New to the Forum - Morrow OH

[Lazarus]

Hi everyone,

I’m new here, just bought a small place in Morrow, Ohio (near Cincinnati), and will be trying my hand at maple syrup this season. I have only one lonely sugar maple, but it’s a decent size and will support two taps I think. Otherwise, I have several huge silver maples that I will be tapping as well. I figure about 20 taps altogether. My neighbors are very nice and have more trees than I do, so I suspect I may pick up a few more next year, (assuming I don’t poison them with the results of my first attempt).

I’m using metal taps with Sap Saks. As far as evaporators go, we had started down the path of doing a homemade barrel stove, but like all other things, we are ill-prepared for farm living. My new country property is seriously kicking the butt of the suburban tool capability I brought with me (just ask me someday how long it took to mow the lawn last fall). :) After adding it all up (including my time, frustration, complete lack of skill, and potential for emergency room fees) it wasn’t too much more to go for a small Mason Evaporator, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that it comes in on time.

I’ve been eyeing the weather, and the coming week’s highs in the 40s are tempting, but I am thinking I should wait a few weeks until we’re closer to February? If you’re in the area, help a newbie out and post when you’re tapping, I would greatly appreciate it!!

-Laz

[Fred Henderson]

First of all let me say welcome. I am not in your area but someone will chime in soon. We were all newbies at this once.

[KenWP]

Well Monsieur Mason was online at a very early or very late hour recently so I bet hes putting in good hours building something. If you can tap the trees go for it. Silvers make good syrup also and every bit helps. Hard to poisen neighbours with syrup. Mine are still kicking.

[Grizz747]

A big welcome to you. This is one great site. Last year about this time I made the decision to try my hand at syrup making. Luckily I found this site and it is chockfull of information, ideas and most important of all, very helpful people. I had a friend as a partner and his dad and grandfather were syrup makers many years ago. I live in Lake County about 20 miles east of cleveland. The advice I got was "We always tapped on President's Day". You being further south are probably Groundhogs Day or soon there after. Good luck and all of the info you need is somewhere on this site.

[smitty76]

i will agree with those before me. welcome and this is the place to be. ask away and it will be answered.

[Gary R]

Welcome to the site. Kentucky is already tapped. Your right across the river right? If you check with others in SW Ohio their season ended real early last year. Grizz is up by that huge freezer called Lake Erie. Those guys get to run much later than us down south. Good Luck!

[Smitty]

welcome Laz,
Well i think you have started your maple odessy off properly. everyone
here is ready to help you out, just ask.



P.S. i hope you don't mind talking to some maple crazy guys and ladys.:lol:

[Toblerone]

Hello Lazarus. Welcome to this site, it's a terrific resource with many many helpful people.

I hope to someday move from the city to the farm/woods, myself, so keep us posted on how you're doing. As for tapping, we usually tap about the 2nd week of February up here in Columbus. I usually start watching the weather about Feb 7th or so and try to time tapping with the first run. You are going to be a little bit earlier in Cincinnati.

Just watch the weather. I usually use http://www.weather.gov for forecasts. They have nice 6-10 day and 8-14 day temperature outlooks (under Local Climate, Climate Prediction). And the hourly weather graph is pretty good for telling you just how long the temperature is going to be above freezing, and the amount of sky cover during that time. A high temperature of 40 isn't all that great if it only happens for 1 hour. Another cool thing they have there are archived temperature charts for previous years (under Local Climate, Observed Weather, Archived Data). From those, you should be able to see how the average season runs in your area.


