Post your results - Syrup statistics and setups

[82cabby]

So I thought this might be an interesting thread.
I am always curious how my results compare to other folks. So why not have a thread where people post their setup and end of season stats? That way people could browse through and see if there setup is typical. If everyone posts the same info in same the order it will be easy to follow.

So, if you’re up for it, jump in and post the following when your season is done (you can copy and paste):

Number of taps:
Vacuum (Y/N):
RO (Y/N/type)
Arch size:
Pan Type:
Fuel Type / amount used:
Sap collected in gallons:
Syrup produced in gallons:
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup:

My info:


Number of taps: 120
Vacuum (Y/N): N
RO (Y/N/type) homemade 5x400gpd
Arch Size: 2x4
Pan Type: flat divided
Fuel Type / amount used: wood 4 1/2 face cords
Sap collected in gallons: 2884
Syrup produced in gallons: 40.5
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup:71.3


Feel free to provide more or less info! We’ll see if it goes anywhere.

[red/one]

Number of taps:102
Vacuum (Y/N):N
RO (Y/N/type)RO Bucket, 2-10gph membranes
Arch size:24x69
Pan Type:Flat bottom 24x36 divided sap pan/SL flat bottom divided 24x33 syrup pan
Fuel Type / amount used: wood 3 face cords
Sap collected in gallons: 1405 boiled, 725 sold
Syrup produced in gallons: 32
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup:43.9

[WoznicaSyrup]

Number of taps: 88
Vacuum (Y/N): No
RO (Y/N/type) Yes - RO Bucket RB 25
Fuel Type / amount used: Wood - 2-3 Face cord
Sap collected in gallons: 1100 and counting
Syrup produced in gallons: 24.5 gallons
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 45

[82cabby]

Well I can tell already my wood to syrup ratio is right on target but my sap to syrup ratio…. Yikes!

[ebliese]

Number of taps: 106 this year
Vacuum (Y/N): N
RO (Y/N/type) Y-RB25 from The RO Bucket
Fuel Type / amount used: Wood Somewhere between 3-4 full cords (Smoky Lake Corsair arch with their 2x4 divided pan)
Sap collected in gallons: 1,907
Syrup produced in gallons:35.5
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 53

I notice my wood consumption is way higher than others. I think that could be due to my rig-a 2x4 with a flat-bottomed pan. It's a short arch anyway and since I've got no flues on the pan, a lot of the heat goes up the stack. I wonder if this thread should be modified to also include your arch size and pans?

[82cabby]

I wonder if this thread should be modified to also include your arch size and pans?

Good idea! I’ll add it to the copy and paste above.

[Drew Pond Maple]

Number of taps: 125
Vacuum (Y/N): Guzzler
RO (Y/N/type) Homemade RO Bucket 4x150gpd
Arch size: 18”x72”
Pan Type: Drop flue, cross flow syrup pans
Fuel Type / amount used: 2 face cords
Sap collected in gallons: 925 so far
Syrup produced in gallons: 20
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 46.2

[wnybassman]

Number of taps: 210
Vacuum (Y/N): 3/16ths natural vac
RO (Y/N/type) Single post 4x40
Arch size: 18”x60”
Pan Type: Raised flu
Fuel Type / amount used: between 5 and 6 face cords
Sap collected in gallons: 4490
Syrup produced in gallons: 88.75
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 50.5

[Sugar Bear]

Well I can tell already my wood to syrup ratio is right on target but my sap to syrup ratio…. Yikes!

Are you tapping Red Maples or smaller Sugars?

[Sugar Bear]

Number of taps: 60
Vacuum: Natural Vac on 5/16th tubing to 8 profuse sugar taps that generates up to 15 inches and 12 volt solar vacuum on 21 reds that generates more than 15 inches. Others are sugars on gravity.
RO: homemade 4x150GPD 70% removal rate.
Arch Size: 4 steam pans
Pan Size: Full Size Steam Pans
Fuel Type: 1/2 cord.
Sap collected in gallons: At least 800
Syrup produced in Gallons: 16
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 50
Syrup blown out of pan: Somewhere between one and two quarts. ( oops I did it again )

[MajorWoodchuck]

Number of taps: 140
Vacuum (Y/N): N
RO (Y/N/type) homemade 2x 400gpd
Arch Size: twin 4 drawer file cabinets
Pan Type: 5 hotel pans (2.5 on each file cabinet)
Fuel Type / amount used: crating scraps wood. 6 face?
Sap collected in gallons: 1020 (5th weekend boiling)
Syrup produced in gallons: 23.5
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 44 (lots of ice tossed)

[82cabby]

Are you tapping Red Maples or smaller Sugars?

A mix of both, probably 2/3 sugar maple. I should probably thin the woods. None of the trees have very big crowns. We usually measure around 1.2% sugar in the sap.

Also, I guess looking at how much sap we collect compared to syrup that ends up in the bottle also counts any lost to spillages etc along the way.

