Northern Ontario 2022

[4Walls]

Dang, It's cold outside. -31c this morning. -19c tonight. Brrrr, It's properly cold out. I swear, it is the extreme cold that we get up here that makes Northern Ontario's maple syrup some of the best in the world. Trees are somehow tougher. Sap is somehow sweeter. We are more remote and the sweet taste of the good stuff tastes that much better after the long and cold winters. There is some reprieve in sight. Days are getting longer. Seeing the neighbours's coming out of hibernation. Rink on the lake is perfect for skating and I'm dreaming of steamy days and nights in the sugar shack.

So I'm slowly getting ready. Have some plans to expand out to more taps. Made a few mods to the rig. Sold a few extra pans and pails. The biggest thing I am doing is getting ready for the season and navigating the lack of bottles and packaging that was available last year. I just want to put it out that there is a source for the 500ml Kent bottles. Those are my best sellers. The local farm stand crowd prefers to buy in glass and first time buyers like the 500ml size to try it out. I have tried the 1L and 500ml plastic jugs. They used to be ok in the past but the new square shaped "milk bottle" style jugs are crap. Seem to be weak, deform and don't hold up as well as the last iteration. That's why I go glass. Last year was brutal for finding glass. This year is not much better. My Normal CDL supplier in Barrie is limited on 1L glass and has absolutely no 500ml stuff. Local hardware and some of the local suppliers are the same thing. Do not despair. I found a shop that has pallets of 500ml Kent bottles. Not a plug. I have not affiliation to the shop. But if you are looking for that size give Kidd's home hardware a call. Ask for Neil. He is the local guru. They have hundreds of cases. I got mine today before they are sold out.

Anyway, getting prepped because things happen fast when the sun keeps climbing. Money is going out but no syrup coming in yet. Keep warm and good luck this season.

[Swingpure]

It was -27° here this morning. It was a cold January and start to February. We have a fair amount of snow here, but I have seen more in other years

I am pretty well all ready to go now, except reassembling my temporary sugar shack. As soon as I see two consecutive days above zero in the 14 day forecast I will start to reassemble it. It will be a two to three day job, counting digging out the snow in the area.

I bought some glass bottles from CDL in Orillia this summer, some people have donated some and I have a ton of Mason Jars. I have more than I need, unless I pick up some extra trees to tap, which is a strong possibility.

The cold weather makes the start of the season seem so far away, but a change in the jet stream can change that in a hurry.

[aamyotte]

This fall I built a shack out of reclaimed materials and it cost me $8 to build. It's a real shack!

Yesterday I tested a boil with water. It worked great from pumping from the 50 gallon storage barrel up to the head pail to gravity feed the sap pan. It did start raining inside.

The next project is a hood to collect the steam and direct it outside to reduce the rain.

[Swingpure]

This fall I built a shack out of reclaimed materials and it cost me $8 to build. It's a real shack!

Yesterday I tested a boil with water. It worked great from pumping from the 50 gallon storage barrel up to the head pail to gravity feed the sap pan. It did start raining inside.

The next project is a hood to collect the steam and direct it outside to reduce the rain.

That is my unknown is how well the steam will exit. My 4 test boils this summer I had no roof or sides. I will have large openings at the top of all walls.

[aamyotte]

That is my unknown is how well the steam will exit. My 4 test boils this summer I had no roof or sides. I will have large openings at the top of all walls.
I would suggest you do a test boil once the roof is on. The last thing you want is water dripping in the pans adding dirt with it.

[Swingpure]

I would suggest you do a test boil once the roof is on. The last thing you want is water dripping in the pans adding dirt with it.

That is a good idea, I did not think of that. My hope is that the openings at the top of all three walls, will be enough to let the steam out. I might also be able to play with the metal roof panel design to allow for some center ones to be removed on a nice day. (Not sure yet what I will do for the front wall)

It will cost me some valuable wood, but it will be a good test for the fifth pan to see if the changes to the ramp and the baffles after the fourth test result in the fifth pan coming to a real boil.

[aamyotte]

You should know within a couple of hours of boiling if it will be a problem.
Since you don't have your shelter put up yet try to make the roof pitch as steep as you can. That will help with the condensation following the roof slope and hopefully drip when it's not above the pans.
Since you have power at your setup you can also setup a house fan and point it to the roof to help force the steam out or keep the condensation from accumulating to the point of forming drops.

[4Walls]

Both those ideas work great with still, no wind conditions. I learned the wet way that with a certain type of wind the steam likes to stay in the shack. My metal roof pitch is 6/12 which is nice for the snow to slide off. It is a lean to type roof with the southern side high and open all along the top and length of that wall. I had to build a second sub roof inside that guides the steam out between the outer roof and the inner. I have it sloped slightly and run an eve trough along to catch all the condensation and drain it out the back of the shack. Works great and a constant supply of distilled water for cleaning and drinking. Either way it is so much nicer to boil off while being out of the elements.

[Swingpure]

Mine is also a lean to style. The walls are already pre cut so is I’ll have to stay with my 4/12 pitch. I will have 3 foot openings on the three sides, which I can adjust close if it helps with wind flow direction. Right now the front would be mostly wide open, but I can play with that. I could add a fan and could play with the roof panels.

Today I finished moving wood from a pile that just had a poly top to a covered wood shed. There are 5 face cords of mixed wood in there, mostly wrist sized and I have a half of facecord of ironwood with poly on it.

I also marked 13 new trees today, 9 of which can be double tapped for a total of 22 more taps. All that’s can drive my ATV and trailer beside. There is one more spot with five trees, two that can be double tapped for apoosible 7 more taps. Making the RO allowed me some more free time for collection.

Not counting the last 5 trees, that will give me 105 taps, 75 on lines and 30 on buckets. (Hmmm, I better count my buckets, I might only have 26 buckets.)

Edit: I have 36 buckets, so I am good. I do also have three other trees, one a double tap. So that would take me to 35 buckets. Combined with the 75 taps on line, that would make it 110 taps.

[Swingpure]

One other advantage of doing a fifth test boil, besides checking to see how the roof might drip and testing the fifth pan for boiling, is I am still thinking about doing two batches during one boil. The downside is ash rising into the other pans.

I designed my evaporator so I can easily lift the pans, I want to see how that works in practice and if I have ash rising into the pans. I will have steam pan lids that I can place on three of the pans to help prevent that as well.

I might find with a lesser boil time because of the RO, that I might not have to go for two batches.

[Swingpure]

Today turned out to be a nice day, so after moving around some wood for the evaporator, I decided to shovel out around the evaporator. The day was still nice at the completion of that, so I started to assemble my shelter around the evaporator.

It all pieced together properly, but two things made me worry about the steam coming out. In the summer when I built it, my wife did not, like how big it looked. I shortened the legs of the walls, but still felt it would be tall enough. After removing it and later in the summer, I started to fill in around the evaporator so that I would have level ground to walk on. Between shortening the legs and adding material, the one wall was now quite short. If the wind pushes the steam that direction it will challenging to find it’s way out.

I will figure out a way around it, but that right way has not come to me quite yet.

In the pictures after I shoveled it out, I did not remove all the snow, because the roof wasn’t going on today and fresh snow will fall tonight and tomorrow and most days this week.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0120IIQDjmOC1lXdw7Rl3mzHA

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0e3UAGQ_rnbuPqZhquRT5yKTw

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0c4YE5tawYKUjUTrQFYySNtGA

[Swingpure]

If I have a layer of plywood below the metal roof immediately above the evaporator,, would the steam still form droplets and drip almost as much as the metal roof? There would not be any continuous airspace between the metal roof and the plywood.

[BCPP]

That is a good idea, I did not think of that. My hope is that the openings at the top of all three walls, will be enough to let the steam out. I might also be able to play with the metal roof panel design to allow for some center ones to be removed on a nice day. (Not sure yet what I will do for the front wall)

It will cost me some valuable wood, but it will be a good test for the fifth pan to see if the changes to the ramp and the baffles after the fourth test result in the fifth pan coming to a real boil.
The gaps may be enough to let steam out BUT you will get condensation on the underside of the roof. That condensation will run down rafters and drip off at some point. Your challenge will be making sure that point(s) are not over the evaporator! It may also get very steamy inside making visibility an issue. We have a 2x6 hobby evaporator operated in a three sided shed and it's sometimes difficult to see pan levels!

[aamyotte]

If I have a layer of plywood below the metal roof immediately above the evaporator,, would the steam still form droplets and drip almost as much as the metal roof? There would not be any continuous airspace between the metal roof and the plywood.
The plywood will certainly help since it will be 'warmer' than the steel and will not condense as easily.

[Swingpure]

The gaps may be enough to let steam out BUT you will get condensation on the underside of the roof. That condensation will run down rafters and drip off at some point. Your challenge will be making sure that point(s) are not over the evaporator! It may also get very steamy inside making visibility an issue. We have a 2x6 hobby evaporator operated in a three sided shed and it's sometimes difficult to see pan levels!

Thanks

I had a chance to think about it overnight. I superimposed a picture from last fall onto one from yesterday, to help me visualize it.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/04bdI0zQik-wQFTJC2g8QRoUA

I have to raise the structure the 1 foot, I removed last fall. I will only put up a permanent side wall up to the height of the evaporator, any other side walls will be removable.

Originally this structure was just meant to be a shelter to keep the rain and snow off the pans and maybe a little of a windbreak. A better structure will be built next fall. I will put plywood directly above the evaporator. With the exception of the metal roof it has been made from free repurposed wood.

The most challenging day will be a day will no real wind.

[DrTimPerkins]

Your challenge will be making sure that point(s) are not over the evaporator!

Or your head...in my experience the drip is right near the drawoff, making it hard to avoid. :D

[Swingpure]

I took the shelter partially apart and raised the low end a foot. It is tall enough for me to walk under it without hitting my head. I lost some of the roof slope, which may come back to bite me.

I added some plywood to the sides. The open areas on the sides will remain open when I am boiling. I have floor to ceiling walls at the front of the shelter as my RO will go somewhere there. The diagonal supports are temporary until I get longer ones tomorrow.

After I put the metal roof on, I will add a plywood ceiling over all of the evaporating area. Lessons learned with this shelter this season will, help me designed my sugar shack this summer.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/059KkHPZhxpWsvfcskV959zSw

https://share.icloud.com/photos/03dTru0AEknm3Mcr1dBsM8mCw

The weather today was barely above freezing, but felt springlike. But lots of cold weather in the forecast and nothing in the 14 day forecast to indicate tapping will start soon, but sometime in a month’s time we will!

[Swingpure]

In 2020, my friend near Parry Sound started tapping on February 23rd. Right now the 14 day forecast does not make that a possibility, but if days 11-14 warm up a little, you never know.

Today I put the metal roof on my shelter. Tomorrow I will put on the plywood ceiling, which will have an airspace between the plywood and the metal roof. Depending on the snow, I may also attach my stove pipe. I added another 3 feet to it and the rain cap. It will be 15’ high.

Looked at a few more trees today, I will only add one more to the count, but will also not double tap some trees. So 111 taps, 75 on lines and 36 on buckets.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0dalXwXcxBnhS83UIUBvWT-sw

[aamyotte]

With the weather forecasted for this weekend it doesn't seem like we are close to tapping at all.

The shelter is looking good.

I made myself a poor man's hood this week with a leftover roll of flat stock flashing material. I have a 200 cfm inline fan to exhaust the steam buildup in the hood. That should be coming in soon. Then a test boil with the hood to see how the steam builds up in the shack.

[Swingpure]

Temps just above freezing today with wet snow and light rain. -25° C (-13°F) on the weekend. Long range forecast it is getting warmer, as would be expected, but no real trends above freezing, but that forecast can change.

Today I added the plywood ceiling with the air gap between the plywood and the metal roof. I also added some additional plywood sides to help keep the snow out and I added the smokestack. Previously I said it was 15’ tall, but it is only 12’ tall, but it looks taller. This summer when I did my tests, it was only 9’ tall, so with the additional 3’ and colder temps than the heat wave in the summer, I should have excellent draft.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/07feydAGNWWdPT8LGrjVFBwGA

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0023uKOQ1QpwipBvFdxZO720Q

https://share.icloud.com/photos/068958aYgpZEUBotEKfymsGqA

[Swingpure]

I keep checking the SapTapApp flow map and the green dots are not close yet, but there are a lot more of them and they are slowly getting closer.

After Monday mornings -29° C (-20° F), that is the last -20’s that I see in the forecast. Although I still only see one day above freezing.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/024TVX1oRTw2FBPgvKWHLwOTg

[Swingpure]

I added the “phone booth” shed to the evaporator shelter today. The phone booth shed houses the three induction elements that I will be using to preheat the sap to a boil, in three pots. I should be able to bring to boil about 9 gallons an hour with the three elements.

Right now the support blocks on the low side look a little redneck, but as the snow melts, I will adjust them and make it look more professional. The added feature will offer some protection for the RO that will be tucked in the corner of the shed and shelter. During the night the RO will stay in the heated garage and will only come out when I am ready to start it.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/008kJZqEj2nLd5ecignCimQGg

I just now have to add a half wall to the back of the shelter to help keep snow out and it will be done.

Today is one day closer to the sap running.

[Swingpure]

I think the latest I will wait to tap is March 1st. If the weather forecast changes in February, I will tap earlier, but if not I will tap on March 1st barring an extreme cold front moving in.

Partially I will do it because of this article: https://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/when-is-the-best-time-for-sugarmakers-to-tap-their-maple-trees

and partially, by mid April I have to start looking at collecting wood for winter 23/24 and get it collected before the black flies come out. I will play when I pull the taps, by ear. If it is still really flowing and no buds opening on the trees, I can wait a few days.

[Swingpure]

-30° C (-22° F) this morning, but this should be the last of the real cold mornings.

Yesterday on the 14 day forecast the high for Feb 27 was 0° C (32° F) and I was hoping that Feb 28 today would be above freezing, but both now show as -7° as a high. I am sure this will change 20 times between now and then.

When the time does get close to tapping, there is lots of work still to do.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/057BCQ2m956cMEeeJ7bgKwnxg

[Swingpure]

Rain today, but back to the cold tomorrow. The long range is not looking very good at all. It has really tempered my expectation of starting and have resigned to the fact that it will be, when it will be.

I was hoping for a little more of a melt today than we are getting. I have the shelter all structurally finished now, I just have to build a platform outside and next to the shelter, to hold the three RO barrels. I was hoping to do it on somewhat snow free ground.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0c1or8YvjLwf4Vz3QTQkIT-fQ

https://share.icloud.com/photos/01c9wz0R4fYPvPa3nQxQU44PQ

[Maplesapper]

Yes, looks like several weeks away for our start.
This rain and pending freeze may hopefully make the trails into the woods nice and compact.
Happy Tapping -

[Swingpure]

I was thinking this was a slow snow amount year, but the snow we have received in the last three weeks has changed things.

I plow my snow into a gulley that is 12’ to 15’ deep. Usually at the very end of February I just reach a yellow birch tree on the far side. Today I reached it and passed it. Now I am shooting to come even with the far bank. The ground starts to slope down in the immediate foreground of the picture.

All that snow is my reserve to put around my barrels and pails later in the spring.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0e0XGF4DxMVugiDNnVLfLfWHA

Still no break in the temperatures in the long range forecast.

[Swingpure]

Temperatures forecasted for the beginning of March are starting to moderate and if they moderate a little bit more, maybe sap will flow.

I have never done this before, but I think I will tap my buckets 4 or 5 days ahead of when I think the sap will flow and get that work out of the way and when I see the first drip go into a bucket, I will start tapping my lines, which should take the most part of a day.

In between tapping the buckets and lines, I will start outfitting the shelter with all of the tools I will need for boiling. I will also start to set up the evaporator and have it all set to go. I will also get the collection barrels into position and the ends of the tubes connected inside them.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ebzDdECVLvYd0pec4R9XXzTg

[4Walls]

For what it's worth, I have about 400 taps to go. Most on 3/16 lines and I am not tapping for at least 10 days or so. Weather is just too cold and could 'Pop" the taps out creating vacuum leaks.
I will admit that I am getting itchy to be out in the bush. Can't wait to use the stainless vacuum filter that I built. I have done a couple of "dry" runs and filtered a batch of beer through it. Seems to be a big improvement to the one I mashed together last year. I seriously considered the CDL version last year but couldn't justify the 2500$ for the filter so I made the prototype. Got all the kinks worked out and have the final version.
Sap is just around the corner because my chickens have started laying eggs again. Always a good sign.