Good luck to you,
Dave

[Buckeye mapler]

Welcome Lazarus. I am only about 20 minutes from you. I am right out of Blanchester in Midland. I am putting out 125 taps this year right there in Morrow. A guy I know has quite a bit of land in that area and it is full of mature sugar maples so there is room to grow. I am close by so anything I can help with I will be glad to lend a hand. I have alot of homemade equipment so maybe you could stop by to get some ideas. We just converted the barn into a sugar shack so as soon as everything is in place I will take pics and post them. Really around here march tends to be more above freezing than below. I mean we do have periods of 30 degree temps at night a warm days then but nothing to bank on. I know every area is different like Newman lives in Adams county and I recall he had sap runs into March in the past. This is only my second season, but I fished alot before this and paid attention to the temps during the late Jan and early feb times. This warming trend this early in Jan. is something to jump at I believe. Especially since it is only 6 weeks until the 1rst of March as Newman had pointed out to me. Even if it does cool back off for week in Feb. It will just lead to another sap run. Plus, you are using Silvers which will be the first to bud. That usually occurs in Late Feb to early march. I say jump on it while the getting is good! Let me know if you need anything. I could stop in on one of my sap pick-ups. We are tapping maybe as early as Sunday.

[Lazarus]

I appreciate all the welcome comments and good suggestions! (Buckeye mapler, I tried to email you back, but you are set to private status). I did go ahead and set out about half my taps a few days ago (so, that's about 10). I have about 23 gallons so far. Two of the reds, one of the silvers, and the lonely sugar are running like crazy and making most of that.

So, I did have a few questions .... I have a massive silver that is about 48 inches in diameter, but it was damaged in a wind storm early last year, and has only one tiny branch left (which kept its leaves all year to its credit). It's due to be cut down this year as I am sure it will die soon. I went ahead and tapped it just to see, but unlike the others, the sap is yellow. There's not much of it, but some of the other trees aren't running yet either. The color worries me. The tree could be dead or nearly there. What do you think? Use it or pitch?

Second - I have been reading up on this, and a lot of sources say that you need to keep the syrup in the fridge after it's made - opened or not. If it's hot-packed, is this true? It doesn't come in the store that way. At least I believe I don't have to go into the fridge section to get it. What's up with this?

I'm already wishing I had more trees :(

Thanks!
-L

[KenWP]

How many taps have you got in that damaged silver. One thing if you going to kill it you can tap it like crazy and see if all the taps run yellow. Theres a chance your tapped into a damaged part of the tree and the sap is stained. Also any chance water from outside of the tree as that will stain it also.

[Lazarus]

I have three taps in it around the tree, equal distance from each other. All three are yellow. There's certainly room for more.

The tree's trunk goes up for about 20 feet, and that's where it is broken off, and the little branch that's left is coming out. It is not a pretty sight. Since it was damaged before I bought the property, I don't know if the tree was previously topped at that spot, but it kinda looks like it to me. If so, it's entirely possible the trunk is rotten inside from bacteria. There's also a little tree fungus starting to grow around the base. But for that green branch, I would have assumed it was already gone.

Three other 80' silvers we took down this fall were like that, and in danger of falling on the house. Really upset me, people putting big trees like that right next to the house, then hacking away at them over the years until they were topped and ruined, leaving me to have to be the bad guy.

-L

[Buckeye mapler]

Lazarus, my pm is open now. I was in the process of changing my email. I had sap that was yellowish last year and it always seemed to taste sweeter. try tasting all your saps and compare. you can tell the ones with higher sugar. i used the yellow stuff and made great syrup. it has to be bottled at 185 period. just filter it right off the finisher and into a container suitable to hold what you have finished. krogers gives away icing buckets. there are 2 sizes, small and large. get one to hold your syrup in. when you finish it, it will be 219.1. Take it to the filter and pour through the filter into the bucket. I stored my bucket in the deep freezer after each batch. it won't freeze. when you buy bottles to bottle in, you heat it back to 185+ and bottle. it will stay fresh for a while out of the fridge. once opened, it should be refridgerated for maximum open shelf life. I hope I didn't lose you.

[3rdgen.maple]

As long as you hot pack it around 185 and have a good seal it will last for years on a shelf. I still have a few quarts from 3 years ago that got lost in a move and just opened one and used it this weekend. It looks good and taste just like this years syrup. After it is opened refridgerate it. If you look on sugarhill jugs it tells you that if mold forms on the top just skim it off and reheat it and it is good to go. Never had a mold problem but that is an example of how long it is good for. As far as yellow sap I dump it regardless. It may be just fine but I sell 95% retail and get guest popping in now and then and I would hate for them to look in the holding tank and see yellow colored sap in there. Have a great first season and let us know how it all turns out.