[DRoseum]

Number of taps: 100 (95 reds, 5 sugars)
Vacuum (Y/N): Y - 3/16 with shurflows
RO (Y/N/type): dual 5x500 home made ROs
Arch Size: 20 x 48 custom stainless natural gas arch
Pan Type: Smoky Lake Dauntless drop flue pans
Fuel Type / amount used: Natural Gas
Sap collected in gallons: ~2000 (had to dump about 160 of that)
Syrup produced in gallons: 26
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: ~75

[Sugar Bear]

A mix of both, probably 2/3 sugar maple. I should probably thin the woods. None of the trees have very big crowns. We usually measure around 1.2% sugar in the sap.

Also, I guess looking at how much sap we collect compared to syrup that ends up in the bottle also counts any lost to spillages etc along the way.

At 1.2 your around 70 gallons of sap to a gallon of syrup.

I have quite a few very large maples that boost my overall sugar content way up from my 1% Red Maples. So I was around 50 gallons to the gallon of syrup.

[Z/MAN]

121 Taps
Vac No
RO Yes RO Bucket RB20
Arch Homemade 2x5
Pan 2x3 Divided flat pan
Fuel Cutoff 2x4s 2x6s 2x8s used 5, 4x4x4 boxes
Sap Collected 1,484 Gallons
Syrup Made 27.7 Gallons
Ratio 53:1

[berkshires]

Well I guess I'm the first one to reply who doesn't use an RO. I wonder how many folks out there like me? I'll be very curious if any others post to see how my wood consumption compares.

Before I paste my numbers I'll say that this was an exceptional season for me. The early season was warmer than usual but not too warm, and the late season was cooler than usual. Best season I've had in the eight years I've been at this.

Number of taps: 23
Vacuum (Y/N): No
RO (Y/N/type): No
Arch size: 2x3
Pan Type: Flat divided
Fuel Type / amount used: wood / 1.5 to 2 full cords
Sap collected in gallons: 630 gallons (including ice that got tossed)
Syrup produced in gallons: 13.2 gallons
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 48

GO

[MarquisVII]

Number of taps: 51
Vacuum (Y/N): Y
RO (Y/N/type) Y three post 150GPD
Arch size: 2x4
Pan Type: Flat divided
Fuel Type / amount used: Wood / lots :lol:
Sap collected in gallons: 2100ish
Syrup produced in gallons: 48.125
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 43

[wobbletop]

Number of taps: 19
Vacuum (Y/N): N (bags)
RO (Y/N/type): Y / bucket style 1x400gpd+1x150gpd
Arch size: barrel
Pan Type: 2 steam pans
Fuel Type / amount used: wood / unknown
Sap collected in gallons: 343 (1300l)
Syrup produced in gallons: 8.2 (31l)
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 42

[Biz]

Best year in gpt since 2008 which was buckets only.

Number of taps: 320, 70% red maples
Vacuum (Y/N): Y - 225 on Shurflos, 90 on natural vacuum
RO (Y/N/type) Y - single post
Arch size: 2x5
Pan Type: SL Drop flue + flat
Fuel Type / amount used: Wood / est. 4-5 cords mostly softwood
Sap collected in gallons: 5200
Syrup produced in gallons: 90.5
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 57

[berkshires]

Number of taps: 51
Vacuum (Y/N): Y
RO (Y/N/type) Y three post 150GPD
Arch size: 2x4
Pan Type: Flat divided
Fuel Type / amount used: Wood / lots :lol:
Sap collected in gallons: 2100ish
Syrup produced in gallons: 48.125
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 43

48 gallons of syrup from 51 taps! That is amazing!

GO

[mol1jb]

Fun exercise. Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup is not a great stat by itself as it needs Sugar % of sap collected to give context. I added a few more items below.

Number of taps:210
Vacuum (Y/N):3/16 on Shurflo
RO (Y/N/type)Deer Run 250
Arch size:2x6
Pan Type:Raised flue
Fuel Type / amount used:2 face cords
Sap collected in gallons:6550
Syrup produced in gallons:123
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 53

Other stats I collect in a year:
Average sugar % in sap collected: 1.8%
Total water removed by RO: 5300
Total kitchen time (this includes RO running, setup, boiling, filtering, bottling, and cleanup): 109 hours (typically myself plus 2 other helpers)

[MRFNY]

Number of taps: 100
Vacuum (Y/N): N
RO (Y/N/type) N
Arch size: 2X4
Pan Type: drop flue
Fuel Type / amount used: wood, approximately 1 3/4 cord
Sap collected in gallons: 1487
Syrup produced in gallons: 35
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 42

This was our 6th year making syrup and by far our best year. We have been averaging 19 gallons per season and this year we had 19 gallons of syrup made in February! I'll be honest, I don't think I ever want to make 35 gallons again unless I add an RO. It was a lot of work and a lot of firewood, but also a lot of fun too!

[DrTimPerkins]

Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup is not a great stat by itself as it needs Sugar % of sap collected to give context.
...
...
Average sugar % in sap collected: 1.8%

This can be a tricky one. SSC% alone is not always terribly informative. Volume weighted SSC is much better.

Example...3 runs to keep it simple.

