. For $25-$30, it's hard to go wrong with a barrel. Besides, it can more easily be repurposed elsewhere in the sugaring operation. Is this tank going in a truck to move your sap or is it staying one spot?

[TheNamelessPoet]

It is going on a small trailer so I can bring it from althe sugar bush, back home. I will most likley be running the RO right out of the hole in the top to make it a bit easier.

I assume I should not recirculate it due to the temp of it increasing, especially if it's being held overnight for the morning. I've got some food grade buckets for it to go in once it's above 6-7 %