Originally Posted by
Manatawny
I boiled on Saturday - from my 33 taps I got about 45 gal. which boiled down to about 75 oz. of syrup. So, 75:1. Yikes.
Last year was my first year, and I started end of February. My first week last year I got 60:1, and after that I got 70:1.
Will my 75:1 improve this year? That's horrible. Are these trees not even worth tapping?
What kind of trees? 40:1 is for sugar maples. And even that is only an average - trees that get a lot of sun will give more, and those in the middle of a forest will give less. But other maples have less sugar in their sap than sugar maples.
2016: Homemade arch from old wood stove; 2 steam tray pans; 6 taps; 1.1 gal
2017: Same setup. 15 taps; 4.5 gal
2018: Same setup. Limited time. 12 taps and short season; 2.2 gal
2019: Very limited time. 7 taps and a short season; 1.8 gals
2020: New Mason 2x3 XL halfway through season; 9 taps 2 gals
2021: Same 2x3, 18 taps, 4.5 gals
2022: 23 taps, 5.9 gals
2023: 23 taps. Added AUF, 13.2 gals
2024: 17 taps
All on buckets