Introduce yourselves.... [Archive] - Page 4

mark w

04-19-2011, 08:11 PM

Not new to maple starting in 1994 after dad logged his wood and realized see had maples when the sap was dripping in the spring? First 2 years boiled on moms stove then when I hit 20 taps was kicked out of the house (Hmm wonder why the house smelled great!!! Made a home made set up and stood in the wood for the next 2 years on a flat pan with a mag light to check the syrup gather into 2 liter pop bottles up to 60 taps. Moved into a home made shack (wood poles and tarps for a year (that did not work well). In 1999 my dad passed away and I moved the operation into a 24 by 48 building up by the house. Finally in side with electricity and running water. Bought a new 2x6 evaperator and grew to 150 taps. now another 10 years has gone by and I went from those pop bottles to pail to sap sacks and finally went to gravity tubbing and 400 taps in 2011. Wow hard to beleive 17 years in the book and I am 35 now. I am looking to add vacuum for 2012 and see an ro in my future. It is a great hobby, growing into a business and the woods after that logging of beech and bass woods is slowly turning into a maple woods. With a full time plus job the lines where a life (and back) saver this year. Now I can see with vacuum help I can add even more taps on next year and hope to be up to 600. A lot of work on that little 2x6 but nothing better than boiling sap with family and friends.

Mark W.
Mid michigan

Sugarmaker

04-19-2011, 08:43 PM

Welcome to all the new folks joining the trader. Great site to chat about maple. Jump right in, the sap levels are high and the sap is crystal clear!. At times you may not be able to see through the steam:) The folks on here have helped me grow my passion and my business. And I must say that I have met a lot of good folks from the trader that are involved in maple. Several of us have a habit of being on here a lot! If we can help start a new thread.
Regards
Chris

Jeff E

04-20-2011, 08:34 AM

Welcome all you newbies! :)

Mark W, That 2x6 will be burning a lot of wood with 600 taps!

Ausable

04-20-2011, 09:04 AM

To Mark, Jamie and Bob --- Welcome to the Maple Trader --- I'm already impressed by all Your Operations.... I'm a backyarder - with 55 of my own taps and Sap from a Son and Grandsons. Everyone of You have bigger operations then mine --- But - We all share a common interest and passion -- "Sugarin" --- So -- welcome aboard ----- Mike

tamat

04-26-2011, 08:47 PM

Thought I'd say hello. I have been getting a lot of good information from this site. I needed it, haven't sugared in 10 years and things sure have changed. I had a good year, 92 gallons with 206 taps on vacuum. I tapped at my parents farm and used the old sugar house and evaporator. It brought back a lot of fond memory's of my father.
On that note my son has taken an interest in sugaring, he came up from Mass. and helped on the weekends that he could this year. Next year we are hoping to expand if things work out. So will be looking at the different forums for ideas and looking at the pictures of everyone's operations.

Thanks Tim

schellmaple

04-27-2011, 08:31 PM

Just wanted to say hello to everybody. This is a very informal site and I am very glad to be able to post and read this site. I live in western Maryland and I have been sugaring for 2 years now. I am pretty green at the whole thing but I like to learn new things.

220 maple

05-02-2011, 08:14 PM

SchellMaple,
Welcome to the one and only true maple Message board. I know there are several producers in Garrett County, I consider the Steyer Brothers Maple out on Rt. 560 as a friend, Randall and his wife and daughters are good people if you have not met them you should their family has been producing maple for several generations.

Mark 220 Maple

schellmaple

05-02-2011, 08:49 PM

220 Maple,
Thanks for the welcome to the site. I was at the Steyer camp 4-5 years ago with my oldest son Mitchell on a feild trip. I am located about 3-4 miles from their camp. I would like to to visit it again now that I have a real intrest in the maple bug. This is my second year making syrup and I think I am hooked. I was at Henry's and he wondered if I had read any of your post. I told him that I have and they were very helpfull and interesting.

Luneyburg

05-03-2011, 07:35 AM

Daniel's my name and I was born in California and have lived in the midwest, south and New England . I am a high rise/commercial construction Superintendent who currently with the existing Economy out of work , but helping one of the last local dairy farmers where I live now in the quaint little town in central Massachusetts called Lunenburg.

Use to hobby sugar in Upstate New York in Ulster County and lived in quite a few towns there including New Paltz, Highland, West Park and Saugerties to name a few .

I rented a 75 acre farm and was pretty self efficient in that I grew pigs, chickens,and turkeys which I traded some of for venison for red meat. Made maple syrup for sugar and the only thing we lacked was dairy. Grew all our herbs, vegetables in a large garden and heated with wood only that i harvested (mostly standing dead wood) from the old growth forest above the fields .

Seems i got the bug again when I started to work for these dairy farmers whom have a nice sugar bush and the local producer taps along with the huge yard maples at my resident along with the neighbors. Look to tap these tree's next year with any luck in the financing and hopes that the economy will improve soon.
Live here with my Wonderful Wife, two cats and a great rescue Yorkshire name Ms. Murphy , no one had told her yet that she's a female and only weighs 11 pounds .

I was elated to say the least when I found this forum as its been 20+ years since I have sugared and had forgotten much of what I learned back then . Seems to be a great bunch of people here on this forum with a vast amount of knowledge and experience including wisdom obtained through the process of trial and error. I love the fact that people from all over the NE and Canada visit here including many of which live where I use to live and where I currently live in central Massachusetts .

Look forward to contributing what I will definitely learn and experience through getting back into sugaring with others either getting started or returning to sugaring .

Best wishes to everyone and thanks for your kind contributions

Daniel

ps. seems i posted in a sub category could a admin delete the previous post as I am not allowed to do so myself thanks !

220 maple

05-09-2011, 05:25 AM

Luneyburg,
Welcome to the one and only message board for Maple producers, my opinion. You will learn alot on here, there is no such thing as a dumb question, plus Dr. Perkins checks in every now and then to keep us all on the straight and narrow. I thanked him when I met him at Leader last month for providing info for us. I'm pretty sure you posted in the right location, and should not need to be moved. ENJOY! and WELCOME ABOARD!

Mark 220 Maple

Luneyburg

05-11-2011, 08:14 PM

Thanks 220 maple for your warm welcome and yes I have already relearned and learned quite a bit already. Great place , great people willing to share their wisdom.

Dr. Perkins is a pleasant addition to the great many people here and it seems he knows the real deal backed with scientific fact, always nice .

Thanks again for the warm welcome and look forward to adding what I will learn and experience.

thank ya kindly

Leo

05-19-2011, 09:59 PM

Hi everyone, I am planning on starting next spring. A friend tapped my trees this year. I have 42 acres of mixed woods in northern MN. I am retiring in the fall so am looking forward to making syrup.

Ausable

05-20-2011, 04:38 AM

Welcome LEO --- Good thing for a retired Guy or Gal to do -- I don't get the late Winter Blahs anymore --- To Busy making Maple Syrup. Just a Hobby for me - but - keeps ya moving. You are off to an excellent start - having your own trees. Best of Luck ----- Mike

Brad W Wi

05-20-2011, 05:06 AM

Welcome to alot of fun. I retired 5 years ago up to northwestern Wisc. Tapping trees after our long winters is alot of fun. Watch out because you can become addicted to it. I hope you enjoy your retirement as much as I have.

Leo

05-20-2011, 07:33 AM

Hi, thanks for the welcome. This looks like a great forum.

Ausable

05-20-2011, 08:14 AM

Hi, thanks for the welcome. This looks like a great forum.

Hey Leo - Some advice - Even if You boil Sap in a Pot on the Kitchen Stove or on a Turkey Fryer Burner - Buy a Syrup Makers Hydrometer. You will make good Maple Syrup right from the get-go. I fooled around for about fifteen years - making thin syrup - till I finally started making the Good stuff using a syrup hydrometer --- Mike

Leo

05-20-2011, 09:06 AM

Hey Leo - Some advice - Even if You boil Sap in a Pot on the Kitchen Stove or on a Turkey Fryer Burner - Buy a Syrup Makers Hydrometer. You will make good Maple Syrup right from the get-go. I fooled around for about fifteen years - making thin syrup - till I finally started making the Good stuff using a syrup hydrometer --- Mike
Thanks AUSABLE. I will take your advice. I intend to have a goal for next year of about 10 gallons of syrup, so definitely want to do things the right way.

lakeview maple

05-20-2011, 05:01 PM

Hi everyone, I am planning on starting next spring. A friend tapped my trees this year. I have 42 acres of mixed woods in northern MN. I am retiring in the fall so am looking forward to making syrup.

Hello and welcome to the forum,tons of great info and tons of super nice people ,good luck and God Bless ,Al @ Lake View Maple

Leo

05-20-2011, 05:16 PM

Thanks Al, I can already tell you are right about the nice people.

markr

06-01-2011, 01:15 PM

Ausable

06-01-2011, 01:46 PM

Hey guys just new into the business and new to the site was just given a building for boiling down sap in next year i have a bit of work to do on it and was just wondering if anyone knows or has plans on how to build a ( I don't know the correct name) little roof top thingy that lets the steam out was boiling i don't want to have to buy a hood. Thanks in Advance

Hi Markr - Welcome aboard - The thing on the roof to vent off steam is called a Coupola (think I spelled it ok) Usually - it is roughly the same size as your evaporator and the best location is usually to have your Arch and Evaporator just about under it (mine isn't). Check out the Site and the posted pictures and You will find some really great Coupola ideas You might like -- best of luck -- Mike

markr

06-02-2011, 08:26 PM

Hey Mike thanks alot

markr

06-03-2011, 05:17 PM

Ausable

06-03-2011, 06:09 PM

i posted this same message in a different thread (probably the wrong one) but here is a cheap way of collecting sap buckets. The local grocery store that I shop at gets cut flowers in approx 2 gal black plastic buckets and when they are empty they throw them out. I asked and got 4 dozen for free they work great just wash them first drill a hole and hang them on a spoil. So if your in the market for some just ask you may get some

Hey Markr -- Me again -- Thanks for the idea - never would have thought of that. I think I'm the only person alive who ever hung large coffee cans on his spile hooks - lol - or the only one who will admit it. They are a bit small - but - I punch a hole near the rim to hang on the spile hook and make two slits in the plastic cover and raise the plastic tab that is formed over the spile - keeps out rain and snow. Still I get some kidding - "Whatcha tapping - a coffee tree?" yuk yuk - but - hey they kinda work -- just have to gather more often -- Mike

AdirondackSap

07-04-2011, 09:51 PM

Flat Lander Sugaring

07-05-2011, 04:30 AM

welcome dave, there are organizations in both states that put on seminars that are very good. The one we have here in VT happens a little farther into the year. There is one coming up in Vergennes VT late July, go to VT here on bottom of page and you will see it.

AdirondackSap

07-05-2011, 03:44 PM

Thanks Flatlander i will be looking into this. I have to see if i can get time off of work;)

AgirlinVermont

07-08-2011, 06:17 PM

Good news for folks coming from afar! The Marriott has extended the "block rate" through 7/15. The early bird rate for registration has also been extended to 7/15. Join us for a great weekend! www.addisoncountyvtmaple.org

Greenwich Maple Man

09-08-2011, 04:08 PM

Hi all my name is David and im 23 and a newbie. This was my first year at making maple syrup and i LOVE it. I guess you could say i caught the maple bug. I know i have a lot to learn and i was wondering if there was any workshops or clubs I could join in my area to gain knowledge and learn everything there is to know about the industry. I Live in Whitehall NY and is there any producers in the area willing to show me how they do things. I know the season is over but would love to see how other people have there setups.

Hi David, Just read your post. Welcome to sugaring!! I live in Greenwich so am not far from you. I started sugaring at the age of eight on a very small scale(needles to say) and have grown from there. Try to get bigger every year so as to develop my business. Would be glad to talk to you any time just let me know.

Urban Hillbilly

10-13-2011, 10:38 AM

Hello. My name is Bill and I am in Grand Rapids, MI. A few years ago, my kids went on the annual sugar bush tour at the local nature preserve. The next day, while checking out at the local hardware store, I grabbed a half dozen spiles from a pail on the counter. The kids and I grabbed clean empty paint cans from the basement, wandered into the woods outside our family room window right in town. We live next door to a convent and we got the nuns permission. By morning they were overflowing! Didn't have anything to keep a pot boiling outside so we borrowed a turkey burner, collected for the weekend and made a half gallon.

2010 we put out a dozen taps for a week and made two gallons with our own double burner turkey fryer and two 40 quart stainless stock pots.

2011 I bought real buckets on eBay, put out 25 taps for two weeks, collected the sap in a rain barrel and made 5 gallons of liquid gold. Used 14 twenty pound propane canisters! Now understand why this doesn't work for larger batches.

I calculated that I have now amortized all my equipment and supplies to $150 a gallon of finished syrup. I'm at better than $50 a gallon in propane alone. Seriously! Needless to say, I am changing up the system for next spring and look forward to asking questions and getting feedback. I have some some "interesting" ideas.

P.S. Doesn't the fact I make syrup from trees on convent property make mine better? Holy Syrup?

GramaCindy

10-13-2011, 04:58 PM

Flat Lander Sugaring

10-13-2011, 05:08 PM

welcome aboard, thats all for right now shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhmyself

KV Sappers

10-13-2011, 05:19 PM

Quote " I am changing up the system for next spring and look forward to asking questions and getting feedback."

Welcome to Maple Trader Bill. This is indeed the place to get your questions answered.

Randav

10-14-2011, 06:50 PM

SouthernSap

11-18-2011, 10:57 PM

Hey there, Urban Hillbilly. It just so happens that I have an uncle who lives in Grand Rapids and his name is Bill. I don't think it's you, though. That uncle's kids are all grown up and out of the house.

I am Jim-- my wife Debbie and I have been married for 8 years and have 5 kids 7 and under. We live in an unlikely area for sap flowage, but I plan on getting a few spiles anyway and tapping the six maples in the yard this winter and see what happens.

I grew up in Maine and used to make maple syrup on the wood stove in the living room when I was a kid. I collected the sap around our house in gallon milk jugs. A hole was punched near the top, and we could hang them directly onto the spile. Usually snow fleas would get into them, and I was too lazy to strain them off. I would wind up boiling sap with snow fleas in it and then no one else in the house would eat the syrup but me! Strategy is everything.....

hunter112

12-24-2011, 12:59 PM

Introducing myself - I'm not a producer, but a very passionate consumer who joined to read about this wonderful substance from the people who produce it. Like the fine wines I buy on my trips back to the Pacific Northwest (lived in WA state for 37 years), I love to get to know and talk to the folks who produce my food. You don't get that from the A&P.

While I may have no tips to share with you all on how you do what you do, I am the cook in the family, was trained in my teens by one of the first cooks from the Space Needle Restaurant in Seattle. Oddly enough, it was at a pancake restaurant, and I was already a big fan of them, learning how to make them perfectly was a skill I've carried through the rest of my life. Yes, I've had maple syrups throughout the years, and have been so-so about them, but it was on my first trip to Vermont early in November that I had what I could only consider a near-religious experience with maple syrup at a pancake house outside of Rutland. I resolved to do the same thing with maple syrup that I've done with fine wine, and learn all I can about it, and insist on nothing but it for my meals.

