Happy Thoughts, I find that using a thermo to get me close and then using the hydro is quite easy. Takes the guesswork out of temps. Just my opinion
Happy Thoughts, I find that using a thermo to get me close and then using the hydro is quite easy. Takes the guesswork out of temps. Just my opinion
John
2 x 8 custom arch, custom raised flue pan, AOF/AUF, custom auto draw off and other automation
400 taps (buckets and tubing)
18 x 24 timber frame shack
Two daughters that are a LOT of help
Greyhound that drinks sap (and has gas)
2011 Gator 825 XUV with 100 gallon tank
5 275 gallon IBC totes for storage
Ditto on getting a hydrometer.
Case in point. Used my hydrometer this evening for the first time this season (I finished 2 quarts a few days ago without using it)
Finished on my kitchen stove indoors. Took my candy thermometer to get boiling temp of water. It was 214 this evening! So add 7, I should be looking at 221ish. Right? Wrong.
At 221 AND the tiny bubbles rising in the pot, I checked with the hydrometer in my cup and nearly broke the darn thing because it dropped right to the bottom of the cup.
It took several more minutes, and close to 223/224 before I got my 66 brix.
So as someone else said, save yourself some grief, and get a hydrometer. You won't regret it.
Homeschooling mama to 8
2010-30 taps, steam pans on a fisher grandma bear woodstove outdoors. Bottled 18.5L
2012- 70 taps - 20L
2013 - 70 taps, 3 steam pans on concrete block arch. 50L
2015- 70 taps, 50.5L, 3.3lbs accidental sugar
2021 - 120 taps, new-to-me 2x5 flat pan with a cast iron arch atop a brick firebox.
66 brix? At 60 degrees?!Originally Posted by MustardSeedMum
No, 66 brix @ 223/224F or approx 106C
Homeschooling mama to 8
2010-30 taps, steam pans on a fisher grandma bear woodstove outdoors. Bottled 18.5L
2012- 70 taps - 20L
2013 - 70 taps, 3 steam pans on concrete block arch. 50L
2015- 70 taps, 50.5L, 3.3lbs accidental sugar
2021 - 120 taps, new-to-me 2x5 flat pan with a cast iron arch atop a brick firebox.
****, if you got that much from 35 gallons, I want your trees!!!Boiled 20 gallons today, got 48oz. of syrup,using a hydrometer.
2011, 1st time. 8 taps, turkey fryer. 3 quarts syrup
2012, 25? taps, homemade barrel stove, steam pan. hoping 3 to 5 gallons
At that temp you would want to be at 58 brix. 66 brix is for room temp readings. If you boiled to 66 brix @ 224 degrees your syrup is too dense and will not keep well!
OK, you're scaring me now.
I just went to get my instrument. Is there a difference between a hydrometer and a hydroTHERM? I've got the hydrotherm.
Looking at the instructions that came with it.
"Hydrotherm is a combo of hydrometer and thermometer. It will indicate density of maple syrup at any temp between 35 and 210F
Scale of the hydrotherm is graduated in 2/10 brix and will show how far syrup is from correct density..."yada yada yada.
Basically i'm supposed to get the top of the red column to float even with the surface. If it's below, syrup is too thin. If it's too much above, syrup is too thick.
When it's even with surface, it's at approx 65.8 Brix. So I boil it to 2/10 Brix over to get my 66 Brix
This is what I used in my first year of sugaring 2 years ago. And my syrup kept well.
Does that make sense?
Homeschooling mama to 8
2010-30 taps, steam pans on a fisher grandma bear woodstove outdoors. Bottled 18.5L
2012- 70 taps - 20L
2013 - 70 taps, 3 steam pans on concrete block arch. 50L
2015- 70 taps, 50.5L, 3.3lbs accidental sugar
2021 - 120 taps, new-to-me 2x5 flat pan with a cast iron arch atop a brick firebox.
jmp- I don't disagree but first you need to have a hydrometer which the two posters with questions don't seem to have. You need to be able to work with what you have. That said, I myself use just a thermometer and looking at the behavior of the boiling sap. If you just look at an instrument reading you aren't taking everything into account. That certainly holds for thermometers and I would add for hydrometers as well.Happy Thoughts, I find that using a thermo to get me close and then using the hydro is quite easy. Takes the guesswork out of temps. Just my opinion
How and how often do you check the accuracy of your hydrometer? They can be inaccurate, too and especially over time and with hard use. Is there a standardized density solution that you use to calibrate it? Or do you just replace them on a regular basis?
Mustardseed Mom,.
yes, the hydrotherm automatically corrects for syrup temp.
2012: Probably 750 gravity taps and 50 buckets.
600 gal stainless milk tank.
2 - 100 gallon stock tanks
one 30 gal barrel
50 buckets
3' x 10' Waterloo Raised Flue wood fired evaporator w/ open pans.
12" x 20" Filter Canner
Sawmill next to sugarhouse solves my sugarwood problem
Gather with GMC 3500 2wd Pickup w/ 425 gallon Plastic Tank.
Been tapping here in Lyman NH since 1989 but I've been sugaring since 8 years old in 1968.
They used to calibrate hydrometers at some of the maple suppliers but not sure any more. I have two of them and I check them against each other. They used to say you should make a paper tracing of the hydrometer because the only thing that can go wrong with them (other than breakage) is the paper inside the glass can slide up or down.
2012: Probably 750 gravity taps and 50 buckets.
600 gal stainless milk tank.
2 - 100 gallon stock tanks
one 30 gal barrel
50 buckets
3' x 10' Waterloo Raised Flue wood fired evaporator w/ open pans.
12" x 20" Filter Canner
Sawmill next to sugarhouse solves my sugarwood problem
Gather with GMC 3500 2wd Pickup w/ 425 gallon Plastic Tank.
Been tapping here in Lyman NH since 1989 but I've been sugaring since 8 years old in 1968.
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