Low Sugar content ??

[Sweber]

The first couple of runs I had this year the sugar content was next to nothing! I sweeten pans every year like everyone else, but this year I put over 300 gallons through my 2x6 before I was close to a draw off. The sugar content was about 1.5-1.7% I figured the pans were sweet by then. So on the next run I put another 200 gallons through with about the same results, Nada. During the second run I checked sugar content and it was less than 1 %. I think some water must have gotten in although I have lids on all my tanks. So what's up??? Yesterday the contyent went to 2% or so! What gives. I always start the season out with high content. Anyone else running into low sugar early? Help. I can't afford the wood to boil water!

[Hop Kiln Road]

Sweber - The first run has been weird. I went through some sap that seemed like water, too the point where I checked the underside of the syrup pan for a leak! Sugar seems to be a little low and color a little dark. The the sugar content yesterday rose 2/10ths. this weekend should be a flood. My lines unthawed at at 3:30 this afternoon and let loose. I used to live in Keene, where in Cheshire are you tapping? Bruce

[Sweber]

We are in Harrisville, just outside Keene. Our lines are pretty solid right now too, but we are expecting 50's this weekend. I'm afraid of how much sap I will have after Saturday. I hope the sugar content goes up or I'm dumping any 1.5% sap!

[Hop Kiln Road]

My No 2 son, and back up evaporator operator, just married a gal from Harrisville and the poor souls are now living on St Kitts and I'm covering the 2nd shift! Bruce

[PerryW]

I never have checked sugar content, but I ran 400 gal through my 3x10 and never took off.

What's left in the pan though is pretty close though.

[Mac_Muz]

I don't have any tools to check sugar content, but I have tasted what little sap I get and it doesn't appear to be very sweet..

Some trees are producing a dark brown sap, which is strange to me since i have never seen this before. I am sure it isn't rust, since my buckets are white plastic.

I dump that brown stuff. The taps are the older cast alloy of something, but not steel or galvi steel coated.. I have taps like that, but these are not in the trees running brown fluid.

The first 21 buckets produced ice so far to maybe 4 gallons all added up, but I haven't collected anything yet.

I am hoping today the run starts to flow, and will hard for the next 4 days.

Yesterday I hung as many more buckets as i could get, which totals 31 buckets now. I have 4 more taps.. I guess i will try to hunt up 4 more buckets.

[PerryW]

the dark brown sap could be the result of boring your taphole in a dead section of the tree.

When you are drilling the holes, the shaving should be white (not brown).

[Greenthumb]

I think the recession has hit the trees as well

[Mac_Muz]

I didn't see any brown shavings.. As of today the sap is clear as well. I don't know what happened.. I gathered just around 10 gallons today if you count ice cakes. The dribble seems to be faster finally.

[PerryW]

After 40 years of sugaring, it's still frustrating to see the temp hit 40, but still not thaw the trees out enough to run much.

Oh well. Tomorrow's supposed to hit 50, so that ought to finally get them going.

[KenWP]

Was almost 50 here today for a while and some trees didn't move. We had a few days of pretty cold temps that froze everythig solid again. So far it looks like I am getting about 2% sap which beats a kick in the pants.

[TapME]

as was said here before you best get your swimmies on it's coming. BIG SAP

[DS Maple]

We boiled around 450 gallons of sap today that had 1.6% sugar. I sure hope it gets better.

[Amber Gold]

I've been running about 1.8%. I didn't check the 200 gallons I put in the feed tank today, but I only a few gallons of syrup. It was only a day old. I just checked the stuff I collected this morning and it tested at 1.4%. Ughhhh.

[Amber Gold]

I'm wondering if I should pull the taps with reds on them and see if my sugar content goes up. Thoughts?? With the current evaporation rate of my evaporator it's coming in faster than I can boil it anyways.

[Mac_Muz]

Well maybe today??? Last night my thermometer recorded 20' degrees, the night before that 9' and the night before that 4'.

Every tree I have is a sugar maple, but only a few prodice sap that I can taste to be sweet. Many taste the same to me as common water. We are way in the woods and not on any sort of city water, so I have common water to compare too...

On the other hand i suspect no one here is one city water anyway.

Is a sugar content checking tool a hydrometer of some sort? I have one for antifreeze in cars and another that doesn't get much use anymore for car batteries, so I know what a hydrometer is..