[Swingpure]

For what it's worth, I have about 400 taps to go. Most on 3/16 lines and I am not tapping for at least 10 days or so. Weather is just too cold and could 'Pop" the taps out creating vacuum leaks.
I will admit that I am getting itchy to be out in the bush. Can't wait to use the stainless vacuum filter that I built. I have done a couple of "dry" runs and filtered a batch of beer through it. Seems to be a big improvement to the one I mashed together last year. I seriously considered the CDL version last year but couldn't justify the 2500$ for the filter so I made the prototype. Got all the kinks worked out and have the final version.
Sap is just around the corner because my chickens have started laying eggs again. Always a good sign.

Never knew about taps popping, another lesson learned.

Two years ago, two days from now, my buddy near me, started tapping.

Any pictures of the vacuum filter you made, or a link to something similar? I never will be able to afford the CDL one.

[4Walls]

I will get some pics up soon and maybe do a detailed write up in the homebuilt section. I basically got a 8 gal stainless brewing kettle from Toronto Brewing. The go on sale sometimes and cost 1.3 maple units (130$) The thing is beautiful and has a really heavy bottom, 2 welded 1/2 inch ports, a thermometer and a stainless ball valve. I then found a cheap stainless pot from Walmart that fits perfectly and snug in the top. Drilled a bunch of small holes in the bottom of the cheap pot and made filter pads with synthetic felt. The bottom filter is 2micron Orlon from the CDL store. Used some clamps and stainless screws to hold it air tight. Made a hole for the vacuum port and it was off to the races.
I rigged one up last year and it worked really well. I wanted to make it prettier and out of all stainless. I have filtered gallons of syrup with the cone filters. 5 Gallons would take me the better part of 2 hours, multiple filter swaps, a sticky mess and a whole lot of cursing. The one I made last year takes about 5 minutes for the whole 5 gallons and filters better. I am excited to try this one with the real sandy syrup this year and see how well it works.

[Swingpure]

I will get some pics up soon and maybe do a detailed write up in the homebuilt section. I basically got a 8 gal stainless brewing kettle from Toronto Brewing. The go on sale sometimes and cost 1.3 maple units (130$) The thing is beautiful and has a really heavy bottom, 2 welded 1/2 inch ports, a thermometer and a stainless ball valve. I then found a cheap stainless pot from Walmart that fits perfectly and snug in the top. Drilled a bunch of small holes in the bottom of the cheap pot and made filter pads with synthetic felt. The bottom filter is 2micron Orlon from the CDL store. Used some clamps and stainless screws to hold it air tight. Made a hole for the vacuum port and it was off to the races.
I rigged one up last year and it worked really well. I wanted to make it prettier and out of all stainless. I have filtered gallons of syrup with the cone filters. 5 Gallons would take me the better part of 2 hours, multiple filter swaps, a sticky mess and a whole lot of cursing. The one I made last year takes about 5 minutes for the whole 5 gallons and filters better. I am excited to try this one with the real sandy syrup this year and see how well it works.

I have one of those kettles!

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0deYWhBeptfc_i_0JUVqbP7m

I planned to use it as my bottling pot, but I guess it could do double duty as a vacumn filter, then reheat the syrup and using the ball valve to feed the bottles.

I look forward to your pictures and further description. This is something I might be able to do.

[Swingpure]

I will get some pics up soon and maybe do a detailed write up in the homebuilt section. I basically got a 8 gal stainless brewing kettle from Toronto Brewing. The go on sale sometimes and cost 1.3 maple units (130$) The thing is beautiful and has a really heavy bottom, 2 welded 1/2 inch ports, a thermometer and a stainless ball valve. I then found a cheap stainless pot from Walmart that fits perfectly and snug in the top. Drilled a bunch of small holes in the bottom of the cheap pot and made filter pads with synthetic felt. The bottom filter is 2micron Orlon from the CDL store. Used some clamps and stainless screws to hold it air tight. Made a hole for the vacuum port and it was off to the races.
I rigged one up last year and it worked really well. I wanted to make it prettier and out of all stainless. I have filtered gallons of syrup with the cone filters. 5 Gallons would take me the better part of 2 hours, multiple filter swaps, a sticky mess and a whole lot of cursing. The one I made last year takes about 5 minutes for the whole 5 gallons and filters better. I am excited to try this one with the real sandy syrup this year and see how well it works.

If you use a shop vac for the vacuum, does it suck in any of the syrup?

[Swingpure]

Interesting DYI vacuum filter where the vacuum fitting comes from above.

https://youtu.be/efTNStdVV1w

[Brien]

Dang, It's cold outside. -31c this morning. -19c tonight. Brrrr, It's properly cold out. I swear, it is the extreme cold that we get up here that makes Northern Ontario's maple syrup some of the best in the world. Trees are somehow tougher. Sap is somehow sweeter. We are more remote and the sweet taste of the good stuff tastes that much better after the long and cold winters. There is some reprieve in sight. Days are getting longer. Seeing the neighbours's coming out of hibernation. Rink on the lake is perfect for skating and I'm dreaming of steamy days and nights in the sugar shack.

So I'm slowly getting ready. Have some plans to expand out to more taps. Made a few mods to the rig. Sold a few extra pans and pails. The biggest thing I am doing is getting ready for the season and navigating the lack of bottles and packaging that was available last year. I just want to put it out that there is a source for the 500ml Kent bottles. Those are my best sellers. The local farm stand crowd prefers to buy in glass and first time buyers like the 500ml size to try it out. I have tried the 1L and 500ml plastic jugs. They used to be ok in the past but the new square shaped "milk bottle" style jugs are crap. Seem to be weak, deform and don't hold up as well as the last iteration. That's why I go glass. Last year was brutal for finding glass. This year is not much better. My Normal CDL supplier in Barrie is limited on 1L glass and has absolutely no 500ml stuff. Local hardware and some of the local suppliers are the same thing. Do not despair. I found a shop that has pallets of 500ml Kent bottles. Not a plug. I have not affiliation to the shop. But if you are looking for that size give Kidd's home hardware a call. Ask for Neil. He is the local guru. They have hundreds of cases. I got mine today before they are sold out.

Anyway, getting prepped because things happen fast when the sun keeps climbing. Money is going out but no syrup coming in yet. Keep warm and good luck this season.
I asked a friend to check some bottle prices when he was out in powassan HH, they wanted something like 2.50$+tax for a 500ml glass jar. That seems pretty steep. I think I will just stick with the mason jar again. I just bought 12 for 10.99$+tax, so much more reasonable. How was the price when you bought them?

[aamyotte]

Since I don't sell my product I use mason jars as well. Much better pricing for sure. Even better priced when I use my Canadian Tire points.:D

[4Walls]

Mason Jars are 100% legal for sale and look good too. The country harvest budget brand from ball are normally about 10$ a dozen with lids. For commercial sale, the regulation states that it has to be a new, plastic or glass container, so new mason jars fit the bill. They look not too bad once labels are on and such.

Don't know how to do a proper quote so
"I asked a friend to check some bottle prices when he was out in powassan HH, they wanted something like 2.50$+tax for a 500ml glass jar. That seems pretty steep. I think I will just stick with the mason jar again. I just bought 12 for 10.99$+tax, so much more reasonable. How was the price when you bought them?"

I got them for 1.39 per bottle including the lids. But I bought 30 cases of them so I got a bit of a bulk rate. I think I saw the price listed at 1.79 if you bought a case or maybe a bit higher if you get them individually. There are certainly more expensive glass jars. The leaf shaped ones are pricy. The standard "Kent" style bottles are what people like and they pour nicely, don't break when filling if they have been pre heated properly and are a thin profile to let lots of light through.

[Lanark]

I'm making a vacuum filter press for myself this year and it sounds like yours, bought 2 brewing kettles from Ontario Beer Kegs and I'll be fitting a steamer pot with holes in the bottom into an aluminum top rather than ruin my stainless steel top. Picked up some stainless steel fitting which will be in the lid for the shop vacuum at CDL today. I also bought some filter aid which I've never used. My question to you is did you use any filter aid last year? And if so, did it solve nitre problem?

I'm tired of using the gravity filters just to find nitre and have to filter again which seems to waste about a litre of syrup every time.

[Swingpure]

Since I don't sell my product I use mason jars as well. Much better pricing for sure. Even better priced when I use my Canadian Tire points.:D

I have 8 dozen Cdn Tire Mason jars, mostly 1 litre jars, but some 500 ml jars. I did pick up a dozen 1 litre and a dozen 250 maple leaf shaped bottles from CDL, in the summer, but do not remember the price. I also have about 20 donated 1 litre bottles.

[Swingpure]

Up until this year the name of the game in February and March was ice fishing. I always thought of February as a winter month and March as a winter month, that had nicer winter days as it progressed.

The current long range forecast is pretty disappointing from a maple syrup perspective, but from an ice fishing perspective, pretty stats quo.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/075Exw3mCX9_78AATd5YqoIIQ

[4Walls]

Hey. I have a bunch of pictures of the build. Can't seem to upload them. Taken on iPhone and typing on a MacBook. The little icon thingy above lets me choose the photo but then tells me it failed to upload. Any suggestions?

Disregard. I was able to post a little video on youtube. Here is the build. I will make a better video of it in action when I filter the first batch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frz7QXGVyFk

[Swingpure]

Hey. I have a bunch of pictures of the build. Can't seem to upload them. Taken on iPhone and typing on a MacBook. The little icon thingy above lets me choose the photo but then tells me it failed to upload. Any suggestions?

Disregard. I was able to post a little video on youtube. Here is the build. I will make a better video of it in action when I filter the first batch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frz7QXGVyFk

Excellent video, thank you!

The Dutch Oven is almost sold out at our local Walmart I will pick it up tomorrow.

Instead of the clamps, would some sort of arrangement that went from the handles of the kettle to the handle of the pot work?

Just going to check out the “bulkhead” fitting from Amazon. Would this be the fitting?: https://www.amazon.ca/High%E2%80%91Hardness-Weldless-Stainless-Food%E2%80%91Grade-Compression/dp/B08GCJLDHH/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=2KGKKBD2LLNRB&keywords=stainless+steel+bulkhead+fitting&qid=1645662145&sprefix=Stainless+steel+bulkhead%2Caps%2C201&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1&smid=A20EV1HFK23EFH&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMVg4N0ZVTU1STVZYJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTEyMTI5MTRCTDlLWEY5R0FSRiZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDUwOTQ2Qk1TN0RJSlFWUU5ZJndpZGdld E5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm9 0TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

The plastic 90° angle thing that goes in the kettle that connects to the bulkhead for the vacuum, is there anything special about it?

[Swingpure]

Just wondering for the Northern Ontario folks, what was the latest date you ever started tapping and the latest date you ever finished tapping?

[aamyotte]

I only have last year as experience. I tapped on March 8th and pulled the taps on April 7th. They went dry. I am on buckets.

[maxmaple]

I'm also a newbie. One of the old-timers here in Huntsville told me to have the taps in by March 1st regardless of the weather, which I do and it works out quite well for me. The thinking is that we want to be ready in case the weather changes in our favour. This is important if you have hundreds of taps and need a few days to finish tapping. in 2021, I also stopped around the 10th of april.

[Swingpure]

I'm also a newbie. One of the old-timers here in Huntsville told me to have the taps in by March 1st regardless of the weather, which I do and it works out quite well for me. The thinking is that we want to be ready in case the weather changes in our favour. This is important if you have hundreds of taps and need a few days to finish tapping. in 2021, I also stopped around the 10th of april.

Right now I am thinking of tapping on March 4th, for the reasons you mentioned above.

[Swingpure]

Hey. I have a bunch of pictures of the build. Can't seem to upload them. Taken on iPhone and typing on a MacBook. The little icon thingy above lets me choose the photo but then tells me it failed to upload. Any suggestions?

Disregard. I was able to post a little video on youtube. Here is the build. I will make a better video of it in action when I filter the first batch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frz7QXGVyFk

I went to Walmart and picked up the 13 qt Dutch oven you mentioned and it is an exact fit. It so happens I have two Toronto Brewery kettles, one with the ball valve and thermometer and one without. I think I will use the one without.

I also want to CDL in Orillia and picked up the circular filters that you mentioned. While I was there I saw that my bucket filter would also fit the pot. In the picture, I placed the bucket filter in the pot. It would work great, but I think it would hold more residual syrup in the fibers, so I will go with the flatter circular filters.

I will order the bulkhead and silicone baking sheet tonight.

I am going to see if I can find a mechanism that attaches to the handles of the two pots, in order to hold them tight together.

I was hoping to try the bucket filter on it’s own and may still also give it a try.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/02bc7_xNMMP4wGuo6Rfwmb9bA

[Swingpure]

A friend shared this link with me, on when you should tap and the importance of waiting until the bark has warmed up to prevent bark cracking and to have better holes.

https://onmaplesyrup.ca/tapping-101/how-to-time-tapping/#htoc-temperatures

This will change when I will tap, I guess I just have to be more patient. For next year I will have March 15th in my brain for tapping and if you can tap before that, that will be bonus.

[Swingpure]

Still patiently watching the forecast, if it just warms up a few more degrees in March, maybe we can get underway.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/09cHROWHuLUu-J5mz04AIBzfg

Drilled the holes in the pot for the vacuum filter today. The bulkhead will arrive this week, then I will get the connecting parts in town. I will look for a 7/8” hole saw while I am there. My shop vac is a 5 gallon, 2 hp one, so hopefully will be perfect for the vacuum filter.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/022G8Iwy4hWk4JIve5mrdRBWA

[Someclown]

-25*c here tonight
Mid to late March for tapping up here. Once we get to around 2*c I will start cleaning buckets and preping everything g else
Purchased a new tapping bit this year to see how much better it is than a regular drill bit
Not sure what youre drilling but I found the step bits from canadian tire work great for drilling stainless steel and they make a nice clean hole. They come in handy for many other uses as well and they're on sale this week.

[Swingpure]

-25*c here tonight
Mid to late March for tapping up here. Once we get to around 2*c I will start cleaning buckets and preping everything g else
Purchased a new tapping bit this year to see how much better it is than a regular drill bit
Not sure what youre drilling but I found the step bits from canadian tire work great for drilling stainless steel and they make a nice clean hole. They come in handy for many other uses as well and they're on sale this week.

-22° here overnight. We have a small stretch starting March 6, that if somehow it warms up 3°, I might tap my bucket trees. If it doesn’t warm up, it maybe the third week of March before we can tap. More time for ice fishing I guess.

The step drill bits are on sale at Cdn Tire. I have seen them before, but have never used them. I need to drill a 7/8” hole, which is the largest step on the largest step drill bit. I will check them out tomorrow.

[Someclown]

Ended up at -29*c this morning
Use a punch to make a small indent to start your hole so the bit doesn't wonder and don't go high speed or you will burn the tip of the bit, stainless steel is hard metal.

[aamyotte]

Apply as much pressure as you can as well. A slow turning, heavy pressure with cutting oil should make for a good hole.

[Swingpure]

Ended up at -29*c this morning
Use a punch to make a small indent to start your hole so the bit doesn't wonder and don't go high speed or you will burn the tip of the bit, stainless steel is hard metal.

Somehow we only dropped to -20°. The long range still is not getting better. Partially tempted to tap the bucket trees Monday, when the bark would warm up, but no sense in doing that, because no sap will run for awhile.

Would drilling a pilot hole help?

I can borrow a step drill bit from a friend, so I do not have to buy one. The bulkhead arrives Wednesday and I will get the other fittings on Thursday and hopefully have it working by Friday. I presume you can test it with water.

[Someclown]

Maybe to late but yes a pilot hole will help but may still need that indent to keep the bit from wondering.
No sense tapping to early as the roots will still be frozen, the longer your holes are open may shorten your season by introducing bacteria that much sooner. It takes about a week above freezing around here to get the trees to drip.

[Swingpure]

The Weather Network’s Spring forecast is not encouraging.

“Early tastes of warm spring weather will continue to tease at times, but overall, March and April will test our patience with periods of colder than normal weather expected, which will include additional high-impact winter weather for much of the province. However, we are optimistic that May will bring enough warm weather to bring our temperatures to near normal for the season as a whole.”

The sap may not flow until at least the third week of March. Yeesh

[Swingpure]

So I got the Canadian Tire brand step drill bit today and I knew the hole I wanted was 7/8”, so I thought I would drill the hole.

I did a good punch mark, but the step drill would wander, so I tried drilling a pilot hole to allow the step drill to get started. Four broken or dull bits later, I barely made a mark in the stainless steel, but it was enough for the step bit to get started.