Hopefully I can find and perfect some innovative recipes for you folks to share with your families and customers!
D. R. Hunter, Nanuet, NY

Ausable

01-09-2012, 04:57 PM

HEY hunter112 - What an interesting post. At first I thought You were just putting us on and having some fun. We are all guilty of that sport on this site and it is all in fun. Then - I realized - this Guy really means it. So Yes - New Pancake Recipes sounds good to me. Many in my Family are always trying new recipes and ideas in cooking - some good - some not so good - But hey - Life is an adventure and Eating is a Big Part of it. Looking forward to it. -----Mike-----

Ausable

01-09-2012, 05:04 PM

Hi everyone, I am very new to maple sugaring. *I have been reading and researching the past few months and I am getting very excited for this coming season. *I was wondering if there is anyone around the Worcester, MA area that could help with advice or overflow sap if I can't handle cooking all that I collect. *

Randav - Welcome - Surprised the Guys and Gals in your area haven't jumped all over this post. Always someone looking for more Sap to boil. As we get closer to the Sugaring Season the activity will pick up on these Sites --- Has started already. I've been boiling for a lot of years as a Back-Yarder. Yep - making maple is exciting for me too - look forward to it ----Kinda like Deer Season. -----Best of Luck

hunter112

01-10-2012, 06:57 PM

Mike, thanks for the hearty welcome! Well, it might not be pancake recipes (who can improve upon perfection?) but I might just gin up some dinner table ideas that will make a few folks give them a try. By the way, as a Northwesterner, I have to say I'm awful partial to Snoqualmie Falls Pancake and Waffle Mix. I usually bring some home in my backpack, since my check-in luggage is full of NW wine and beer. I've had everything from puzzled looks to full-on swab tests from TSA agents at the Portland, Oregon airport!

Ecnerwal

01-11-2012, 08:03 PM

Ignorant oldbie/newbie. Trying at long-last to cure my ignorance.

Started out with two turkey roasting pans on cinderbocks in the 1970's.

Inspired to get a roof, a floor, and light. Built a 12x24 saphouse/forge long about the ripe old age of 16, with some help. Oh yes, also a tiled flue masonry chimney. Cold, wet, smoky and not able to see anything were inspiring forces. Must say I find the fixation with "portable" arches and tin stacks a bit confusing for people with solidly built sugarhouses, but I suppose it makes sense if you are increasing the size of the rig every few years. Otherwise solid masonry makes more sense to me, if you'll be sticking with the same size pans. Not that I claim to be normal, just my thinking on that aspect.

Made 17 gallons my best year - in a 4x5 foot unbaffled welded flat stainless pan, (kettle style, I guess?) Have never had a proper evaporator. Then again, never put too much capital into one either.

About 25 years out of the game, buying other folks's grade B to get by. Have 5 acres or so of mixed hardwoods, some of which is maple, some of which is tappable size. (Unfortunately the huge one is hollow - will probably keel over like the other 2-3 huge ones have already one of these days.) Haven't even got an accurate count at this point - don't know if I'm going to manage to get all the way into the game this year or not. Basically aspiring to make enough for my own use, which is more than what I use when I have to buy other folks' syrup. One of the places I rarely put bought syrup that will improve with an adequate supply is in my coffee.

Never played all that seriously - expanded through high school using free gallon cans from the cafeteria as buckets - last few years I did replace some buckets with short sections of tubing going into 5 gallon international shipping jugs for apple juice concentrate that I found surplus for $1 each - which was a lot better than having a 1-gallon can with no cover get rained in (and have to be dumped, generally.) Snowshoed the sap lines collecting. Kept me out of trouble for part of the year. Of course, all that's two states away now, though my brother still has the house we grew up in - but works for a ski area, so he rarely has time to play with it. Building's still in pretty good shape, so I didn't do too badly way back when.

Just picked up a pan remarkably similar to the one I had from Stamford Sugarmaker (who's handle I hadn't figured out when I registered for the site, which he mentioned to me), and the more I read up on what's changed in 30 years and what I never knew 30 years ago that hasn't changed, the more I think perhaps I'll just use it for a 90 gallon holding tank. He never used it, and his FIL who made it never used it either, evidently. I can solder stainless, and I was trained to solder stainless lead-free when that meant 95-5 tin-antimony - (or I can weld it if I get a TIG, or really brave with my stick welder and stainless rods.) I was playing around with some whackier options to improve efficiency with a poorly shaped pan - ie, some wood-fired kilns (which resemble an arch) turn the fire around a baffle, so I could see putting a rigid refractory board or wall of high-temp brick down the middle of the pan, leaving ~18" open at one end, and have the firebox on one side of it and the chimney on the other, with a U-shaped fire path 5102 and put some baffles in the pan. Think of it as a "folded arch." But that may be the route of complicating life to make something that's not really right work - worth thinking about, but perhaps also worth thinking about doing differently, and to a scale that's more closely suited to my rather small syrup ambitions. I'm doubting that there's huge opportunity to expand in my location, and one reason I've been out of it so long is that the time of year has been rather full of other things, such that it's felt like there's no time to make syrup. Hope to change that at least by next year, if not by this year. But that may mean actually looking at how to do it more efficiently than I did as a teenager. At least the thinking should help get the kinks out of my brain. With a cover, it will make a perfectly nice tank. But I may yet decide to baffle it and build the weird-U masonry arch. Makes preheating air into the firebox really short and sweet...

The vacuum-pump and check valve work are rather amazing to read up on, though I'm dubious about getting a workable pipeline, much less vacuum arrangement in my very small patch of very mixed hardwoods - but that could just be mindset since I've always done buckets or at most local tubing to collection jugs. Could be there's a way if I wrap my mind around the problem.

Have been trying to read through existing discussions to get more up to speed on things these days and things I never knew in those days, but will no doubt manage to ask some questions that have been answered 16 times in the past, where I've failed to find the answers that were there. Begging your pardon in advance.

Finally, here's an invention from my college days that may or may not appeal to some of you:
1 Part Syrup (Grade B, C, D, E...not that mine was ever graded or sold - but dark and flavorful)
1 Part Whiskey (Canadian blended, usually)
3 Parts water and ice. (3 parts total - vary how much is water and how much is ice by how cold you want the result to be)

It was dubbed Maple Velvet (we were using Black Velvet when it was named. Early development work was carried out with Lord Calvert, and it's certainly not the place to put your Macallan unless you have waaaay too much money.)

KevinS

01-16-2012, 01:14 PM

Hello again everyone.
My computer died over the summer. I could never get logged back in with the old name and password on the new one. So that is what it is :)
My name is Kevin (hard to guess that one Eh?)
I live in central Il. I never did get the homemade RO built that I had intended.
I will be switching to natural gas this year instead of Fuel oil.
I have a natural gas burner from a large residential boiler that I will be putting on the 2x4 evap.

nate1865

01-21-2012, 04:24 PM

Newbie Hoosier here!

I just bought my supplies for trying sugarin' out this season! I live in the city but own several remote, wooded acreages an hour or two away. I have lots of trees on them!

If this goes well, I may tap the trees on my acreage and turn this into a bigger hobby!

Anyways, I'm looking forward to another fun outdoor activity, spending time with my small children sugarin', and making some delectable syrupy goodness! I don't see anything to lose with this hobby!

PACMAN

01-22-2012, 02:03 PM

Hello everyone,I live in upstate New York and last year I had my property serveyed.Well,I found out that I own aprox. 5500 to 6000 maples. Starting this past spring I purchased a used 2x8 leader evaporator with 5 foot flue pan with a 2 foot syrup pan.The unit came with a preheater and a aluminium hood. It also came with a blowwer.I have 200 buckets to start this year and a old 46 willys jeep to hawl sap.My 4 boys and I have made syrup on a turkey fryer for the past two years so this is really our first year on the 2x8. Im still trying to learn,but will ask questions here when I can. Thanks PACMAN

Ausable

01-22-2012, 04:11 PM

Hello PACMAN and NATE - Welcome aboard - You will find a great bunch of Guys and Gals here - From people making small amounts of Maple Syrup in a pot to those running huge Sugarin Operations with thousands of trees ------Ask away and Contribute what You know - We all learn from one another and we all make Maple ----Mike---

JSEDLAK

02-02-2012, 08:51 PM

Hey everyone, i live in "upstate" ny, woodstock area, this is my first attempt at making syrup and just boiled my first batch down today. I only had about 5 gallons of sap, came out to about 1 1/2 cups of syrup. I think it came out pretty good, a little smokey flavor to it. Any and all tips and pointers will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Jillian

02-02-2012, 09:58 PM

Hello everyone. I live in Belleville Ontario, This is also my first year at trying to master the art of making syrup. I would just like to put a big THANKS to all of you that take the time to post your suggestions and tips as these have given me a good head start. The weather has been weird here this year and with reading a lot of comments and feedback about taping early i thought what the heck. I have been itching for months now to get started. so far we have taped 100 trees just to see what would happen, The results were overwhelming and we will finish taping Saturday. I will get to also experience my first run at making the syrup on Saturday. I do have one question to throw out there. What is the best reading on a hydrometer when syrup would be done? any suggestions? Thanks again

2012 - 250 buckets and 50 on 5/16 line

miller maple

02-02-2012, 10:13 PM

hello my names tyler, i call a little town called martinsburg my home, im in the heart of ohio (well a little east of the heart but close enough) ive been doing maple syrup since i was about 10 years old, gowin on eleven years, started out with a big cast iron kettle around 20 taps, to a homemade masonary arch set up with 60 taps. to this year a new to me 3x8 small brothers raised flue evaporater with plans on 600 taps and a new 21x24 sugar shack . from day one i have been hooked. there was a couple years that i didnt tap. and every year when time comes i got the ich. its a lot of work but a lot of fun at the same time. lookin foward to a good 2012 season plannin on kickin it off here in central ohio next week, good luck to yall this year. (AND HAPPY SUGARING)

convertible_lincoln

02-06-2012, 08:31 PM

Hi everyone, my real name is John and I live with my wife and 2 year old son on 4 acres in downstate semi-rural NY. I started 5 years ago with 5 taps and a beginner kit after we moved to the house and I discovered that we had a couple of very large sugar maples. I didn't tap last year and am looking to give it another go, but maybe with some more knowledge thanks to this forum! This year I hope to run 20 taps. Started tapping this last weekend. I am super low-tech and boil in two stock pots on two turkey fryers, and finish in the house on our gas stove (we have a big exhaust hood over the stove thankfully!) I have a lot to learn about filtering small batches, and will be reading more and asking lots of questions. In my best year I got about 3 gallons, hoping for more this year. We just do it for fun and home use, and give some away to friends and family.

Thanks to everyone on here for all of the support for us small-time newbies! I look forward to learning a lot more. I also have to look for anyone else in this area who has an operation I can check out.

KV Sappers

02-06-2012, 09:58 PM

Hi everyone, my real name is John and I live with my wife and 2 year old son on 4 acres in downstate semi-rural NY. I started 5 years ago with 5 taps and a beginner kit after we moved to the house and I discovered that we had a couple of very large sugar maples. I didn't tap last year and am looking to give it another go, but maybe with some more knowledge thanks to this forum! This year I hope to run 20 taps. Started tapping this last weekend. I am super low-tech and boil in two stock pots on two turkey fryers, and finish in the house on our gas stove (we have a big exhaust hood over the stove thankfully!) I have a lot to learn about filtering small batches, and will be reading more and asking lots of questions. In my best year I got about 3 gallons, hoping for more this year. We just do it for fun and home use, and give some away to friends and family.
Thanks to everyone on here for all of the support for us small-time newbies! I look forward to learning a lot more. I also have to look for anyone else in this area who has an operation I can check out.
Welcome to Maple Trader. I'm a fairly new newbie myself. I started last year with 6 buckets and boiled it down on my electric stove in the kitchen. Your gonna need that big exhaust hood .... believe me.Now talk about steam ...phew!!!! This year I'm on 15 buckets and moved to the garage on a 3 burner high propane stove with a custom made syrup pan. This is a great site with a lot of good info. Good luck to you.

Lee

02-07-2012, 08:01 PM

Hi, Lee here in Harmony,RI.
I've worked as a logger for over 25 years,but up until last year we barely had any trees of our own, just hayfields.Thats when we purchased our neighbors property which is mostly wooded. Being in the woods I've worked very carefully around many sugar maples and was happy to see there were some on the property.Tapped 14 Sugars and the sap is flowing.Made 1 qt and 1 pt last weekend-delicious!
Cinder blocks firewood and two large pans.
Some questions: the first pint was light the second batch was much darker.Taste seems the same to me.Why so much darker? I now have a candy thermometer but was using a digital one last time.
Is anyone else storing sap in cornelius kegs? (Soda syrup kegs) any pros or cons on this would be appreciated. There is a hundred or so of these kegs that came with the property,a Fordson Major Diesel,and tons of scrap metal!
Kind Regards,Lee
www.baxterfarmforest.com

woodsguydylan

02-07-2012, 09:14 PM

Hey, my name is Dylan and i work for a sugaring operation in Westminster West Vermont. I started working in the woods 3 years ago when i graduated high school and have loved every second of it. We have 23,000-+ taps. I primarily just work in the woods, that is where i like it. In my eyes there isnt anything better than chasing vacuum leaks all day, or slapping up miles of mainline and logging during the summer and winter months. I stumbled upon this site the other day and thought it would be cool to see how other people sugar from other places around the country and even the state i sugar in. Even though sugaring is my full time job 12 months a year i still love it, although it tends to get a little nerve racking (right now i have 3000 taps worth of saddles to do and 1500 or so drops to put out before monday when we start tapping).

Hopefully i can learn some new stuff on here and maybe learn some new techniques for doing things differently and maybe help some folks out along the way.

convertible_lincoln

02-17-2012, 10:56 AM

Welcome to Maple Trader. I'm a fairly new newbie myself. I started last year with 6 buckets and boiled it down on my electric stove in the kitchen. Your gonna need that big exhaust hood .... believe me.Now talk about steam ...phew!!!! This year I'm on 15 buckets and moved to the garage on a 3 burner high propane stove with a custom made syrup pan. This is a great site with a lot of good info. Good luck to you.

Hey KV, thanks for the reply. Would love to see a photo of your setup with the 3-burner stove and your pan, as I think about upgrading from the turkey fryer method. Thanks in advance!

KV Sappers

02-17-2012, 06:41 PM

Hey KV, thanks for the reply. Would love to see a photo of your setup with the 3-burner stove and your pan, as I think about upgrading from the turkey fryer method. Thanks in advance!
Convertible Lincoln .. here's 2 pics of my stove and pan. Each burner is 160000 btu's. I only open them up about a 1/4 of a turn. I can evaporate between 3 and 4 gph. A lot faster then my electric stove last year. A guy from Wisconsin custom made the pan to fit my burner. Here is a link to his site http://stainlesssteelcreations.net/.The burner came from Tejas Smokers out of Texas. www.tejassmokers.com/. I'm very pleased with both companies. Hope this helps.

pa farmer

02-28-2012, 08:25 AM

Hello I'm a third generation mapleman. My father and grandfather started mapeling in the 1950's to supplement their winter income as they were in the lumber buisness. In 1960 the lumber business picked up and the maple business went on the back burner. Fast forward to 2010 and I got an early retirement package and talking to my father I got back into the maple business. I make kettle syrup. My dad gave me 3 butcher kettles, 55 galvanized buckets and taps. The rest is history. I have a good stand of 25 sugar maple trees on my fence row and their about 5o years old. It's just a hobby and I do it on the cheap getting my wood from pallets and any other scrap wood that I can get. 2010 I made 6 gallons of syrup and 2011 I made 10 gallons of syrup. I have no problems getting rid of my product as it is dark,dark,dark grade B and the best maple flavor most people have tasted. I was thinking of a web site for our farm, as my wife has dairy goats and sells goat milk soap I wish now I could have retired 20 years sooner and then I would have time to do what I relly enjoy BUT such is life.

mapleack

02-28-2012, 01:40 PM

Welcome to the trader pa farmer. Where in central pa are you located? I'm just North of Indiana.

pa farmer

02-29-2012, 07:34 PM

I'm just outside of Hershey. In fact that's where I retired form.

