Measuring 66.9%

[Bullet]

There are various measuring devices to reflect reaching "Maple Syrup". Hydrometers, Hydrotherms, Murphy Cup and Refractometers (hand held & digital). Experiences and comments are appreciated. THANKS

[wvfdc4]

I have been super pleased with my Smoky Lake Murphy cup and Hydrometer. It takes out all of the guess work. Just make sure to let the cup come fully up temp before taking a reading and you will be good to go.

[Andy VT]

Totally agreed about murphy cup and hydrometer being great.
But I do want to clarify about guesswork.
Used properly, there is no guesswork if you're using a hydrometer _without_ a murphy cup.
The murphy cup does the work of the thermometer and conversion chart.
So, it's not that the murphy cup takes out the guesswork. It takes out the thermometer and conversion chart... or more accurately, it has both built into one dial.
That said, I do now have a murphy cup and love having hands freed up taking readings.
But I could be perfectly happy with just the hydrometer and conventional cup (plus thermometer and chart) too.
I find that now that I have a system down, the temp is always basically the same (but not 211)

[Z/MAN]

Murphy cup makes the job simple. Worth every penny!

[buckeye gold]

But I could be perfectly happy with just the hydrometer and conventional cup (plus thermometer and chart) too.
I find that now that I have a system down, the temp is always basically the same (but not 211)

Spot on Andy. I don't have a murphy cup. I think a very important part of accuracy and efficiency is to develop a repetitive system. Over the 15 years I been doing this I have developed a routine and I feel pretty good about it. If I want to efficiently check my syrup density I do it at a stable room temperature, then you know where your at. Hot syrup is constantly changing. I shoot for a little heavy and I can't remember the last time I found a light batch. So develop good techniques and best practices and you'll be fine with any of the equipment.

[CTguy923]

so just a question seeing how were talking about Murphy cups, do they need to be calibrated ?? and if so how do you do that ??, i have one and i dont beleive its calibrated correctly , whnever i use it it seems i,m overboiled

[Andy VT]

Check your murphy cup calibration the same way you would measure brix without the murphy cup.
The dial is nothing but a thermometer with brix equivalents instead of temperature values.
So, insert a trusted thermometer into the liquid in the murphy cup and compare with a trusted temperature conversion chart for 66.9 brix maple syrup. If you get the same brix number with the murphy cup as with the temp chart, the murphy cup is in calibration.

The problem could also be your hydrometer. Basically you check that against another hydrometer or other device (good excuse to visit a sugarmaking friend). To be completely sure, you'd have to check it against at least 2 other devices.

[TapTapTap]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uChrkCu67KYuzs4Y7

I frequently use a thermometer in my process.

Ken

[nhdog]

ctguy 923
the info you got with your cup explains how to adjust the cup or go to their web site. the adjustment screw is on the back of the dial.

[CTguy923]

Check your murphy cup calibration the same way you would measure brix without the murphy cup.
The dial is nothing but a thermometer with brix equivalents instead of temperature values.
So, insert a trusted thermometer into the liquid in the murphy cup and compare with a trusted temperature conversion chart for 66.9 brix maple syrup. If you get the same brix number with the murphy cup as with the temp chart, the murphy cup is in calibration.

The problem could also be your hydrometer. Basically you check that against another hydrometer or other device (good excuse to visit a sugarmaking friend). To be completely sure, you'd have to check it against at least 2 other devices.

thank you for that response Andy, makes perfect sense hearing it put that way ...BTW, i,m gonna be up in Essex Junction over this coming weekend for a wedding, any good places i could check while there ??

[CTguy923]

ctguy 923
the info you got with your cup explains how to adjust the cup or go to their web site. the adjustment screw is on the back of the dial.

i didnt get any info with my Murphy Cup, i got it Bascoms and all it was just the cup

[nhdog]

ctguy 923
Go to https://www.smokylakemaple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2017-18-Instruction-Sheet.pdf
Instructions on the bottom of page 5 (under Confirmation of Calibration section)

[Andy VT]

thank you for that response Andy, makes perfect sense hearing it put that way ...BTW, i,m gonna be up in Essex Junction over this coming weekend for a wedding, any good places i could check while there ??