I put oil on it, pause about three times in between steps so it did not get too hot, but I knew each time that I added the oil, the area was hot. I made it to the 7/8” step and stopped right away. I don’t get the bulkhead until tomorrow and want to check to see how it fits before doing anything else.

Although the edge that I could see was a nice clean hole, I was surprised to see the inside was not a clean hole at all.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/038hi4B0ZUY8AAJc8WsZutSMA

Not sure if I have to go a little farther with the step drill and it will clean it off, but I know I cannot put the bulkhead on with the metal shards sticking out. Not positive on how to remove them without making a mess. Also not sure how it happened other than the bit did not have a good enough cutting edge for stainless steel.

[aamyotte]

It's hard to tell from the picture but would you be able to get your drill inside the pot to ream out the rough spot? If not a regular drill an angle drill should work.
If you don't have an angle drill check with Home Depot about renting one for half a day.

[Swingpure]

It's hard to tell from the picture but would you be able to get your drill inside the pot to ream out the rough spot? If not a regular drill an angle drill should work.
If you don't have an angle drill check with Home Depot about renting one for half a day.

I was able to get the drill with the step bit inside, it did not work as well as hope, but between that and two other things I tried, it got better, but not close to perfect. It will never be perfect. It actually is now flatter than the picture looks. I have to hope that the compression ring will create a seal on the inside, or perhaps some food grade caulking will help.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b9yUksfLvmE0pORXf6XVFdyA

I have to assume the bit did not hold it’s edge against the stainless steel, I should have either chosen a stronger step bit of a carbide tipped hole saw.

We will see how the bulkhead fits tomorrow.

Edit: My stepson is pretty good with a grinder and thinks he can get it at least smooth, so it has a chance to seal.

[Someclown]

Holy crap it looks like the bit was just pushing its way through the metal instead of cutting the metal.
I did not have that problem when I drilled my pan, the bit cut a clean hole and the bulkhead fit nice and tight.
I think the metal you drilled was thin and got so hot it just pushed its way through. That's very disappointing

[Rodmeister]

You are right Someclown, judging by the turned in lip - it hardly cut at all. Thin metal should'nt be a problem either - when I was installing furnace ducting it cut like butter. I cut a hole in my finishing pan to make it reversible and it cut easily. I suspect the blade is dull or cut too fast. But now getting a good seal will be difficult. Test 1st with water for sure.

[Swingpure]

You are right Someclown, judging by the turned in lip - it hardly cut at all. Thin metal should'nt be a problem either - when I was installing furnace ducting it cut like butter. I cut a hole in my finishing pan to make it reversible and it cut easily. I suspect the blade is dull or cut too fast. But now getting a good seal will be difficult. Test 1st with water for sure.

I am going to try and grind it smooth and test it. I have little hope that it will seal properly. I may see if I can patch it on the outside to seal it and drill a new hole with a sharper bit on the other side. I have no idea of how I will do it, but may use JB weld.

It is funny, the first few “steps” occurred as I thought they should. I did pause about three times between each of the steps and did add oil, but there is no doubt the metal was still quite hot. My only experience in drilling stainless steel was making the holes in the top pot for the filtered sap to flow through and that went pretty normal.

Edit: The bulkhead arrived today, too bad I messed up the hole, because I could be testing it now. Having said that, trying the fitting on the pot, and seeing how if fit, I think there is a 50/50 chance that it will seal. Just need to bring the interior lip smooth and will give it a try.

[Someclown]

Sorry , I didn't read what the pot is going to be used for but they do make food grade silicone. I don't believe jb weld is food grade.
If it's being heated and cooled the silicone will expand and contract better as well.
I am making a bottling pot with a stainless valve soon, I have the bulkhead and stainless valve already just need the pot to go on sale then I will be doing the same thing you just did, I have the step bits so I'll let you know how it turns out when I'm done I'll post a picture
+9*c and rain here on Sunday, should take care of so.e of the snow.

[Swingpure]

Sorry , I didn't read what the pot is going to be used for but they do make food grade silicone. I don't believe jb weld is food grade.
If it's being heated and cooled the silicone will expand and contract better as well.
I am making a bottling pot with a stainless valve soon, I have the bulkhead and stainless valve already just need the pot to go on sale then I will be doing the same thing you just did, I have the step bits so I'll let you know how it turns out when I'm done I'll post a picture
+9*c and rain here on Sunday, should take care of so.e of the snow.

I just have to keep air from getting in. I should just have to have a good seal on the outside of the pot, which has a good edge, and I will just add some caulking if need be to the outside of the pot, if needed.

I am headed over this morning to get the inside, grinded smooth and will get the fittings to fit onto the bulkhead and may give it a try with water this afternoon.

The long range forecast is still not encouraging. I never imagined that I would not start tapping until the 20th or later.

[DrTimPerkins]

You are right Someclown, judging by the turned in lip - it hardly cut at all.

One of the best tools for the sugarhouse we ever bought was a Greenlee hole-punch set. Punching holes in tanks used to be a worrisome task. Not it's simple (and kind of fun).

[Swingpure]

One of the best tools for the sugarhouse we ever bought was a Greenlee hole-punch set. Punching holes in tanks used to be a worrisome task. Not it's simple (and kind of fun).

Thanks, if I do it again, that may be the way to go.

[Swingpure]

Well I met with my step son and he had a real good, small, air powered grinder and he did the best he could with the ragged hole. They look a lot better, and we’re smoother and flatter. Not perfect, but were they good enough?

https://share.icloud.com/photos/048hz72dfGq0Rybi3QiWuccSw

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d8aPsIv8Pir0wYuzg6wRmN3Q


We tightened up the bulkhead and it looked like it would work, but I had to test it to make sure. I poured the water into the top pot, being water it was going through the filters pretty good on it’s own, but when I turned the shop vac on, it really sucked the water down and through. I used the bulk of the water on the first test without filming. I videoed the second test and there was not as much water, but if you initially watch the water line on the sides and then at the filter, you can see it really sucking down the water. Whew, I got lucky with the poor drill hole.

I am using bungee cords to hold the pot down, clamps would be far superior, but the bungee cords work well. If I wanted to use clamps, I would have to find a drill bit that can go through the stainless steel on this kettle.

https://youtu.be/WFALIA6PL28

[Swingpure]

I just wanted to thank 4walls for his design and video, without it, I never would have built the vacuum filter. Also thank you to everyone else who offered tips.

Sunday will be +8° C (46° F), a one day warm spell followed by five days just under freezing. If it were to warm up a little, those days also would be above freezing. So tempting to tap, but those five days are followed by colder weather.

[Maplesapper]

Feel the same way Swing-
We were boiling by now in years past.
Still haven't tapped a tree this year.
It could be a mad dash if it finally gets warm and stays warm.......2012 all over again

[Swingpure]

Feel the same way Swing-
We were boiling by now in years past.
Still haven't tapped a tree this year.
It could be a mad dash if it finally gets warm and stays warm.......2012 all over again

My hope is if they are correct about a colder than average April, that it just means the season will start and finish later. Time will tell.

This is my first season so I am really excited to start, but I also realize that all sugar makers are excited to start, especially those who count on it for income.

[Swingpure]

I tapped 9 holes with buckets today, mostly for experience, but 3 of the next 6 days are forecasted to be above zero, so you never know.

I tapped my first spile in, tap, tap, tap, thud. I smiled when I heard my first thud sound. The biggest lesson I learnt is I need to take a backpack, to hold the drill and hammer.

We are likely still 10 days away from when it will be time to really tap, but if I get some sap, I will get some experience boiling and finishing it, even though it might only be a litre.

It will also be a good experiment to see if tapping these 9 trees a little earlier, will affect how they finish compared to the remaining 26 buckets

https://share.icloud.com/photos/06cze16NmgQyNFMZQQWoS4YiA

. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0bffCX75dxcEdmaJn2qfEJc8w

[Big_Eddy]

I tapped my first spile in, tap, tap, tap, thud. I smiled when I heard my first thud sound. The biggest lesson I learnt is I need to take a backpack, to hold the drill and hammer.

Carpenter’s belt. Even a cheap one. Taps in the pocket, hammer loop for hammer. Drill clipped on the belt, or in a holster.Stack of Buckets in one hand, milk crate with lids in the other. Do about 25 trees before reloading buckets.

[Swingpure]

Today was supposed to be a rainy day and the only thing on the maple chore list was installing 5 drops and cleaning a barrel. Early in the morning I received a text from a friend who was going to be installing his taps today on his lines. The weather forecast had changed slightly and there were three days above freezing later in the week and today was going to be +8 C (46° F).

I decided I would tap my lines as well. On the second tap, I could see the sap running in the lines. I installed all 75 taps on the lines today, plus the five drops. The snow was knee high to waist deep. There had been a crust on the snow, but with the warm weather, it did not support me, but was a hindrance to lifting my foot out of the snow. It was a real workout for my short legs and pudgy body. I few times I fell in the deep snow and I was like a beached whale trying to get out of the non supportive deep snow. There will be many leg cramps tonight.

I learnt a good way of drilling the holes. I would brace my left elbow against the tree, and that gave me a staple base to drill the hole and more importantly the power to pull the auger out.

Surprisingly although the sap was flowing in the lines, it really was not flowing well in the buckets. Not sure if the vacuum in the lines is the reason.

I am not overly impressed with the buckets and lids. It was a very windy day, the buckets did move. What I was disappointed with the most is although the lids protected the buckets, they do not protect the spouts and I could see water dripping from the trees, onto the spout and into the bucket. I might add some duct tape as a shield.

I did do a rookie mistake on two trees that had a lean to them, installing the bucket on the lean side. It allows the bucket to move more freely and allowed more water to drip on the spout from the trees.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0271iGK3JwuUR-3mXdt2u4Itg

https://share.icloud.com/photos/029Z0BgDiS0YzzJh_kzUP0w7A

[Maplesapper]

Don't forget a drop of sap is 2.5" in length in a 3/16 line.
So a few drops coursing through tubing will look more active that a few drops in a bucket.
Our trees burp into the tubing initially and then seem to stop
Thursday might be our first run in PS

[Swingpure]

Rats……!

The forecasted +2 for Wednesday to Friday has changed to 0, -1, -3. No temperatures above freezing now until March 17th, but hopefully that will change. I now have 84 taps in and will put in 27 more buckets in tomorrow and that way they will be ready if the weather changes.

I collected 5 gallons of sap yesterday. 1.5 gallons in barrel 1, 2 gallons in barrel 2 and 1.5 gallons in barrel 3. Of interest is I tapped the trees for barrel 1 last, and it had the fewest number of taps feeding it. What it does have is the steepest, uninterrupted final slope (the crux) and it seems that it really is the engine of the vacuum. Small sample cycle though. Once the sap starts to flow again, I will walk the lines to see how the line flows along the entire length of it. The good news is they all ran yesterday.

There was zero sap in the nine buckets, which I still find curious.

If the weather forecast had held for Wednesday to Friday, I would have done my initial flush and test on the RO and would have set up my evaporator to be ready to boil.

The five gallons I initially poured out of the barrels into pails to measure, I poured back into the barrels to freeze. I tested the sugar content with my un calibrated refractometer and it showed 2%. I need to get some distilled water to calibrate it.

[Swingpure]

I finished all of my tapping today, tapping the final 27 taps with drops to pails. I sold the buckets I had, as I was disappointed with them. Some of the pails I dug way down to the ground in the deep snow, so that the drop line was the correct length.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/01apZ84yt6sj18H44wgU6NooA

Today was very sunny and around the freezing mark and some marginal sap was flowing in the lines. Tomorrow will be a hair above freezing. The significant temperature change seems to start around March 14 and I could see doing some boiling by March 17.

I am going to replace the nine buckets I already have up with pails and will do that Thursday.

[aamyotte]

Looks like I will be tapping on Sunday if next week's weather holds.

[Swingpure]

Today was +1 and the sap flowed a little bit. I love seeing it flow in the lines. So all 111 taps are in.

I replaced my last nine buckets with drops to 5 gallon pails. I added weights to all of the lids on the 24 pails (36 taps) and remembered to drill some small holes in the pails to allow air to escape when the sap flows in.

Next Wednesday March 16, if the forecast holds, the sap should be gushing for several days. That is when it will become very real.

I am going to finally test my RO Monday and get the evaporator all ready. I hope to be boiling on Thursday.

[Someclown]

Its been above 0 here the past three days but not enough to thaw roots and trees.
I tried the weights on the lids before and still had some pails get blown around by the higher winds at times.
Since then I use some paracord and tie the pail handle to the tree and dont have to untie to empty them just re-adjust the cord after and haven't had an issue since.
Kind of a bummer when you go check your pails and they have been blown around and the hose is just dripping sap on the ground.

[Swingpure]

Its been above 0 here the past three days but not enough to thaw roots and trees.
I tried the weights on the lids before and still had some pails get blown around by the higher winds at times.
Since then I use some paracord and tie the pail handle to the tree and dont have to untie to empty them just re-adjust the cord after and haven't had an issue since.
Kind of a bummer when you go check your pails and they have been blown around and the hose is just dripping sap on the ground.

Thanks for the tip. Right now the pails are in deep holes in the snow, but I definitely will tie the handles to the tree when they get more exposed. We also hovered just above freezing the last couple of days, nothing to trigger a major flow.

[Swingpure]

I was reading some old posts from 2010 on securing the pails so they did not blow away. Some did what someclown does and ties the handle to the tree. One person made a frame for the pails to sit in, that was a snug fit, but not too tight.

I have all of this wood that I posted about last fall, that I was originally going to burn in the ice hut and maybe the evaporator, but ws advised because of the stain on them, that it would be bad for the environment. But three simple rows of this free wood, could make a great frame for the buckets and they would never move and because the wood is stained a nice colour, they would not look overly fugly. Something to play with tomorrow.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b7_nSM_F4ymqZTFuvNzJqGIA#McDougall

[aamyotte]

Just remember that the frame you make can take alot of storage space. Rope coils up small.
I use ice cream containers (the big ones when you buy ice cream at the ice cream counters) for my pails. I drilled a hole in the lid so the hose goes in tight. Rain water doesn't make it in. The downside is there is no handle. I have old dirty 5 gallon buckets that I tie the handle to the tree and drop the sap bucket in it. Haven't had one leak except where the knot on the rope let go and both buckets ended up on the ground. And murphy's dictated that it had to be on the day with the heaviest run of the year.

[Swingpure]

Just remember that the frame you make can take alot of storage space. Rope coils up small.
I use ice cream containers (the big ones when you buy ice cream at the ice cream counters) for my pails. I drilled a hole in the lid so the hose goes in tight. Rain water doesn't make it in. The downside is there is no handle. I have old dirty 5 gallon buckets that I tie the handle to the tree and drop the sap bucket in it. Haven't had one leak except where the knot on the rope let go and both buckets ended up on the ground. And murphy's dictated that it had to be on the day with the heaviest run of the year.

Thanks. I might do a combo of frames, ropes and ropes and bungees depending on the individual locations. Over the next 10 days much of the snow will melt, exposing them.

Speaking of the snow melting, if the forecast holds the temperatures look fantastic for sap flow. There are two days where the temperatures during the night, do not go below freezing. There still would be snow on the roots. Would sap still flow on those days?

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0e9zkt-wjwJMDFYDUq5-yx1yw

[Someclown]

With the above 0 temps. and forecasted rain next week that will help thaw things out and get sap flowing. I have a lot of trees in the clay belt so it takes a bit to get them flowing but the ones on rock and sand do start earlier. It takes about a week of above temps. around here to get things moving but last few years have been weird weather as it went from winer to summer quickly
Another good tip before you get boiling is to grab yourself a set of welders gloves to stoke the fire, make adjustments if needed and pick up warm items like pans to move around. On a few occasions when I first started I scrambled a couple times looking for something to pick hot items up and load the firebox with then I was adding wood to the woodstove in the house one day and I always put welders gloves on for that and BABAM, I purchased a second set. They're about $25.

[Swingpure]

Don’t laugh at it, but I made a frame out of the free available wood I had, and it holds the pail really well. I made five of them and may make five more, it does not take long.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0fd7bRP7hr58sg77qDYHT8Zsg

As mentioned I will use a combo of frames, rope and maybe rope and bungee cords, to secure the pails.

Most of the pails are so buried, I can’t really experiment with securing them, but by the 19th, a good portion of the snow will be gone.

I have silicone baking mitts (2 pairs) to pick up the hot pans, but the welding gloves are a good idea, I will try and pick some up in town tomorrow.

My trees are either on Canadian Shield area or on sand. It’s interesting to see that some trees were really starting to flow and others, not a drop. The ones that were not a drop, were in very deep snow.