Troutman10

02-29-2012, 08:38 PM

Hey there! Shoulda done this before now. My name is Wes. This will be my second year making Syrup. I'm originally from the Tug Hill area of NY, but moved after I attended College in the Finger Lakes area. Wish I made Syrup while I lived up there. The land I grew up on would have been ideal to tap. I now live just outside Canandaigua, NY AKA "The Chosen Spot" for you people that are familiar with the area. Last year I had 3 taps on Sap Sacks and boiled on a Turkey Fryer. This year my goal is to have around 20 taps by the end of the season (10 sap sacks & 10 buckets). This years boiling is taking place over an open fire and simple block arch with Hotel Pans. My neighbor is already planning to help me build a evaporator out of a fuel oil tank and some sort of sugar shack for next year. A couple friends are starting to get into it this year now. This is very addicting, expansion seems rampant and I can't get enough. It'll be interesting to see where all this takes me with expansion and everything...maybe a hobby evaporator or something bigger later on down the road. Anyways, happy to be here and get helpful info from everyone. Have fun out there!

Asthepotthickens

03-05-2012, 10:30 AM

Good morning: New here second year making syrup. Started with a turkey pot and a propane burner went to a wood stove with the top cut out. This year I welded two woodstoves together and sat two stainless steel pans on top. Syrup should run me about $200.00 per gallon this year and it's worth every penny. Read around a bit very interesting people in this business. Sure hope I did not tap too early this year.

rayi

03-05-2012, 10:38 AM

My name is Ray I live in Michigan I boil on the same 2 X 2 flat pan that my father boiled on. The barrel has changed but the pan reamains the same 250 - 300 taps a year keeps me busy. I work 3 12 hour days a week so this is possible. No wife kids are all gone Just me and the dog a few cows a pig some sheep turkeys and chickens and what ever shows up at the door. I was lucky enough to find this site so boiling is much better this year. What a difference some blocks to direct the flame, smaller pieces of wood, and criss crossing can make. My dad used to say 1/2 a face cord of wood a six pack of beer and 5-gal of sap makes 1 gal of syrup. I'm saving my pennies to buy a bigger evaporator and maybe even get inside

Super Sapper

03-09-2012, 04:57 AM

I am new this year to making syrup. **** it does get addicting. I have 10 taps out and only have gotten about 10 gallons of sap so far but I am making plans for next year already. This site has so much information and it's fun to learn. My wife can't unerstand why I am even doing it, she likes the taste of the store bought stuff better. So far it's a great hobby and allows my redneck side to come out more. I just hope it's a bad year for sap for me so far as I want to plan for next year and do not want to overtap what I will be able to handle. I think that the saying of somes good, mores better and too much is just about enough is going to apply to me on this. I am located in Eastern Wisconsin.

doop

03-15-2012, 09:32 PM

Hello everyone! Really informative site, ive learned more in last couple days on here than I would've in years of sugaring. Just wanted to say hello and thanks.

Haro

03-20-2012, 10:11 AM

HI.

I'm new to making maple syrup. Just tinkered with it this year. Looking over many sites while going through the learning process and found this one just recently. I got a tapping system that I'm comfortable with, built an evaporator that I feel I can accomplish more than I did this year.

I am currently planning what needs to be done for next season. I'll be digging around and posting questions for info on caring for my maples. I'm looking to prune, thin and improve growing conditions. any help in locating threads here or elsewhere would be greatly appreciated so I don't repeat questions that have already been asked

Thanks

barbbragg

03-21-2012, 09:01 AM

I am new to this as well and have 8 taps out and only gotten about 9 gallons, so hopefully your right and it is just a bad year. I have it boiled down to about 6 cups right now. got a little bit yesterday (about a gallon). Definitely addicting and definitely more taps next year.

barbbragg

03-21-2012, 09:10 AM

Mine came out a little too smokey as well so if you get any suggestions let me know, thanks.

Ausable

03-22-2012, 06:54 AM

Welcome to All the New Member's of Maple Trader - None of us mean to be rude or ignore anyone new to this Site. We are just getting thru Sugarin Season and hopefully - all of us were really busy. I have had two slow Sap years in a row - However - My Son and Grandsons - 80 miles South of me - were swimming in Sap and hauled over 600 gallons up for me to boil down - so with that and my own - did ok. Don't be discouraged by this past Winter - I'm 71 now and it is the strangest Winter I've ever witnessed. Usually my taps are in till the first week of April and this year I pulled them a few days back as the trees are buddy and the sap is running yellow. Now-----baaahhhh! I have to get busy and do my dishes. The Evaporator, Feed Tank, Storage Barrels, Buckets, Pails, Pots..Just kidding - Making Maple Syrup is my Hobby and I like every minute of it. Just to see the smile on one of my little Great-Granddaughters faces - when they taste Maple Syrup on their Pan Cakes or Vanilla Ice Cream makes the effort all worthwhile. Again --- Welcome Aboard! ---------Mike-----

ghallman

05-08-2012, 01:28 PM

Hi Folks, just dropping in to introduce myself...my name is Glenn and I have never tapped a sugarbush...something that I have pondered for years but never really had the push to do it. I try to live off the land as much as I can and this will add another hobby to my ways. Well, my neighbor and I talked about this topic a month or so ago and now I discovered a co-worker who has been doing it for years so I started picking his brain. Surfing the web out of curiosity and I found this site. I see I have tons of reading to do and information available to me to get started. I will read, read, and read, then perhaps ask questions....surely I will be a lurker for a while. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences with and for folks like me!
Regards,
Glenn

jrgagne99

05-08-2012, 02:41 PM

Welcome aboard Glenn. You should consider picking up a copy of the North American Maple Producers Manual. It tends to be a bit more organized and perhaps easier to understand than browsing thousands of stream-of-conciousness threads that we tend to write on the Trader.

ghallman

05-10-2012, 12:43 PM

Thanks, I will. I can use all the help I can get!

McClintick Maple

11-28-2012, 10:29 PM

Hi. I'm new here. We have only one year of experience, 25 taps last Feb. I think we'll stick with the same trees and number of taps this coming season. Have some improvements we want to make before we try to expand. I'm learning how to make candies now. After I've made enough good ones for Christmas gifts I'll try my hand at granular sugar for better storage. Anyone else from Illinois? I don't see Illinois listed with the other states.

Samantha McClintick
Chillicothe IL

silveradomaple

11-29-2012, 08:04 AM

Hello everyone. New to the site but not to making syrup. I live in Ryegate, Vt. Started out with my dad in the early 1990's with around 200 taps on a Dominion Grimm 18" by 63". We made around 25 to 30 gal / yr. Now that my dad has passed away, I don't have the time to do 200 taps. Still manage to make a couple gallons for myself every year though. I'm currently looking to purchase a small unit to do 50 to 75 taps. Thinking seriously of getting a Mason 2 x 4. Definately have learned alot from reading the posts here.

Frank

12-11-2012, 11:11 AM

Hi all, My name is Frank, new to this community and find a lot of useful info. I am just on the other side of the border from most of you (hinchinbrooke, Quebec). Started to do maple syrup in 2010 with 1 tap over kitchen stove. then to 10 over 2 propane corn boiler in 2011. made big jump in 2012 and purchased a 2X3 ls bilodeau wood boiler and boiling outside 105 taps. now for 2013 got a sugarhouse 12X18 with a 250 gallons tank. should be tapping 300 this year. shack is in wood with no hydro so will be installing a small solar system. still a lot to learn to the making of syrup but happy to be part of this community now.

Frank 6075

spud

12-11-2012, 11:16 AM

Welcome aboard everyone. I hope you find Maple Trader to be a very helpful site. You are now a member of the best maple site there is.

Spud

windyacres

12-12-2012, 09:19 PM

Hi All ; i am new on forum,north of the border, Muskoka Ontario. first commercial venture in 70 s was destroyed by forest tent caterpillars (850 taps crown lease. back at it again with 750 and a 3x10 home grown forced air over/under

mathew.nix

12-13-2012, 12:22 PM

Hi all,
I am new to the community and new to everything maple syrup. I will be attempting my first taps this upcoming spring in east central Minnesota. I have a DIY mentality and would appreciate any suggestions on literature for beginners. Thanks for the help!

Mathew

Timberwolf

12-13-2012, 12:44 PM

Welcome to both of you.

Matthew, I know it is a bit daunting getting started, but some specific questions will get you more information.

sticky bob

12-27-2012, 10:44 PM

Hi everyone! I am also new to the site but not to sapping. Started tapping trees fifty years ago with my grandpa. Alot of changes since then. But we still do it the old fashion way. We use bags now instead of buckets, still use flat pan, but did build an arch for it. Hoping for a better year than last year. Was the worst year ever in 50 years. Happy Tapping

RangerEric

12-28-2012, 05:14 AM

Hi there! New to sapping, and learning a lot. How hard could it be? :o
I am volunteering at a local nature center on Long Island to help them teach kids about their Maple Sugaring History in NY. To help them appreciate Maple Syrup, I want to give them a lasting memory of the experience by asking the classes to help me collect and process the sap into syrup. I have spiels, tubing, buckets, pots, pans, and pancake batter. What I REALLY NEED is a yoke so the kids can experience the weight of the sap buckets, (and also tie into engineering design in NYS Standards!).

Does anyone have a yoke sitting around, not being used? I could put it to really good use!!!
Sincerely,
Eric

MapleLady

12-29-2012, 08:22 AM

Hi all! Well, I guess it is time I introduce myself. I am new to sugaring. Last year was my first year and I had 21 taps on buckets in our backyard and now I'm hooked! I built and boiled on a 'home-made' cement block evaporator and by the end of the season had about 1.5 gal of that beautiful syrup! This year, I plan to tap a few more trees. This website is the best resource I have found! So many people have posted great ideas and advice!

Timberwolf

12-30-2012, 08:04 AM

Welcome MapleLady, Sticky Bob and RangerEric.

Jmsmithy

01-06-2013, 01:50 PM

I've posted a few questions already but need to introduce myself. Real name is John. My beautiful wife of almost 18 years and two 13 y/o sons live in NJ but have 250 acres in beautiful Adirondack Park. We love to hunt, fish, ride our snowmobiles and atvs, anything outdoors. Got into sugaring a few years ago just to try it, lots of maples throughout our property, with 35-40 conveniently located within 100 yards of our camp. This year decided to look seriously at some commercial sugaring. In fact looking at various equipment etc...buying some reverse flow pans etc to boil this season one an LP fired double burner but, funds dependent of course, want to get into a full evaporator for next year!

Certainly have learned that sugaring gets in your blood :lol: like all great outdoor pursuits!

Be well all of you and your families!

Trout Brook Maple

01-09-2013, 06:12 PM

Hello to everyone!

This is my first post, but have been looking at the forum for a month or so. I'm new to sugaring, with just a few years tapping yard and neighborhood trees. No evaporator, just some pans over propane burners. Each year I get better, and have several friends who do this on a large scale and make suggestions for improvement.

I have BS degrees in forestry and forest biology from the NYS College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY. While I claim to to be no expert in making syrup, I don't need help identifying the trees to tap!

Thanks for the help, all! I've already gotten ideas for improvements in 2014!

Winters Harvest

01-12-2013, 07:45 AM

My name is Keith and I am engaged to a very loving and supportive Judy. I grew up around maple, as my father was a producer when I was young. I was fortunate enough to gain some more knowledge through the Ag class I attended at BOCES while producing maple there. When my father's evaporator was in need of replacement, that didn't happen. He instead began helping his best friend of over 60 years to produce until a few years back when he was killed in a tractor accident bringing firewood down the mountain to the sugarhouse on Thanksgiving day. That ended that part of my maple education. After a few years without fresh syrup, I decided to introduce Judy to the process. She had never seen it done and had no clue about anything to do with maple trees other than they provided nice shade and made nice furniture. She became very interested and excited about being able to make something that brought so much pleasure to the family. That first year we made 7 1/2 gallons using a turkey fryer, a wood stove in my shop and finished on the kitchen stove. A few months later we purchased a used 4x12 and built a new sugar shack as my father's old shack was in REAL bad shape and not big enough. Since then, we have been working at cleaning up and expanding the old bush to cover my father's old property and eventually some additional land that I purchased. She also thinks that I am out of control, lol. Seems to be contagious.

4x12 Smalls Brothers/King
24x28 Sugar Shack
750 Taps building to 5000?
400 Farmall
Wood Mizer sawmill
Hough payloader

spud

01-12-2013, 08:02 AM

Welcome Winters Harvest,

Anyone that loves Sugaring and Wood-Mizer's has got to be a nice person. So sorry to hear what happened to your dad. I am sure he would be very happy to know you and your wife are now setting up to sugar the woods again. I wish the both of you the best.

Spud

jray

01-12-2013, 08:36 AM

Hi Everyone,

Johnny Ray here from Bloomington, Indiana where I've been making sugar with the Weber brothers at their camp in Poland, IN for about 15 years. Last year I went on my own and cooked using a 40 gallon steam kettle. Here's a short video about that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VQxVZwy7SA I had 70 taps last year and made about a pancake's worth shy of 15 gallons with this rig. This year I'm working on a bigger set up with two 30 gallon kettles and hopefully about 100- 125 taps. I don't have any trees myself, but have friends who do and are happy to exchange sap for syrup. I market my syrup at The Owlery, a local restaurant where it's on the menu for Sunday brunch and available in 250ml "Vermont" bottles, sealed with wax that drips down the sides and an attractive label tied on with twine. Anyway, I'm very glad to discover this resource and hope everyone has a good and safe season!

ericjeeper

01-12-2013, 05:25 PM

Johnny Ray, very nice set up. I am just north of you east of Martinsville. I have already made 3 gallons this year and have 2 more resting in the pan to finish off tomorrow. I ran out of motivation today.

Winters Harvest

01-12-2013, 06:54 PM

Spud,

Sorry for the misunderstanding on what I wrote. It was my father's best friend who passed not my father. But, thank you. Dad is still here to help, what he can. He is now 77 and slowing down. He and Norm were best friends since they were 7. Dad is happy to see the bush coming back to life. And what else would one use to make lumber to build a sugar shack? Thanks and we wish you the best in this new year.

Keith

Blaze

01-20-2013, 04:53 AM

Greeting to everyone,

Just note of thanks to everyone on this site who provides valuable syruping information. I have been on this site many times and have learned a great deal from the many years of combined experience. I have been making syrup since1978 when I started with my wife's grandfather. We made 50 gallons that first year, finishing with the "spoon" method. Since I switched to finishing with a syrup hydrometer my syrup became much more consistent. My wife's grandfather passed away many years ago, but we are still tapping and making syrup on same property. I still have some spiles that he hand made out of sumac! We actually used them when we first started making syrup. He only made a few just to say he could, but we primarily used the metal spiles with pails, as I still do today.

Thanks again for this great site and forum.

Wallopt

01-22-2013, 08:49 PM

My name is Jim. I have been married to my wife Sandy for 25 years (2013). We have two children (JJ & Megan) in college. I started making syrup in 2011 where I had 9 taps. 2012 was a bad sap year for me and I am looking to have 30 taps in 2013. Here is a link of a video my brother made my first year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrXJzYR3oHQ

Jonnyp390

01-22-2013, 09:40 PM

Hello all, my name is Jon from Dearborn, MI. I am a science teacher by trade and got hooked on the idea of making my own maple syrup when I bought some off a student a few years back. 2011 was my first year, tapping one big silver maple in my backyard. Two taps for two weeks, boiled in a turkey fryer pot on an open fire in my backyard. Syrup had quite a smoky taste, but I was nonetheless hooked. 2012 had me expand my operation to 10 taps including three in my front yard (I love sitting in the front window watching people stop and scratch their heads at the milk jugs that are stuck to the tree, and yes my wife is very understanding:) Not a great season for me as I only collected enough to make a little over a quart.

