sap buckets

[Peteyp426]

I bought some plastic sap buckets at leader open house with lid and 5/16 bucket spile. The tap was 2.00 bucket 8.50 and lid was 3 or 4.00. I called the company in canada that makes them. I would like some input from fellow syrup makers on this. I am thinking of buying 1 or 2 skids of buckets with lids and taps. 400 buckets to a skid. Is buckets pritty much a thing of the past or is their still alot of guys that use them Don't want to get stuck not being able to sell them. I could sell them much cheaper than Leader offers them.

[3rdgen.maple]

I bought some plastic sap buckets at leader open house with lid and 5/16 bucket spile. The tap was 2.00 bucket 8.50 and lid was 3 or 4.00. I called the company in canada that makes them. I would like some input from fellow syrup makers on this. I am thinking of buying 1 or 2 skids of buckets with lids and taps. 400 buckets to a skid. Is buckets pritty much a thing of the past or is their still alot of guys that use them Don't want to get stuck not being able to sell them. I could sell them much cheaper than Leader offers them.

Did that company make some kinda change? I was looking for a couple hundred extra buckets this spring and called the manufacturer and they told me I had to contact leader directly. Bought some aluminum buckets from Patrick Phanuef instead for 3.50 each. I was very disapointed in this years run. Seems like every year the bucket runs get less and less. I keep adding more taps every year just in hopes of getting the same amount of sap. I am putting in vac for next year.

[KenWP]

I found the price of the metal buckets went all over the place. They haven't made the aluminum buckets for years but there are lots floating around. I paid $3 bucks for mine from D&G and then a Lodge freind told me his store has them for $2:50 and he has the big plastic ones for a dollar. Lids is the problem as I can't find the big lids and ended up making them my self. I can find lots of the small lids for the metal buckets.
For some of us plastic tubeing isn't possible and never will be possible so buckets is the only option. With trees spread out over several acres it would take miles of tubeing just between trees let alone going to a collection point. Buckets will most likely always be used by some syrup producers just because its the only option.

[PerryW]

Sounds pricey to me.

I think good quality used galvanized bucket sets (spout, hook, cover & bucket) run from $3.00 to $6.00, if you buy them private sale. Talk to some of the people here on this site. I think there are plenty of people who are switching over to pipeline who might want to sell some.

There are still plenty of people who make lots of syrup on buckets, thought I heard the average that one person can handle gathering is 600-800 per day (and still have time to boil). I put out 50 buckets on big roadside trees and they ran much better than my gravity tubing on woods trees. Took about 20 minutes extra to gather them and the sap seemed sweeter.

I heard once that tubing and buckets take the same man-hours overall; it's just that for tubing, a lot of the work can be done pre-season & post-season.

[Fred Henderson]

Could some one give me a lead on what manufacture to contact for plastic buckets. I am in the process of locating a spot welder and a box and pan brake so I can make sap sack holders all winter long. I would use metal buckets if I could find some nearby. If the price on metal buckets was right then I could afford to have a few hundred shipped.

[Dennis H.]

When I was looking for buckets I just couldn't see spendding that much on new buckets and lids, and once I found what used ones were going to cost I went looking for other "non" maple use buckets.
I had to buy new spiles, I want the 5/16 type, hookless.
I found 2gal buckets with lids for $3. they look just like a 5 gal bucket but only 2 gals. They also make 3.5 gal buckets. They more you buy the cheaper the buckets.

The only thing that I had to do was melt a hole in the side for the spile. All I did was set the lid on and heat a 1/2" copper pipe and melt a hole just below the lower edge of the lid. I left the tear-off ring on the lid figuring that would help keep the lid on in the wind. I still had to chase after a few lids but not many.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

3rdgen.maple,

Are you sanitizing and cleaning up your bucket spouts each year??

[Peteyp426]

Leader has the 16qt galvinized buckets and the price on those are way toooo much 19.50 they are galvinised. The plastic buckets are really nice and they are in the leader book but not online. The spouts are unbeliveable in strength they took one at the maple pro open house and hit it with a hammer and did not even break it. the spout is blue and has a hook for the buckets. I am thinking that I would be able to sell as a set. Bucket, Lid and spout for about $10.00 and leader is 14.25 a set. I would hope that the maple trader web sight would be a great place to market the buckets if I order and start to sell them to the fellow syrup makers

[3rdgen.maple]

Petey, did you get some kind of agreement with the manufacturer? Just curious cause last year they would not sell direct. Went down that road and they said I had to buy from Leader. I was quoted a price by them and it was cheaper than leaders but they said leader had to honor that price. But it was still too expensive. $10 bucks sounds ok till you buy a few hundred of them. You can get good used buckets and lids with new spouts for less.

Brandon, Yep I sterilize my taps. Even the new ones I got this year. I did alot of messing around with bucket and tap configurations this year just for the fun of it and was a little suprised with the results. I came to the conclusion that aluminum soul spouts with a galvanized or aluminum buckets would out produce the rolled metal spouts. The soule spouts where always the first to run. I have about 80 white plastic buckets also that for some reason just don't produce as well. I swithched them around from tap to tap and they would always have the least amount of sap in them. Don't know if they just hold the cold longer or not. What do you sanitize your taps with maybe you got a better process than me for that.

[KenWP]

I used some of the old plastic bucket spouts this year since it was all I could find one day in town. I was not impressed with them. A couple of trees with them seemed to never run. I am going to try and find more of the cast pot metal spouts. The buckets are easyier to take off the tree then with the rolled metal spouts and they seem to leak less. I have some rolled aluminum spouts also and they do in a pince work with tubeing. I just pinched the end up untill the tube would fit over it and ran it into a bucket. I even used some taps that are over a 100 years old when I was desperate to tap a tree one day.

[PerryW]

Some of the cast spouts are terne(sp?), which has a very-high lead-content. I believe our sugaring association recommended these spouts (and terne-coated buckets) should not be used.