time between boils

[treehugger]

Just wondering how long i can wait if i make a couple of gallons one day can i wait till another day to finish it or does it have to be done the same day?

[The Butcher]

It doesn't have to be done the same day but it is going to be recommended.

You will find that the syrup will darken considerably. I am not sure how big your operation is, but if you have that much finished product I would go ahead and bottle. I have an easier time with my filters with smaller amounts.

my 2 cents.

[PerryW]

Shouldn't be a problem. At the end of each boil, the partially boiled sap that remains in my evaporator sits in the pan till the sap runs enough to get enough sap to boil again. Of course, bringing all your raw sap to a boil will kill any bacteria in the sap and allow you to store it longer without spoiling.

[maple flats]

I never finish to empty the pans until I want to clean them or at the end of the season. Just before shuting down add about a couple of inches to allow for evaporation as it cools, bring it to a full boil and then shut down. The 2" is for safety the first time. After that see how high the level is the next time you start and adjust down on the flood level until you end up with your ideal level to begin the next time. My 2x6 it was 1.75" flood, my 3x8 it is only 1" flood and I could likely go to 3/4" flood but haven't dared. Just remember, if a wood fire is really cooking the bricks have a lot of heat stored. the boil stops in about 25-30 minutes but it still steams heavily for another hour or so. If you are on gas or oil don't flood at all, just shut down. the boil will stop in less than a minute if not immediately. When you go to finish it just start the evaporator up and resume, if it is ready to filter and bottle, check density, filter HOT and can at 180 minimum.

[treehugger]

Thanks . Ill be boiling on a homemade oil fired 55 gal drum with ss hotel pans and hopefully a copper preheat coil wraped around the stack... around 20ish taps on buckets. We'll see its the first year.

[mnguy]

Of course, bringing all your raw sap to a boil will kill any bacteria in the sap and allow you to store it longer without spoiling.

How long can you typically store sap without boiling it before it goes bad? I realize outside temp plays a big role in this.

[RileySugarbush]

How long can you typically store sap without boiling it before it goes bad? I realize outside temp plays a big role in this.

Temp does matter. The conventional wisdom is to treat it like milk. Held at refrigerator temps it will last a long time but start to tun a bit at the end. That doesn't mean it will not make good syrup, just darker.

[BarrelBoiler]

treehugger
at your size (the same size iusually am) i would try to finish off and bottle as soon as i could.. on the other hand i have waited to bottle a few days after i got the syrup where i wanted it remember everytime syrup is heated it tends to get darker

mnguy with sap ice and snow piled around a 32gal trash barrel, on the north side of the house, out of the sun, i have kept sap for a week or a litle more but it made me real nervous

[Hurry Hill Farm]

I tell hobbyists to put sap into food grade pails 1/2 full and set them in a chest freezer. As the ice forms, skim it off, letting the sap drip a bit and throw the ice out as it is pure water. And now you have just concentrated your sap and kept it cold (under 30 degrees) and bacteria doesn't hardly grow!! One hobbist went from 20 gallon on a Tue to 5 gallon on a friday by freezing his sap and boiled very quickly on Fri nite and got 1/2 gallon of syrup!

Hurry Hill
edinboro PA