After spending the last month or so reading every post on this site, I now realize that I have been bitten by the same maple bug as many of you. Santa brought me a vogelzang barrel stove kit for Christmas, so I am working on a new double steam pan barrel evaporator for the 2013 season. I have a wonderful wife that has bought into the idea of date night spent reading books next to a bubbling pan of hot syrup. My wife and I have 3 year old identical twin boys that are going to spill a lot of sap on the ground while helping daddy empty buckets:)

Thanks so much to all of the wonderful people of this site who have shared their wealth of knowledge on the art of sugaring.

3 SISTERS

01-23-2013, 07:20 PM

Hi everyone,

My name is Kirk Ort and I'm from central Wisconsin. My son-in-law, Erick and I have been producing maple syrup for the past four years. We call our little outfit 3 Sisters because we each have three daughters. Last year we tapped 260 trees and this year we're aiming for 500+. Every year is a learning experience and for us that's half the fun. I was very happy to find this forum as we're always looking for new ideas and methods to improve our operation. I'm looking forward to reading a lot of the past postings and getting to know the posters.

Kirk

ColonialMaple

01-24-2013, 05:37 AM

Hello All,

I am am Billy from Massachusetts (Raynham to be specific). This will be my third year back yard sugaring. I did 50 taps the first year, 190 the second, and planning on 400 this year. I have so much with it! My family just shake their heads. I tell them it is a healthy habit. I am just finishing off an evaporator oil tank this year. Before it was propane and turkey fryers. Very expensive. I calculated it $0.62 for every oz of syrup.

What else: beekeeper, gardener, hunter, causal striper fisherman, clamming, basketball coach, electrical engineer, lumber jack, 1 wife, 2 kids and 3 springer spaniels.

Some websites: www.colonialfirewood.webs.com www.sugarshack.webs.com www.colonialspringer.webs.com

hfitch

01-25-2013, 12:09 PM

Hello, my name is Heidi. I live in Michigan and just joined the forum yesterday. I have zero experience with sugaring other than tasting but I am ready to learn and attempt this year. I'm a stay at home wife and a self proclaimed some what homesteader. I say some what because the only thing that is stopping me from being totally self sufficient is space, or I would raise my own meat. But, we buy all of our meat from friends that is totally hand raised, grass fed with zero antibiotics and growth hormones. I have two gardens and I preserve all of our food for the year, putting up over 200 jars of various goodies : ) I also love smoking meat and making sausage and primitive cooking. I figured sugaring just needs to be part of this lifestyle. Nothing tastes as good as something you produced from natures goods. I have a ton of questions but some of them have already been answered by browsing this site. I look forward to this first season and hopefully many more to come!!

Ausable

01-26-2013, 06:52 AM

Hello Everyone - Welcome to Maple Trader. I'm a member - just like you and have been making Maple Syrup as a Backyarder for over 15 years. We make it for our own use and to give to Family and Friends. You will find all types of Maple Syrup Makers on this Site - From large producers - who make thousands of gallons to those who might make a couple of quarts. But - We have a common interest - making maple. Don't be afraid to ask questions and as you pickup information to share what You know. Main thing is to have fun and make some good maple syrup. -------Mike--------

DonMcJr

01-26-2013, 10:15 AM

Welcome to all the new members! I see quite a few are from Michigan. Most of your questions will be answered on here but remember there's probally some of us close to you too if you need hands on advice!

Spolcik

02-02-2013, 09:26 AM

Hi my name is Steve I live in Clio Michigan not too far from you DonMcJr. Started last year with just five taps and a turkey fryer. This year order a new 2x4 pan from smokey lake maple products to use on homemade block arch. Hoping to up my tap count to about 40 this year. ( still looking for more trees! ) I should be able to hit my goal I hope. Asking everyone I know and using a little bribery! I have found a lot of great information on this site. Seems to a lot of knowledge in one place. Hope everyone has a great year!

BrutemanAl

02-03-2013, 07:55 AM

Hey everyone , my name is Alex , 41 yrs old , love the outdoors, live in Codrington Ontario , I am a generator technician , just joined this forum , new to the whole tap'em and sap'em lol , just started doing it last year , nothing big just a few trees , loved it last year and cant wait to start again this year . Seems to be a ton of good info on this site and look forward to learning from the more experienced tappers :)

DonMcJr

02-03-2013, 10:38 AM

Welcome Everyone!

Rangdale

02-06-2013, 08:18 AM

Greetings All. My name is Jeff and I live up in Maine and got interested in sugaring a few years ago. The first year I tapped one big sugar maple in my yard with 2 taps and got 35 gallons of sap and boiled it down on a turkey fryer. Last year I put out 9 taps and got about 35 gallons of sap (got a way late start) and again used the turkey fryer. This year my neighbor and I will be putting out approx. 40 taps and using a 2x4 evaporator pan. Definately hooked and love reading about the operations of others and looking to learn all I can!

Run Forest Run!

02-08-2013, 01:52 PM

Hi! I'm Karen.

For Christmas 2011 my friends gave me ten buckets, ten lids, ten spiles, a large pail to hold sap and a copy of Backyard Sugarin'. They pointed to the soft maples on my property and told me that they were "tappable". I had no idea that you could tap soft maples. I haven't looked back. The sugar bug sunk her fangs deep into my arm and I had such fun last year that it didn't even matter that it was the worst year for sugaring in decades.

I lurked on this forum last year, reading every single thing that was posted. It was such a great help to me to learn from all of your experience. I've been counting down the months until this year's run and it is so close now that I can hardly stand it!

I have purchased a sap refractometer and plan to be testing all of my trees to see where the winners are. I'm also going to try collecting up a pure run of box elder sap (Manitoba Maple) to see what it's like. Those trees just sprout up on their own in my forest. If they are delicious they can stay, if not...

Here's to a new season!

DonMcJr

02-10-2013, 06:06 PM

Welcome Karen! Its addicting! I too have alot of Box Elders and was thinking about tapping them seperate too and try it. Let me know how it goes!

hgjobe

02-10-2013, 09:30 PM

Hello all,
We I get the bug during the 2012 season and have jumped in. This summer we built our 18x20 sugar shack and installed and piped up a Leader American 2x6 drop flue. I have 225 taps on gravity with 3/4" mainlines, next year will up it to 250. Our 70 acres is pretty steep, pretty sure the natural gravity will help. We even splurged on a Wes Fab 7" filter press. I'm getting thing figured out but I'm sure I'll screw a few things up.

Living on the north western side of West Virginia. Oh, and our entire farm is completely off grid. We have a 3.7kw PV and solar hot water.

Sonny

acerrubrum

02-14-2013, 07:32 AM

Hello Everybody,
My name is Pat and I got hooked on this in 2011 with 4 taps I bought on a whim. I've been coming to this site for help and information since last year, but only found this page this morning. My wife and 2 kids love the idea, and my 4 year old daughter is starting to be a big helper with sap collection- spilling sap but making memories!
I just finished building a corduroy road across our swamp to reach maples on the other side-11 more!
Thanks to everyone on this site. What really comes across at Maple Trader is the spirit of cooperation and the willingness to help others-it's really great to see.

PamScooper

02-15-2013, 06:25 PM

Just moved to a small farm in Andover, NH with maples lining the driveway. The previous owner left me four sap buckets and a turkey fryer so I couldn't resist putting out a few taps this year. I read "Backyard Sugarin'" years ago when I was looking for a winter project to do with my kids. That year we tapped one tree and gave up boiling when the syrup was sweet but thin. (It was still great drizzled over ice cream.)

Yesterday, I tapped six trees and was thrilled when the sap started running out before I even got the spiles into them. Today, I gathered 5 gallons of sap and I am delighted with that. I don't really know what I'm doing but I'm having a great time.

Thanks to all the tips I've gleaned from this site, I'm hoping for 1 gallon of syrup this year.

Pam

vermontpure

02-15-2013, 10:12 PM

Hey all. I'm new to this site and so far,so good. I'm 35 and live in Vermont. This is my second year sugaring. Last year I started with 25 taps on buckets and made 5 1/2 gal of syrup. This year i'm at 70 taps so hopefully I can make atleast double that.

Scribner's Mountain Maple

02-15-2013, 11:14 PM

Hello All,
This is my second year using the trader. I figured it was time to introduce our little operation on the hill. My name Ben Scribner. I sell our liquid gold under my dad's name of Scribner Sugaworks. I'm a 5th generation maple addict. Grooming the six gen each season to hopefully appreciate and love it as much as I do. I am a solo operation tapping 1300 in 2012 and growing slightly this year with 1350 all on vacuum. Storage tanks at 1200' elevation, last tap at around 1900'. I have about 6-700 feet of elevation change over .5 mile.

I have lofty maple dreams like many of you. I have another thousand or 1500 to get on our property and have permission on the 100 acres above my sugar bush (estimated 4-5000 taps). I have the trees, but can't think of how to pay for all the new equipment I will need for 5000+ taps. Where there is a will, master card will find a way.

Still tapping trees that my grandfather tapped 50 years ago. In 2000 my dad built a new sugar house (24*36) with a 24*20 woodshed attached. He took over the operation 20 years ago from my grandfather.

Two years ago I took over, ran all new lines with a wet/dry line set-up and seasonal spouts. A major change from the 4 or even 5 taps per tree on the old tubing system. When I redid things, I went from 1500 taps to 1100. I then added 200 trees to the new system. Last year was the first year with the new system in place, however it wasn't a very good test case to see how it will perform. This year I added 50 more trees and am extremely excited to see how things work out. I am in desperate need of an RO. Cutting, hauling, splitting, stacking and burning 15-20 cords is getting wasteful without one, let alone exhausting. Last year I recycled my old lines by giving them to my cousin so he could tap his land. Another one hooked!

Our doors are always open when boiling, we welcome visitors. Best of luck to all of you. I also wanted to express my appreciation for the trader forums. The information and access to industry experts is unbeatable. I mean just this week I learned not to use star fittings at the end of mainlines, to use single manifolds only, that CV really are better than seasonal spouts, and that I should replace my drops every 3 years to be economical. And I learned a lot about Home Depot buckets too!

May your sap be sweet and plentiful.

WardLaFrance

02-20-2013, 06:03 PM

Hello,

I am Bob. I am new to all this, but am very excited to get started. I have 20 taps and boil over a turkey fryer. I picked the name Ward LaFrance as it was a fire engine manufacterer and those were the rigs I ran for most of twenty years here in Mercer County.

KV Sappers

02-20-2013, 08:58 PM

jdjurs

02-27-2013, 11:08 AM

Hi. My name is josh. I am new to sugaring. I have 25 taps on buckets in western new york. I have 6 kids that are helping me. We are haveing a great time. I made a stainless pan for a wood stove to boil in. Tonight will be my first time with the new pan.I look forward to this season. Thank you all for your good ideas.

loogie

03-02-2013, 08:59 PM

Hello. My name is Ross, Brand new to sugaring. From London Ontario. We have 48 taps so far. Just waiting on sap to flow. Here's a picture of our rig

7115

spud

03-02-2013, 09:04 PM

Welcome aboard loogie,

Spud

Run Forest Run!

03-02-2013, 09:38 PM

Hello. My name is Ross, Brand new to sugaring. From London Ontario. We have 48 taps so far. Just waiting on sap to flow. Here's a picture of our rig
7115

Hi Ross! Canadians on this forum have to have lots of patience. All the excitement on this forum begins in the States and eventually works its way up to us. It's like having a last name that starts with "Z" when being called out in school. Have a GREAT season. P.S. I've not had a drop of sap yet either.

loogie

03-03-2013, 04:35 PM

Hopefully this week! I am stoked!!!!! Cant wait to be drinking beer by the fire boiling sap.

countymounty

03-03-2013, 05:35 PM

This is my first season. I started my operation with a 3 spile starter kit in early february. I ended up ordering a large evaporator pan(2x4) and i was worried that i wouldnt get sap quick enough to fill this monster up before it went bad. Soooo i expanded to ten taps then twenty. I made a basic arch out of cynder blocks, chimney pipe and firewood grates. Not a lot of sap yet maybe 7-8 gallons. This week, wed-monday looks perfect! Cant wait!!! Im always up for pointers so please send all my way.

shane hickey

03-03-2013, 09:15 PM

Welcome guys

Marcus

03-04-2013, 05:57 AM

This is my first season. I didn't know you could tap anything other than sugar maple until i saw someone else doing it. I have 18 taps out and only have 2 more. Next year plan on tapping more,and come up with a better boiling system then a turkey fryer pot. This is very addicting.
Marcus Yoder

Swagner

03-04-2013, 03:05 PM

I have found that a basic fireplace with a metal framed arch works great. I used deep strut and screwed salvaged sheet metal on the sides of it to get the most heat out of it. This is my 3rd year and the first two i used just deep hotel pans usually found really cheap at resteraunt equipment salvage places. This year I have upgraded to a used 20" x 36" deep boiler pan that I bartered work for. Just did my first boil down yesterday. This year is Mass been a little slow to start.

Bucksaw

03-04-2013, 03:23 PM

First year sugaring for me. After discussing the idea with friends for a few years we decided to finally get our act together and tap some trees. We have about 50 or so taps and purchased a used Algiers 2x3 evaporator. First day boiling was yesterday and we boiled about 30 or so gallons in 6 hours. Going to get that evap rate up now that we figured out how to use the arch and keep the boil going. Hoping to have a lot more sap to boil next Sunday if the weather cooperates. Glad I got started with this hobby it is already very addicting!

Geroldn

03-06-2013, 05:22 AM

Hi everyone my name is Gerold, I'm brand new to this game; but already getting ideas and learning stuff. I've already drilled 10 holes and put in 6 taps. Discovered rule #1, if the hole isn't running sweet sap, it's not a sugar maple! Rule #2 - those old, used 1/2" taps that are cheap, still aren't worth it! A 5/16" tap and new drill bit really make it a lot easier for a battery drill...

-Block arch
-6 (used) buckets
-126 acres of forest in Central VT
-1 new horse watering pan waiting to get burned sugar on it
-wife and son standing back and waiting for what comes next....

IdTapThat

03-06-2013, 06:08 AM

Hello! My names idtapthat. Got 18,090 taps on a 26 hp vacuum running into two 7,000 gallon tanks. And 2,000 on gravity running into a 1000 gallon tank. I got a 2 column CDL RO that does 1200 GPH.

spud

03-06-2013, 07:13 AM

Hello! My names idtapthat. Got 18,090 taps on a 26 hp vacuum running into two 7,000 gallon tanks. And 2,000 on gravity running into a 1000 gallon tank. I got a 2 column CDL RO that does 1200 GPH.

Welcome to Trader,

Where are you located in Vermont?

Spud

IdTapThat

03-07-2013, 08:37 AM

Lamoille county. Don't wanna get to specific. Unfortunately there's been a lot of break ins.

tberryer

03-07-2013, 10:16 AM

Last summer, I got it in me that I wanted to tap some trees this year, and I almost missed it. I'm a homeschooling mom to three kids from ages 8 to 12. I tapped a neighbor's walnut tree since I JUST found out myself that trees other than maples can be tapped, thanks to GRIT magazine. I like telling people I'm tapping a walnut tree to make syrup. The faces!!! I'm so happy to have found this group and have learned so much more in 48 hours than google searches have brought up in the last week. Thanks for sharing all your expertise!

John Lazelle

03-07-2013, 01:50 PM

This is our first year sugaring! I am doing it because my kids have always been interested and finally decided it was time before they got too old! We have 46 taps and are going to use a modified 275 gallon oil tank with a 2x3 Leader pan, if the sap ever starts running here in Southern Vermont!7260

Lola

03-07-2013, 04:13 PM

In January I read an article in a magazine about one person's attempt at making maple syrup and I was like - I want to do that. I live on a dead end surrounded by woods and was able to get some taps.
My husband was out of town last week when I wanted to tap so my only hardship was not knowing how to change the drill bit! I got my neighbor to do it for me and still need a formal lesson.
I made my first batch last weekend @ a pint. Kids and hubs loved it. Now I'm kind of obsessed...at least for this season. I initially just had 3 taps and went and got 3 more. That's all for this season,
as I need to prepare if I want to do it next year. Mark some trees and find some less costly taps. I have been lucky (smart) in telling my maples in the winter. 6 out of 6. Getting some good sap the
last couple days and expected this weekend.

