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Thread: Best way to boil 40-60 gallons of sap on a weekend

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
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    Oxford, OH
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    Default Best way to boil 40-60 gallons of sap on a weekend

    I am just a backyard hobbyist collecting 40-60 gallons of sap during the week and then doing weekend boils using three propane-fueled turkey fryers. This weekend I added another natural gas fueled burner, too. I'd like to know how other small scale operations are handling similar volumes of sap with weekend boiling. How would you handle batch boiling on this scale?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
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    Quaker Hill, CT
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    328

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    55 gallon drum evaporator with steam table pans or a cinder block arch are the most economical ways of dealing with that volume of sap. Both are wood fired which may or may not work for you.

    Next up is a natural gas rig which will take some diy work most likely. Costs can add up with natural gas and the burners to burn it.
    2017 25 taps on buckets got me hooked 1 gallon of sweet
    2018 51 taps on 3/16 tubing/ DIY oil tank evaporator 8.5gallons finished
    2019 60 taps 7 gallons finished ended season short
    2020 New 2x4 divided pan ready to get away from the headache that is steam table pans
    2021 off year due to pandemic and projects
    2022 back at it

  3. #3
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    May 2010
    Location
    Savoy, MA
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    When I first started I was collecting and boiling about what you are. I had a nice cement block arch and a 20x20" SS pan. Something like that would easily handle your 60 gallons. If you started early in the AM, you could even get it done in one day.
    16x24 Timber Frame Sugar House
    Mason 2x4 Evaporator
    90 trees on buckets

  4. #4
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    Mar 2018
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    Farmington Maine area 44.6* N
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    I can boil down 40-50 gals sap in a 8 hr day on a concrete block type burner with a 6" deep 2' x 2' SS pan along with a 6" deep 12"x 20" warming pan.
    Poured slab with 3 blocks high and 3 blocks long 20- 22" wide I think. Might take a little longer for the finishing but you get the picture. Averaging about 7-8 gals hour full tilt, stoking .
    Last edited by woodsy; 02-23-2020 at 06:30 PM.
    Backyard Sugarin' since 1991
    Concrete block wood burner
    24 taps on gallon jugs
    2' x 2' x 6" SS pan
    5 gal. SS steamer pan for preheating
    89 Arctic Cat Panther sap hauler

    Making a few gallons syrup most years.
    Maple Baked Beans
    Maple Oat Sourdough Bread
    Maple Wine

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Oneida NY
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    Maybe it's time to check out either making an RO or check out the RO Bucket.
    Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
    Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
    Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
    After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.

  6. #6
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    Jan 2019
    Location
    Oxford, OH
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    I did try my hand at a DIY RO system. I only got it fully completed midway through Saturday's batch, so it hasn't been fully utilized, though. I was able to run about 10 gallons of raw sap through it, though, reducing that by 50% or so, so that was a big win. Next boil I hope to run the entire batch through, hopefully cutting that boiling time in half.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Upper Valley, NH
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    I think you will find with your RO that you don't need to change anything. You can recirculate the sap through the RO (even a small one) and bring your concentrate up to 6% or even 8%. That will make a nice short day of boiling. After that, a DIY block arch and pan as others have mentioned would be a nice improvement. For my money (and time) the RO is the best investment for small scale production.
    2023: Award Winning Maple Syrup and Honey!
    2023: 200 Taps on 3/16" "natural vac"
    2022: 150 Taps on 3/16" "natural vac"
    2022: Lapierre Vision 2x6 with Preheater & Marcland Autodraw
    2022: Brand new post and beam sugar house
    2022: 4"x40" RO
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Frankford, Ontario
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    A 2'x3' flat pan on a natural draft block arch can easily boil gals 4 / hr, and will achieve 6 gals / hr with steady firing.
    A lot more fun stoking a fire and watching water boil, than flipping a switch and hearing a pump hum.
    Big_Eddy
    Eastern Ontario (Quinte)
    20+ years on a 2x3 block arch,
    Homemade 20"x64" drop flue since 2011

    Build a Block Arch
    Build a Flat Pan
    Build a Flue Pan
    Sweetening the Pans
    Build a Bending Brake
    Using a Hydrotherm
    How much Sap to Sweeten?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Redding, CT
    Posts
    89

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    In general, what is the cost of a DIY RO of this size? I may also be interested.

    For me, I boil about 40-60 gallons every 1.5 - 2 weeks. I had a 2x3 pan and just upgraded to 2x4. First time out this year and took me 8 hours for 50-60 gallons. Biggest difference is I can't sit out there for 8 hours feeding the fire every 10 min. So I go up and down in temperature and depths. I like the hobby, but marathon boiling sessions has caused me to sit out the last 2 years. I'm trying again this year.
    2021 - 15 taps
    2020 - 20 taps, 2 gallons syrup
    2016 - 25 taps, 2.1 gallons syrup
    2014 - 14 taps, 1.1 gallons syrup

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Oxford, OH
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    20

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    I spent about $300 invested on my DIY RO, ordering most of the parts from Amazon and picking up the rest from Home Depot. After I built it I saw something about The RO Bucket, https://www.therobucket.com/Wordpress/, which seems to follow the same model most of the DIY RO systems use (pump, filter, RO membranes). With my next batch boil I plan to put mine to the test. I don't think it would be a good idea to use it to concentrate the sap ahead of time, only to let it sit before boiling. It seems like that would create a situation that is ripe for spoilage.

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