Although I was using two bungee cords to hold down the top pot of the vacuum filter, I thought it would be better to have the over centre clamps that 4walls had to secure the pot securely and level. I bought the clamps and the bolts and nuts and I purchased drill bits that I was told would drill through stainless steel. Because of my last stainless steel drilling failure I started drilling with great trepidation. I thought if it starts getting a bite on the steel and drilling well, I would do it. However the new bit was barely drilling into the steel and I stopped. This will now be a summer job, and I will live this season with the bungee cords securing the pot.

[Someclown]

No laughing here, they look good, will definitely hold the bucket and blend Into nature much better than a white plastic pail as well

[berkshires]

Don’t laugh at it, but I made a frame out of the free available wood I had, and it holds the pail really well. I made five of them and may make five more, it does not take long.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0fd7bRP7hr58sg77qDYHT8Zsg
.

Those are adorable!

Sounds like you've had a bit of sap from a few trees. How much so far? You considering doing a boil yet? See what I meant about things starting slow at the beginning of the season?

Gabe

[Swingpure]

Those are adorable!

Sounds like you've had a bit of sap from a few trees. How much so far? You considering doing a boil yet? See what I meant about things starting slow at the beginning of the season?

Gabe

The only day more than a degree above freezing was last Sunday when I was installing the taps on the line, which took me most of the day, making my way through the deep snow, so some lines did not have much time to run and some trees have not started to run yet. I collected 5 gallons of sap that day. The other two days were just slow dripping and I have not measure that yet. Later this week, the trees should be gushing.

I made three more of the pail frames last night for a total of 8 and will likely make 8+ more today. In the end I might have 24 of them, one for each pail.

As aamoyotte said, storage of them will be the issue, compared to just using rope. Finding a place where I can still dig them out next spring out of the snow where they are stored. If I do make a permanent sugar shack this summer, perhaps they can be stored in there.

[Swingpure]

No laughing here, they look good, will definitely hold the bucket and blend Into nature much better than a white plastic pail as well

Thanks, I think they will look better than the white pails alone as well, especially when 17 of the pails are on someone else’s property that they would have to look at, and their property is normally pristine. I know for sure they will hold the pails in place and might be handier to level if need be.

[Swingpure]

With the above 0 temps. and forecasted rain next week that will help thaw things out and get sap flowing. I have a lot of trees in the clay belt so it takes a bit to get them flowing but the ones on rock and sand do start earlier. It takes about a week of above temps. around here to get things moving but last few years have been weird weather as it went from winer to summer quickly
Another good tip before you get boiling is to grab yourself a set of welders gloves to stoke the fire, make adjustments if needed and pick up warm items like pans to move around. On a few occasions when I first started I scrambled a couple times looking for something to pick hot items up and load the firebox with then I was adding wood to the woodstove in the house one day and I always put welders gloves on for that and BABAM, I purchased a second set. They're about $25.

I picked up the welding gloves as you suggested at Canadian Tire. I also made 9 more frames for the buckets, 7 to go.

Today was -3 and snow. The weekend will be cold and snowy, but next week certainly warms up with a few days where the temperature stays above freezing overnight. It will be interesting with all of the snow on the roots if the sap, will still flow those days.

[Swingpure]

Getting closer to the sap really flowing. It is getting real.

Finished making all 24 pail frames, and did a few other things to get ready. More stuff planned for Monday and especially Tuesday, when I get the evaporator ready and do the first flush on the RO.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0f4j_LOwl4PtOlocpIN4FopXw

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d56h8VmNWaQ2w2qoOd1k468Q

Simple things left, like getting the intake hose of the RO to sit at the bottom of the sap barrel. I will buy a small piece of pvc pipe and zip tie the hose to it.

[aamyotte]

My Daughter and I brought the pails and storage barrel to the shack today to get ready. Going in the woods with my drill on Tuesday. Luckily it's March break I will have 2 helpers with me to tap.

[Willen]

Swingpure, I have enjoyed reading your posts as you get ready for the first season. All I can say is that I know you will really enjoy it, and it will be different than what you were expecting. Or not. So much depends on Mother Nature. There is a ton of good info on here. This week looks good. Right now you are waiting, hoping, willing that sap to flow. In the not to distant future you will be wishing it would stop, and then, just as suddenly, you will wish it wasn’t over. She is a fickle beast.

The good news is there is always something to improve on next season, better gear, more buckets, cutting trails, splitting your wood smaller, better gear, more buckets, reading, research, better gear, more buckets.......

Good luck and enjoy it all.

Full buckets!

[Swingpure]

Swingpure, I have enjoyed reading your posts as you get ready for the first season. All I can say is that I know you will really enjoy it, and it will be different than what you were expecting. Or not. So much depends on Mother Nature. There is a ton of good info on here. This week looks good. Right now you are waiting, hoping, willing that sap to flow. In the not to distant future you will be wishing it would stop, and then, just as suddenly, you will wish it wasn’t over. She is a fickle beast.

The good news is there is always something to improve on next season, better gear, more buckets, cutting trails, splitting your wood smaller, better gear, more buckets, reading, research, better gear, more buckets.......

Good luck and enjoy it all.

Full buckets!

Thanks for the good wishes and advice.

I am very excited for the season to really start, excited for the first boil, first finish and the first bottle of grade A syrup. I do have a little ominous feeling of too much sap all at once, but I do have storage for 350 gallons.

There are still the unanswered questions of how much concentrate my RO will produce an hour and how many gallons an hour my evaporator will actually boil, but I will adjust my plan for whatever they are. And there is the little thing about the art of finishing the sap into syrup.

I do plan on enjoying the journey, I had a giant smile on my face when the first drops of sap flowed down the lines.

I have prepared myself the best I could, now experience and failure and success will help me learn more.

My big improvement for next year will be a modest, but functional, permanent sugar shack. We will see if I desire a bigger pan. I think there are some advantages to the steam pans, but that will be a lesson I learn.

[Swingpure]

My Daughter and I brought the pails and storage barrel to the shack today to get ready. Going in the woods with my drill on Tuesday. Luckily it's March break I will have 2 helpers with me to tap.

That’s special having your daughter with you and having the two helpers. Good luck tapping Tuesday. You should get flows on Wednesday!

[Willen]

Thanks for the good wishes and advice.

I am very excited for the season to really start, excited for the first boil, first finish and the first bottle of grade A syrup. I do have a little ominous feeling of too much sap all at once, but I do have storage for 350 gallons.

There are still the unanswered questions of how much concentrate my RO will produce an hour and how many gallons an hour my evaporator will actually boil, but I will adjust my plan for whatever they are. And there is the little thing about the art of finishing the sap into syrup.

I do plan on enjoying the journey, I had a giant smile on my face when the first drops of sap flowed down the lines.

I have prepared myself the best I could, now experience and failure and success will help me learn more.

My big improvement for next year will be a modest, but functional, permanent sugar shack. We will see if I desire a bigger pan. I think there are some advantages to the steam pans, but that will be a lesson I learn.

7F above the boiling point of water is a pretty good rule. Boil a pot of water each day and adjust your target, as it will change with atmospheric pressure changes.

Better is a float cup and hydrometer. Put it in slow so you don’t drop it. Keep it clean between tests - I keep a Thermos full of hot clean water to store it in, keeps it clean, hot and safe from breakage.

[Swingpure]

7F above the boiling point of water is a pretty good rule. Boil a pot of water each day and adjust your target, as it will change with atmospheric pressure changes.

Better is a float cup and hydrometer. Put it in slow so you don’t drop it. Keep it clean between tests - I keep a Thermos full of hot clean water to store it in, keeps it clean, hot and safe from breakage.

Thanks, the thermos is a good idea I had not thought of.

I have a float cup and a hydrotherm, a refractometer and three different thermometers. The SapTapApp provides the temperature for syrup based on your elevation and the current barometric pressure. Right now it would be: 218.03°. I will just use the thermometers to let me know when I am getting close and will rely on the hydrotherm and refractometer to nail it down. I will be happy with 66.9 or 67 Brix.

(On a side note, I lived in Milton for 13 years and my wife was born and raised there.)

[Someclown]

I find it a very slow process trying to get it to the proper or close to exact brix even with hydrometer, refractometer and thermometers. I will make it a point to pick up a hydrotherm at some point.
After all that time boiling I'm very careful and continuously checking, letting the syrup run off my skimmer for curtaining, I try going by the bubbles but not enough experience for those two methods yet.
I looked at last years calender and I started tapping March 8 and did my first real collection of 150 litre to boil on March 22 as the temperatures were a roller coaster last spring from low + teens to minus teens to high teens. I will tap this week, temperatures at this time look promising. Purchased more buckets, taps, tubing and a nice solid 16 quart stainless steel finishing pot on sale this week at CT for 70% off, saved $120, cost me $50 perfect timing on that sale.
Swingpure, I couldn't help but notice how much snow you have in the bush there when looking at your nice pail holders you made, we have about half that amount judging by the picture.

[Swingpure]

I find it a very slow process trying to get it to the proper or close to exact brix even with hydrometer, refractometer and thermometers. I will make it a point to pick up a hydrotherm at some point.
After all that time boiling I'm very careful and continuously checking, letting the syrup run off my skimmer for curtaining, I try going by the bubbles but not enough experience for those two methods yet.
I looked at last years calender and I started tapping March 8 and did my first real collection of 150 litre to boil on March 22 as the temperatures were a roller coaster last spring from low + teens to minus teens to high teens. I will tap this week, temperatures at this time look promising. Purchased more buckets, taps, tubing and a nice solid 16 quart stainless steel finishing pot on sale this week at CT for 70% off, saved $120, cost me $50 perfect timing on that sale.
Swingpure, I couldn't help but notice how much snow you have in the bush there when looking at your nice pail holders you made, we have about half that amount judging by the picture.

Our lake is a headwater for the Sequin Water System and as such we are at a higher elevation than a lot of the surrounding area and I think that is why we get more snow. Often Parry Sound will be bare of snow and we will still have a foot or more still left on the ground. We are getting dumped on again right now. White out conditions.

My hope is to get to the 66.9/67 Brix, but we will see how challenging that will be. I do like the ease of refractometer, but will try and verify with the hydrotherm. Even the hydrotherm though is a bit of guess work, if you want something with greater than 66.0 Brix. The red line has to be above the syrup if you want greater concentration. Nothing really tells you how many bars above the syrup is 66.9 or 67. I will go for five or six bars above.

I saw that pot sale. Having already purchased 3 pots, 3 stock pots and two kettles, I was good. The three pots and one stock pot are good for the induction elements. One stock pot and one kettle got converted into my vacuum filter.

[Swingpure]

I wasn’t sure if I would have any spare time to bring out and place the pail frames once I got started and the snow had melted a little, so I went out and dug the 24 frames in. Most holes I dug were fairly deep. It was a good thing to do as well, because we received over 20 cms of snow on the weekend.

Today reached +2 and some sap was flowing. The sun was out in the morning when it was colder and it clouded over as it warmed up. Tomorrow will be sunnier and warmer, then Wednesday it should really flow.

Tomorrow I get my evaporator ready and test and flush the RO for the first time.


https://share.icloud.com/photos/0e2FiP9ymDHDm7kdLze2V-KIg

https://share.icloud.com/photos/04d61dHt7Uk5nqU4XAEmlfEPg

[aamyotte]

I tapped yesterday. Two trees were trying to run. I have 1 spile leftover. I missed a tree somewhere, now to figure out where it is.

[Swingpure]

Today was supposed to be mostly sunny and +7 by noon time. It was very foggy this morning and is still really overcast and the temperature only +2. I thought today the taps would be gushing but that is not the case. The lines are dripping, but at this rate I will not have enough to boil tomorrow.

I had hoped a sunny warm day would have helped to melt the ice in the barrels. Ice floats and it is blocking me from pumping out the barrels. I used my ice spud to break up the large pieces in the barrels. I am tempted to take the ice out, but because all of the sap froze, my feeling is that I would be throwing out sap with the water. I might take it out and let it melt in a pail.

I did walk the lines and fixed some air leaks. Early this morning expecting a warm day I brought a lot of the accessories to the evaporator shelter thinking maybe a might do a boil late morning. I also did a final cleaning of the steam pans with white vinegar and a good rinse.

What I am finding is the things that I have control over such as my forms on my ATV trailer to hold the pails, and the quick connect cord going from the ATV to the pump all is working great. Things that you cannot control like the weather and or a brand new pump for the RO not working, are the challenges that you have work around.

Tonight will stay above zero so the taps should flow into the evening, but may shutdown tomorrow.

[Someclown]

63 taps in since yesterday and 1 tree in full sun dripping +3*c for the past 2 days and rising in the next few days, snow levels are going quick. If we get the temperatures forecast for the next week things should open up.
+10*c and sun tomorrow and sun friday might even get things going but slim chance.
I'm aiming for 80 to 90 taps which will be tomorrow's job and lots of sap:lol:

[Swingpure]

Being my first year, I thought once they started flowing, away we go. Today did not get near as warm as forecasted. One set of pails (9 taps,7 buckets) yielded one gallon and another set of pails (27 taps, 17 pails) yielded 2 gallons. So although it is flowing, it is not flowing fast. I checked with some other locals and it is still slow for them as well. We have so much snow still.

The lines are doing a little better.

I removed the ice from the barrels and poured out the sap into pails. I am hoping that, plus what I gather in the morning, will be enough for my first boil. The sap was still running in the lines at dusk and the temperature will stay above freezing, so maybe it will run for a little while longer.

Edit: 8:45 pm, temp 3.4° C, the sap is still running in the lines.
Edit: 9:45 pm, temp 3.2° C, the sap is still running in the lines.
Edit: 10:45 pm, temp 2.8° C, the sap is still running in the lines. I heard my first spout hissing tonight. Tapped it and 95% of the sound disappeared, but I could not get the last little bit to stop.
Edit: 11:45 pm, temp 2.6°, the sap is still running well in the lines. It would be nice if there were close to 20+ gallons in the morning, in addition to what I have for my first boil.
Edit: 12:45 am, temp 2.5°, the sap is still running, maybe slowing a bit. It will be interesting to see if it is running when I wake up and if it is, how long does it run for, without the temperature not dropping below freezing overnight

Bedtime, big boil tomorrow!

[Someclown]

All tapped in 85 in total and sap flowing in smaller trees, nothing in 20" or bigger
Full sun and +12*c today and the next few days look decent

[voluntucky tapper]

hey ,just saw your post,,, kinda funny we're pulling taps here in Connecticut , hope you do well ,we have nights in the 40's and days in the 50/60's

[Swingpure]

These were my edits last night:

Edit: 8:45 pm, temp 3.4° C, the sap is still running in the lines.
Edit: 9:45 pm, temp 3.2° C, the sap is still running in the lines.
Edit: 10:45 pm, temp 2.8° C, the sap is still running in the lines.
Edit: 11:45 pm, temp 2.6°, the sap is still running well in the lines.
Edit: 12:45 am, temp 2.5°, the sap is still running,

The sap ran all night and despite not dropping below freezing overnight ran all day. Not much in the buckets, but there were 17 gallons from the lines in the morning and I got 9 more gallons part way through the day.

I boiled today for my first time ever and boiled 45 gallons. I will finish the nearup tomorrow.

With my RO down, I am sort of glad for the slow sap flow.

[Maplesapper]

585 tapped
Pulled 150 gallons out of the woods tonight
Slow start to the year for sure

[Swingpure]

It has not dropped below zero the last two nights, but the sap has kept running, however slowly.

The pails are two days worth, the first area 9 taps, 7 pails = 2 gallons, the second area 27 taps, 17 pails = 10.5 gallons. The collection barrels for one day, 8 gallons, 8 gallons and 9 gallons. I have 40 gallons, plus whatever I collect tomorrow, to maybe boil tomorrow. Tonight will stay above zero as well. There will be some rain to help get rid of some of the snow.

Today, my beaten down paths to the pails were soft and I sunk through several times, well past my knee, falling twice.

I finished the sap I boiled yesterday, this afternoon. It went well.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0e9N3w5UjUncBPKK_4FP3kxtQ

[4Walls]

430 taps. Close to 100 gallons total sap. Enough to sweet the pans. Slow start for sure. Really want to test out the new and improved vacuum filter.

[Swingpure]

430 taps. Close to 100 gallons total sap. Enough to sweet the pans. Slow start for sure. Really want to test out the new and improved vacuum filter.

I have only collected 90 gallons so far and boiled the second 45 of it today. It has not dropped below freezing for several days, but next week is looking promising.