5 Oaks

03-13-2013, 11:25 AM

My name is Rich and I am an addict. I was your typical closet sugarer. I started with only five trees, did that for two years. Boiled down on the gas grille. (I tried to be as least efficient as possible.) My addiction grew over those two years, I thought about therapy but realized that buying more "stuff" would be better as the price of therapy cost a lot of money.

As I sat on my bucket ice fishing I thought of better ways to spend less money. I came out of the closet and punched some holes in my Moms trees. I figured if she could forgive my addiction any one could. So this year I am sneaking trips to Moms after work. Taking back roads so others don't see me. I built my "still" outside. I have your typical addiction shack set up. Its an old "ez-up" and some great looking blue tarps. Inside are some borrowed cement blocks. I have a cheap steamer pan and it all works ok for the 10-15 trees I have leaking into my buckets. I went so far as to buy some fancy stickers to put on my fancy bottles. Oh by the way, when buying bottles and the lady says "you will need more bottles than this", listen to her! My quick addition was way off! i guess 12 8 oz bottles won't hold 3 gallons!

I almost look like I know what I am doing......almost. I go to sleep and dream of a new sugar shack with a monster Leader Evaporator inside.

I wish I had known this addiction would take a hold of me like it has. I may have done it sooner, or maybe looked for a better paying job.

If you are ever in my area, stop by and look me up! Bring duct tape, my walls may need patched. ;)

Thanks for reading this rambling introduction.
Rich
5 Oaks Distillery
Cedar Springs, Mi

newmod

03-15-2013, 04:35 PM

Hi guys, My name is Todd. From Ohio. First year sugarer. Helped a buddy last weekend boiling sap. IM HOOKED. Well I tapped 18 trees yesterday, and HOLY COW, we have about 50 gallons on sap now. Went and bought extra food grade barrels. Going to set up a standard block arch with 3 steam table pans. My work is cut out for me. I THINK I AM ADDICTED !!!!!

Darren Allen

03-15-2013, 04:54 PM

Darren here from Avon, Maine. Been sugaring for a few years. Not a big operation, 200-300 taps a year. Took last year off and now we are right in the middle of our season. Still 2 feet of snow on the ground.

Dr. Bucket

03-17-2013, 11:12 AM

Hi,

My name is George and my helper's (my dog) name is Gretel. We've just heard about this site so we would like to introduce ourselves. As is, we have been back yard tapping for a few years and enjoy gifting what we produce. Boiling down is done in an old cast iron pot which sits into an inverted kilm brick lined oil barrel. Finishing off is via a SS pot over propane. I'll attach a few pictures to show you. It's a bit of a 'Flintstone' approach, but it works well and people love the syrup...maybe because it's free!!

George & Gretel
Carlow, NB
Canada

Run Forest Run!

03-17-2013, 11:34 AM

Hi George. That's one great looking setup you've got. You look like one happy sapper in that first photo. Welcome. :)

Galena

03-17-2013, 04:47 PM

Hey all

I'm Galena and I thought I knew a few things about sugaring...Run Forest Run, expect a PM from me soon!!!! Anyway so glad I found this site, it's answered a lot of questions and is helping me unravel what else I don't know (which is a lot LOL)!! Sugaring is my passion this 2 months of the year, or at least it is when the sap is running...*sigh*

If nothing else I am a photographer, so feel free to check out my Maple Gallery, linky at bottom of my signature. However please do NOT use my images without asking permission first. Thanks!

Outdoorsman0490

03-17-2013, 08:15 PM

My name is josh, Trumbull, ct. I maple syruped with my dad 10-15 years ago when I was about 15ish. This is my first year in a while, and doing it myself at my house. I have 21 taps out for a few weeks now. My largest sugar maple produces about 3 times as much sap as do all the other 17 taps combined. I'm evaporating on a 18"/20" pan on a barrel arch right now, pretty slow, but am keeping up with the sap. I am waiting on a 2'/4' flat pan with channels and preheater from stainless steel creations, to be ran on a cement block arch. I have at least 10 more trees to tap next year in my neighbors yards. I have done a lot of research on this site, I really appreciate it.

Sengelaub Farms

03-18-2013, 10:02 AM

My names Doug. New here as of yesterday. Just a small time operator. 550 taps all tubed right into an 800 gallon Sunset bulk tank right in My 16 X 24 shack. Wood fired Leader 30 X 10 evaporator with auto draw off. Started with 6 taps 25 years ago. Cooked on flat pans up until 4 years ago.

shane hickey

03-18-2013, 10:58 PM

Welcome guys

Daveyboy

03-19-2013, 06:34 PM

Hello, I'm David from Beckwith, Ontario near Ottawa.
I started boiling 11 years ago on a block arch with a 24 x 30 pan. 5 years ago I graduated to a Leader Half-pint and after spending an evening in the snow with a tarp over me, the next year I built a modular shack. It is only 7x9 but it beats sitting in the cold. I have 52 buckets and usually get about 12 Imp. gallons of syrup. At this moment I am impatiently waiting for the run to restart.

sg5054

03-20-2013, 08:39 AM

Scott here and my son Christopher (7 1/2). We started 3 years ago and it's all his fault. I was telling him about the different trees in our yard that summer. That winter there was a tv show on making syrup in Maine. He turns to me and says "Dad, We have those trees in our yard. I want to make maple syrup." Oh crap....
So we gather the equipment to make up a barrel stove rig, we both attend a day long class at the Bacon Farm in Sidney and start tapping and boiling. Made 13 pints that year. He has now become a bit of an authority on the subject and pushes me to get things done and monitors the check list. We bought a sap tank this past fall and while getting a tour of the syrup operation he asks about the polaris utv with tracks. They explain that they use it to check the pipelines. He thinks for a minute or two, then turns to me and with one hand on his hip and the other pointing at me, and says "Dad, If we had a 4 wheeler it would make gathering the sap a lot easier. I think we should buy one....". EASY FOR HIM TO SAY!. Little does he realize that I had just put a deposit on one that very week.
We are having a blast. We have a hundred taps out and we have made about 4 gallons so far.

We are very appreciative the generous sharing of information and ideas here. What a great community.

Jayenelee

03-20-2013, 11:12 AM

I stumbled on this site looking to see if there was any real consequences to the use of copper tubing for stovepipe preheater. I'm using mine for the second year now, and love it, and am hoping that by completing the steam loop, I can get it to syphon the sap from below it's discharge elevation as well. Anyhow, discovered a bunch of threads that are rather interesting and couldn't resist joining.

woolermaple

03-20-2013, 08:56 PM

Jeremy from wooler ont, just started tapping last year with thirty taps and homemade boiler, and this year doing 130 taps, really enjoying it and glad to find this site because lots of usefull information, just boiling in a two by eight foot flat pan in three different sections, finish it on the boiler, homemade out of a home heating oil drum. and an 1973 olympic 340 sap hauler.

BuckCreek

03-22-2013, 08:42 AM

Charles here in downeast Maine. I've been using the turkey fryer setup for a couple of years and now have the maple bug bad! I'm working on wife right now to allow me to purchase a evaporator for 2014. I really enjoy reading the post on here. Great community!!

jnmartin

03-24-2013, 09:20 PM

Jerry and Christy Martin here...Gladwin, MI. This is our first year. We have 22 trees tapped, Sugar and Black Maple. Nice to meet y'all.

100GallonsOrBust

03-26-2013, 12:33 PM

Hi everyone!! Steve here from northern Dutchess County, NY. I started 4 years ago tapping 4 trees with my Pa Dukes. The first two years we made a little over 1 gallon each year on a turkey fryer setup. Last year, we purchased a 2' x 2' flat pan, a retrofitted wood stove, and put 20 taps out but due to some health issues with Pa Dukes, we were only able to catch the last week and a half of the season. We still made a little over 3 gallons and I caught a SEVERE case of the maple bug.

This year was the same boiling setup as last year, but we tapped on February 13th and just pulled the 45 taps on March 20th. I'll be bottling the last of it today, but it looks we're going to finish up at 28.5 gallons finished syrup!! It was a TON of work on that little setup and required many 24-36 hour days as I was the primary wood splitter, sap collector, and tender of the evaporator - but I would do it all again in a heartbeat! It was an absolute blast and has convinced me to go ahead and try and start up a small maple syrup business.

I've only been a member here for a few days and have learned so much - thank you for such an awesome site!! I really look forward to being a part of this community and learning from everyone here.

Cheers!

-Steve-

RobbieH

03-27-2013, 09:38 AM

What's up everyone. My name is Robbie and I'm in central N.Y. This is my first post here, but have been lurking for a few months now. This is my one-stop-place to learn everything about this addicting hobby. This is my first year making syrup and I look forward to learning from all of you as the seasons come and go. 25 taps this year, but it'll grow each year after. That seems to happen, doesn't it. ;)

Mapletaster

03-28-2013, 03:56 PM

Hey Guy! Just found the site about a week ago. I'm from Pittsburgh Pa and this is my first time tapping trees! I have a normal size lot you'd find in a neighborhood. We have 5 tree's on our lot. All 5 happen to be maples!!! 2 sugars, 2 reds, and 1 silver... So far this season we have gotten about a gallon of syrup and a pint of maple sugar and 2 dozen maple candies!!!! Our season here seem to be slowing down we plan on doing one more boil down this weekend... We got a late start this year so we can't wait for next yeah hahaha

TunnicliffFarm

03-28-2013, 10:34 PM

Newbie here, This is our first year and I'm glad I found this website. What forum does one go to to ask the beginner questions and not bore everyone else?

Run Forest Run!

03-28-2013, 10:49 PM

Hello everyone!

TunnicliffFarm, just go to the forum that pertains to your question and ask away! You'll find lots of support, encouragement and advice. Have a great season. :)

KGodshall

03-29-2013, 11:57 AM

Newbie here, This is our first year and I'm glad I found this website. What forum does one go to to ask the beginner questions and not bore everyone else?

You don't have to worry about "beginner questions" or with "boring everyone". Sometimes it's a good refresher for us to revisit our own beginnings and remember where we screwed up, where we learned, and also what we might have missed along the way.

Everytime I come here I seem to learn something new, and some of it makes me want to go out and bang my head on the wall, saying, "And I've been doing it the wrong (wrong= not the best) way for how long???".

Welcome to the forum. Don't be shy.

Angela Rust

03-31-2013, 05:28 PM

Hi from Northern New York. My husband's family has been making maple syrup for the community since the 60's. Four generations have made it the old fashioned way. Started with horses and now use a log skidder and an Allis Chalmers tractor. We use 3000 taps and buckets, gather by hand, and deliver in person. I've been in the family for almost 25 years and have only been really invested for the last few years, before I only delivered. I've been getting into the candy, cream, sugar part of the process as well. Loving all things maple, and loving keeping it traditional.

Run Forest Run!

03-31-2013, 05:39 PM

The knowledge that your family has with sugaring will be a real asset for all of us. Please make sure you post in the various threads because I'm sure you'll be able to teach us all a thing or two.

parrothead600

03-31-2013, 07:38 PM

Hello,
Dave from Big Rapids, Michigan here. I have been making maple syrup since the spring of 2000. I started out with a dozen borrowed spiles and very little knowledge. My first years yield was approx 9 pints. I have since upgraded to setting approx 40 taps per season, boiling it all down on a homemade evaporator with a 28"x48" pan for an annual yield of approx 7.5 gallons. I am looking forward to gaining knowledge from the experts on this forum. Most of my knowledge is self-taught since I don't know many people that are active in making syrup.

Mountainmark

04-04-2013, 03:41 PM

Hey all!! Mark here from West central NH. Glad to have found this forum. I'm kinda new to syrup making, just the past few years or so. Mostly have been into wild plants and mushrooms but just love making syrup too! I haved expirimented with sugar maple, stripped maple, red maple, box elder, white birch, yellow birch and this year I hope to add black birch to the list. I only run about 7 to 10 taps (depending on how industrious I feel :) ) I cook on my woodstove. Only costs me when I get backed up and need to move it over to the range :) Well, I got a lot of questions but will save my newbeness for other threads. Thanks a bunch for having me!!

Run Forest Run!

04-04-2013, 03:56 PM

Hi Dave and Mark! Welcome. :)

Angela Rust

04-07-2013, 07:55 AM

Thanks, Karen. The real knowledge lies within the guys, who will never post or log on. The least experienced, me, will be the one on here, but I will share when I can. I've already gotten a lot of info from these forums and enjoy browsing around. Glad I found such an amazing community! :)

Trevor5

04-10-2013, 12:18 PM

So glad to have finally found a useful forum where many people have and had the same questions problems I have had over the last two seasons, and to have even more people who actually have very helpful answers.
I have helped my grandparents from a very young age with their sugar shack up in Maine, but have not been able to get up there during the season for probably close to 10 years now. With my own family and a few sugar maples in my yard, I decided to do a little production on my own. It is a great time and getting my young daughter into it is fun (if only we can convince the wife that all the time and energy is worth it).

MapleSue

04-16-2013, 04:04 PM

Hi Everyone,

Just introducing myself - new to the forum. We're in northern Minnesota and the sap has been running okay for a couple days now. Looking forward to learning a lot from the rest of the group.

Sue

Shorty

05-05-2013, 10:46 PM

Well now that my season is over I'll introduce myself. I'm Tom and live in southern Minnesota. Started sapping about 25 years ago when I went out to my windbreak and saw a drip on a branch; tasted it and the fun began. I drilled a few trees and collected 5 gal. I asked my father-in-law who was from Wisconsin if he know how to make Maple Syrup, he said sure. First you have to cook it outside on a wood fire really slow and stir it constantly. I did exactly what he said; stacked some bricks up and placed one of them dark blue canning kettles on top of it and after cooking and stirring for about 7 hours in the dark, I couldn't see any more sap so I took it in the house and poured it on a plate and it turned to sugar.... not what I wanted but sure tasted good. Next day I went to the library and learned from there.

One time I entered my syrup in the county fair and got a Blue Ribbon.... I was the only one that entered BUT they just don't give out ribbons; it had to pass their requirements.

After the canning kettle I bought a stainless steel tub 3'x3'x3' cut a foot and a half off the top and place it underneath to become the firebox. I used it only one year at home. In the meantime my Father-in-law (John) moved to Barnum MN and bought 40 acres of hardwoods. We used my cooker there for a few years and tapped 250 trees. Always trying to make things better, I took my Brother-in-law (Steve) to Roth Sugar Bush in WI to get a few supplies and to see what a real cooker looked like. I brought along a ruler and scratch pad and got some measurements. The next year Steve built a new dropped flue cooker. To make it less complicated I had him make the drop flue by bending the metal into Vs.... VVVVV and it had to compartments with the front being a flat pan. We really increase our production and made about 50 gallons a year.

After about 15 years John's health got bad so he sold the place and moved back down here to Austin MN. He sold all the equipment for $600.00, I was soooooooooo mad at him because half of everything was mine. We had about 50 of them blue bag hangers, 200 5 gal buckets, 250 taps, 6 50 gallon plastic drums, gas drill, and that cooker. John's son Steve told me to just let it go and he would make me another one.

I re-designed the new one which is also stainless so that the drop flue was made the normal way, and still just the 2 compartments. I built the fire box from a old wood burner and made it longer with the angled flue. It works great, I can boil off around 12 to 15 gallons a hour.

Back down here in southern MN we only have soft maples so the ratio is 55 gallons to one. We tap 300 trees using 5 gallons buckets and this year made 37 gallons of syrup. This year we used a White tractor to haul the sap out of the woods.