[The Birdman]

I would put my taps in this week end temps are looking good for next week.

[A_Sugarin'_Fool]

Hey Lazarus . . . Like you I'm a newbie, too. I thought this would be a fun project to do with my kids.

I've been trying to decide whether to tap this weekend and made up my mind to do it. This week has warmed enough to thaw out the trees and the ground. Also, like you, I'm tapping Silvers so it seems to make sense to tap early since they bud early.

I'm only putting out 6 taps. I don't have any equipment to boil is the catch. I've been looking around on craigslist for pans but I don't necessarily want to spend a ton of money . . . at least not this year. I did find a guy that was giving away 50-60 cinder blocks . . . I contacted him and I'm picking those up and have a plan to build a stone evaporator. We'll see if it works.

[Toblerone]

Check out wasserstrom on west Broad St. It's where I got all of our pans:

Wasserstrom Used Restaurant Equipment (http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=Wasserstrom+Used+Restaurant+Equipment&fb=1&gl=us&hq=wasserstrom+used&hnear=Columbus,+OH+43214&cid=7109265726206163518&ei=HvpZS7DDFYHcNYea_YkP&ved=0CAoQnwIwAA&ll=39.960581,-83.013613&spn=0.001513,0.001982&t=h&z=19&iwloc=A)
488 West Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 737-8407

I was just there last week and their stock was really low on steam table pans, but their stock rotates all the time. They also have new pans at their retail store on Silver Drive, but much more expensive. BTW, I also buy their cone filters used to filter deep frying oil. They work well as a prefilter to remove most of the gunk before you finish the syrup.

[Buckeye mapler]

I am tapping sunday. saturday I wanted to go, but it is suppose to rain so, I think sunday looks good and muddy. I will have them in time for the freeze sunday night and monday night and tuesday night! I like what they are forecasting! :rolleyes: wonder if it will stay that way. our weather changes on a dime.

I am still waiting for the tig welder to finish my new 27"x6' pan. we bent all the sides and anything else that needed bending on a big metal brake. I could see what it is going to look like and I can not wait until it is boiling sap!:D Should be ready for the run this week.

[A_Sugarin'_Fool]

Toblerone, that is a great tip . . . thank you! I will definitely check it out!

Buckeye Mapler - I assume your pan is made of stainless steel. What is the necessary gauge for manufacturing your own pan?

[Buckeye mapler]

my pan is made of 22 gauge 304 type stainless steel. just like the factory bought rigs. it is a 27"x6'. it has a 2 foot syrup pan and a 4 foot sap pan with 2 dividers which creates (3) 9" sections running front to back. it will be very interesting to watch this work after all the hard work I have put into this over the past year. i have pics of my first year. And I will be posting some of my second year set-up as soon as everything is in place!:cool: I am very anxious to see how it all goes, but I really do not antcipate any real problem, maybe a few minor tweaks, but nothing major. I have thought things through pretty thoroughly as I fabricated everything. I even made miniature cardboard scale models for reference. This is a serious addiction and I am okay with that:D

[emo]

Another good place to get Restaurant equipment is

Louis R Polster Co.
585 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-5606
(614) 221-3295

I got steam table trays from them about 3 years ago, fullsize 6 in deep, $20 ea.

[A_Sugarin'_Fool]

Thanks emo!

[Lazarus]

Hey guys ... my Mason Evaporator came yesterday and I got it all bricked up last night. Firewood is here and ready. Sap stopped running many days ago because of the cold, but I've got a freezer full. The weather looks really good early next week, so Sunday I may put the last of the taps out.

Now the only thing left to do is actually run the stove pipe, but I'm a little confused at this step. The evaporator is in the barn (wood). The barn is being completely redone this year, so the spot I put the evaporator in isn't its permanent home. I don't want to run an elaborate chimney when it's all going to have to move and get reconfigured. I was going to run the pipe straight out the side of the barn, then up until I cleared the roofline.