[Swingpure]

After four consecutive days without dropping below zero, the next three days at least, should have great flows. Might have a boil Tuesday and Wednesday.

[Brien]

I got my 80ish taps put in last week. The snow is going very fast at my property in nipissing. Was able to collect around 40 Gallons of Sap. Brought the near syrup home and ended up with 2.5l of syrup, a little low, but it was nice to get back in the swing of things.

[Swingpure]

I got my 80ish taps put in last week. The snow is going very fast at my property in nipissing. Was able to collect around 40 Gallons of Sap. Brought the near syrup home and ended up with 2.5l of syrup, a little low, but it was nice to get back in the swing of things.

So far I have collected 90 gallons and made 6.5 l of syrup. I lost a little syrup in my bottling process, but I am changing that process.

This morning it finally dropped below freezing, but not by much (-2.4°) and not for that long, but it should kick start the flow again. Tomorrow morning should drop to -8, so that should recharge the trees.

Edit: There was 26 gallons in the three barrels this morning, I did not check the pails. Late this afternoon I will recheck the barrels and the pails and hopefully get 20+ gallons for a good boil tomorrow.

I will walk my lines again around noon, once the sap starts flowing again, checking for leaks. I am not sure what to do if the spile and tee fittings look good and I have tapped the spile and I am still getting air leaks.

[4Walls]

Not a bad day yesterday. Collected 250 gallons of sap. This morning it is -3 and the sun is up. Temps expected about 5 today with no wind. Should be the first full run. Expecting 4-600 gallons of sap if things work the way I expect them to.
I walked all the lines yesterday. No leaks. No bubbles and good vacuum at the tops. Its all natural head drop vacuum so no fancy pumps to worry about.
I've got everything set up and tested. My sap shack is down at the bottom right at the edge of the lake. It is a good 40ft vertical back up to the evaporator by the garage. I pump it up through a 3/4 in black water pipe with a stainless jet pump. I keep a heating pad under the pump to prevent freezing and breaking. Both the pump and the heater are controlled by smart plugs so I can turn turn them on with a button on my phone. I sure don't miss the 140 pails I used to have. Really don't miss carrying the sap uphill 10 gallons at a time in snowshoes. The good old days.
Hope everyone's day is a sweet success today.

[Swingpure]

Up until today, I had collected a total of 90 gallons of sap. Today I collected 86 gallons and will boil it tomorrow. The flow tomorrow is expected to be better than today.

My boil tomorrow is almost double of my previous two boils and is expected to be a 10 hour boil. It will be a -9° chilly early morning start to the boil.

Debating on doing two batches in the one boil, so that the syrup is not too dark. Not sure if those concerns are well founded?

[aamyotte]

I collected my first amount of sap today. It was only 14L form the 33 taps. At least it's a start.

[4Walls]

Good morning. Must have been slightly better conditions in the Parry Sound area. I managed 290 gallons of sap yesterday. Was expecting quite a bit more. It's not supposed to break the freezing point up here until noon so I get a lazy morning. The RO system that I built last year has been a game changer. I should have built one 15 years ago when I had 30 pails and was boiling over propane. It removed 150 gallons of water from the sap overnight. Should have enough to pull a 6 gallon batch of syrup off the pans today. I think today I will start on cutting next years wood that is stacked in my driveway. Take a break this morning from the maple spa.

[Someclown]

I collected my first amount of sap today. It was only 14L form the 33 taps. At least it's a start.

I think we're in the same playing field, or should i say forest, I did 85 taps early to mid last week and collected 55 litres yesterday. It didn't go below freezing after I tapped until Sunday night which was about -2*c for a short period then +8 yesterday so not much of a run since tapping.
I have a 2×3 flat pan which takes close to 30 litres of sap to get around the 2 inch mark in the pan, so what I did last night was made a removable plate to sit on the rails for the flat pan with a cut out that fits a full size steam pan that I'm going to use in situations like this when I don't have quite enough sap to boil in the 2x3 but don't want it sitting around any longer than need be. I'm going to test it today and see what happens. I will also use it when i get to nearup to get a little closer to syrup as i found i still had to boil quite awhile on propane to get close when my flat pan was getting low, I dont want to boil lower than 1.5 inches of nearup in the flat pan. Maybe some day they'll figure out the image posting issue and I can put a picture in my 2x3 finished and fired post.
Looks like next week will be good, but I think I said that last week for this week, baahaahaa.

[aamyotte]

Come Sunday we're getting into the cold again so likely a stop of flow. I hope to have enough to boil on Saturday.

[Swingpure]

I boiled the 85 gallons today, will finish and bottle it tomorrow. I made two separate batches in the one boil.

It should have been a decent sap run today, but I never collected anything.

As you mentioned there could be some no sap days ahead.

[Maplesapper]

We boiled 290 gallons to make 4+ gallons of syrup
Sap is very low sugar content for us at the moment

[Swingpure]

Collected 70 gallons of sap this morning. I may boil it tomorrow

This afternoon I finished yesterday’s 85 gallons of sap and I bottled it and made 9 litres of syrup. In the picture it looks darker than it is, and if time I will take a picture with sunlight behind them

I have to say the best tip I received on this site was from Someclown about buying welder gloves. They have been invaluable loading the firewood and grabbing and moving the pans.

I not only have been using my induction elements for preheating the sap, but I have used them for finishing and tonight I used them for bottling. It was so simple to maintain the 180 to 190 temperature throughout the bottling process.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0feRLx0HQMUznc4v2upLoEVkg

[Swingpure]

Looks like minimal sap flow for the next week. Hopefully the forecast changes a little. I will do a collection on Saturday so that anything in the pails and barrels do not freeze solid.

[Someclown]

There's a slow run today, not sure how long it will last,. When I went and snowplowed my parking lots at 330 am it was only 0*c. Its now +6*c. Had a slow run yesterday as well. Hoping for another 2 day run before a big freeze this weekend and then back at it late next week by the looks of the forecast. I will collect and bury everything in the snowbank and boil it all Sunday.

Boiled my 55 litres a couple days aqo and managed close to 1.25 litres of syrup the with real nice flavor and lots of niter. I think some rain water got in one of my pails

[Swingpure]

Well I tried to boil the 70 gallons today. I had a new wind direction, but it was not a strong wind. It caused all of the steam and smoke to stay in the shelter and when it did blow out, it blew out to the entrance. At times I could not see the hand in front of my face. I limited my time in the shelter and stood out in the all day rain. I breathed in more smoke today than in my entire life combined. I am feeling it. The weather also caused a down draft that slowed the evaporator.

About 6 hours in, the evaporator stopped boiling, I tried to figure it out, but couldn’t and because I had a zoom call I had to chair, I pulled the pans off the evaporator and will finish it tomorrow. When I did that I discovered the problem. I had pushed the coals up the ramp and it was almost totally blocking the draft. Lesson learned.

I also should have learned not to stay in the shelter as long as I did.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/014ttvlsMk79OeI5pSWQQzReg


This is a picture of the syrup I bottled yesterday from the third batch of the season.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/036_AzCdUKNFQvdEBC5NrWzNA

[Swingpure]

I am boiling again today, completing the 70 gallons from yesterday, wearing an N95 mask. Yesterday’s smoke in my lungs was not a fun thing.

I may boil the 24.5 gallons I collected this morning.

My cinder block evaporator is not smoke tight, especially after I removed the ceramic blanket material I was using as gaskets. It is becoming obvious to me that at least mine is not meant for an enclosure if the winds are not right, and if I decide to build a permanent sugar shack, I need to look for a real evaporator, or stick with this one and just build a tall roof overhead.

[Maplesapper]

we boiled on a cinder arch in a Shelter Logic car tent.
My suggestion - worry less about the pan gaskets and figure out a way to at least vent the gases from the arch.
We filled the cinder blocks with sand- that stopped alot of combustion gas.
Also used the gasket, foil, sand combo to ensure the 6" stovepipe would carry away the exhaust gases.
sand, foil, sand is a good season long gasket- and easy to clean-up

[Swingpure]

we boiled on a cinder arch in a Shelter Logic car tent.
My suggestion - worry less about the pan gaskets and figure out a way to at least vent the gases from the arch.
We filled the cinder blocks with sand- that stopped alot of combustion gas.
Also used the gasket, foil, sand combo to ensure the 6" stovepipe would carry away the exhaust gases.
sand, foil, sand is a good season long gasket- and easy to clean-up

Later in the afternoon, the winds changed and the smoke was not as much an issue and places that were leaking before were not as bad. If I keep the cinder block evaporator next year, I will do something different for the door.

I don’t really have any leaks on the walls, it is at the door and along side the pans.

[Swingpure]

The boil today took longer then expected. I realize now the day I had an evaporate of 11.5 gph, was the day I pulled ice out of the pails and that must have been the difference.

I finished boiling the 70 gallons and an additional 24.5 gallons. Based on the weather forecast, I likely will not have another boil for a week. Tomorrow I will collect what is in the barrels and pails before the freeze Saturday night. I do not expect much. I will also finish and bottle what I boiled today.

Picture was later in the day today when the steam and smoke were leaving the shelter, as it did for the first three boils. The N95 mask was helpful today, when the smoke was bad, but not perfect.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b9-MRf15-2WxD52zaUgCL54Q

[Swingpure]

I collected 43.5 gallons of sap today, but with the cold weather coming tonight, I will likely not boil it until Wednesday. I will keep it real cool until then and may put it out Tuesday so it can partially freeze.

I have collected 28% of my expected sap so far.

We will be shut out of sap flow because of the cold weather until Thursday, but starting Thursday it looks like fantastic conditions for sap flow.

Today I finished the 94.5 gallons I boiled yesterday and will bottle it tomorrow. I think my should get 9, possibly 10 lites from it.

[Swingpure]

Yesterday’s boil of 358 Lites produced 11.5 L of syrup. The syrup is lighter than it looks in the picture. It is an amber colour when held up to the light.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/06eVoNTBm616zQw1jbHIEmHWA

[Maplesapper]

I believe that is 3.07% Brix for sap--- you are a lucky dog

[Swingpure]

These are the colours of my first four batches, first to fourth, left to right.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/06aBD-7TbyNje501OpFUZod2Q

I am hopeful the flows starting Thursday, will really pick up. The more I make, the more generous I can be with family, friends and neighbour’s.

I am starting to look at some custom made evaporators made in Owen Sound. I just need to find the right time to approach my wife about the cost. The one I am looking at, will have a flat pan and a preheat and finish pan and could boil 15-18 gph.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d2TgjN51VpQNJ-PUcXnj4sqg

Wanting it and convincing my wife is two totally different things, so we will see what happens.

[aamyotte]

I boiled 66L down to 1.25L of syrup. 52.8:1ratio. I have low sugar content this year.

[Swingpure]

I believe that is 3.07% Brix for sap--- you are a lucky dog

I checked the sugar content with my refractometer and it was just about dead on what you calculated. It started off with 2% my first time I checked it.

I am putting my 43 gallons of collected sap outside during the day, hoping it will freeze up a bit and I will remove the ice and put it back into my garage which is at 5°. I will keep doing that until Wednesday’s boil.

On Thursday I may have to put up danger signs on my property, the sap is going to flowing so hard with a +13 now in the forecast after the deep freeze. I wish I had chosen the high pressure 3/8” tubing. 浪

If this forecast holds, it is a sugar maker’s dream.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/025bbUYXkacLG4BWrqQdRXpNw

[Big_Eddy]

I am starting to look at some custom made evaporators made in Owen Sound. The one I am looking at, will have a flat pan and a preheat and finish pan and could boil 15-18 gph.

Don’t want to burst any bubbles, but the ones in your picture look to be 2’ x 4’. You would be hard pressed to average 10gph on a 2x4 flat pan, even with a blower. To average 18gph under 5’ long, you are going to need a flue pan.

Maybe they make those too. In for a penny, in for a pound :)

[Maplesapper]

Seems like your bubble burst is Truism.....
We run a 2x4 7" raised flue pan and a 2X4 divided flat pan. Arch is AOF and AUF - we are luck to average 22-20 gph consistently.

For my money- jump into a flue pan and enjoy the time savings

[Swingpure]

Don’t want to burst any bubbles, but the ones in your picture look to be 2’ x 4’. You would be hard pressed to average 10gph on a 2x4 flat pan, even with a blower. To average 18gph under 5’ long, you are going to need a flue pan.

Maybe they make those too. In for a penny, in for a pound :)

That may not be the identical one. They offer different boiling capacities and the one I would buy, is the one they list as 15-18 gph.

“ Custom building maple syrup evaporators and pans. Fire boxes are made from 3/16” plate steel then fully lined front to back with 2” firebrick. All units are painted with high heat paint. Chimneys are stainless steel measuring 9’ tall and 8” diameter. We have made cast doors and cast grates to go on all units for the 2022 season will be adding pictures in the future. Building 5 Standard units but not limited to.
3-4 gph 1-30 taps
13-15 gph 20-70 taps
15-18 gph 40-100 taps
20-21 gph 100-250 taps
28 gph 125-300 taps

All pans are made from 22 gauge stainless and fully tig welded. Options from flat pans, divided pans, flue pans. Float boxes and blowers on the fire box can all be added.”

[Swingpure]

Seems like your bubble burst is Truism.....
We run a 2x4 7" raised flue pan and a 2X4 divided flat pan. Arch is AOF and AUF - we are luck to average 22-20 gph consistently.

For my money- jump into a flue pan and enjoy the time savings

Forgive my ignorance, can a flue pan also be used for batch boiling, or are all flue pans, divided pans?

[Swingpure]

I was able to remove a bunch of ice from the pails I put outside this morning and left some ice in them to help keep them cool while they spend the night in my garage. I will do the same thing tomorrow as well.

[Swingpure]

Don’t want to burst any bubbles, but the ones in your picture look to be 2’ x 4’. You would be hard pressed to average 10gph on a 2x4 flat pan, even with a blower. To average 18gph under 5’ long, you are going to need a flue pan.

Maybe they make those too. In for a penny, in for a pound :)

I emailed the seller and it is a 2x4 and 1x2 and he says it can definitely do it with the right arch, and he sells 52 of them to satisfied customers each year.

[Big_Eddy]

I emailed the seller and it is a 2x4 and 1x2 and he says it can definitely do it with the right arch, and he sells 52 of them to satisfied customers each year.
So that means 2x5 flat pans including preheat. Without blower 10gph all day long. With a blower, 15 is reasonable. You will hit 18 and maybe even 20, but you won’t average that over a day of boiling.

You will easily keep up with 100 taps though.

Flue pans must be divided from the syrup pan. You can separate batches of syrup by closing the valve or blocking the opening between, but you cannot take what’s in the flue pan to syrup. Flue pans are better suited to sweetening once and then “daily” boils, leaving the pans full between boils.

[Pdiamond]

For what it's worth Gary, I realize the money thing is a lot, but from personal experience going from a flat pan then to a divided pan and finally getting the raised flue pan. I often wondered why it took me so long to make the decision. Although you will not batch boil with a flue pan once you get it sweet it remains that way for the season. You may have to drain and clean it depending on nitre build up, more so on the syrup pan. In the end you will be happy with a flue pan. I forgot one thing include a blower for the arch.

[Swingpure]

For what it's worth Gary, I realize the money thing is a lot, but from personal experience going from a flat pan then to a divided pan and finally getting the raised flue pan. I often wondered why it took me so long to make the decision. Although you will not batch boil with a flue pan once you get it sweet it remains that way for the season. You may have to drain and clean it depending on nitre build up, more so on the syrup pan. In the end you will be happy with a flue pan.

I think I have a little trepidation with the flue and divided pans, because I know little about them other than just in general, but mostly I worry if I get enough sap in sufficient quantities to sweeten it and keep it going.

So far my collections have been 45 gallons, 45 gallons, 86 gallons, 70 gallons, 25 gallons and 44 gallons. (Now this coming Thursday flow looks so good, I could have well over a 100 gallons.)

Also it is my belief and it could be wrong, that you can have more disasters with the flue, divided pan combo, whereas a flat pan is pretty straightforward as long as you do not fall asleep or walk away from it.

I still have the find the right moment to approach my bride about it, which may come at the end of the season when I say I love sugar making and need something better for less smoke and greater efficiency.

[Brien]

Well my sons hockey season finished up for the season, so I will have some more time for syruping. We are going to take Thursday and Friday off and head out to the property for a few days. He's pretty excited to be missing school to make some syrup.
I went out today for a few hours to check on things and empty the buckets. Every bucket was pretty much over flowing with half water/ice. So I have around 100 gallon to boil down with more to come on Thursday by the looks of the weather.