We've used the new cooker for 10 years now and this summer will be re-building it so we can pre-heat the sap, add a blower and maybe a hood. For fuel we burn used Pallets which are free and our after product was 2 bushels of nails this year.

Our Sugar Shack in a Steel corn crib and when we really get things fired up there's so much steam that we can't even see in there...... which is why we need a hood.

Tom

spud

05-06-2013, 04:23 AM

That's a great story and I welcome you to Trader.

Spud

14ledo81

05-07-2013, 04:29 PM

Hi all. I am from northern Wisconsin. Just got hooked on sugaring this year. I boiled with my cousin two straight Saturdays and then decided I needed to build my own. I built a small stove out of a piece of 12'' steel pipe. I will post pics in the homemade forum.

Anyway, I have read quite a bit already and learned a lot. Plan on learning more.

Sugar Warrior

05-07-2013, 05:35 PM

Hi Folks.

This is a great website. My name is Ray from Central New York State. During the winter of 2011-2012 my wife came up with the idea of making a little syrup from the maples on the back forty. Being an engineer, I guess I got a little carried away since it seemed like and ideal engineering application to me. It was something I had been thinking about for quite some time so I it didn't take too much encouragement to get me going. The only syrup I made prior to this was 1/3 cup when I was 8 years old. Its been a wonderful experience. I look forward to learning more and interacting with everyone on the site.

DJJ

05-18-2013, 03:28 PM

Hello Everyone

My name is Dustin and I'm from NE Iowa.

I've taken an interest to sugaring and have spent some time doing some research. I'm hoping next year is my first year.

I would like to make a barrel evaporator and I see there are quite a few good ideas, pictures etc. here. If anyone would like to pass along more information to me, I'd be interested in learning more.

I don't plan on too many taps my first year but having plenty of access to wood, it just makes sense to me vs. propane etc.

Thanks for the forum and everybody who has posted ideas, tips, pictures etc.

bowhunter

05-18-2013, 07:28 PM

Dustin,

If you're not offended by the Ohio State Buckeyes here's a link to the North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual at the Ohio State bookstore. It was co-authored by Dr. Tim on this forum and several other experts. It's a very good source of Maple Syrup making information including most of the science, history and how to information. I just started this year and I've checked it out of the library near my home twice already.
http://estore.osu-extension.org/productdetails.cfm?sku=856

Dave

jbravo54

06-14-2013, 10:26 PM

Hello everyone. I live in northwest New Jersey, and I hope to tap some trees next season. I went to a festival in PA when I was a kid, and the thought of sugaring has been on the back of my mind since. I am pursuing a property, and I would like to provide more natural foods for my family and friends. To have a more self sustainable lifestyle. My latest hobby or addiction has been chickens. I look forward to reviewing the vast knowledge on this site. Thanks, Johnny.

SDdave

06-15-2013, 01:53 PM

Welcome jbravo54!!

I am afraid to tell you that after your first season of sugaring that it will be your newest addiction. You've come to a great site lots of info and help are available here. Good luck to you on your first coming season!

SDdave

imaximus235

08-04-2013, 08:48 PM

Howdy everyone,
I am from upstate New York, St. Lawrence County. Been messing around with sap for a couple of years and growing each year. I now have 80 acres of land with many maples just begging to be tapped and a 2 X 4 Hobby Leader Evaporator that can't wait to be broken in this winter. I have read everything there is about evaporators, tapping trees, boiling sap and making syrup but it is great for me to have you all as a resource to ask questions. I am in the process of insulating and re-bricking my arch, putting together my shack and stack. I made a bit of syrup last year with a propane 2 burner camp grill and steam pans. Looking forward to picking your brains this year :lol:.

Pete

7915

Creekwood_Farm

08-07-2013, 10:12 PM

Hello Everyone,
Love the site and have found tons of useful information. You guys and gals are a wonderful bunch of folks sharing years of experience and knowledge with such great family stories. Hope to learn much more and leave a legacy to my kids.

A few trees around yard to tap and 2 40's in the UP waiting to be tapped!

Thanks,
Tom

Sapboy

09-11-2013, 08:59 PM

Hey there everyone! My name is Ben and I'm located in central WI. I've been making syrup every year for most of my life helping family and friends until starting my own tubing setup with 400 taps 11 years ago and have been growing every year since. There is some good advice and many years of experince on this website and I'm excited to be a part of it.

Wanabe1972

09-25-2013, 10:22 PM

Hi. My name is Jeff Brownell and this is a reintroduction for me. I started out with a few taps 10 years ago and moved up to around 300 in 2011 200 of them on vacuum. I run old leader 2x8 pans on a homemade arch with blower preheater and homemade auto drawoff. I've missed the last 2 years due to my oldest daughter becoming very ill with Lyme disease. She is now recovering and I am going to give mapling a try again but have an amazing amount of work to do. I would like to thank you all in advance for the knowlege you all share and hopfully you can help knock the rust off me.

Drew Pond Maple

10-14-2013, 03:05 PM

Hello. My name is Mike, I am 39 and I'm from Bridgewater N.H. My wife and I bought a old (late 1700's) fixer upper house on just over 100 acres three years ago. I did not know anything about maple sugaring then. One day one of the contractors working on our roof asked me, if I had any maples on the property because we would have a great setup as all the land slopes into a pond right next to our house. So I found some maples and bought a few taps and one roll of tubing with 5 gallon buckets. My dad had an old flat pan that he gave me and I had a propane burner. After that season I was hooked.
I plan on expanding every year as time and money allow.

I just want to say this site has been very informative to me and thanks to everyone

DavidSB

10-16-2013, 08:06 PM

Hi, I'm David, been on MapleTrader before, it's been a while and I forgot my password. My family and I are in an old colonial on 70 acres, there are old sugar maples around the house, and no where else on the property which makes me think they were brought in and planted, at least the ones on the old stage road, >200 year old trees, and then the bigger sugarbush is the down wind offspring of those old ones. We've got a pair of half pint evaporators and over a 100 taps we put out on tubing, and a bunch of buckets. We average about 20 gallons of finished syrup each year, it's a lot of fun and hard work. The kids get an understanding of what it takes to actually make something useful and of value. The funny thing is, by now they obviously know we can buy it in a store, but haven't asked the question I might have when I was a kid, "so why are we bustin' our butts out in the woods when we coulda just bought it at the store"?. I think they're real sugarmakers at this point, and they like driving the tractor. There's a lot of red maples further from the house, if we ever get a bigger evaporator I would tap those as well. We've even tried making birch syrup. Ya, we're still working on that one. Well, glad to be back on board, there's a great bunch of sugarmakers here. Cheers, DavidSB

campus189

10-21-2013, 06:54 PM

My name is Shawn, and I moved from Massachusetts to Tennessee 12 years ago with my wife and two children.
My father passed away & I inherited a house in Amherst, Massachusetts.
So, I moved back to Massachusetts and while I was here, a friend asked if I would like to see how maple syrup was made.
I should have never went with him to his sugar house.lol
My friend gave me 30 taps and took me under his wing to teach me.
Well I started with just one single steam pan and then progressed to 4 steam pans using cinder blocks all using propane :(
That was last year 2013.
This year I already have a 275 Gallon Oil tank I am working on now, and plan on having it ready for the season.
I have have several youtube (http://www.youtube.com/user/FiremanCV/videos) videos and plan on putting my tank build on there.
I have been browsing this site for a good week logging several hours in the shadows learning all I can.
All I can say is this is a great web site with some great people.
I do wish someone had warned me as to how addicting this can be.
It's too late for me now. I am already hooked, there is now going back.
:lol:

opiejudd

11-15-2013, 02:54 PM

Hello everyone, I'm little late on introduce myself. My family started sugaring last year on a wim. It started my brother wanted to hang a couple buckets and make some syrup on the stove. Next thing you know we have a 12x12 sugar house a 2x4 pan and final got my dad to stop tapping at 209 trees. And now we are hooked on sugaring. This year we added a 12x14 addition to the sugar house and moved up to 2.5x8 arch and Added a wet dry system. We will most likely be up to 250 taps this year on high vacuum.

Ken

southernharmony

11-16-2013, 08:16 AM

Hello everyone,

My first post here on MapleTrader. Last year was our first year sugaring. Primarily Norway Maples sitting up on a north-facing ridge in Southeastern Indiana. We tapped 10 trees last year, and plan to tap between 20-25 this year. Sap is being collected in 3 gallon buckets we picked up free from the grocery store. Learned it is a whole lot harder to identify maples in the dead of winter than any other time of the year :lol:

Our arch was very simple - three lasagna pans straddled over cinder blocks. We boiled down sap to about 5%, and then finished the syrup in the house. I think we'll invest a little more in our setup this year - definitely deeper pans or a small evaporator pan. And pipe in a smoke stack. I'm very open to suggestions.

Finally, we're looking to move sooner or later. We enjoyed this so much last year, I'd ideally like to find an affordable property where we could start a 200+ tap operation. Ideally in southern Indiana, Kentucky, or Wisconsin. Maybe elsewhere. Just depends.

Look forward to getting to know all of you.

SouthernHarmony

Sanford MI Mapler

12-11-2013, 08:10 PM

My name is Rich Owen, I live in central Michigan on 10 acres. I just started sugaring 2 years ago, thought it would be fun and now I'm hooked. I enjoy anything outdoors and this new hobby gives me 1 more reason to get outside. I can't wait for the upcoming spring, just ordered a new Sunrise Hobby 2x4 with flat pan and preheater and hope to build a suger house in the fall. Looking forward to all I can learn from all the wonderful folks on Maple Trader and looking forward to all the fun pics and forum conversation. Thank you for allowing me to join the family. "Keep on sugarin"

Ausable

12-12-2013, 05:16 PM

To All the New Maple Trader Members ----- Welcome Aboard. I have learned a lot on this Site about Maple Syrup making and I'm sure you will too. Don't be shy about asking questions and also feel free to share Your knowledge with others. I'm a hobby maple syrup maker and share with family and friends. There are many Hobby Syrup Makers on this Site and also some Giants of the Commercial Maple Syrup Producers. We also have Dr. Tim who is a warehouse of knowledge as well as Equipment Builders and Sellers. We all have Maple Syrup making in our veins. Welcome to the addiction. -----Mike-----

Dean Assinewe

12-13-2013, 10:20 AM

Hi everyone. I'm brand new to the site and I already think its a great source of knowledge and experience. my name is Dean Assinewe, I'm an Ojibway and Registered Professional Forester from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. My family has a farm and we manage a 200 tap operation and we growth opportunity for 1000. We would like to expand our operation to 1000 taps in the near future and I've been doing my research on what equipment will be the best fit for the scale of operation. At this scale I would like to learn more about managing the business.

Thanks
Dean

Shawn

12-13-2013, 12:08 PM

My name is Shawn. Live in New Hampshire. Started as a backyard hobby with three friends with 50 taps with buckets. I have 23 acres and built a new sugar house on our land and now up to four hundred taps with gravity lines and buckets. Have learned a lot on this site and check it everyday and the folks on this site are great. Its a hobby that is turning into almost a full time job but love it. Was able to retire four years ago so I give a lot of my time now to this hobby.:cool:

wrushton

12-14-2013, 05:53 PM

My name is walter Rushton from Nova Scotia Canada, 2 years ago I took over a camp it had has a old log sugar hut( falling down) 2x8 home made, 100 cans and a whole lot of junk to clean out.
15 years ago I used to help , so when a friend ask if I was going to boil , I told him if he help out ,to much work luging cans around. That summer I bought pipe line and 300 taps there was 2 1/2" black pipe up there so I used it for my main line (bad idea) that season I ended up with 5 gallons. this year I ripped things down and started over using 1" ,ended up with 3 mains and 500 taps then builted a new building and bought new boiler, tons of more work to do both on the camp and maple side of things

Timberwolf

12-15-2013, 08:03 AM

Welcome Walter, and welcome back to sugaring. Wishing you the best Christmas season and prospects of a good maple season. Being from US, I am always interested to here from how sugarin' is done up north.

dogpatch

12-21-2013, 01:49 PM

My name is Marc and this will be my first try at sugarin.I plan on 25-30 5/16 taps on trees I own.I am a farmer in north-central Illinois.Hope to start the last part of Feb.but he planning is half the fun.I too check this site everyday.Good luck to everyone.

Timberwolf

12-22-2013, 07:09 AM

Welcome Marc, I wish you a good first season and many more!

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

Ormsby,WI Sapper

12-31-2013, 07:51 PM

Hello everyone, My name is Andy Zelinski and I live in North Central WI. I have been making syrup for four years.
I started because I enjoyed it as a young lad helping my uncle and wanted my children to have the experience as well. They love it! I built my own arch from an old Dairy cool bulk tank. The inner stainless liner was perfect gauge so I formed it up and made a 2x6 flat pan and a preheater pan. Then I made the arch and put it inside the bulk tank which makes a great looking and very safe operation. I fixed up an old 16x20 building on my property for a sugar house. I tap 75 trees on buckets and will continue to keep it a small family fun operation. I really enjoy the site and can't wait until spring!

Andy

SWEETER CREATIONS

12-31-2013, 07:59 PM

Andy: you will fit right in with most of us here its great to see you on the list that the BUG bit. Welcome to the site . Mike

Bob 262626

01-10-2014, 10:28 AM

Hi everyone, my name is Bob from the great state of Maine, This will be my third year making maple syrup. Started out with 4 taps and boiled in two stainless steel pots over propane, evaporated 18 gals in a 15-hour day. Produced ¾ gal of the best syrup I ever tasted. As you can image things needed to change. The next year my Dad helped me out and brought me 150 taps. A welder by trade I built a 2’x6’wood fired arch, purchased 22 gauge stainless steel sheets and built pans. With the help from UVM.edu I built an enclosed steam pre-heater system (sap comes in at 35-40 F and enters the evaporator at 180 F+ degrees, added a two inch baffled over the fire and under the fire force air vortex system, 100 MPH air is generated from a wet/dry vacuum. The system will evaporate approx. 40+ gals per hour. What I enjoy most about sugaring is the thinking that goes into it and the physical demands required to produce a product. I enjoy reading all of your postings.

Dixie Bee Acres

01-11-2014, 04:55 PM

Hello to all.
I have spent many an hour reading this forum, so I finally decided to join.
My name is Josh. My Grandad taught me how to make syrup from maples 25 years ago, this year I am teaching my boy. With any luck, we do good and expand next year and make even more of the sweet liquid gold.

This year I will be limited to about 15 taps. I am hoping to triple or quadruple that next year.

Ausable

01-11-2014, 06:10 PM

Hi Josh and All the other New Members. Welcome to Maple Trader. I have learned a lot here and am sure You will too. Good bunch of Guys and Gals here. ----Mike----

Sugarmaker

01-11-2014, 06:37 PM

Andy,
Welcome.
Those old Dari-Kool tanks have lots of good material in them. I have 4 and have made a lot of maple projects with them,
Good luck making syrup this season. And have fun. Start a post with pictures of your arch and pans.
Regards,
Chris

Hello everyone, My name is Andy Zelinski and I live in North Central WI. I have been making syrup for four years.
I started because I enjoyed it as a young lad helping my uncle and wanted my children to have the experience as well. They love it! I built my own arch from an old Dairy cool bulk tank. The inner stainless liner was perfect gauge so I formed it up and made a 2x6 flat pan and a preheater pan. Then I made the arch and put it inside the bulk tank which makes a great looking and very safe operation. I fixed up an old 16x20 building on my property for a sugar house. I tap 75 trees on buckets and will continue to keep it a small family fun operation. I really enjoy the site and can't wait until spring!