Run 1 2% 100 gal
Run 2 1.5% 10 gal
Run 3 1.0% 10 gal

A regular average would give you an "average" SSC of 1.5%. However, clearly you had much more sap closer to 2%. In order to get the "average" SSC of ALL of the sap, with each amount of sap represented equally, you need to first multiply the SSC by the volume of sap collected that day. Then you add up each of the totals of SSC x sap volume per day, then divide that by the total sap volume collected over the season.

__________________________DAY 1______DAY 2____DAY 3_____SEASON___________
So the math comes out to be (2.0 x 100)+(1.5 x 10)+(1.0 x 10) = 225 / 120 gal = 1.875%.

Basically, you're doing the same math in a much simpler way by dividing the number of gallons of sap collected over the season by the number of gallons of syrup made over the season (but that also has its own problems noted below). Then you can back calculate the SSC by using the Revised Jones Rule of 88.2. In your case, you'd divide 6550 (gallons of sap) by 53 (gallons of syrup) to get the 53 gal sap/gal syrup, then divide 88.2 (assuming you're finishing at 66.9 Brix) by 53 to get your weighted avg SSC of 1.7 Brix. Of course, this also disregards any losses of syrup (shrinkage, spillage, etc.) you had during the season, which might be small or might be large depending upon how your season went.

Sorry to muck things up and make them more complicated than perhaps everyone wanted to think about, but the bottom line is that a VOLUME WEIGHTED average is a far better indicator of SSC over the season than a simple straight mathematical average. In general however, the larger the sample size (the more SSC measurements you have during a season), the closer those two values tend to become.

Another couple of really useful things for people to report (if they have it) is the average tree size and/or the average density (# taps/acre). Tree size has a rather sizeable influence on sap yield. I'd also toss in avg vacuum and spout/drop sanitation approach due to their strong impacts on production, but that's probably asking too much.

Now back to your regular MapleTrader.com programming.... :D

[mol1jb]

Thanks Dr. Perkins. That is quite interesting and I had not thought about it that way. I usually just do the average of 10-12 samples throughout the season, taken at the collection tank before boiling the sap, then average them. Your way would be much more accurate.

[NhShaun]

Number of taps: 210
Vacuum (Y/N):Guzzler(56)Shurflo(132) Buckets(22)
RO (Y/N/type)CDL hobby 250
Arch size:2x6
Pan Type:Flat
Fuel Type / amount used: Dry pine/hemlock - 2.5 cord
Sap collected in gallons:2650
Syrup produced in gallons:45
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup:59

[mdm1]

Number of taps:30
Vacuum (Y/N)N
RO (Y/N/type)N
Arch size:2x4
Pan Type:flat
Fuel Type / amount used:
Sap collected in gallons:404
Syrup produced in gallons:10.125
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup:40:1

[Silver Water]

Number of taps:165
Vacuum (Y/N)N
RO (Y/N/type) yes - CDL Nano 3 membrane
Arch size:18 x 36 Thor hobby evaporator
Pan Type:drop flue
Fuel Type / amount used: wood - 1 1/2 face cord
Sap collected in gallons: 3840 Litres / 1014.5 US Gallons
Syrup produced in gallons: 101 Litres / 26.7 US Gallons
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup:38:1

[Mavitec]

Number of taps: 190
Vacuum (Y/N): Y
RO (Y/N/type) Y Lapierre 250 GPH
Arch size: 24" x 48"
Pan Type: Flue pan 30" & flat pan 18"
Fuel Type / amount used: stove oil / 107 usGall
Sap collected in gallons: 2750 usGal
Syrup produced in gallons: 74 usGal
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 37 usGal

[bmbmkr]

Number of taps: 495, mostly 3/16 on steep hills
Vacuum (Y/N):gas powered guzzler and a couple of shurflo's
RO (Y/N/type) Home made 4x4x40 3 Hp Procon 660
Arch size: 2x6
Pan Type: Raised flue AOF/AUF
Fuel Type / Amount used: wood, not very much, only fire about 12-15 min with AOF - stack 850-900F
Sap collected in gallons: 3600 gal
Syrup produced in gallons: 37.5
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup: 95

This was out shortest season, virtually no winter, sap started out at 1% and there wasn't much of it. Tapped 22 Jan, last boil 14 Feb. Sugarin in the south is TOUGH. 38.5N

[82cabby]

For 2024:

Number of taps: 118
Vacuum (Y/N): 5/16 on gravity, measured 21 psi vacuum at peak flow on the best day of the season. Most other good days were 10-12.
RO (Y/N/type) homemade 5x400gpd and a 4x100gpd
Arch Size: 2x4
Pan Type: flat divided
Fuel Type / amount used: wood 2 face cords
Sap collected in gallons: 1725
Syrup produced in gallons: 25
Gallons of sap per gallons of syrup:69
Taps: polycarbonate arch-barb spout from maple valley

[Andy VT]

I'd call that a good year 82cabby!
Can I ask what day you tapped and what day you pulled?

[82cabby]

I'd call that a good year 82cabby!
Can I ask what day you tapped and what day you pulled?

I tapped on 1/27&1/28. Last collection was 3/4. Pulling taps today. A bit earlier than the last couple years.