No buds on my trees and this looks like it will be the best week of the season - and the last. Have about 3-1/2 gallons per tap since Sunday and should have more in the next couple of days. Glad I...
Type: Posts; User: Sapster
No buds on my trees and this looks like it will be the best week of the season - and the last. Have about 3-1/2 gallons per tap since Sunday and should have more in the next couple of days. Glad I...
Today was the end of a mediocre season. Had 110 gallons from 2/27-3/12 made very dark syrup. Previously had 105 gallons from 2/20-2/27 and made light amber. Got a 42:1 ratio both times. At least...
Had a great day Sat. Boiled 105 gallons to make 2-1/2 gallons of Golden Delicate syrup (also meets former Grade A Fancy). Sap was testing at 2.4°Brix, which explains my good boil ratio of 42-to-1. ...
33 taps in this afternoon.
old tom
It looks like you are in the neighborhood too (New Lenox?)! wilos1 and I are in the vicinity of 167th, Cedar Rd., and Bruce Rd. There are lots of sugar maples in the area. Thousands in...
I'm expecting to tap in a few weeks. The earliest I've tapped so far is Feb. 13th (2011). I usually tap the last week of Feb. or the first week of March.
wilos1, I notice we're in the same town....
mellondome,
Thanks for mentioning that. I do plan on showing the Brix measurement as a function of temperature above the boiling point of water (as measured on my stove at the time).
If you have any examples of sugar crystallizing in syrup and you know the Brix value of the syrup, can you please post it here. Maybe mention whether or not it was refrigerated too, since...
Wow! I completely struck out here. If I get a chance this season, I will try to create a graph relating sap/syrup boiling temperature to Brix value and post it here. I'm not sure if this is going...
Can anyone out there direct me to some data or a chart relating the density (specific gravity) of maple syrup near the finished state to the boiling temperature? I want to know how much a given...
Put in 33 taps in Will Co. on 3/8 and only have about 25 gal so far. It seems that the ground hasn't fully thawed out from the late cold snap last month. Hopefully warm weather will break through...
Pulled my taps yesterday. This year started out very slow but ended up just below that last few years for sap output. Ended up with 10gals per tap. On my last two batches, sap collected between...
I'm 30 miles SW of Chicago and the story is the same here. I tapped Friday and only have about 20 gallons from 33 taps as of tonight. Unfortunately, it seems like it is going to take quite a few...
mathprofdk,
It may be a bit tedious, but if you take a small sample of sap (a cup or so) from each tree you tap, you can boil the samples down very quickly on the stove and make very small...
gwcutter:
I got the Insul Stick refractory insulation at a masonry supply house. It was about $50 for a 30lb pail. I think it took two to complete both ovens. It needs a little patch work every...
Hope everyone is starting to see some sap flow. Since tapping last weekend, I collected about 2 gallons of sap per tap, most of which came over the past 3 days. It was a little wet today, but we...
33 taps finally in today with the help of my 5 and 7-yr olds. With a high of 35°F and direct sun hitting the trees, sap was starting to slowly dribble. It looks like next week will be the first...
I have two 32"x32"x9" stainless pans. After each use, I clean the inside and outside with 3M Scotch Brite and a bucket of hot water and dishwashing soap. The dishwashing soap really dissolves the...
Here are a few more angles and a short video to show the ovens better. A few notes:
1. There is an internal brick wall separating the two ovens.
2. Even with the firebrick mortar and refractory...
Thanks MapleLady. I only have time to manage 33 taps for now, so I am able to finish on the stove in one or two batches.
My homemade "brick oven" evaporators - built in 2008. They are made from firebrick with Heat Stop II mortar and lined with Insul Stick refractory insulation. The 32"x32" evaporation pans are made...
Thanks MapleMounder. I've been trying to improve every year since 2007 (steam tray sitting on a shelf rack over an open campfire) through trial and error.
I'm really glad to have found this site....
My tap dates:
2007: Feb. 21 (10 taps)
2008: Mar. 1 (24 taps)
2009: Mar. 3 (33 taps)
2010: Feb. 27 (33 taps)
2011: Feb. 13 (33 taps)
2012: Feb. 19 (33 taps)
2013: ??? (33 taps)
I collect...