I wonder why everyone has a low sugar content this time? I guess that means more boiling time and the need for more sap.

What will this lead the ratio to be? I plan it as 40 gallons to 1... Will this mean something like 60 gallons to 1?

[KenWP]

2% is 43 gallons of sap
1.9% is 45 gallons.
1.7% is 50.5 gallons
1.5% is 57 gallons
1% is 86 gallons
Now if you can get 3% your looking at 28.66 gallons. The difference of 1/2 of a percent can mean hours of boiling for us batch guys.

[mtcrumpit]

the sugar content in New Boston has been very low. I have had one load at 2% everything else is below that. I've boiled of over 2500 gals so far. My syrup is getting dark. I think I'm in the B grade as of last night. My sap is starting to get cloudy. Hopefully we will get a real cold snap. Remember it's still fun boiling water. We wait all year for this so don't get discouraged. Maybe mother nature will treat us better next year. Imagine boiling until 2 am, getting up at 4 to go to work and still calling it fun. enjoy

[PerryW]

Wow, amazing what a difference 100 miles makes. Going down to the sugarhouse right now to take off my first syrup of the year. (My sugarbush is in Littleton)

[Amber Gold]

What effects the sugar content of a tree? Do wetlands dilute the sugar content of the sap? Size of the crown? Other factors??

[KenWP]

How much sun the trees got the year before and the rain fall and ground water and time of tapping can all affect things.

[Mac_Muz]

2% is 43 gallons of sap
1.9% is 45 gallons.
1.7% is 50.5 gallons
1.5% is 57 gallons
1% is 86 gallons
Now if you can get 3% your looking at 28.66 gallons. The difference of 1/2 of a percent can mean hours of boiling for us batch guys.

I am lost.... Are you saying for example 1% is 86 gallons to a gallon of syrup?

[ackerman75]

Mac Muz,
Yes, 1 % sap will take 86 gallons to make one gallon of syrup.

[Sweber]

Well, the sugar has gone up...on some trees. The sugar bush that was hardest hit by the ice storm has the lowest sugar content (still not above 1.5%). My big roadside maples (not too hard hit) are giving up 2%. I am burning through a TON of wood ! Trying to keep ahead of nitre, barley. One the bright side my 2x6 is working this year! Yeah!

[KenWP]

I seem to be holding around 2% for sap right now. This is my first year doing this so I would take most anything. Even my boxelders have as much sugar as the sugar maples. It will take a lot of boiling to make syrup but will be worth it to say I did it.

[Daren]

In Fletcher, the first run was only 1.3% for reds and about 1.8 for sugars. That held true for the new bush a buddy and I tapped this year with mostly reds comming in at about 1.2%. I was pretty discouraged and yes went through alot of sap and firewood to sweeten. It has since come up to 1.8% so things are looking up. I would love to see 2% or more all the time, but 1.8% would be ok for me as long as it stays!

[325abn]

Yesturdays sap was @ 1.7 . Hope it goes up for sure.

[newhampshirefarms]

How do I go about measuring the sugar content of fresh unboiled sap? (Rookie Question) I have a hydrometer, is that also used to measure sugar content of raw sap somehow? I've just been using it as a guide for when to draw of the syrup in the front pan.

Thanks
Matt

[Grade "A"]

Matt, You need a sap hydrometer, your syrup hydrometer won't work. They are about $25 through Leader.

[Dill]

I pulled a smart one. I was picking up buckets and just tossed the first 10 gallons of 2.5% into the tank, which sloshed around more than I was figuring on. Why? Because I never covered it or emptied after last nights rain. So instead of 30 gallons of 2.5 I got 45 gallons of 1.5. Oh well, I'll still boil it.
For me and how little sap I've got this week, I need to boil it rather than toss it.

[jrgagne99]

2% is 43 gallons of sap
1.9% is 45 gallons.
1.7% is 50.5 gallons
1.5% is 57 gallons
1% is 86 gallons
Now if you can get 3% your looking at 28.66 gallons. The difference of 1/2 of a percent can mean hours of boiling for us batch guys.


I thought syrup was 66% sugar content. If you have 2% sap, 66/2=33, so wouldn't the ratio be 33:1 for 2% sap? What's going on here?

[red maples]

just looking throug some old threads and found this one.

All you are doing is dividing 66/2 that doesn't work!!!