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Thread: formula for % sugar to gal of syrup

  1. #11
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    I guess what I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around is, if we follow the examples listed--1% sugar content = 86 gal of sap, 2% = 43 gal of sap, 3% = 28 gal of sap, etc--then if we had 1 gallon of sap at 86% sugar, then that would be a gallon of syrup? I thought sap was syrup at 66% sugar...I'm clearly missing something.
    Tracy

    2011 - 3 gal syrup
    2012 - 4 gal syrup
    2013 - 14 gal syrup

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maplehobbyist View Post
    I guess what I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around is, if we follow the examples listed--1% sugar content = 86 gal of sap, 2% = 43 gal of sap, 3% = 28 gal of sap, etc--then if we had 1 gallon of sap at 86% sugar, then that would be a gallon of syrup? I thought sap was syrup at 66% sugar...I'm clearly missing something.
    what you're missing is what I mentioned earlier- the percent is based on the weight of the sugar and water that make up the sap. If you had a gallon of sap that was 86% sugar, 86% of it by weight would be sugar and 14% by weight would be water.

  3. #13
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    86% sugar content would be way over density. Several things her to consider. Syrup at or near 67% brix will not crystallize in the container.
    Syrup below 67% brix may start to mold quicker.
    So the ration of water and sugar in solution is optimal at 67% sugar. Syrup at that density will weight about 11 lb per gallon.
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  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sugarmaker View Post
    ...86% sugar content would be way over density...
    And that is precisely what I don't understand about the formula. Why would it be true for 86 gallons at 1% sugar content but not for a theoretical gallon at 86% sugar content?
    Tracy

    2011 - 3 gal syrup
    2012 - 4 gal syrup
    2013 - 14 gal syrup

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maplehobbyist View Post
    And that is precisely what I don't understand about the formula. Why would it be true for 86 gallons at 1% sugar content but not for a theoretical gallon at 86% sugar content?
    OK I see where you're going with this and the answer is probably what sugarmaker said. 86% is way over density and wouldn't be a real reading anyone would ever see. The formula was probably derived from a lot of actual brix readings for sap. It's just a guideline and not meant to be precise. Higher sugar densities probably increasingly throw off the guestimate as the concentration of sugar gets higher????

    Darn! Now you got me wondering. I'm going to have to find that guy Jones lol

  6. #16
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    OK I found this in an old online copy of the maple syrup manual. I think this helps explain the confusion.

    http://www.archive.org/details/maple...oduc00willrich

    "Since the solids concentration of sap is comparatively low, its Brix value and percentage of solids (weight-volume) are essentially the same."


    So if I understand this right, then higher concentrations of sugar have a weight that essentially differs from the brix reading. The formula would not hold true then (.... in the 86% example).
    Last edited by happy thoughts; 02-19-2012 at 09:13 PM.

  7. #17
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    Thanks for posting that, happy thoughts. I searched online yesterday for the 'rule of 86' but didn't really find anything that explained it, just examples of people using it.
    Tracy

    2011 - 3 gal syrup
    2012 - 4 gal syrup
    2013 - 14 gal syrup

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