[Pdiamond]

watch the Smoky Lake video of the operation of the 2 x 4 raised flue operation, making better than 50 gph. If you have the float boxes and sight glasses on the float boxes you can set it up so that for the first year or two you run the flue pan and syrup pan a little deeper than necessary. I still run my syrup pan at 2 inches, that is where I feel comfortable with it. This year is the first year I ran the flue pan at 1.25 inches over the flues. Before I always ran it at 2 inches over. Its normal to feel that way about one of these rigs. And no matter what you use you NEVER leave it unattended when boiling.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

I think I have a little trepidation with the flue and divided pans, because I know little about them other than just in general, but mostly I worry if I get enough sap in sufficient quantities to sweeten it and keep it going.
I run a homebuilt air tight oil tank evaporator that has a flat 2x3 divided rear pan that feed a 2x2 divided front syrup pan. I am only on 51 taps and have no issues keeping this thing fed. I typically do multiple short boils per week after work in the 3 hour range and can avg 15GPH over a 3 hr boil. I do have an air under fire (AUF) blower and 2" of insulation in the arch. Big_Eddy is spot on with his evaporation rates, i can hit 20+GPH if i am running wrist size dry wood. The key is having the separate 2x2 front pan, if i was running just one single 2x5 pan i would have a harder time keeping it running with only 51 taps. Two weeks ago i had to drain the pans due to a super warm stretch we had and that 2x2 front pan is super quick to get sweetened again. I was pulling syrup off after about 50 gallons.

[Swingpure]

Put the pails outside again during the day today, and removed some more ice. I put them back in garage which I am keeping at 3° for the sap.

I will likely boil the 40+ gallons tomorrow, once it warms up a little, as Wednesday’s weather is looking worse with freezing rain in the forecast. Thursday is still looking like a super day for sap flow.

[Someclown]

Collected 130 litres with ice removed and boiled it to around 4 litres yesterday as it's not filtered.
I was able to figure out that is the minimal amount of sap I need to be able to finish it to syrup right in my flat pan without burning it if I keep the fire small when nearing the end. Then its just minimal propane burner to get it to brix. That's exciting for me as I was spending a lot of time on propane previously to get it to syrup and brixing it on my wife's stove in the house. She's happy too!!
Now I just have to use her stove for bottling.

[maxmaple]

Collected 130 litres with ice removed and boiled it to around 4 litres yesterday as it's not filtered.
I was able to figure out that is the minimal amount of sap I need to be able to finish it to syrup right in my flat pan without burning it if I keep the fire small when nearing the end. Then its just minimal propane burner to get it to brix. That's exciting for me as I was spending a lot of time on propane previously to get it to syrup and brixing it on my wife's stove in the house. She's happy too!!
Now I just have to use her stove for bottling.

Someclown. I'm also using a New homemade 2x3 evaporator and flat plan. Based on your work, what is the minimal amount of sap needed to be able to finish it to syrup right in the flat pan without burning it?

[maxmaple]

I am starting to look at some custom made evaporators made in Owen Sound. I just need to find the right time to approach my wife about the cost. The one I am looking at, will have a flat pan and a preheat and finish pan and could boil 15-18 gph.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d2TgjN51VpQNJ-PUcXnj4sqg

Wanting it and convincing my wife is two totally different things, so we will see what happens.

I talked to that same builder last year but my maple partner (a.k.a. the wife) vetoed the decision. Went with a 2x3 flat pan on a home-built oil tank that can be expanded to fit an additional 1x2 or 2x2 pan in the coming years. Would love to hear from people who use his rigs but I don't know anyone who bought one up this way.

[Someclown]

Someclown. I'm also using a New homemade 2x3 evaporator and flat plan. Based on your work, what is the minimal amount of sap needed to be able to finish it to syrup right in the flat pan without burning it?

I would say minimum150 litres but there's a LOT of variables
Yesterday was the first time I got brave enough to try it and started with approximately 130L of sap as there were a couple big spills after measuring , dohh!. I slowed the boil by only adding twigs to the fire to keep a bit of a bubble in the pan when it was about 3/4 to an inch deep. My pan is not quite 2x3 its actually 22Wx33Lx8H and I can't recall what gauge stainless and not perfectly flat either as it was made for free but very close to flat and works great, so a lot of variants going on. The fire wasn't hot enough to burn the edges of the pan were it sits on the rails were the least amount of syrup was in that area. I'm not positive but seemed like about 1/2" probably less, left in the pan when I was finishing and I did not boil at that stage, it was more like a slight bubble/simmer towards the end as well. DO NOT take your eyes off the syrup for a second at this point, bad things WILL happen. I then raise the pan off the evaporator and open the valve to drain into my pot to finish on propane to temperature and proper brix. Even though it was just a bubble/simmer it was still a lot faster than how I was doing it before in a pot on the propane cooker
By bringing the level that low in the flat pan there is no real way of knowing if you're at the proper brix as a thermometer will not read properly and you cannot remove syrup to brix test, that's why I had to finish the last bit on propane. Maybe a refractometer will work but mine was in the house and I was not going to get it. Never had much luck using it in the cold
outdoors anyway.
I boil outdoors and yesterday was -7*c and north wind made it feel like -17*c or more like -100 but I had to boil as I had other things to do for the next 5 days and my sap was already 4 days old. Another variable if you boil indoors as the wind kept my pan cool

[Swingpure]

Collected 130 litres with ice removed and boiled it to around 4 litres yesterday as it's not filtered.
I was able to figure out that is the minimal amount of sap I need to be able to finish it to syrup right in my flat pan without burning it if I keep the fire small when nearing the end. Then its just minimal propane burner to get it to brix. That's exciting for me as I was spending a lot of time on propane previously to get it to syrup and brixing it on my wife's stove in the house. She's happy too!!
Now I just have to use her stove for bottling.

I haven’t been brave enough to finish it in the pan, but I get it pretty close, to minimize the time in the finishing pot.

[Swingpure]

I talked to that same builder last year but my maple partner (a.k.a. the wife) vetoed the decision. Went with a 2x3 flat pan on a home-built oil tank that can be expanded to fit an additional 1x2 or 2x2 pan in the coming years. Would love to hear from people who use his rigs but I don't know anyone who bought one up this way.

I am looking for the right time to broach the subject with my wife. I am going to go at it from a health perspective as I will not be able to take another season of the smoke on my lungs and eyes. If that fails, I might take on a summer job, just to earn about $4000 to cover the price and tax and extras.

I cannot do another season with the smoke. Today the wind was in the right direction, I had removed some of the walls and my mask was still pretty dirty halfway through the boil. And the mask does not help my eyes. The mask last Friday was much dirtier.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0deiAXbDQVr32r5q71XDIWr4g

[Swingpure]

Boiled 43.5 gallons today, I will finish and bottle it on Thursday, when I can have the garage door open.

My boil rate was about 8 gph, but the thing with steam pans is when you consolidate your pans, your boil rate drops dramatically. I have four pans that boil, and when I get down to just one pan, I am losing 75% of my evaporation rate and it takes awhile to finish the final pan, or even the final two pans.

I am hoping I get five litres from it.

Freezing rain tomorrow, but +12 on Thursday and sap should be surging!

[4Walls]

Some thoughts on this years' run.

Background. I'm in my 20th year in this hobby gone wrong. My rig is a 2x8 D&G flat bottom continuous flow. I converted it a few years back and figured out a way to burn used veggie oil. Another story altogether. I am pushing 40 gallons an hour with this thing on the veggie oil. When I was running dry, small split hardwood, the best I could get was 22gph.

So far this year I've only bottled 78 litres of the good stuff. Im cleaning my pans tomorrow so I have cleaned the "sweet" out of it. I have 5 gallons at 30%, 5 at 18% and 10 gallons at 10%. That is all in pails now and will settle and then back into the pans once I've scrubbed the bottoms.

I am on hard, rocky maple. Not swamp stuff or river stuff, edge of the road or a grassy maple bush. They are all growing on the shield. Not sure if it makes a difference.

This year the nitre is up. The syrup is a shade darker than normal. I am using more filters. I have not used the skimmer once yet. There has been absolutely no scum to skim. The colour is dark but the taste is early season. Almost rice crispy square or 80s vintage girl guide cookie flavour. It is shocking when you sip the darker syrup and get the butter, vanilla and marshmallow flavour.

I normally make about 370 litres. Last year was only 260. My high is 405. This year I added another 75 taps.

I built my first RO 3 years ago and should have done it 15 years ago. It is a 3x100 gpd filter system with a little booster pump. Works great. Pulls about 100 gallons out overnight after a fresh flushing. I need to upgrade and am ordering a 4x40 system so I am going to sell this little rig. Basically it is the RO in a bucket without the bucket. I am initially getting 1 canister for the 4x40. The pump and motor will be able to handle 3 in series when I expand again. This should bring my 400 gallons of sap a day up to 8 brix overnight. Will save time, fuel and make a lighter syrup.

Anyway, that is the report from Corbeil.
Justin

[Swingpure]

Some thoughts on this years' run.

Background. I'm in my 20th year in this hobby gone wrong. My rig is a 2x8 D&G flat bottom continuous flow. I converted it a few years back and figured out a way to burn used veggie oil. Another story altogether. I am pushing 40 gallons an hour with this thing on the veggie oil. When I was running dry, small split hardwood, the best I could get was 22gph.

So far this year I've only bottled 78 litres of the good stuff. Im cleaning my pans tomorrow so I have cleaned the "sweet" out of it. I have 5 gallons at 30%, 5 at 18% and 10 gallons at 10%. That is all in pails now and will settle and then back into the pans once I've scrubbed the bottoms.

I am on hard, rocky maple. Not swamp stuff or river stuff, edge of the road or a grassy maple bush. They are all growing on the shield. Not sure if it makes a difference.

This year the nitre is up. The syrup is a shade darker than normal. I am using more filters. I have not used the skimmer once yet. There has been absolutely no scum to skim. The colour is dark but the taste is early season. Almost rice crispy square or 80s vintage girl guide cookie flavour. It is shocking when you sip the darker syrup and get the butter, vanilla and marshmallow flavour.

I normally make about 370 litres. Last year was only 260. My high is 405. This year I added another 75 taps.

I built my first RO 3 years ago and should have done it 15 years ago. It is a 3x100 gpd filter system with a little booster pump. Works great. Pulls about 100 gallons out overnight after a fresh flushing. I need to upgrade and am ordering a 4x40 system so I am going to sell this little rig. Basically it is the RO in a bucket without the bucket. I am initially getting 1 canister for the 4x40. The pump and motor will be able to handle 3 in series when I expand again. This should bring my 400 gallons of sap a day up to 8 brix overnight. Will save time, fuel and make a lighter syrup.

Anyway, that is the report from Corbeil.
Justin

Wow, 40 gph!

Wow, 405 L

I have had little scum as well. The nitre caught in my filters has varied. One time there was much more than the other times.

[mgp141]

I am looking for the right time to broach the subject with my wife. I am going to go at it from a health perspective as I will not be able to take another season of the smoke on my lungs and eyes. If that fails, I might take on a summer job, just to earn about $4000 to cover the price and tax and extras.

I cannot do another season with the smoke. Today the wind was in the right direction, I had removed some of the walls and my mask was still pretty dirty halfway through the boil. And the mask does not help my eyes. The mask last Friday was much dirtier.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0deiAXbDQVr32r5q71XDIWr4g

My buddy ended up with one in Port Sydney. It's the 2x4 with 2x1 and 2x3 flat pans. manual transfer of sap between pans. I'm sure he'd be happy to have you come check it out if you're in the area if you let me know I can put you in touch. Pretty nice work, works well depending on what you are after. I had a deposit down on one of Bross's 2x4 evaps but backed out cause I found a thor 2x4 drop flue last summer after I already gave him a deposit. Heavy as hell cause the steel and full fire brick, I wouldn't have been able to get it down to my sugar shack by the time they were ready in January. Give him a call he's a good guy to talk to.

[Swingpure]

My buddy ended up with one in Port Sydney. It's the 2x4 with 2x1 and 2x3 flat pans. manual transfer of sap between pans. I'm sure he'd be happy to have you come check it out if you're in the area if you let me know I can put you in touch. Pretty nice work, works well depending on what you are after. I had a deposit down on one of Bross's 2x4 evaps but backed out cause I found a thor 2x4 drop flue last summer after I already gave him a deposit. Heavy as hell cause the steel and full fire brick, I wouldn't have been able to get it down to my sugar shack by the time they were ready in January. Give him a call he's a good guy to talk to.

Thanks, if I get the blessing, I may check him out before making a decision. I had asked about how the sap got from the pre heat pan to the main pan and was a little surprised it was manual transfer. If I was to get it and get a simple flat pan, it almost makes me wonder if getting a 2x5 pan and just add heated sap from my induction elements would be a more productive way to go. It also would be $200 cheaper. To get the raised flue pan and divided pan would be an additional $1500.

[Swingpure]

We are getting a fair amount of freezing rain and it will last longer than originally forecasted. Hopefully it will melt overnight as the temperature warms, before doing any damage.

Tomorrow will warm to +12, with rain and strong winds, before the temperature starts dropping early afternoon. Should be a good sap run. The next day will only warm to zero, so we will see how how the sap runs on Friday. I will boil next on Friday, assuming Thursday’s run gives me 40+ gallons.

It is funny, I collect sap in US gallons and my five gallon pails are graduated that way, but I bottle in litres. I know others report their sap in litres.

[aamyotte]

Thanks, if I get the blessing, I may check him out before making a decision. I had asked about how the sap got from the pre heat pan to the main pan and was a little surprised it was manual transfer. If I was to get it and get a simple flat pan, it almost makes me wonder if getting a 2x5 pan and just add heated sap from my induction elements would be a more productive way to go. It also would be $200 cheaper. To get the raised flue pan and divided pan would be an additional $1500.
You should try to preheat your sap with a copper coil wrapped around the chimney. It used waste heat and dumps directly into the pan. I pump from my storage tank to a 5 gallon bucket hung up high with a bulkhead fitting connected to the copper coil.
That would keep your induction free for finishing.

[Swingpure]

You should try to preheat your sap with a copper coil wrapped around the chimney. It used waste heat and dumps directly into the pan. I pump from my storage tank to a 5 gallon bucket hung up high with a bulkhead fitting connected to the copper coil.
That would keep your induction free for finishing.

I have read about that on this forum. So obviously that works for you. Does your feed connect to the bottom or top of the coil? Something to consider when I do things different next sap season. I could see that drizzling into a 2x5 pan.

[aamyotte]

My feed connects to the top of the coil. I have a shutoff at the feed to slow the rate going into the coil. I can adjust how fast it flows. Too slow and the sap evaporates inside the coil and comes out as steam at the end.
It's unfortunate that we can't post pics on the site. A picture is worth a thousand words.

[Swingpure]

Pretty good layer of ice on the ground, but other than the pulley on the flag pole, it does not look like much damage. As of yet the sap is not flowing. Hopefully soon.

I am finishing and bottling Tuesday’s 43.5 gallons boiled. Of note, checking the SapApp for the boiling temperature of sap at the moment, it is the lowest I have ever seen here. 216.67!

https://share.icloud.com/photos/04fjMGxv_0Jv9z1mHQtQPWHZg

[Someclown]

My feed connects to the top of the coil. I have a shutoff at the feed to slow the rate going into the coil. I can adjust how fast it flows. Too slow and the sap evaporates inside the coil and comes out as steam at the end.
It's unfortunate that we can't post pics on the site. A picture is worth a thousand words.

I also have the copper coil around my chimney pipe. One thing about doing that like aamyotte mentions is the sap evaporating in the coil which is actually scorching the sap. I had a problem with vapor lock like that when I fed sap from the top of the coil so I flipped it to feed in the bottom so the sap would contnue flowing through instead of vapor locking the inlet end and not stop the flow of sap and haven't had that problem since. Be aware you need a fast enough flow but also slow enough flow as to have the sap continuously moving but also being heated and not scorching. There's also times I put a piece of tin over the coil to get the sap to warm up as it's going through to quick or a cold wind. My sap temperature in my warming pan is in the vicinity of 95F to 105F if I keep and eye on it, far cry from. boiling but not slowing my main pan boil and not scorching in the coil.

[Swingpure]

I was able to make just over 5 L from the 43.5 US gallons of sap.

It still has a nice colour and tastes great!

https://share.icloud.com/photos/094jDWtt2LcVJklHV_eiMkBsA

[Swingpure]

My philosophy is always be grateful for what you have. I had expected today, to be an amazing sap flow day, coming out of the deep freeze and hitting +13° C (55.4°F). But it wasn’t a great sap flow day and I think the fact it was very overcast, is why.