Sorry if this response is too late!
If you're looking to compare hydrometers, come on over, I'll PM you my contact info!
In Essex Junction: Best doughnuts you've ever had: "Quality Bake Shop". Best other baked goodies: "Boxcar Bakery". Great breakfast and lunch: "Firebird Cafe" or in Winooski, "Sneakers Bistro". If you like to watch trains, Amtrak stops 9:45AM sharp 7 days a week (that's why it's called Essex Junction). Again 9PM but that's give or take 45 minutes. Great dinner: "Essex Resort and Spa" in "The Taverne", or in Burlington, "Farmhouse Tap & Grill", or some the best food I've ever had if you drive up to the Champlain Islands, "Blue Paddle Bistro". If you want to check out a sugarhouse maybe Ken (TapTapTap) would have you! My "sugarhouse" is just a pile of stuff in a corner of the basement except in March when its a pile of stuff in the front yard, and my "sugarbush" is 10 or so quarter-acre lots near my house. Shelburne Museum and Champlain Maritime Museum amazing. If you need a place to worship Sunday morning, Christ Memorial Church (I'll be there).

[jrm]

Sorry if this response is too late!
If you're looking to compare hydrometers, come on over, I'll PM you my contact info!
In Essex Junction: Best doughnuts you've ever had: "Quality Bake Shop". Best other baked goodies: "Boxcar Bakery". Great breakfast and lunch: "Firebird Cafe" or in Winooski, "Sneakers Bistro". If you like to watch trains, Amtrak stops 9:45AM sharp 7 days a week (that's why it's called Essex Junction). Again 9PM but that's give or take 45 minutes. Great dinner: "Essex Resort and Spa" in "The Taverne", or in Burlington, "Farmhouse Tap & Grill", or some the best food I've ever had if you drive up to the Champlain Islands, "Blue Paddle Bistro". If you want to check out a sugarhouse maybe Ken (TapTapTap) would have you! My "sugarhouse" is just a pile of stuff in a corner of the basement except in March when its a pile of stuff in the front yard, and my "sugarbush" is 10 or so quarter-acre lots near my house. Shelburne Museum and Champlain Maritime Museum amazing. If you need a place to worship Sunday morning, Christ Memorial Church (I'll be there).

Love the description of your sugarhouse and bush! This is making me want to come and I'm not even planning a trip.

[Swingpure]

I will be the only person that will say this, which likely makes me wrong off the start, but I had a lot of success with the hand held refractometer. I was not selling my syrup and it was for friends and family, so that is a factor in my choice.

I never trusted a single reading, but as I got close, I would take multiple readings and once I got two or more at 66.9, I would go with it. Checking the syrup after I opened it again, I would get a Brix reading of 66.9. I know it tasted good with many people saying it was the best maple syrup they ever tasted.

So if your a hobbyist, the refractometer is something to consider. I also used a thermometer to verify I was in the area, and used the refractometer to nail it down.

[Andy VT]

I have another 66.9 question:
I have done all my finishing so far on the kitchen stove. I've been finding that to get to 66.9 (now a smidge over now that I know Vermont's minimum is 66.9), I need to go to 222 degrees F. Not 219. It is very consistent. And yes, I've tested the boiling point of water at the same time with the same thermometer and its pretty much 212, sometimes less but never more. Do other folks find this to be the case? Maybe the 219 thing is more for a continuous flow pan?
At this point, if I didn't have a hydrometer, I'd just go to 222.

Janet, are you by any chance 5 or so minutes from the center of Medfield? I saw some buckets up there in a yard that looked like about a half acre last late February! I visit Medfield, Brookline, and Boston a time or two a year. Sure, I'll show my pile of stuff whenever!