Andy

Sugarmaker

01-11-2014, 06:41 PM

Bob,
and many others, Welcome.
Being a welder sure helps in the construction of your own equipment! You arch sounds like it is very efficient. Nice work!
Regards,
Chris

Hi everyone, my name is Bob from the great state of Maine, This will be my third year making maple syrup. Started out with 4 taps and boiled in two stainless steel pots over propane, evaporated 18 gals in a 15-hour day. Produced ¾ gal of the best syrup I ever tasted. As you can image things needed to change. The next year my Dad helped me out and brought me 150 taps. A welder by trade I built a 2’x6’wood fired arch, purchased 22 gauge stainless steel sheets and built pans. With the help from UVM.edu I built an enclosed steam pre-heater system (sap comes in at 35-40 F and enters the evaporator at 180 F+ degrees, added a two inch baffled over the fire and under the fire force air vortex system, 100 MPH air is generated from a wet/dry vacuum. The system will evaporate approx. 40+ gals per hour. What I enjoy most about sugaring is the thinking that goes into it and the physical demands required to produce a product. I enjoy reading all of your postings.

John T

01-12-2014, 07:54 PM

Hey Everybody, My name is John and I just got started in making maple syrup. I live in Puyallup, Washington, and my girlfriend and I are tapping Bigleaf Maple trees at her place in Maple Valley WA. We started last weekend with 12 taps and have gathered 15 gallons of sap so far. Around half my taps are on big trees (over 24" diam) the rest are on coppices (12"-16") that have sprouted from old roots. I'm getting lots of good knowledge from this site and look forward to making a gallon or two this year. Now it looks like I had better buy a refractometer so I can discuss Bigleaf sap sugar % with people here!

asknupp

01-15-2014, 01:50 PM

Hello everyone! My name is Andy Knupp and last year was my first year at sugarin. I've been married 11 yes and have a ten year old daughter that could care less about maple sugar. But I also have an eight year old boy that enjoys being outside whether its hunting or checking a few buckets to see if the sap is running. Last year it was very small scaled with about ten taps and a couple quarts of syrup. This yr hopefully 30 or so.

farmerdon74

01-15-2014, 03:27 PM

Hello, To all this our first year hoping to grow a family busniess out of this in the future. We are a family of 6 two boys two girls my wife and me.
The children are all teens. We have about 230 taps on vac ready to go for this year. We had a ton of help from other maple crazy people to get started.
Our sons took the lead on this and their mother and I are the bank. The boys have all of us (hooked) helping build drops putting up main line and sap lines to the trees. We're working out of our shop this year we didn't have time to mill and build the sugar shack. Our girls are ready to boil and bottle and advertise they and my wife are building our web site. This site has been a great help to all of us. Hope everyone has a great year.
Westbrook Farm Maple & Hardwood.

Ormsby,WI Sapper

01-15-2014, 10:11 PM

Thanks Chris,
I did post a few pictures on the gallery.
Hope you have a great season.

Andy

treeguy

01-23-2014, 09:51 PM

Hello all

My name is Eli. We are so happy to have the opportunity to make Syrup this year on the farm we just bought in south central KY. We found a nice set up to use and tapped about 130 trees so far. Kentucky is not syrup country but we have lots of sugar maples here. I have 40 acres and lots of neighbors that have trees. Hope it works and i can bottle some of this nature goodness to sell. Made a gallon or so already off a run we had after the artic blast. Its been too cold since for much. Built a sugar house out of pallets to save money and sided it with tin. Nice place to hang out and keep warm.

racarr

02-05-2014, 09:14 AM

I discovered the forums earlier this year. We plan to begin our small tapping operation in a few weeks and value all of the information shared here.

I retired from the US Forest Service in mid-January. I worked in Geographic Information Systems - data development and analysis, database administration, cartography, and most recently web mapping applications. I am a forestry graduate from Purdue University (1971) and a 2-year veteran of the US Army Infantry (1971-1973). My wife, Faye, still works as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Keweenaw Food Co-op in nearby Hancock.

We have 30 acres between Chassell, and Tapiola, Michigan. Our tapping operation will initially be limited to the sugar maples close to the cottage, and hopefully expand as we improve access to the rest of the 30 acres. As with most new projects, we have a few questions which I will post on the other forums.

Thank you for providing this service.

fitzes23

02-05-2014, 05:43 PM

Greetings from Northern Ontario!
Great site.
Made a batch of syrup last year on a whim...it was something on my bucket list! Rounded up some of dad's old equipment, tapped 10 trees, set up the propane burner and waited for the sap to run. Once it started I was so happy I tapped 20 more trees, and then the sap ran. I was boiling minimum 6 hours a day, on weekends more. Ended up with about 30 L of syrup and I enjoyed every minute!
This year I can't wait to boil again...no room for expansion as I live in a residential area...but I'm eyeing maples on rural property I own for the future.
What a wonderful way to welcome spring!

Hungry Beaver Sugar Camp

02-07-2014, 11:10 AM

Hello from Northern Minnesota:

Brand new member. Started last year tapping with 93 taps. We did 84 pints of finished product. Got the bug and this year heading for 300 taps. Doing this on 256 acres I own in Morrison County. Built a bunch house because this is out in the woods. No electricity etc. Access in winter by snowmobile only. Last year built a bunk house /deer camp. This year going to build a processing shack that I plan on making from red pine logs from the land. Cooking with a homemade 265 gallon barrel stove fire brick lined, but seems pretty darn good to a rookie. Never plan on the big processing stuff. Love this site it has been very nice to learn what others have been doing.

sapdog

02-09-2014, 10:02 AM

Hello!

New to the forum, wanted to say hi, but more importantly want to give a big THANK YOU to all of the members who post such great information on here. The wife and I started up our "operation" last year with 27 taps and a rigged backyard arch (which we lovingly call the all-niter), and have learned everything we know over the last year via books and this forum. What a great resource, for all who suffer from this terrible addiction.
At any rate, happy to be here, very happy to learn from people who know better than I, and happy to contribute where I can.
happy sugarin'!
sapdog

Shamu

02-20-2014, 01:33 PM

We have about 40 taps in NW CT and try to expand a little every year. Almost starting tapping today (our first thaw day) but decided to wait until we get 4-5 days in a row of the right conditions. Anyone know where I can buy the little metal pounder that I use to stick in the spouts to tap them in the trees?
Thanks

Jonnie Maple

02-25-2014, 06:47 PM

First I want to say what great place this is for information. This is my first year attempting to make syrup. I have found this to be the go to place when I have a question.
I am in Dutchess County NY. Me and a co-worker are setting out about 20-25 taps this year. I am using tree saver taps with plastic milk jugs. He is using traditional taps and buckets. I put out 3 taps on 2/17 and 3 more on 2/23. I collected 5 gallons of sap and boiled it down yesterday to test my evaporator. My co-worker set out 7 yesterday and has 10 or so more that he is doing tomorrow. I made my evaporator out of a 55 gallon drum and a 6" hotel pan. My coworker is going real old school and is using a cast iron kettle.
I did a test boil yesterday and after about 4 hours ended up with about 4oz of syrup.
Looking forward to a super season :D

AtomicFarmer

03-01-2014, 05:52 PM

Hi everybody. My name's Jason. My wife, son and I are new to maple syrup making this year and I was told about this site by Michiganfarmer2, so here I am.

We have about 12 trees tapped and are making do with less than stellar weather for sap production this spring. Next to some of you guys, we're not even a drop in the (sap) bucket.

About us: We've been married since 2006 and have an amazing 5 year old son. We live on a 125 acre farm that's been in our family since the 1920's. My boy is the 5th consecutive generation to live in this house. We have chickens, a guinnea, and a turkey and hope to get cows again some day soon. We grow as much of our own food as we can and are trying to become as self sufficient as possible.

I work off the farm. The brains of our operation is a stay at home mom who takes care of home and farm while the kiddo is in school.

I'm pleased to find this forum, meet you all, and share information.

clifhngr

03-05-2014, 09:18 AM

Hello everyone and thank you for letting me join your forum. I have been familiar with the site and finally decided it was time to join. My name is Vern and I live in Central Vermont. Seven years ago I retired from a Government Research Laboratory and appreciate the benefits we all receive from dedicated researchers:
i.e. Dr. Tim.
I live on my family homestead in North Pomfret that is comprised of 96 acres. I hay 17 acres and sell the hay. My wife has about 15 laying hens.
For my entire life I have been exposed to and involved in different aspects of maple sugaring, so three years ago I started 350 taps on our steep southern exposure. I started with new gravity pipeline and sell all the sap to my neighbor who is a large producer. This year I am installing a paristalitic pump and plan to learn how to find leaks and correct them. I'm working to recoup as much cost each year and plan to upgrade the vacuum. Next year seasonal spouts and maybe cvs?
Looking forward to hearing everyone's experiences. :)

MidMichMaple

03-13-2014, 08:59 PM

Hello from the Lansing, Michigan area. I'm new to the site and I have already stumbled onto a lot of great information here!

This is my first year attempting to make syrup. I've tapped a couple of black maples and a sugar maple, but so far everything is still too cold. I've collected about a gallon of nuisance sap (learned that term here also). And being impatient and scatterbrained, I tried to boil down the first half gallon on my propane grill side burner, ran into the house for a minute, and came back to find that I had created maple flavored caramel! Oh well, it was a good learning experience, and the stuff tasted great, even though I couldn't exactly pour it on pancakes. :o

Looking forward to learning more on this site and making some actual syrup when the sap finally starts to run. Thanks everyone for the great info.

OHdeb

03-16-2014, 02:33 PM

Hello from sw Ohio! New this year to making maple syrup. We have 13 taps and so far have made 2 1/2 quarts last weekend and 3 1/2 quarts this weekend. Most of our sap came from 3 very large maples, the kind that is the first to bud in the spring. It has been running very well, especially this weekend. Had to empty about every 4-5 hours on Friday and we were not home yesterday, and found them running over. We are going to do another boil probably tomorrow. We have about 23 gallons in storage. Monday and Tuesday this week will be the best for the sap run, as the rest of the week will be to warm. We are very happy with our first year and have read and learned alot on this site! It took me over a week to get approved here, but I'm here now and looking forward to joining the community!

morley

03-17-2014, 02:09 PM

Hello from West Central Minnesota. Co-worker and I are attempting our second year of mapling. Ran 10 taps with two turkey fryers last year to 3 gallons of syrup. Was hoping to get a 265 oil barrel converted for this season, but not going to happen. Looking at a block arch and 4 steam table pans.

Thanks to everyone who posts all the helpful tips and hints. Look forward to making our arch for next season.

HARVESTER OF SORROW

03-17-2014, 04:20 PM

I'm from Upper Burrell Pennsylvania. I'm a 53 yr old male with a beautiful wife. I have been in the restaurant business for over 35 years. Semi retired Master Chef.
Pretty much every thing we eat is made from scratch. When I can do it. From Bread to BBQ sauce. Sausage to syrup. I'll make it all.
I also have been doing home remodeling , construction for all my life. A necessity my father instilled in me. I enjoy all outdoor activities, especially dirt racing.
The "HARVESTER OF SORROW" name came from a friend of mine. I've always owned "questionable" vehicles. They all had something wrong with them, I was always under the hood fixing something. The name is now my racing moniker/name.
Brand new to sugaring, so I have lots of questions to ask. And lots to learn. Hope for lots of input.
Kevin Smith

WindyPoplars

03-18-2014, 10:56 AM

Hello all!
This will be our third year making syrup. Of course, we do not have maple trees in Alaska, but we do have Birch in abundance!
2 years ago, we ended the season with 9 gallons of Birch syrup.
And now we are prepping to see if we can procure another 1,000+ gallons of sap from the trees we own!

wmtodd70

03-18-2014, 06:48 PM

Greetings from Topsfield, MA. Started sugaring last year when we bought a new house with several mature maple trees. I had always wanted to give it a try. Tapped 5 trees last year and got 4 gallons of syrup which lasted us (wife and 3 kids) almost the year. Boiled outside on a block arch with 2 buffet pans. Moving to three pans this year although it has started out very slow due to the cold season. Wish I had tapped more trees.

Loon Lake Louie

03-25-2014, 09:05 AM

How's she goin'?
I'm Mike and my wife's name is Janet and we live in central Nova Scotia. If you are familiar with NS, we live pretty close to where 4 counties (Pictou, Halifax, Guysborough and Colchester) all meet on West Loon Lake. We've been trying to make Maple Syrup since 2002. We started with a 6 taps and a turkey pan on a Coleman stove and made about 2 liters of the best tasting syrup ever!!! I'm still not 'large'. I only want stay small and do my boiling on a propane cooker. I have 12 taps and make about 2 to 4 liters a year and love every minute of the adventure. I keep adding to my 'equipment' and this year I went crazy and bought a hydrotherm. Now all I have to do is get some sap, if it ever runs, and we'll be away. Thanks for starting this forum. Great info and great sugarers. Have learned a ton have seen a lot of great pix to give me ideas on how to improve my setup. Hope everyone has a great season!!!!

NTBugtraq

03-27-2014, 05:43 PM

Hi,

3 years ago I don’t think I could’ve imagined where I am now. I was kinda given a choice, run outta money, or move. So I moved, rebuilt, and am trying to milk every dollar outta every inch of my 3.5 acres. Last year, that led me to maple syrup. It worked, and I was happy with the result, 10 taps, no sales, but awesome product. So, this year, its full tilt. I’m up to 130 taps on tubing and I expect to get to 200.

Who am I? Not sure…forcibly retired former Surgeon General of the Internet…honestly…sounds silly, so think of it as geek forced to get real. I was a workaholic for 20+ years and I thought doing eco-farming would be a break, but it turns out I still want to be a workaholic…just doing different stuff. I’m loving it.

I know there is nothing better than a well managed forum that lets people asking questions and has great subscribers who answer, so that’s why I’m here. I’m also hoping to have my bravado slapped around a bit as I brazenly answer and find out why I’m wrong…no better way to learn I say.

I tell you now, only experience knows, but I’ll pose all of my questions as if I know…cause if people don’t state I’m wrong and explain why, I’ll be left thinking maybe I was right…;-]

I hope I don’t offend, but like any clique, I probably will. I’m hear to learn and I cannot teach…yet…;-]

Oh, and not to get sympathy, but all my family passed away in the last 2 years, so its just me now...

Cheers,
Russ

Twist Hill Maples

03-29-2014, 12:18 PM

My Name is Nate first year syrup maker 100 taps homemade arch 2x5 pan and plenty of armstrong! Boiling today and would only rather be on my motorcycle. hello

xune

03-30-2014, 10:43 AM

Hello everyone. This is my first year sugaring. I have about 10 taps running at the moment. I'm from Michigan, hoping this first year goes well.

Skyraptor

04-07-2014, 06:25 AM

Good Morning Everyone. Just found this site today and this is my second year trying to produce maple syrup. My wife and myself are taping 30 trees and running a fryer. We are located in St. Point, Wisconsin. Better then last year when we ran 10 taps. At some point want to upgrade but time is always the factor. Always looking for helpful hints.
9595

djhcatony

04-08-2014, 07:08 AM

Good morning all. My only experience thus far has been as a volunteer at a local nature center for a month-long maple sugaring demonstration for the public. We live on 16+ acres of mixed hardwoods with enough sugar maples scattered throughout to get 35-50 taps. Am chomping at the bit to get started but, it's late in the season and am mainly compiling info for next year. Will likely go with a homemade block set up if I don't run across a small, cheap evaporator. This site certainly seems like a great place to learn and share experiences with like-minded folks!

kisner87

04-08-2014, 12:57 PM

I'm from North East Wisconsin. Im a first timer so take it easy on me.. HAHA I learn from my mistakes. I am the father to four little boys all ten months old, yes they are quadruplets, and let me tell you it is hard collecting bags with one on the front and one on the back in carriers. My wife and I have about 150 bags out this year on a 2X4 arch set up with drop tubes man does that thing shoot like ol faithful. We have had a hard winter this year and wondering when it is going to break with two feet of snow on the ground this season has proven to be kinda hard on us but we are making it worth our wile. So far we have 5 gallons of syrup and with the forecast the next couple of days hoping to get a decent couple runs before it shuts down for the year.

