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Sounds like you're on your way to a new hobby.

I have about 80 red maples on 5 acres of low lying, flat, wet land. Problem I had was getting any of them to produce sap with just buckets. None of...

Bill Mason makes a 2X4 raised flue evaporator:

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Mark

Is this the video you saw?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2HpZGhG1Sg

I used these valves on my 5/16 tubing lines connected to a Lunchbox vacuum pump/releaser

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRVPFTY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had 3...

Yes. The darker strip at the top of the syrup.

I finish all my syrup batches to the same 66.7 brix. So I assume sugar density should be the same in all batches?

I could be wrong about that...

We poured that last bit of the last batch of syrup this season into a half-full bottle of syrup from earlier in the season that was in the frig.
The last syrup of the season seems to be floating on...

So as the leaf buds are starting to swell, the tree releases a suite of amino acids into the sap that causes "buddy" flavor?

What role do these amino acids play in the health of the tree? Are...

I know that sap will produce an "off" flavored syrup after the buds open on maple trees.

But what produces this change in the sap flavor?

I read somewhere online that when buds open, they...

I bought a new 2X4 Mason with a raised flue pan and a blower about 2 years ago.

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Picked it up at Bill's shop in Maine and he spent about an hour showing me how to operate. Very nice guy....

Pulled taps today.

Tapped on January 30th. Made about 7 gallons of syrup from 600 gallons of sap.

Mark

Emptied 15 buckets today and collected about 30 gallons of sap.

Sap was crystal clear but most trees were not running. A few were running very slowly.

My Reds on vacuum have all but stopped.
...

If it's been frozen for two weeks it's probably fine.

Like Karen says above, boil a few cups full in a pot on the kitchen stove. If it smells and tastes good, it's fine.

Mark

Anybody have experience with a round vacuum filter press for small batches?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDWZWj-CUyo

Mark

If you are using a stock pot for boiling, you might try using a flat pan with a larger surface area.

I started out with a turkey fryer and a stock pot. I had a a square flat pan made for it after...

It's futile to resist....

Sap just started flowing yesterday after about a 10 day hiatus due to warm temps.

Buds are swollen but still tight. I checked my buckets this morning and they are about 1/2 full and sap is...

It took me about 2-3 days last year to find leaks. It was the first year I used the Lunchbox pump.

Here's some things that helped me:

1. Install a quick connect ball valve on each line about...

taps and tubing have been dry for about 4 days now.

I'm hoping the upcoming colder weather gets us one or two more runs this year.

Mark

I set up a 1/2" manifold with three incoming 5/16 lines:

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Works good. I used a star fitting last year, but I like this set-up better.

I have about 80 taps on the Lunchbox.

Mark

I screwed panels of 1/8 inch diamond plate to the wood floor under my 2X4 Mason evaporator.

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Works great.

Mark

Thanks.

What did you use to create the vacuum in your double steamer filter rig?

Mark

I am so tired of the filtering process.

I use a cone filter off the evaporator. Then I reheat and filter in a water jacketed flat filter for canning.

Filters always seem to clog up. I use a...

Collected about 150 gallons this week.

Had to put 2 plastic gallon milk jugs filled with frozen water into the sap tank on Wednesday to keep the sap cool. Temps were in the 70's. :o

Now down...

I have a 2X4 hobby evaporator with a flue pan and an 18"X24" syrup pan.

Took me about 10 hours and 150 gallons of sap to sweeten the pan. Sap was at about 1.8%

It just takes a while.

Mark

I have about 100 taps set up on 5/16 tubing connected to a Lunchbox releaser/diaphragm pump.

The trees are red maples and spread out over my 5 acre lot with little to no slope.

I pull about...