I am grateful for the 45 gallons I did collect and that I will boil tomorrow. My sugar concentration in the sap is still high. I have collected about 33% of my expected sap.

[Mrk59rsk]

Syrup looks great! You using the bucket filters?
I purchased some after seeing your post on them, syrup showed cloudy
after filtering. { 3 prefilters than orlon }

[Someclown]

I was able to make just over 5 L from the 43.5 US gallons of sap.

It still has a nice colour and tastes great!

https://share.icloud.com/photos/094jDWtt2LcVJklHV_eiMkBsA

Very nice, I checked my trees around noon and the sap was flowing pretty good it was pouring rain and about +7.
I left for Parry Sound so wont know what I ended up with for sap until I get home tomorrow. I expect our run will start full flow this weekend. Fingers crossed

[Swingpure]

Syrup looks great! You using the bucket filters?
I purchased some after seeing your post on them, syrup showed cloudy
after filtering. { 3 prefilters than orlon }

I am using a homemade vacuum filter, that 4walls shared with me how to make it. It works super fast and filters extremely well.

I use two thicker round filters and four, sometimes five round pre filters.

One thing I have been doing the last few times, is I have a five gallon bucket mostly filled with water and after I finish filtering, I take all of the filters and drop them in the bucket and it is amazing how well it cleans the filters, before I have a chance to really rinse them clean.

[4Walls]

I'm working on a little youtube video to share with the maple bros on how I made my vacuum filter and how it works. Need one more clip of the final stage then have to get my teens to put it together and make it presentable. Will be up shortly. Don't know why I cant just insert a picture here on this forum.

[Someclown]

I'm working on a little youtube video to share with the maple bros on how I made my vacuum filter and how it works. Need one more clip of the final stage then have to get my teens to put it together and make it presentable. Will be up shortly. Don't know why I cant just insert a picture here on this forum.

That's great
Looking forward to your video so I can make a filter as well

Swingpure were you boiling today, all I could smell in Parry Sound was maple sap evaporating

[Swingpure]

That's great
Looking forward to your video so I can make a filter as well

Swingpure were you boiling today, all I could smell in Parry Sound was maple sap evaporating

I am boiling! Almost done the 62 gallons. Great boil.

I was able to collect 17 more gallons this morning before the boil to bring me to 62.

[Swingpure]

Today as mentioned, I boiled the 62 gallons. After supper I thought I would collect the little bit that ran and get it out of the barrels and pails before it froze. I was surprised to see that it ran not too bad today while I was boiling and I collected another 42 gallons, enough for another boil tomorrow. Since I do not have the RO working, I need to keep up. I expect Saturday the sap will really flow, maybe the best of the season.

The boil today went really well. I boiled it to 217°. Syrup temperature today was 217.93°. I collected a hair over 10 L of almost syrup.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/088os8q_1Cotqhe4DfcvK2E2Q

I am really pleased with the wood frames I made to hold the pails. Yesterday was a very windy day and the pails did not budge.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ac2QtESKM_c8KVTQyQGSVeDw

[Someclown]

I'm jealous.
Haven't boiled anything since the big freeze started last week. Do to unforeseen circumstances I haven't been able to check my buckets but nothing really thawed here since last week.

[Swingpure]

I'm jealous.
Haven't boiled anything since the big freeze started last week. Do to unforeseen circumstances I haven't been able to check my buckets but nothing really thawed here since last week.

I spoke with a neighbour who is a sugar maker, and I asked if the sap flow this year here was slow, and he replied very slow. I have a friend about a half hour drive south and he is doing great. A few degrees difference, or a little more sunshine, can make a difference. We are at a higher elevation than my friend that is south of us.

[Waynesgarden]

I am really pleased with the wood frames I made to hold the pails. Yesterday was a very windy day and the pails did not budge.

I like your frame. I have some giant front lawn maples along the road and last year had a couple buckets blow away by the wind that whips up over the field and pond, even with some weight on the top. I've taken to ratchet strapping those exposed buckets.

[Swingpure]

Big Eddy cautioned me about boiling, finishing, filtering and bottling in the same day as that is when a lot of mistakes are done.

He never said anything about finishing, filtering, bottling, boiling, then collecting.

I finished, filtered and bottled the 62 gallons I boiled yesterday, and got 8.25 L from it, which is pretty good.

So far over the 6 batches I have boiled, the colour has stayed pretty consistent.

I am pulling a lot of ice from the pails I left outside last night, so hopefully that will speed up the boil (42 gallons) and allow me time to collect in the daylight. I think today may well be the best flow of the season.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0f5oDy70t8Lp1lJjP4NmAEI-Q

https://share.icloud.com/photos/04eQgECp27Wyprs3YG2BFYDeQ

[Swingpure]

We will see if I pulled all water out of the pails, or if there was some sap in the ice, when I make the syrup.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0c4AC301J5ToJ0G6ErnnsdLzw#McDougall

[Swingpure]

After the boil, which went well, I collected 55 gallons of sap, the pails were still dripping and the lines still running. I will check the barrels again in the morning and may get an additional 10 to 20 gallons.

Right now I have collected 43% of expected sap. I hope to get to 60%.

[Swingpure]

We will see if I pulled all water out of the pails, or if there was some sap in the ice, when I make the syrup.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0c4AC301J5ToJ0G6ErnnsdLzw#McDougall

I finished today’s boil tonight and bottled it and I guess it was just all water taken out, as I got 5 3/4 L out of the 42 gallons.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/069aWED-VP6nz8I-gUJUut-pg

Busy day.

[Swingpure]

Collected another 22 gallons before starting to boil this morning, so I am boiling 77 gallons today, which I will do in two batches in the one boil.

I have now collected about 45% of expected sap.

Looking at the long range forecast, there are not many collection days left. I would really like to get to 60% expected sap before it ends.

The wind today is in the right direction so the smoke and steam are quickly leaving the shelter.

[Swingpure]

Once before I had checked one pail and it was 3% sugar in the sap and I checked a second pail and it read 4% on my refractometer. I told my buddy and he said that was unlikely.

Today again , I checked one pail and it was 3% and a second pail read 4%. I went back to the first pail and it read 3% again and I went back to the second pail and it read 4%.

I know by how much syrup I make, I am doing better than 40:1, it 4% sugar possible straight out of a tree?

[berkshires]

All I can tell you is that if you really are averaging 3.5% then never mind 45% of your goals by sap. For most sugar makers you would be at 90% of your goals by syrup!

I have to pick and choose which trees I tap, and even so, I average about 1.7-1.8%.

Gabe

[Willen]

Are you running an electronic refractometer, or an optical unit?

[Swingpure]

Are you running an electronic refractometer, or an optical unit?

Optical.

When I posted my syrup yield from the gallons I boiled, another poster said that would be 3.07% sugar concentration. I went out and check my sap and the refractometer said it was 3%. That is why I trust it to some degree. It said 4% both times I checked the same pail and correctly repeated the 3% for the other.

I would not bet my friend’s truck that it is an accurate reading, I was just curious if it is possible or likely?

[Someclown]

Optical.

I would not bet my friend’s truck that it is an accurate reading, I was just curious if it is possible or likely?

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?35669-Poll-2020-Sap-sugar-content
Certainly is, this sap was straight out of the tree in 2020 in my post

[4Walls]

Yes. It's possible but rare. I have a sap hydrometer calibrated to 3c. I have one tree that produces 3.5 up to 4 early in the run. It's the only one I know of. Have 400+ taps all on lines and only 20 or so pails near the shack. My bulk containers averaged 2.1 early and now about 1.9 steady. Hard rock sugar maples.

[berkshires]

I would not bet my friend’s truck that it is an accurate reading, I was just curious if it is possible or likely?

Definitely possible. There are a number of people here who regularly report well over 2%. I have one tree that has put out 3.4% in the past.

Just consider yourself a very lucky man, because there are a lot of things you can control/optimize in your operation, but you can't control what the trees put out.

GO

[Someclown]

Boiling 210L/55.5 Gal. Collected this morniing. Boiling outdoors +6*c light SSE wind to blow the smoke away
Boil rate ranging 45L/12gal.per hr plus. Firing every 8 minutes with wrist size and smaller maple firewood, sap preheated to between 90-105*F, stack temps. 400-600*F.

[Swingpure]

Today I finished, filtered and bottled the 77 gallons I boiled yesterday. That should produce less than 8 L of syrup. I made exactly 11.5 L. I am not sure how to calculate what the sugar content would be, to produce that, but it is better than 2%.

Had friends up and I had them do some little things yesterday and today, all part of the maple syrup making process. Yesterday they helped me collect and ladle the sap from one pan to the other. Today they helped with the bottling process and got to ladle the syrup into the jar of syrup they are taking home. They were thrilled.

I would sit the ladle on a pan lid and a little syrup would inevitably spill out of the ladle. It did not take them long with their fingers to get some syrup. They loved it.

The colour is still pretty consistent.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0fceL4paCuA7e6DtCpC0m7Mgg

https://share.icloud.com/photos/00bXGR1sN9a6G0jVFeaEx2bMg

Batch 8 on the right is darker than 1, but not darker as in the picture as 1 was in the sunlight and 8 was in the shadows.

Doing some cleanup today and getting the evaporator ready for tomorrow’s boil. I will collect later today. The lines are running well. I am starting off with 21 gallons collected late yesterday.

[Swingpure]

This was my best sap collection day by far of the season. I collected 105 gallons. Combined with my 21 from late yesterday, I have 126 gallons to boil. I will boil 80 gallons tomorrow. This is when I miss not having the RO working.

I am now at 57% expected sap collected.

I got to use my pump and my ATV trailer today to help me with the sap in the barrels.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0c4XGy4idVFlpmQtMq2VrTXEw

[northwood]

Just logging on for the first time this year. I tapped March 13th this year, earliest in 10 years. I put in 65 taps and so far have made around 3 gallons of syrup. It ran great this morning and then slowly tapered off through the afternoon. I'm guessing there will be 75 gallons waiting in the buckets for me tomorrow. All indications are pointing to a great season.

[Someclown]

Today I finished, filtered and bottled the 77 gallons I boiled yesterday. That should produce less than 8 L of syrup. I made exactly 11.5 L. I am not sure how to calculate what the sugar content would be, to produce that, but it is better than 2%
If I did the math correct in U.S.gal. Your sugar concentrate would have been very close to 3.4.
Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in case I'm doing all my calculations wrong
Rule of 86 divided by sugar concentrate of sap to make 1 gal.

77gal. Sap ÷ 3.04 gal. Syrup = 25.3gal sap/1 gal syrup
Rule of 86 ÷ 3.4 sugar sap concentrate = 25.30gal sap per 1 gal. syrup

[Swingpure]

If I did the math correct in U.S.gal. Your sugar concentrate would have been very close to 3.4.
Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in case I'm doing all my calculations wrong
Rule of 86 divided by sugar concentrate of sap to make 1 gal.

77gal. Sap ÷ 3.04 gal. Syrup = 25.3gal sap/1 gal syrup
Rule of 86 ÷ 3.4 sugar sap concentrate = 25.30gal sap per 1 gal. syrup

Thank you, and that makes sense to me, some sap (likely most) was 3%, and some other sap measured 4%. I am grateful for my good fortune.

I also am strangely grateful, it has been a slow flowing year. Without my RO working, I never would have kept up if it was a normal year.

I am now in the middle of boils 80 gallons, maybe more.

The sap will stop flowing for a few days, then start again for a few more. That might repeat itself one more time. Next lesson to learn is to stop before it gets buddy.

[4Walls]

Your math would be wrong if you are not bottling at exactly 66.9% sugar in the syrup. Even a few percentage off the "syrup" stage would have a huge effect on the calculated numbers. What method are you using to determine finished syrup? Temperature? Hydrometer? refractometer? All of them need to be corrected for either temperature of atmospheric pressure at the time of bottling. By far the most accurate is the dual hydrometer from CDL (maybe others) that has the thermometer inside the hydrometer. Once it floats at the temperature line then its syrup. Next is a proper syrup thermometer that gets calibrated in boiling water before bottling. I have the one with the 7" face so I can read percentages of degrees f. Still check with the hydrometer to make sure.
I would be surprised if your average sap sugar content from all your trees was 3.5%. That would mean that some trees are pushing 5% while others are at a normal low range of 1.5.

[Swingpure]

One thing I am surprise at is how little wood I have used. Estimated at the end of this boil, I will have used 3 face cords of wood, 9 batches, approximately 580 gallons of sap boiled. That is much better than expected.

[Someclown]

Your math would be wrong if you are not bottling at exactly 66.9% sugar in the syrup. Even a few percentage off the "syrup" stage would have a huge effect on the calculated numbers. What method are you using to determine finished syrup? Temperature? Hydrometer? refractometer? All of them need to be corrected for either temperature of atmospheric pressure at the time of bottling. By far the most accurate is the dual hydrometer from CDL (maybe others) that has the thermometer inside the hydrometer. Once it floats at the temperature line then its syrup. Next is a proper syrup thermometer that gets calibrated in boiling water before bottling. I have the one with the 7" face so I can read percentages of degrees f. Still check with the hydrometer to make sure.
I would be surprised if your average sap sugar content from all your trees was 3.5%. That would mean that some trees are pushing 5% while others are at a normal low range of 1.5.

Thanks 4walls, I figured it couldn't be that easy to figure out. Hahaa

[Swingpure]

I am using thermometer, refractometer and hydrotherm. I do my best to be at 66.9 brix.

Edit: would that formulae be for 66 brix syrup and making 66.9 brix syrup would result in less quantity?

[ennismaple]

I am using thermometer, refractometer and hydrotherm. I do my best to be at 66.9 brix.

Edit: would that formulae be for 66 brix syrup and making 66.9 brix syrup would result in less quantity? I believe it's the rule of 88.1 (or something like that). Dr Tim has posted about this revised "rule" in recent years.

[Someclown]

Yes, I stand totally corrected it's the new rule of 88.2
Thanks for getting me into to the new times

[4Walls]

Hey. We've all been there. Especially with the excitement of new and improved or expanded operation. I find that I am burning much less wood than before for the amount of syrup that I make. I think my sap is coming out of the trees at 65% compared to the wood I use. Would be nice. Wood be not nice when I have to cut and split it all. Here is a little video that I just uploaded. I had a few doubters about my claim of 40 gallons an hour with no wood :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6Vjrtk9DXA

[Swingpure]

Hey. We've all been there. Especially with the excitement of new and improved or expanded operation. I find that I am burning much less wood than before for the amount of syrup that I make. I think my sap is coming out of the trees at 65% compared to the wood I use. Would be nice. Wood be not nice when I have to cut and split it all. Here is a little video that I just uploaded. I had a few doubters about my claim of 40 gallons an hour with no wood :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6Vjrtk9DXA

Wow, great video, amazing how that all works off of vegetable oil. I am very envious of your boil rate.

[Swingpure]

Boiled 89 gallons yesterday and bottled 11.5 L this morning. It was almost as light as the first batch. I am real pleased with the colour over the nine batches so far.

I am boiling batch 10 today. Just 37 gallons so I can finish before the rain storm hits.

I have buried 48 gallons under snow. I will boil that, plus whatever I collect this afternoon, tomorrow. Then there will a pause for a couple of days because of warm weather.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0718MofdGbrccykGu8rsDRJaQ

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0c5oJJnk5dWCNf1Ld2HMY8b1Q


Edit: I finished the 37 gallons and made 5.75 L

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0a2W1tJvCREVkDscK9geap3uA

[4Walls]

Not exactly sure what happened yesterday. Wasn't expecting much sap. My 1200L cubie was overflowing at the end of the day and the other one had 850L. Beautiful clear sap. Will be a long day in the sugar shack today.

[Swingpure]

Just 53 gallons yesterday and four today. I am boiling the 72 gallons I have left on hand.

Should be more flow in the weekend. Tuesday might be my last boil. Not sure how good the sap will be after that.

I am at almost 64% expected sap. That calculation is based on the number of taps I have. I have many double tapped trees. If the new recommendations come out that double taps offer little extra value, I could reduce my tap count by close to 20 and that would change my expected sap calculation.

In our immediate area, the local sugar makers have said it has been a very slow year and one group has already called it a year.

[Swingpure]

I finished the 72 gallons I boiled today and made 9.375 L.

The colour is lighter than it looks in the picture. The colour has been pretty consistent throughout the 11 batches.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0a8EuKFeCBNtUZ1WFsBblgLlQ

[Swingpure]

I collected what little sap that was in my barrels and pails (13 gallons) and buried the sap (in pails) in a big snow bank.