I am a lurker on here and it has shown me many helpful tips that will help us in the future, so thank you everyone.

Happy wife = Happy life.
four boys all ten months old.
99 ski doo sap hauler
99 john deere 425 (when the snow melts)
2x4 drop tube arch

Run Forest Run!

04-08-2014, 01:27 PM

Kisner87, all I can say is WOW! You and your wife must be some kind of superheroes. With your ambition you'll likely be tapping 10,000 trees by next year. Obviously your motto is "Go big or go home". Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your instant family.

highlandcattle

04-11-2014, 04:46 PM

Welcome. Lots of good info. Here. You'll learn a lot. Everyone starts small and gets the feel then goes from there. Have fun and each season you will learn a bit more.

JADavis

05-02-2014, 06:07 AM

Hello everyone! My name is Jason. I live in upper Michigan where we still have plenty of snow in the woods. I have been a Lurker on the trader for a long time and am happy to finally be a member. This is the best site on the web for maple info. Thanks to all who make it happen and thanks for all the great, knowledgeable members.

maple flats

05-02-2014, 11:56 AM

Welcome Jason, enjoy. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and the only dumb question is the one you have but never ask. We'll do our best to help with what we know and we'll make up the rest.

MarkReynolds

05-12-2014, 08:33 PM

Hello all
My name is Mark, and I'm from southwestern ontario, and this is by far the best website for sugaring info. I've learned so much from all of you! I'm a first timer just had 5 taps and a turkey fryer, but hoping to tap a lot more for next season and moving up to a evaporator seeing I'm a weekend warrior.

Maple eye

07-17-2014, 06:14 PM

RC Maple

07-18-2014, 07:32 AM

Hello all,
My name is Chris and I can hardly believe how much information is on this site. I'm not generally on the computer all that much, but I have a feeling this site will change that for me. Last year had about 100 trees tapped but thinking about doing more. Where on the website do you go to ask a question?:confused:

Thanks!

Welcome! To find out answers to questions you can put a few key words into the search box and try to find some threads where those questions have been asked and discussed. Chances are that it has been. If you can't find anything on your question then go to the topic area you have a question on and click on the start a new thread and type your question in there. Good luck to you.

westcoast

07-19-2014, 12:47 AM

Well, if someone told me a month ago that I would on a forum about maple syrup, I would have thought they were crazy, being on the westcoast and all. But I somehow found out about a group that make the syrup from big leaf maples on Vancouver Island. And since I have quite a few maples on my property, and trying to tap them and make that into syrup sounds interesting.... here I am. I am not sure how much of the info on this site will also apply to trees here in BC, and really hope I don't begin asking questions that make you all just roll your eyes. But as every neighbor just gives me a weird look when I tell them it is possible to get sap from our local trees, you all may be my first people to ask when I hit a problem. As many people have stated already, tons of stuff to learn on this forum.

maple flats

07-19-2014, 06:33 AM

Welcome. Sit back and read. While we are not familiar with big leaf maples, the principle and process will be the same. About how many taps are you thinking to start? If using buckets or sap sacks in any method, you can use the guideline of 10-12" dbh (diameter breast height) 1 tap, 18-20" 2 taps, and over 28" 3 taps, never more than 3.
As you grow, if you use tubing on vacuum the consensus is generally 1 tap 10" and 2 taps 24+". Good luck and most of all, have fun.

westcoast

07-19-2014, 11:56 PM

Thanks Maple Flats, and you already taught me something big, never more than 3 taps! I have this one maple, I swear to god, it's at least 5 foot diameter... I could just ring that one tree and have all the syrup in one shot! But I was thinking the best thing is to get one of the starter kits that have 10-15 taps and just try it out. We have a couple old oil tanks that I see some have MacGyver'd them to boil off, so that sounds cheap. I have a couple questions about building the thing, but I saw on here that someone had shown who he built his evaporator, so I'll check that out too. Still have plenty of time for research and development.

1tapattack

07-31-2014, 07:07 PM

sirsapsalot

07-31-2014, 08:03 PM

Hello all!!!! Long time lurker, first time poster, and new member. We do business in the NY/NJ area and have land in the rural NY Maple area. Last year tapped a couple yard trees, and looking to utilize our rural land. Been reading many posts, and all other maple material and thinking because of the flexibility of my career, and tax benefits of ag assessment land, I will start focusing my winter/spring on Maple production. It sounds like potentially hard work ,but thinking that 2000 taps will be viable option for the up coming winter/spring season.

Welcome aboard! I too started a maple business to write off my day job income. It has been a blast and a major learning experience as well. Its not as much work as you think once you have all of the equipment and figure out how to use it. There are lots of great guys with lots of experience here to learn from for sure!

1tapattack

07-31-2014, 08:08 PM

Welcome aboard! I too started a maple business to write off my day job income. It has been a blast and a major learning experience as well. Its not as much work as you think once you have all of the equipment and figure out how to use it. There are lots of great guys with lots of experience here to learn from for sure!
thanks sirsapsalot!!! I figured as much, that many make Maple sound a lot harder than what it really is to protect their market/hobby

Buddy Guy

08-11-2014, 10:19 AM

Greetings!

I have been perusing the site for a little while now. I am currently living in the EU, so not exactly maple country, but I was born and grew up in lower Michigan and now I am thinking of moving back. I remember seeing a family down the street collecting sap in buckets in their little 9-tree front-yard operation and I have always found it very interesting, even though I put it in the back of my mind for a number of years... I will keep reading everything I can find on the topic so that if I do end up moving back I can make some good informed decisions on getting started. I have to say that my level of interest has been increasing the more I read. I may just end up another 21st century first-genner. My goal would be to develop my operation to the optimum size and production for a one-man show. I am also very interested in what the self-employed types do in the off season, especially if they can share something about other productive and complementary activities that can be done well in the sugarbush.

I suspect that I share the same interests as others on this forum. I love spending time in the woods or outdoors in general doing various things including some hunting and fishing, the cold doesn't bother me too much, and I've got a bit of a DIY streak in me. I spent a good chunk of my early working life doing outdoor work. The last decade or so has kept me in an office and that has had a detrimental effect on the happiness factor. I'd like to get back to working outside and with my hands.

I look forward to getting to know the community. Cheers!

wlatrout

12-04-2014, 09:48 AM

My name is Wayne. I made my first Syrup last spring. I taped 6 trees and you are probably not going to believe this but I ended up with 5 gal. of syrup. This year I plan to tap 20 or 30 trees. I am planning to build an oil drum evaporator.
Like this site. A lot of info. Thanks

maple flats

12-04-2014, 05:09 PM

How many taps was that in the 6 trees?

Ghs57

01-07-2015, 08:20 PM

Hello,

This is Gary from Woodstock, ny. Two years ago I was reminded of my sugaring days back in the '70s by a broken maple branch dripping sap in my driveway. Well, that was all that it took to hook me. I tapped that tree, then the next year, I tapped as many as I could find. This season, I hope to expand and tap about 100 taps. I'm also building a sap house addition on my barn.

I don't know if it's walking in the woods in the late afternoon collecting the days run, doing the boil, or the satisfaction of producing a quality product out of thin air (or water), but it has become a passion that has me anticipating winter with the excitement of a child.

So here's to the coming season, and all who greet it with that same passion. May the runs be strong, the fire bright, and life be as sweet as the syrup it produces.

daweez04

01-11-2015, 06:34 AM

Hello!

Trevor checking in from the far west of Oregon! First year venturing into this crazy world of tree tapping, got about ~7 gallons last weekend in my first attempt and ended up with 3 half pints of syrup!

I am tapping the Big Leaf maples on the farm I grew up on, and also a single Red Maple in my front yard (and trust me, I look nuts in my neighborhood with spiles coming out of a tree in my front yard here in Oregon).

The rules of tapping are a little different here in Oregon (season length and weather patterns) so I am learning as I go, but just wanted to join up with the community. Looks like when we get a cold snap, a day or 2 after it comes out like a faucet, had gallon jugs full in less than 12 hours. Since our cold snaps are intermittent, it is unpredictable, but active from November till March.

Currently have 17 spiles out there, have some more that just showed up (Have to buy everything on Ebay... no local supply stores here). We have quite a few walnut trees, thinking they may be my next target. Only have tapped into a small section of the farm so far, so next year I plan on ramping up a little bit, but it has been a fun with the few taps I have!

Well that intro was kind of all over the place, ole well!

Happy tapping!

BillinTennessee

01-19-2015, 11:04 AM

Hello
My name is Bill and this is my second year of Maple Syrup production. I lived in Michigan for 17 years on 40 acres and never tapped a single tree. I moved to Tennessee and last year I noticed I had a big Maple tree in my yard and it was oozing sap from A few Woodpecker holes. So I decided to give it a try. I'm on 35 acres and have about 20 Maple Trees. I had some Cinder blocks and an old 5 Gallon Aluminum Cauldron so I Made some taps from maple twigs and tapped the tree. I had 3 taps on it and produced 3 1/2 pints of syrup. It was late February and the trees were already budded but had not broke bud yet so the Syrup turned out fine. I don't think I got it thick enough though. I boiled it down to 219 dgrees Maybe I should have gone a little further. In any case I got the bug and ordered two Dozen taps and a 24"x 48" X 8 " deep 16 ga. stainless steel evaporator. I tapped 12 trees this year, all Black Maple Trees. There's a couple that might be Sugar Maple but I'm not sure. The bark is different. The weather has not cooperated this year, it's been warm, but I have collected about 110 Gallons of Sap and I am almost done boiling it down. It is down to about 10 Gallons so I should be ready to finish it in a few hours. So, Here I am making Maple Syrup in Middle Tennessee. Wish me luck.
Hre is a picture of my setup. It's crude but it works

10380

Steve WI

02-03-2015, 05:42 PM

Hello!!

My wife and I have been making syrup for 5 years. We started with about 25 taps and a stainless sink with the drain welded shut. It has only snowballed from there. We were offered to borrow 2x4ish flat pan on a oil tank arch and we accepted. The last few years we have had 100 or so taps out and this year we are going to add 50+. This summer I also built an arch to fix a 24"x 41" stainless steel pan that we bought at an auction for $35.00. **Two evaporators = add taps** :)

The best part of sappin season is when friends bring over their kids/grandkids and see how maple syrup is made. The look on kids face is priceless!

Thanks
Steve

WI Sugarpop

02-03-2015, 06:59 PM

Hey Steve, Welcome to the Trader. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun finding a lot of good info on this site. I know we've grown in knowledge from all the answered questions we had over the years of making syrup. Where in WI are you?
Ron

Steve WI

02-03-2015, 07:29 PM

Hi Ron,

Thank you for the welcome

I found this site a few days ago and have have been reading posts steady! As you state there is a wealth of knowledge here.

I'm across the lake from you in New London.

Thanks
Steve

DMF

02-05-2015, 04:36 PM

Hi, my name is Rich and I am a Maple syrup-olic... I've never made our own before, but plan to start this year. We have a small farm in central Massachusetts and recently purchased a 42 acre woodlot that abuts our original land. Our forester walked the place to develop a plan for the lot and noted that there was a small area with sugar maples and would we want to have that as part of our forestry plan for improving the stand....uh, YES WE WOULD! :) We are wicked new so bear with us!

Chris Zeger

02-21-2015, 06:29 AM

My name is Chris I live in central ohio this will be my first year making syrup it's something I've always wanted to do. I will be tapping 30-40 trees this year boiling on a barrel stove with a stainless continuos flow pan. I work at a fab shop and will be building it all from scratch read a lot of good info on here thanks everyone

Dr Sugar

02-26-2015, 08:55 PM

Hi all. Vince here.

Not too many people around my area know about maple sugaring, but my friends/family are starting to know that I'm obsessed with it!

This seems like a great community.. only making me more engaged.

I'm up to 15 taps this season, and unfortunately tapped out of easily available trees!..so will be figuring out in the years to come how to keep on expanding.

Maple Douglas

02-28-2015, 07:44 AM

Hello,
My name is Asher and I live in Douglas, MA and this is my first year attempting to make some syrup with a few trees scattered on my property. I'm looking forward to the experience.

Fountian

03-01-2015, 07:28 AM

Hi guys, my name is Rob and I am a rookie. I live in Powell County, KY, about 40 miles southeast of Lexington. A friend of mine from WI visited in the summer and brought us some maple syrup that he bought up there around Madison. I loved it, but so did my 10 yr old son, especially on his pancakes. So I had to start buying it. I never realized how much the stuff cost due to how much goes into making it. I knew I had maple trees on my 150 acres so I started researching the process. I've been obsessed with it for about the last 5 months. Unfortunately on my land there are very few big maples. Only a couple sugars and a handful of big reds and silvers. So I went out into town and got permission from those that have 100 year old sugar maple. I tapped 10 of them yesterday around noon and I had over 2 gallons in each bucket at10:00 last night with the sap still dripping good. Can't wait to check them today.
I basically am doing to have syrup for ourselves, friends and family. I bought a 275 gallon food grade tote for storage. I found a good deal on an evaporator that a guy had made out of a metal tank. It has three pans, a preheat pot wth copper tubing wrapped around the stack. It has a blower on it to keep the fire hot too. He said I could boil off about 14 gallons of water per hour. We will see.
Probably the biggest I will get is 50 taps. Small compared to most on here but I am very excited about. People around here are getting a kick out of me because it's not something that is normal here.
My biggest obstacle is going to be storage. I am a school teacher and a basketball coach so I'm gonna have to find time in the next day or two to run before my sap goes bad. I will be posting a question about that on a different thread.
Thanks guys and good luck!
Rob.

maplehound

03-04-2015, 01:20 PM

Hello everyone It has been a long time since I have been on here. The last several years have been very hard for me and I have not been able to tap trees. I have more metal in me than my automobile. With 2 artificial knees, an artificial hip and a double fusion plus a single fusion with a cage in my back. All leaving me with a drop foot where I am unable to put weight on the inside of my foot. this makes it almost impossible to walk in the snow, or soft ground found in the woods this time of year. Because of all this I am now working at developing web sites. currently I am working on my first blog about Maple syrup production. I would like as many of you to visit my site as possible. It is in it's early stages but plan to make many more post of what my experiences were when making maple syrup.
the address is raccoonrunmaple.com Hope to see you sign up and follow my postings.

MichtonTree

03-05-2015, 04:07 PM

Hi guys and gals, first time sugaring. Putting in 12 taps for my first try. I'm in East Canaan Ct. I have and old woodstove found in the barn with a 2x2 SS pan on top that i'll boil down with. Great website you have here. Very excited and can fully understand the obsession. A great way to welcome in Spring.

Good luck to all.

Cedar Eater

03-05-2015, 05:18 PM

Hello from the pointy finger of the mitten state. I'm Cedar Eater, and I use firewood moving as my main source of physical exercise. So of course, my wife brings home a spile and a bucket and a book to give me more reasons to exercise.:o

But maybe I won't be burning any more firewood this season. We're going to give this maple sugaring thing a try using single burner stove that used to heat my tower blind before it blew over in a big wind. If that doesn't work, I'll borrow a turkey fryer. I've just finished routing a propane line from the house out onto the back deck. At the very least, it will make gas grilling more convenient in the Summer. Tomorrow we'll be tapping our first tree and I'll be rigging a tarp over the deck to keep the birds from adding any extra flavor to the sap. The low tech evaporator will be only about five steps from the kitchen.

Making maple syrup is something that I thought wouldn't be worthwhile, because I was under the mistaken impression that only sugar maples were worth tapping. We only have reds on this side of the state. So learning that they were almost as good as sugar maples changed the picture. We have an abundance of trees that are big enough to tap. It's just a question of whether we want to work that hard. We're in our fifties, so I don't picture us making a business out of this, but we've got friends and relatives who would love the occasional quart as a gift.