gearing up for the upcoming season

[frontiersman1985]

Hello everybody, i am new to this, and the up coming season will be my first in collection, and cooking down sap to produce syrup. I was just wondering if i am headed in the right direction in the way of equipment needed. I will be doing this as a hobby and hope to end up with about 5 gallons of syrup. So far i have identified and marked about 30 sugar maples with an average diameter of 15" does this seem like enough to make 5 gallons? And as for gear i have 30 taps with drop lines, i have 10 5 gallon food grade buckets with leaktite lids, and i have been saving my empty milk jugs. I have also been splitting ash wood, and groing my woodpile for the sap evaporating. I am planning on making an "evaporator" out of cinder blocks, and placing a grill grate over the top. I then plan to place steam table pans filled with sap over the fire to evaporate. Does this sound good as a first timer with limited funds? If you have any tips or corrective coridisism please dont hesitate! Thank you for your time!

[bix]

Where r u at in pa I'm from Bradford co.if u call me maybe I help u out my no. Is 1 570 529 3350 name is ray

[Starting Small]

Welcome aboard..I think you have a good start from an equipment standpoint. Couple of suggestions and things to consider. Wwhen I first started I also used a block arch like you are planning, I did have some problems with soot landing into the boiling sap. This was mostly because my pans were not sitting flush with the blocks because of gaps due to the uneveness and cracks of the blocks. If I were to be doing it over again I would have bought a fireproof gasket like the kind that goes around a wood stove door to keep ash in. 5 Gallons might be a little much to expect from 30 trees, but you should be close. Just make sure that you keep the sap cold if you cannot boil right away and have a great time! If you are at 30 taps this year I guarantee to will be at 75 by next year, you will become addicted. Good luck,
-Dave

[bowhunter]

I just started last year and tapped about 45 trees..all sugars. I made 16 1/2 gallons of syrup so I think you should be able to make 5 gallons on 30 trees. You need at least 4 square feet of boiler surface to handle that many trees. 30 trees will produce 45 gallons of sap on a good day. 4 square feet will boil about 4 gallons an hour so you would have about 11 hours of boiling to handle that much sap. Gallon jugs work well for sap collection. Make sure you buy a syrup hydrometer if you can afford it. That's really the only way to tell if the syrup is finished. I have a small evaporator but I finished everything on the kitchen stove and you will probably have to do the same. You will also want to filter the syrup. The filters can be pretty expensive, but one lady on the forum uses a jelly strainer and she claims it works well. I have a link here for a jelly filter or Amazon for about $10. http://www.canningpantry.com/jellystrainer.html You can can the syrup in regular canning jars and they actually look pretty nice.

[frontiersman1985]

Its funny that you mentioned the hydrometer, i just got mine in the mail today thru amazon, only thing is they packaged it terribly and i received it shattered!

[maple flats]

Get a replacement. Ask for and pay for extra packaging. If it is wrapped in bubble wrap and in a sturdy enough box it will arrive in good condition. A better option might be to pick one up at a dealer in your area.
A rule of thumb in an average year on gravity buckets is 1 qt/tap in finished syrup. This means you lose no sap from undersized jugs or spills. You might get a large portion on that what you describe if you can keep up with the sap flow.

[PerryFamily]

Better yet, buy one locally and support another local maple business.
I would get 2 or 3. In reality they are the cheapest yet most relied upon piece of equipment. Inevitably you will break one or the paper will slide and be inaccurate.

[Yellzee]

And dont just drop the hydrometer into the syrup your testing cause if its thin it will go all the way to the bottom of the container and smash on the bottom! (At least I heard this can happen)

[frontiersman1985]

Do you know where in northeast PA i might be able to find a hydrometer? If not i will just order from mapleguys, I'm sure unlike amazon they will correctly package a hydrometer.

[bix]

There are two guys in Bradford County. Rolson Brothers in Troy and Don Russell in Rome PA.