P.S. I am finally adding a "signature"

Andy
2024: Same plan as 2023 but with RB5 kit and a few general workflow improvements
2023: 30 taps on 17 trees (https://www.essexreporter.com/news/essex-junction-family-produces-maple-syrup-from-trees-throughout-their-neighborhood/article_d6d4614c-b86d-11ed-b5de-e3bcc7baa96d.html) on maybe 10 properties, roughly half Sugar Maple & half Norway. Propane under 2x3 flat, and kitchen finishing. ~11(!) gallons.
2022: 9 urban taps, 5 trees, 4 properties. 3 hotel pans on 3 Coleman 2-burner stoves burning ethanol free gasoline, and kitchen finishing. ~3 gallons.
2021: 2 taps, one sugar maple tree, my backyard corner. A pint or two. Propane grill then kitchen.
All years: mainly 5/16" drops into free supermarket frosting buckets. Some plastic sap buckets hanging on 5/16 sap-meister.

[Swingpure]

The boiling point as we all know, varies on your elevation and the barometric pressure. I found where I lived, about 220.7° got me to 66.9 Brix..

[bmbmkr]

Search for Maple Expert Solutions (MES) Maple Syrup App on google play, the app has calculators for sap brix x gallons for total syrup, RO calculators, sap collection logs that you fill out & it emails you, also altitude of your sugar house, barometric pressure and it tells you draw off temp. I've found it very useful the last couple of years.

[therealtreehugger]

I have looked at the Murphy cups for a while. A bit on the pricey side, when I consider that I only check the density at boiling, when I draw off and when I am bottling. From what I gather, the Murphy cup is very helpful when you want to find the correct density at a temperature that is less than boiling. Since I always test at boiling, I’m thinking it’s not really worth it - for what I do, and the way I do it.
Thoughts? Am I missing something?

[Vtmbz]

My procedure is to always final check syrup when it has gotten to 60d. The hydrometer has a red line for this temperature. The syrup temps are more stable at this point, and you dont need a 125.00 gadget to get it right.

[ScottT]

I have looked at the Murphy cups for a while. A bit on the pricey side, when I consider that I only check the density at boiling, when I draw off and when I am bottling. From what I gather, the Murphy cup is very helpful when you want to find the correct density at a temperature that is less than boiling. Since I always test at boiling, I’m thinking it’s not really worth it - for what I do, and the way I do it.
Thoughts? Am I missing something?

The way I look at it, there's nothing wrong with having more maple syrup making toys....LOL

[Andy VT]

You don't need a murphy cup. It is a convenience item, and a nice one, and I have one and love it. But you don't need it. You can do the same by inserting a thermometer into the sample in the cup and using a conversion chart for your hydrometer reading. I bought the murphy cup to avoid this, thinking that the time required to fumble with all this when batch boiling would cause the density to change too much while measuring. What the murphy cup helped me discover is that for a given method, the sample temperature is pretty much always the same. My method is boiling on the kitchen stovetop and ladling into the sample cup. It turns out, without fail, the murphy cup tells me my target is 61 brix. So, I don't really need the murphy cup anymore (though I still use it, might as well, and its good to be sure since I do have it), but could just use 61 brix as my 66.9 target. Of course, what this means is that I can't use the red line on the hydrometer (59 brix target), which is for a sample 211F, which is really only achievable if you're scooping your sample right out of your syrup pan.
So, figure out what your sample system is, figure out what that temperature that is when you insert the hydrometer and what the 66.9 equivalent is at that temp, and make that your target.
Also, every once in a while, grab a jar of your own syrup and check the density to see if you're generally consistent. If the sample is 60 degrees F or more, any downloadable conversion chart will tell you what your hydrometer reading should be. If always correct, whatever you're doing is working. If not, it isn't and needs work.
But still ask for the murphy cup for Christmas sometime, which is how I got mine :-D
Andy


I have looked at the Murphy cups for a while. A bit on the pricey side, when I consider that I only check the density at boiling, when I draw off and when I am bottling. From what I gather, the Murphy cup is very helpful when you want to find the correct density at a temperature that is less than boiling. Since I always test at boiling, I’m thinking it’s not really worth it - for what I do, and the way I do it.
Thoughts? Am I missing something?