There should be some flow this weekend and next, but I am not sure how good the sap will be next weekend. Next boil will be Sunday.

So far I have had 11 batches. I am now out of the bottles that I take group pictures with.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/059PyD7wGOSInZpXM_aQGsAXw

[Swingpure]

My labels for my syrup bottles arrived today. They might look familiar. As I am not selling my syrup, they are just to identify that the syrup came from me.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/06cyO0h2Wg5f9YamrfcmpyW_Q

My wife will be putting them on the bottles and jars, apparently I have difficulty putting things on straight.

[Swingpure]

Zero sap flow today, I was expecting something. I will boil whatever I have Sunday morning, even’t if it is a short boil. Some of the sap I collected a couple days ago is going a little cloudy, even though I kept the pails buried in the snow.

This is where I lack experience. Should I toss the sap if it is a little cloudy, or is it okay and will just produce darker syrup?

Thanks

[berkshires]

This is where I lack experience. Should I toss the sap if it is a little cloudy, or is it okay and will just produce darker syrup?

Thanks

If it's yellow and it stinks, toss it. But cloudy sap that has not gone too far makes fine dark syrup.

Gabe

[Swingpure]

If it's yellow and it stinks, toss it. But cloudy sap that has not gone too far makes fine dark syrup.

Gabe

Thanks, no sap ran today and I only have 24 gallons to boil, but I will boil that tomorrow, and maybe leave it in the final pan for Mondays boil. There is not enough volume to get it too close to syrup tomorrow.

Hopefully the sap will run really well Sunday and Monday.

It is also looking good next weekend, if it is still good sap.

[4Walls]

Looks like it will slow down this week and then come roaring back with a vengeance. Managed to pull 500L of sap yesterday. Nothing crazy. Just enough to create some steam to pre warm all the bottles I need to fill. I went over to a friends place yesterday. He was having a maple emergency. Had amassed too much syrup over the past week while he was out sick. His neighbours came and boiled down all the sap. So he had 70L of syrup to filter and only a cone filter. it took him over an hour to get the first 5 litres through because of all the nitre. I brought over the vacuum filter contraption that I made. It worked perfectly for all of it. Done. Bottled and a very relieved friend. Couldn't believe how clear the syrup was compared to the cone filter.

Anyway. This week was crazy. At one point I had 2800L of sap. I got lucky and all my parts and pump arrived for the 4x40 RO that I built. It is pulling 80-100 litres of water out of the sap per hour. Im amazed at how well it works. Basically the same as the CDL hobby RO but I source all the parts and pumps myself. I splurged and got a proton 3 SS pump and a new direct fit 1/2 hrs electric motor. Total cost was 1480$ all in.

[4Walls]

I figured out how to make a video. Woohoo. Here is the vacuum filter build and in action. Best 200$ I've ever spent for my "hobby". Enjoy. PM for any tips or suggestions to build your own. Or buy the exact same thing from CDL for 2800$. I have used the CDL one. I think this one works better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8nbZd8EOT0

[Swingpure]

I figured out how to make a video. Woohoo. Here is the vacuum filter build and in action. Best 200$ I've ever spent for my "hobby". Enjoy. PM for any tips or suggestions to build your own. Or buy the exact same thing from CDL for 2800$. I have used the CDL one. I think this one works better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8nbZd8EOT0

Great video, thanks for posting. Your vacuum filter design was a game changer for me. I used it right from the start. Filtering was quick and easy and it did a super job of filtering as well. I will have to use some of the other tips in your video next year.

[Swingpure]

Boiled the 23 gallons of sap I had so it did not go bad. It was clear in the pan, when I poured it in.

No sap ran yesterday. It is just now getting above freezing and I am hoping today and tomorrow will be good runs and I will boil tomorrow if I get any sort of run today.

As 4walls said next weekend is looking good. If the sap is still good that will be bonus. The end of next weekend will be 6 weeks that my spiles are in the trees. I definitely will pull the taps after next weekend.

Edit: At noon the sap is just streaming out of the lines, it will be a good day.

[aamyotte]

That was a surprise. I went to the shack to bring my pans home to clean them. I checked on my buckets and they had a good volume in them. I put some in the freezer to make sap cubes since I have no snow left to pack around the barrel.
Summer project is to build a small enclosure to insulate and pack the barrel with snow. The insulation should keep the snow from melting.
Boiled yesterday and got 37:1 ratio. Alot better than the first batch of 52.3:1.

[Swingpure]

I collected 42 gallons today to go along with the 23 gallons I brought to a boil this morning, so I will have a 65 gallon boil tomorrow. That brings me to 68.8% expected sap and when that is finished, it will get me over 90 L of syrup. My sap sugar concentrations is still high.

Tonight is forecasted to drop to -4° and +10 tomorrow, so there should be sap flow tomorrow and another boil on Tuesday.

The forecast for next weekend is changing and warming up a tad overnight, so Tuesday’s boil could be the last, I will keep an eye on the forecast.

[Swingpure]

That was a surprise. I went to the shack to bring my pans home to clean them. I checked on my buckets and they had a good volume in them. I put some in the freezer to make sap cubes since I have no snow left to pack around the barrel.
Summer project is to build a small enclosure to insulate and pack the barrel with snow. The insulation should keep the snow from melting.
Boiled yesterday and got 37:1 ratio. Alot better than the first batch of 52.3:1.

I am lucky, I boil in my yard, where I have large piles of plowed snow, so I always have lots of snow available to bury my pails. Glad to hear that your sugar content in your sap went up.

[aamyotte]

Before yesterday's boil I was a little discouraged about the sugar content.

[Swingpure]

My friend called me and he was all done, but his sap was still flowing and had some that was still good and wondered if I wanted it. I gratefully took 110 gallons of sap.

Today I am boiling my original 65 gallons and will at least bring to a boil 55 gallons of his. Tomorrow I will boil whatever I collect of mine and the remaining 55 gallons from my friend.

Then I will be done for the season. As I collect from from the pails, I will pull the taps.

After that is all boiled, finished, filtered and bottled, I will worry about cleaning the lines.

Not counting, the sap given me, I will have made between 95 and 100 L of syrup. Considering I only have really 109 taps and about 20 of them are double taps, I did get a L or more of syrup per tree, so that is more than enough to be thankful for.

Now first is to boil for two long days.

[berkshires]

Yep, for us backyarders, a liter per tap is considered a good year. You'll note from many people's signatures that they haven't even hit that level in half a dozen years of sugaring. So nice work!

Gabe

[Swingpure]

I pulled all of my taps today. Surprisingly, it dropped below freezing and the sap likely would have run well today. I have enough sap to keep me busy. I had a tool to help me pull the taps, I bought it months ago and put it away in a safe place. If I ever find that place, I will find a number of things. Turns out the taps were easy to pull out by hand. I definately tapped too high as I had to stand on my tippy toes to reach some of them.

Yesterday I boiled 65 gallons and pulled that off the evaporator. I also brought to boil another 55 gallons. I will likely pull that off in an hours time. I have also started to boil my remaining 117 gallons, which I will do in two batches. Tomorrow will be a rainy day, so I will try and stay until early morning if need be to finish boiling.

Ended up,with 76% of expected sap per tap, 88% realistic expected sap and when I add in the 110 gallons given to me yesterday, I reached 100% realistic expected sap.

I won’t know how much syrup I made until after tomorrow, but I expect it to be over 110 L.

[4Walls]

My average over 20 years is 1 litre per tap on buckets. 1.1-1.2 L/tap on lines. This is looking like a bumper crop year in the north. I pulled 210 gallons of sap yesterday and it is flowing again this morning. I think the end of this week into early next week will be prime. Sap is still light and clear. Not even close to buds on my trees. Syrup tastes amazingly mid season still. Just put away 2 x 4 gallon pails of filtered hot packed syrup. Im running out of bottles. Those will store well and be bottled later.

I want to do a big batch of birch syrup this year. Want to do it as a bit of a collective in the North Bay, Astorville Callander triangle. I want to finish about 5 gallons and share it with those involved collecting the sap. That will take some effort by more than one person because the birch sap spoils quickly with the warmer weather. Will need about 600-800 gallons of sap for a batch that size. I have made it before and it takes forever to boil down at 100-160/1 ratio. I want to run it through my new big RO and concentrate to 10-15%. Let me know if anyone wants to get involved.

[Swingpure]

It’s funny, there are a lot of areas around us where the sap flow has been great, but not so for our immediate area. My friend a half hour away was filling barrel fulls, where I never even filled a quarter of a barrel on any given day.

I will be boiling well past midnight to finish the last boil of the season. Today would have been a good day for the RO to be working.

I will have boiled 930 gallons using just less than 5 face cords of wood.

Tomorrow will be finish, filter and bottle the nearup from 237 gallons of sap. 110 gallons at 2% concentration and 127 gallons at 3+% sugar concentration.

[Swingpure]

I finished boiling my last sap at 2 am this morning.

Today I have four batches to finish, filter and bottle. One down and I am working on the second right now.

As mention in other posts I use the DYI vacuum filter that 4walls has. Unlike 4walls I have not installed the four overcenter clamps required to hold the top pot down, as I was having trouble drilling through the stainless steel and decided I would do that in the off season for next season.

I had been up using bungee cords to help hold down the top pot with mixed results, mostly poor, but I was always able to somehow keep the vacuum seal and it has worked very well for me.

The last filter this morning I lost the seal and never really got it back. I decided to do something different and I have rigged up two clamps, which seem to hold the pot pretty tight. We will see sometime in the next hour how it works.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/015Oe8JTmudnJTE_ucjDLArvg

I have to admit I am pretty pooped, and I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Next year hopefully the RO will be working and a new pan will also help to reduce the workload. The induction elements worked well for pre heating the sap, but they kept you busy filling them up, taking them off, sometimes with all three coming to a boil at the same time. They did exactly what I hoped, adding boiling sap to the evaporator, but I will be doing something different next year.

If I go with the divided pan, with a float box and feed tank, my thoughts of having a coil around the stovepipe will not work.

[Swingpure]

I am all done boiling, finishing, filtering and bottling after three long nights.

I boiled 930 gallons of sap and made 106.5 L of syrup my inaugural season. I have to say it was a lot of work. It was also quite an adventure and a learning experience. I still have a lot of cleanup to do.

I think next year I will down size a little, not have the drops to the pails and just strictly have the lines and perhaps add a few more trees to the lines.

I will make less syrup, but I will not feel like I have to supply all of my neighbour’s and just make enough for family, a few close friends and myself. I still should make 75+ L.

The goal this off season is to make improvements to the evaporator, get a better pan (likely a 2x5 divided pan with a float box), fix or replace the RO pump, make a new shelter, and split the wood to more wrist sized pieces. Hopefully with the RO and a better pan, my boiling hours will drop.

I am also going to buy this sump pump for getting the sap out of my barrels quicker and easier. A friend has one and it works well. https://www.amazon.ca/Amarine-made-Ranch-Solar-Submersible-Booster/dp/B07B26QP4Y

I will look for anything to make it easier and faster.

[Someclown]

While everyone is cleaning up there supplies and having Easter dinner, I'm having to go and empty my buckets as some of the best runs this season are happening. Looks like I will be going until late this week by the forecast and then cleanup
Silvers are starting to form flowers so timing is good.

[Swingpure]

While everyone is cleaning up there supplies and having Easter dinner, I'm having to go and empty my buckets as some of the best runs this season are happening. Looks like I will be going until late this week by the forecast and then cleanup
Silvers are starting to form flowers so timing is good.

Great for you getting the last run. I thought it might be a good run, I chose not to try it, as everyone around me was pulling their taps. Good luck with the last run!

I have been splitting my time with still cleaning up, starting to get my wood for winter 23/24 and thinking about the changes for next year.

[aamyotte]

I had a good run today as well. 4 of my trees have dried up but the others are making up for it. Looks like I should have another good boil on Saturday. Good thing I can get the tractor to the shack to replenish the firewood since yesterday's boil used up the last of the wood I had out there.

[Z/MAN]

I am all done boiling, finishing, filtering and bottling after three long nights.

I boiled 930 gallons of sap and made 106.5 L of syrup my inaugural season. I have to say it was a lot of work. It was also quite an adventure and a learning experience. I still have a lot of cleanup to do.

I think next year I will down size a little, not have the drops to the pails and just strictly have the lines and perhaps add a few more trees to the lines.

I will make less syrup, but I will not feel like I have to supply all of my neighbour’s and just make enough for family, a few close friends and myself. I still should make 75+ L.

The goal this off season is to make improvements to the evaporator, get a better pan (likely a 2x5 divided pan with a float box), fix or replace the RO pump, make a new shelter, and split the wood to more wrist sized pieces. Hopefully with the RO and a better pan, my boiling hours will drop.

I am also going to buy this sump pump for getting the sap out of my barrels quicker and easier. A friend has one and it works well. https://www.amazon.ca/Amarine-made-Ranch-Solar-Submersible-Booster/dp/B07B26QP4Y

I will look for anything to make it easier and faster.

I use a Amarine 1100 GPH bilge pump found everywhere on E-BAY for 11.00 to 16.00 American dollars. They are small, light weight and work great. With a 1 1/8 inch hose it can empty a 55 gallon barrel in less than 10 minutes. Uses very little power from your collection Atv. I don't even keep mine running.

[Swingpure]

-5° here this morning and +7 during the day, for those with taps in, I bet today was a stellar day.

I flushed all of my lines and drops today and finished cleaning the five barrels.

I just flushed the lines with water. I took down 6 of my 8 lines. With the drops, there was no way I would have been able to unwind them in the bush, to put them back up, so I cut some of them into 5 segments and will rejoin them with fresh T’s and drops at the cut locations in the fall.

The ones I took down were on neighbour’s properties or were short and easy to remove. My wife surprised me when she okayed two of the lines to remain up. I was able to flush them with 154’ of garden hose connected to the outside tap. I was surprised that my lake water pump, pushed the water up to the top.

[northwood]

I was ready to pack it in this Easter weekend when I boiled a 60 gallon batch on Saturday. Came home this evening after being away most of the day to find 40 of my 60 buckets full to the rim. I'll get the fire going in the morning and get this tsunami boiled up. This is a new daily record for me. Going to be a bumper year for sure.

[maxmaple]

I regret shutting down early. I pulled the taps and started cleaning two days before Easter because several people had said they are usually done by Easter. Big mistake. Next year I am leaving the taps in place until the sap is cloudy and stinks.

[ennismaple]

So who's going to be the last producer standing in Ontario? I know Ray Bonenberg who is near Pembroke is still going. All the producers I know north of Hwy 7 in the Lanark area are done. We actually got 1.5 GPT of sap from Thursday to Saturday in our coldest woods but it went ropey very fast so no way we could have continued.

[4Walls]

Im still going strong. Pulled 200 gallons of sap the last 2 days and it is still sweet and clear. Did a small test boil in a pot and flavour is still very mid season. No signs of buds. No peepers in the pond yet. I have it all concentrated down to about 40 gallons at 9 or so brix and held at 3 degrees C. I will boil it down today. I am just getting ready to tap 50 or so birches and do a small early run of only the good stuff. I have a plan to experiment with the birch to make it syrup without burning the sugars. 2 years of experimenting with dismal results. This year I think I have it figured out.

[Someclown]

I'm out, Pulled all taps and boiled 420 litres today. Final run was clear and sugar was still high and made a nice dark amber.
Tomorrow I'll bottle and do cleanup.

[Swingpure]

I'm out, Pulled all taps and boiled 420 litres today. Final run was clear and sugar was still high and made a nice dark amber.

Tomorrow I'll bottle and do cleanup.

Congrats, a lesson for next year to stick it out, but to be honest I was done after two consecutive 19 hour days and the experienced locals were pulling their taps.

[Swingpure]

It has been a slow start to winter, with only a skiff of snow so far and milder than normal temperatures. I find talking about Northern Ontario’s winter forecast can be hard, because being 50 miles north or south, or how close you are to the large bodies of water, can make a huge difference.

December is supposed to turn cold, but almost every long range forecast I see for January and February, calls for some periods of real cold, but also extended periods of mild temperatures. They forecasted something similar last winter and the extended mild periods did not happen. I think we will be on the dividing line of some temperature swings.

All of the forecasts calls for above average precipitation and snow. If we do get the mild periods, it could help keep ground cover snow totals lower.

They also mentioned March could be a mild month so we could get a good start to the maple season.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b6dEAkgzTWJI_3Z3lv2FwrXA

[Swingpure]

Northern Ontario - December 29th, 2022, the sap is running!

We will see just how much in the morning.