Newb with new setup. Hello!

[Frank Ivy]

Hey everybody. I've just settled in on my property in NW PA (in the snow belt 20 miles south of Erie).

This is the first year I'm getting a little more organized for maple syrup.


I know just the basics, and we made sumac taps and tapped some old sugars and a few reds a couple years ago using milk jugs.

I have three areas with sugar maples. Very close to the house (400'), we have a couple two tappers and five or so one tappers. The are all on a fairly steep incline on the north bank of a creek that runs east to west, and all within about 200 feet of each other. There is about a 12-15 drop from chest height on tree to ground next to creek.

Then there are six-ten more trees in a second area that are way back (5-6 hundred yards) and somewhat scattered over a few acres.

I have purchased cast aluminum spiles and 2 gallon aluminum buckets from a place in Canada (I assume - it's been a while and no order verification!).

I have also purchased tubing and fittings from leaderevaporter.

So here's my plan . . .

Use 5/16 line on the trees by the creek, tie 4 taps to one line and 5 taps to the other line and have the two lines feed down into a 5 gallon collection bucket. I bought the standard plastic taps, the Ts with the cup (I assume for capping taps if not needed), end Ls with rings built in. I have food grade 5 gallon pails. For the back trees, I plan to just hang buckets the old fashion way - while a few trees are close enough together to warrant using tubing, the rest are fairly scattered, and the grade is not conducive to gravity flow. Figure another 10-12 taps there.


I plan to collect every day, and I am going to boil over wood in a 25 gallon Stainless Steel stock pot. I'll boil 20 gallon batches at a time, I figure, and remove the syrup when we're close in order to finish on range inside. I'm going to use a candy thermometer to check for density, and I'm going to gravity filter through prefilter and orlon, reheat and store in mason jars.

The goal is to have about 4-6 gallons for our use through the year.

I'm home full time, so sap collection is not an issue - the sap can be collected several times a day, if needed, and I plan to boil any time I have 20 gallons or more.


Questions -
1. In terms of syrup flavor, would it be worth my time to set up a chimney to vent smoke up over the pot to reduce exposure of the syrup to smoke?

2. Do you see any issues with the tubing set-up? I haven't used tubing before, and I'm not sure if there's more to it than drill/connect/collect.

3. When should I have the taps in by? I'm a bit south of Erie PA, and the weather is about the same as central CT.

4. Would it make sense to thin out competition around the sugar maples over the next few years? We heat the house with wood, so it could be a 2-birds with one stone, but would there be any drawbacks (e.g. exposing the sugars to wind, weed growth, and so on).

5. Most of the trees are sugar maple, but there may be one or two black maples. My understanding is that, for the purposes of syrup, the two are equivalent. Is that true?

6. Will using a SS pot with a 7mm bottom of Aluminum encased in SS present any issues over an open flame? I have a beautiful 40 gallon cast iron pot that I could use, but I'd worry about the flavor being affected (it's old, and I'm not sure of it's history and the metal on the inside is pitted).

7. Will the tubing need to be cleaned or otherwise maintained after installation, during the sap run?

8. Is there any advantage in running the tubes to a lower point?

9. Around here, Sugar Maples never look particularly healthy after they get to about 2 - 2.5 feet in diameter. My largest tree is 108 inches in circumference, and has no dead branches on it, but the bark doesn't look as healthy as all of the smaller trees, which have tight, beautiful bark. All of the bigger trees on the neighbors properties have bark that is in bad shape (patches where the outer bark has come off, soft looking material, and so on). Other than the bark, the trees leaf out every year, produce seed, and so on. Any issues using the sap?

10. Does the 10" minimum diameter rule hold if the tree in question has few lateral branches because it has lots of competition? If it's ok to tap, is it worth tapping?

11. I plan to collect the syrup from the second area using a tractor with a cart on it. What is the best container to use? Figure 12 taps and I empty once or twice a day. It will be a fairly bumpy ride.

Any other thoughts?

EDIT - Oh yeah, and when should I tap????

Thanks.
Frank

[Dill]

Welcome.
I'm just going to hit a couple questions at a time then reread.
1 for your stock pot, surface area boils faster than depth. So a steam tray pan etc something shallow with lots of surface area would be a better bet.
2. Thermometers just do temp not density. I tried to do it with just a thermometer and it wouldn't work for me. Spend 20 bucks and buy a hydrometer which does density.
3. I used to batch it and finish inside. As long as you filter it quickly after the boil, I used to can it right then into mason jars without reheating again.
4. (my number 4 not yours) For transport any container that you can fit in the trailer, is food safe and has a tight fitting top, 5 gallon pails with lids, coolers, trash cans(new) but that might slosh over, rain barrels etc.

