Thanks guys for all the help. I finally decided that this year, smaller was better, and better to boil small than not at all...I went ahead and ordered a Leader 1/2 pint to use on my existing chimney. Should be here Friday or Saturday. Its brand new, and I hate to buy things like this new, but I hope I can trade it in or resell it for not a big loss when I "trade-up" to a bigger rig next year or the one after that.

I am going to go ahead and put 100 taps in this year. I am home full-time (semi-retired) so I can boil everyday if I need to. I guess worst case is end up dumping some sap I couldn't get to.

Here are a few more questions in terms of workflow for all you experienced folks.
'
Like I said, I am going to put in 100 taps this year. I am going to pickup 3- 55 gallon food grade buckets to store/transport the sap from trees to evaporator (on my tractor). Will three be enough if I boil everyday?

How long can I leave the sap in the 55 gal pails before I boil before it goes bad? I would probably just leave them out in the snow bank to keep them cold.

The dealer suggested that best way to use the evaporator is to boil about 90% of the water away and then take it into the stove to finish it? This sounds reasonable to me..easier to control the temp and its a cleaner environent...good idea?

I am planning on drawing off the sap into used (clean) 1 gallon spring water containers to save them until I can "finish" them inside? How long can I keep them semi "finished" in 1 galln plastic jugs? Can I want until all the real boiling is done outside and then in a few weeks finish everything? or does it need to be done right away?

After I finish the sap inside, I was also planning on using a temporary container until I decide on what bottles to finally package the stuff. If I end up with about 15 gallons of syrup, can I leave the finish containers in the 1 gallon spring water containers until I get around to bottling? Would I need to re-heat the syrup for the final packaging?

Last question...what is the most economical bottle/package choice and what is the best website to order from? Some of this I will sell to friends and family so packaging is not very important, but I also run a small farmstand where I plan to sell some too so I'd like some nice containers too....

Thanks again!