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Took the plunge. Tapped 6 today, using 3 gall on buckets each. Might try for 3-6 more over the weekend, but a little scared of the volume and how to manage it. Any and all suggestions welcome. Not sure to about storage and when to collect sap. Anyone know where I can pick up a hydometer?
Welcome to the site . You dont give us much to go on . Are you cooking in a pot on the stove are a 3x10 evap and your going slow:) try not to store cook what you get and have fun. Now when you need supplies go to Maple Guys.com and get the hydro from the people that sponsor this site.
Thanks for the welcome. Always wanted to do this. I'm planning on cooking in a pot on a stove top top, but reading through the site, I'm getting the idea that maybe the outdoor gas grill mabe a better palce to evaporate. Your Thoughts? Thanks for the heads up too on maple guys.com.
If you don't mind another question, I notices this morning that one tap (w/ 3-gal bucket)was 1/4 full by morning. I had just tapped last night, and it was dripping before the drill bit was fully out, but 5 others I tapped earlier that morning were dry when the bit came out, and had all day and had maybe a 1/4 of a cup of sap 12 hours later. Could I have hammer the tap in too hard on the other 5? The 1 that was dripping also had a large wet spot on the bark around the tap. probably a good 8 " ring of wet spot. Others don't have that.
You can certainly do the gas grill but if you're going to use propane you might want to pick up a propane fired outdoor pot boiler - I have one that is used for cooking lobster. They're ~$20 but I can not remember where I bought mine. You want as vigorous a boil as possible which is tough to achieve on a conventional gas grill.
Lots of folks use a cement block arch (kind of like a long fire pit) and steam table pans that you could pick up at a restaurant supply store. More surface area to boil and more direct contact with the flames.
Have fun, it's addictive
Some taps really run strong, it's just luck in my opinion - The leak around that one should stop on it's own. You can pound them in too hard, it doesn't affect the way it runs, but will split the bark, cause it to leak, and make it a bear to get out when done. Some of those slow ones will pick up, some just don't. You really don't want the sap in the house boiling, and a gas grill burner is way too slow. I think some use the turkey fryer setup?
I use a Turkey Fryer and it works out great, but it costs a lot in Propane. Next year I'm building or buying a small wood-fired evaporator. Definately do it OUTSIDE. I boil it to "near syrup" and then bring it inside on the stove. Even that small amount of boiling in the house steams up the kitched (we don't have a fan over the stove).
The hydrometer is a great investment. The consistency of my syrup is much, much better now that I have one.
Good Luck!
WOW! You guys weren't kidding. Raised my humidity level in house 40%. What an awesome smell though. Home Depot here I come. Wife says I'm painting the kitchen when I done. And probably a new stove. Can't imagine what 100's of gallons would do. Thanks PapaSmiff, think I'll look into that turkey fryer.
LittleSap on the arch, do they boil in the pans over wood fire? And I am I right in that they rest the edges of the pans on the blocks like in the warming pans at a buffet line? By the way sweet pictures. Way jealous. Like the pallets holding up the tank. Great Idea. Very nice house. I now have a goal.
I collected @ 3 gallons and boiled in probably a 20 qt pan. Something like you would cook a lobster in. Added about ¼ gallon and kept adding by dripping out of a cup. Anything wrong with doing it that way to get a feel for this?
Mike you're right leak stopped. Hoping other taps will pick up. Have one tap that is only 2 ft off ground due to tree shape. Very little 2 tbs of sap, noticed they say 3-4 ft off ground. Will 2 ft work?
Right on both counts. You can get rope gasket from the hardware store that is ordinarily used to seal an oven - the pans sit on that which lines the inside top edge of the concrete blocks. I lined the inside of my block arch with fire bricks to reflect the heat back into the fire pit which then travels up and increases the boiling - and extends the life of the concrete blocks. Everything on my set up was dry stacked, more cracks but you can take it apart and move it at the end of the season. I made the front fire box of mine about 2 feet deep and wide enough so the pans will overlap the width by 1". At the end of the firebox I built a ramp of sand/dirt/blocks (can't remember at this point) so the flame travels up and closer to the pans as it heads toward smoke stack at the back.
Hi Newbee,
I too am still new at this even though I have a couple of seasons behind me. Here's a link to some of my photos of my backyard set up. There's a photo of my finishing set up on propane. I do most of the boiling on a block evaporator.
Hope the photos will help.
http://s778.photobucket.com/albums/y...le%20Sugaring/
I was surprised to see Tractor Supply Co. in Southwick had sugaring supplies - hydrometer, filters, etc... Even 12oz glass bottles. Good for small scale hobby folks!