[Frank Ivy]

Welcome.
1 for your stock pot, surface area boils faster than depth. So a steam tray pan etc something shallow with lots of surface area would be a better bet.
2. Thermometers just do temp not density. I tried to do it with just a thermometer and it wouldn't work for me. Spend 20 bucks and buy a hydrometer which does density.
3. I used to batch it and finish inside. As long as you filter it quickly after the boil, I used to can it right then into mason jars without reheating again.
4. (my number 4 not yours) For transport any container that you can fit in the trailer, is food safe and has a tight fitting top, 5 gallon pails with lids, coolers, trash cans(new) but that might slosh over, rain barrels etc.

Thank you. I'll have to keep my eye out for a steam tray - will be a good investment for next season. Great tip on 3 - I'll do that. For 4, any way to tell if trash cans and such are food grade?


With the thermometer you're right of course - temp is measured, with a temperature of (boiling point of H2O + constant) = boiling point of syrup with a known concentration of sugar. I know I'm being very cheap about this, but I'm on a fixed budget, so I need to try to save the money. It's 40-50 bucks to get a hydrometer and cup to my door. :cry: I should be able to get close enough for storing in my pantry. The hydrometer is on the list for next year, though.

Thanks!

[Daryl]

Frank

Try Caplins in Waterford for used steam trays. They have a good selection very reasonable.
Good luck with the new adventure.

Daryl

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I would try to go with something other than a 5 gallon bucket for the sap to run into in case you have to be gone or sometimes it will run good at night. 18 or 31 gallon Rubbermaid storage containers @ Walmart are just a few $$$$.

[kinalfarm]

i think if your going to use 5 gallon buckets for collecting than you need to run only 2 taps to every 5 gallon bucket. when i first started out i hooked 2 taps to a y and dropped that into a bucket with a lid and drill a hole in the lid so the drop tube fits snuggly so you dont waste your time boiling rain water. dont mess around with running a pipe line for that few of taps if its going to take you less than 20 min to collect. oh and as the hydrometer goes. try browns hardware in watsburg of wiggers and sons in clymer,NY

[Smitty]

Frank,
if a steam tray is not in the works, the stock pot will work. only put 2-3"
in it (maybe a little more, depending on your fire), it will boil faster than
putting 10-15 gallons in it at a time. be sure you keep an eye on it thou,
it will boil out in a hurry.


It sounds like you have put alot of thought in this, well just like everybody
else, can't wait to start.:mrgreen:


good luck,
Al Smith

[Dill]

You don't need the fancy cup just the hydrometer. I tried using a candy thermometer the first year and boiled way heavy. Every jar was half rock candy.

[Frank Ivy]

You don't need the fancy cup just the hydrometer. I tried using a candy thermometer the first year and boiled way heavy. Every jar was half rock candy.

Ok. Good thought. Maybe I'll try Caplins.

[Gary R]

Frank,

There's a maple producers meeting this Saturday in Edinboro. Go to www.pamaple.org for more information. Many will be there that can answer questions. The thermometer will work for home use. Look for a digital one for about $25. You need a cup to use a hydrometer. You can make one if you have stainless and can weld it. You need a column of syrup at least 8" deep to use a hydrometer.

[Sugarmaker]

Frank,
First welcome. you have all the right things going.
Try to get to the NWPA maple meeting Sat at Edinboro fire hall starts at 8:00 a.m. ish, Dues are $20 for the year. You might meet a lot of maple folks in the area that you can get ideas from.
We try to tap about Feb 14.
I don't think the weather here is any where close to central CT if CT = Connecticut. How long have you been here?:)

We are 25 miles southwest of Erie also. Stop and chat. I should be putting up tubing Sunday p.m. if you want to help:)

Regards,
Chris Casbohm

[Frank Ivy]

Hey Chris - You and I have spoken on the phone in the past, and you gave me sound advice. I'm about 3 miles south of you.

With regard to the weather - I lived most of my life in CT, been out here for about 4 years. Weather has been about the same, with the only differences being the precipitation off the lake and summers get a touch warmer in CT. But as for highs and lows and humidity and rapidity of changes and storms and such, very little difference to me.

Of course, "difference" is a relative term!

I've lived in several places around the world. DC weather, for example, is much different to me! It's 90% humidity and hot for 3-4 months of the year. There are wall to wall mosquitos, winter is, to me, just a 40 day cold snap with temps in the 30s. 4" of snow shuts everything down because it only snows once or twice a year in any amount.

Southern Florida is 80-90 everyday with a thunderstorm at 2 PM. Yiii.

Anyway, I'm sure there are paper differences between Hartford and Erie, but the feel of the 4 seasons is the same to me. Just a personal interpretation.