What to do if you don't have enough

[sawyer40]

Well I tapped yesterday. Boy was the sap running. I got about 100 gal in one bulk tank. So here's the problem my evaporator hold about 60-75 gal before I can turn it on for the first time this year. So do I turn it on for a few minuets and boil a little or can I save the sap for a couple days til it runs again and I have something to boil. I wish I could have tapped saturday. I would have got a good run sunday. But i didn't want to have sap ready to boil without having the evaporator cleaned. As it turned out I got that 100 gal while I was drilling and setting taps in trees. It must have been quit a run. I guess I should add my storage tank is a 1000 gal bulk milk tank thats insulated so I think the sap will save.

[danno]

If my evap held 60 to 70 gal of sap and was empty and I only had a 100 gallons to start with, I would not start boiling. In an insulated milk tank sap should be fine for a couple days. Is the tank in the shade?

I know some talk about freezing several gallons ion a bocket and throwing the frozen block sap back into the tank to keep it cold. That's an option.

I sometimes bank snow around my non-insulated tank and throw a tarp over the top. Acts like it's own minny freezer.

[tappin&sappin]

sawyer

Sounds like you best wait til you get more sap. Doesn't sound like much sense in firing up the evap if it takes half of what you have just to flood it.

I agree w/ danno, that insulated tank should keep it cool enough to hold for a couple days. Hopefully you get more sap in the meantime. I have tried the frozen sap cubes, and it works well.

- Jake

[802maple]

You must have a 2.5 or 3 x 8 to take that much sap to fill it. I personally would boil it in if you have the time as I don't let sap sit more then a day no matter how much I have. Once it is boiled it will keep much better then it will in a tank no matter how cool. You have enough there to boil for a hour starting from cold and you will find out if there are any problems that have occurred since the last boil. Better to find them now instead of later.

[Sugardaddy]

Hey Sawyer, greetings from farther north in the county. We put in 26 taps yesterday afternoon and got about 10 gallons today.

Do you have the time to fire what you have? I'm guessing you have the wood. If both are a yes, I'g go for it tomorrow. You should see a nice flow with 50 degrees for the next 2 days and will have plenty more to boil.

Ed

[325abn]

Seems like you have enough to sweeten the pan.

[sawyer40]

Well I didn't boil tonight. I looked in the bulk tank at my other sugar bush and it only had a little so I ended up with about 140 gal. It was supposed to get in the upper 40s today but never made it even close. Tomorrow it's supposed to get near 50 so what ever I get tomorrow I'll boil it all. At the cost of fuel I hate to start it up for just an hour or so and not get anything out of the evaporator.
802maple I have a 3x10 leader evaporator and I'm just guessing it takes 70 gal to fill it I don't know how much it takes but it looked like a lot last year. I fired up the evaporator yesterday while cleanning it after I put a good amount of water and vinegar in it to make sure it worked.
Sugardaddy I put in 255 taps yesterday on pipe lines. I still have about 125 buckets to hang then i'm done tapping. My evaporator is oil fired and I did have the time tonight to boil but like I said at the cost of fuel I want to have something to boil so I get a little something back at start up.

[tappin&sappin]

sawyer,

One gallon is equal to 231 cubic inches. (36"x120")/231 = 18.7 gallons (at a 1 inch level). Add in the volume of the flues and you can figure out how many gallons total it will take to fill it.

- Jake

[the old guy]

Hey, I Don't Know About You Guys, But Have We Ever Got Sap!! Every Storage Tank We Have Is Full, Bulk Tank,collection Tank, Transport Tank, Even Some 5-gallon Buckets. We Tapped Jan 28, And We Have Collected Over 1,000 Gallons Of Sap As Of 8 Pm Today. The Finished Syrup Is So Light In Color It Is Almost Scary. I Boiled 330 Gallons Last Thursday And 250 Gallons Today And The Tanks Are So Full I Can Hardly Get Sap Ice In Them. I Don't Know If This An Omen Of Things To Come But In My 10 Years Of Sugaring I Have Never Seen Sap Run Like This.

210 Buckets Today Produced Nearly 700 Gallons Of Sap. Do The Math--it Is Hard To Believe. Sugar Content Is 1.8 -2.0.

Hope You All Have This Problem Of Too Much Sap This Season. Its Kind Of Fun!

Good Luck All You Sugarmakers!!!!!

The Old Guy

[peacemaker]

wow thats great

[Fred Henderson]

I am keeping my fingers crossed. This may be my last year of do this and I would like to make it a good one.

[super sappy]

FRED- If this is your last year Can I have dibs on your stuff . I really need to expand in a couple of years and my daughter needs braces so I wont have alot of money to spend.Come on and help out a buddy ( insert smiley face here) Fred you are not going any where.-ss

[peacemaker]

"Maple syrup makers never die, they just evaporate."

fred isnt this your moto

[sawyer40]

Well I got 160 gal yesterday so I was burnning the midnight oil and the sap from the day before looked just fine. 2:00 am finished up. It's supossed to be in the 50s here today.

[peacemaker]

sawyer may i ask a silly ?? if u are a real sawyer why would u be burning oil not wood ?

[sawyer40]

Well thats not a silly question. I almost wish it was wood fired at the cost of fuel. But after sawing wood all day it's nice to go out in the woods collect my sap out of the tanks come back to the sugar shack click a switch and in ten minuets be boiling and when i'm done click the switch off and walk away. No throwing wood playing around getting it going or shovling ashes. I dont have to flood the pan when i'm done so the fire wont melt it. I like the time away in the sap shack from everything (wife,kids,dog,phone)so the less work involved the better I'm doing this because I enjoy it and not to make or save money.