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My two digital thermometers both agreed and water boiled at 210.5 depending upon the barometer. That's just about right for my elevation. But the dial thermometers were way off. Neither of my dial...

I started the season with a beer pot for finishing. It came with a dial thermometer. However, it never agreed, even within 5 degrees, with my two digital thermometers.

What are your experiences...

Thanks! I appreciate the response.

Sometimes when I'm reading posts, the original is at the beginning of the thread and sometimes at the end. How do I make it to be at the beginning?

Old and just not savvy.

Yesterday was the first time I boiled in 2 1/2 weeks. I had about 150 gallons of sap from the last run in plastic drums: frozen solid. At least the sap was well preserved. Finally thawing out and...

They were truly frozen solid, so there was no sap underneath, no even slush. Things have warmed up. The sap is still good. Nothing buddy yet, but has to be on the cusp. If you look at the tops of...

I could have 350 taps, but I'm choosing to keep it simple. I would like to cut down a little on the time spent boiling. I am considering a bucket RO. What can I say? It's late March, if my 50...

For next year, I'm debating between:

Going to 35 - 40 taps and continuing to boil on half pint divided pans or,

Buying a Smokey Lake full pint hybrid pan for the arch or,

Buying a Lapierre...

I'm closing the thread, thanks.

I used google to search for the answer, which, of course, directed me to the mapletrader site. But it works better than the search function on mapletrader.

Anyway, I'll look for cloudy sap. ...

I've seen the answer here and there, but wording the search just right isn't as easy as it may sound.

I've had 52 gallons of sap stored in a big blue barrel in the snow for at least two weeks,...

Home Depot is selling a cheap flow meter for less than $20.

They're accurate enough. I use one on my diesel tank and have checked it with a 5 gallon can. Good enough for me.

What is your elevation above sea level? I'm at 1500 ft. Water boils here at right around 210, depending upon the atmospheric pressure that day. Add 7.1 degrees and I'm close enough. I'm not...

Guys, I understand expansion of the universe and all, but perhaps you don't understand my signature line. It's my first time boiling in 46 years. It's not that I'm 46 years old: it's that I last...

Thanks for all the useful replies. This website is almost as addictive as Craigslist. I need to stay focused on staying tiny and just making enough for family and friends every few years.

I do...

After turning the pans around on the half-pint (taking off from the back corner), I can say that it works a bit better.

Another observation was that the whole evaporator works better with no...

I'm using a tent this year only. I used to sell yarn at craft shows so I already had an extremely sturdy (expensive) tent. The steam is no problem as long as you open up a side or two. However,...

thanks Uncle John

I don't know that all the bacteria are dead. I grew up on a dairy farm. I'd see what they called the plate count for bacteria, before and after pasteurization. As I recall (and it was a long time...

The grand experiment will happen tomorrow when I boil again. I turn the pans 180 degrees, so I'll be taking off from the back of the evaporator. All I needed to do was use my angle grinder to make...

I used to run a B&B and had to have a Food-Safe certification. It was always stressed that 40 - 140 degrees was the danger zone for pathogens in food.

If my sap is staying below 40 degrees, I'm...

Just curious, but what is the "normal" amount of bacterial content of sap straight from the tree, versus the "junk" that falls into it from the outside of the tree?

I'm using drop lines into 5...

It's been 45 years since I last tapped and that was 350 taps with extended family all pitching in. Now I've got just 21 taps. I stockpile my sap in snowbanks until ready to boil.

Question: ...

There is no ramp on the half pint. I do have a blower. By the way...Home Depot 4" X 10" duct fits the draft just about perfectly for around 6 bucks. I'm going to turn the pans around this morning...

I'm boiling on a half-pint. The temps in the syrup section are way hotter (5-10 degrees) in the back of the pan as compared to the front. I'm running anywhere from 3/4" to 1 1/2" depth with no...