I have 25 feet or so of plain black pipe and one elbow. I was planning to get a small section of insulated pipe for the spot that actually goes through the wall, but don't I need a special collar, too? Also, I am going to need to bolt the stack to the side of the barn to stabilize it, and if the pipe is hot, the clamps will be too. I'm worried this is all wrong - it's just black pipe, and it will be probably a foot away from the side of the barn all the way up.

The stove stores are no help. They won't advise unless I have them do it for me. Liability and all.

Am I on the wrong track here? I don't want to set the barn on fire (probably would not make good syrup).

Thanks!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sounds like you are on the right track. I had a setup similar to this and it worked good. With the pipe being on the outside, the outside air should help to cool it and the wall not get too hot. Just keep check on it. As far as the bracing from the pipe to the wall, this shouldn't be a problem with heat going all the way to the wall. It is indirect heat, and it is not likely to travel that far and be that warm enough to cause any problems with the bracing being mounted to the wall.

Just feel the wall every couple of hours when you are boiling and you will have a better idea if you need to do anything else.

[Buckeye mapler]

Just continuing with what westvirginia was saying, should the wall begin to feel really hot (which I really doubt) you could always go with stainless steel braces. They will not transfer heat from the pipe to the wall at all. That may be something to think about initially, although they will cost more.

Try going to wilmington iron and metal and find some stainless thin enough to make your own makeshift support straps. you could cut strips of stainless and wrap it around the pipe and fasten the strap to the barn wall. it is only temporary!

[BarrelBoiler]

"Liability and all" got me thinking about the home insurance man and his thoughts.

when you say black pipe do you mean stove pipe or something else?
heavier pipe that close might be ok but just stove pipe i think i would shield it some how. wouldn't think it would have to be much, some metal roofing or flashing set up to give an air space between the wall and the stack. don't know your exact setup, may need to move outside and use some scrap lumber and blue tarps to make a shelter. their cheaper than a new barn.

if you stay inside, and you don't have a hose, keep a couple of 5gal buckets of water and/or sap handy. more than one trader has saved his shack or pans or both by having the :o "OOO CRAP" buckets near by;)

[Buckeye mapler]

just wondering how that pipe is coming along Lazarus?

[Lazarus]

Ah, yeah, so no pipe after all. Went to the stove store to try to find the insulated bit that goes through the roof (or wall) and it all kind of went sideways.

Option 1: To run it through the wall and up along the side of the barn required 20 feet of class A pipe to appease the concerns of the other voting member of the family, these concerns which grew bigger every minute in the stove store as pipe scenarios were being explored. Total cost - $1700. For a pipe. A pipe that isn't even where it's going to be after the barn is remodeled.

Option 2: going out the roof allows us to use most of the black stove pipe we already have, but the junction at the roof was going to cost $600.

After all we're already spent this year, we're done. So the plan is to move the evaporator close to the back door of the barn, and run the pipe out the open door and up until it clears the draft. We already have necessary plain pipe for that. The pipe itself might only be supported at the elbow on some concrete blocks. It won't be pretty.

So after all that, I didn't get to fire up the new evap this weekend, but all my sap is tucked away in the deep freezer. Hoping for next weekend. It should be warmer, too.

[BarrelBoiler]

you will need to use guywires to stablize the stack make sure to make the wires very visible or tied off overhead. you would just need to anchor them to a cement block or tie them off to a tree. do support the elbow. i watshed mine fall out once :o :o interesting ,very interesting
i would still urge my previous post. arch stacks tend to throw sparks and embers and spark arrestors tend to get clogged.
i understand that the "getting going" can be quite a chore and there is a learning curve. you have a good start with a well built arch and sap ready to go. don't let a change of plans and a temporary setbacks get you down. get b set up and put sap in those pans, light that fire, and make some syrup, the french toast and pancakes are getting cold.:) :)