Tapped 36 yesterday in Berlin at around 3:30. Had about 10 gallons by 5:30. My first year on tubing!
Tapped 36 yesterday in Berlin at around 3:30. Had about 10 gallons by 5:30. My first year on tubing!
What are you using for fuel? JP4 ?Originally Posted by Cjadamec
Seasoned white pine and AOF/AUF. Had to stop putting the magnetic stack temp thermometer on the stack because the magnet kept loosing it's magmatism. A little bit of engineering makes a lot of heat.
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
Good morning all...
I tapped last week expecting to fire up my new Mason 2x3. It took longer to insulate and brick than expected. After finally getting it ready, I wanted to do a late boil as a test run and was way more efficient than I could ever imagined, especially coming from boiling on turkey fryers the past 3 seasons.
Anyhow, I made an error and let the sap get too low, noticed it and ran to get more sap and my pan started to burn in one spot. Roughly a 4x6 inch mark that wouldn’t come off using a spatula last night. I have the pan filled with sap/water now. I miscalculated how long it takes for the evaporator to cool down vs how much sap I wanted to boil. You just can’t turn off the heat like a fryer! I’m such an idiot. Hopefully I didn’t warp it day one.
Anyway, i didn’t get much syrup on the first run, but it is golden color (fancy). It took more sap than usual to get the yield I got. Maybe the sugar content was low since it’s early in the year. Anyone experienced this yet?
I have a pan about 2 x 5 ish, on a wood fired arch, and from the time you stop feeding it, until the time I feel safe walking away is at least a half hr to an hour, and only if I filled it up to 3-4 inches of sap. I keep a bucket or two of sap handy just in case, and when I get down to the end, and want to use all the sap, I keep either a few buckets of water, or a hose nearby. It is amazing how much will still evaporate overnight, even when it has been “shut down”. I have come back to 1-1 1/2 inches after filling it to 3-4 inches the night before.
2017 - 20ish taps on buckets, boiling outside in two baking pans
2018 - 70+ taps, 14-buckets, 50+ on tubing, homemade arch from oil tank in my barn, 17 gal syrup
2019 - same set up, 20 gal syrup
2020 - less taps, short season, but RO kit was fantastic! 6 gal syrup and a maple cat!
2021/22/23 - expanded into the neighbors yards! 50 taps on buckets and 40 taps on tubing
I tapped 30 on tubing yesterday, then sat at the end of the line watching it drip until it turned into a small steady stream.
2017 - 20ish taps on buckets, boiling outside in two baking pans
2018 - 70+ taps, 14-buckets, 50+ on tubing, homemade arch from oil tank in my barn, 17 gal syrup
2019 - same set up, 20 gal syrup
2020 - less taps, short season, but RO kit was fantastic! 6 gal syrup and a maple cat!
2021/22/23 - expanded into the neighbors yards! 50 taps on buckets and 40 taps on tubing
Things happen fast! With luck you didn't warp it. Good practice is to run your pan pretty deep until you get to know how it boils. Better off with too much sap than too little. Keep a bucket of sap close by and remember you can always throw the door open when things are going bad. Won't cool the pan off to zero but it helps a great deal.
I was pulling 1.5% sap last week. Pretty typical for me early in the season. Still managed to finish and bottle a fair amount yesterday.
2020 first boil.jpg
1980 - 6 taps, stone fire pit, drain pan evaporator, 1 pint of syrup
2016 - 55 taps on 3/16 and gravity, new sugar shack, 2x3 Mason XL, 16 gallons of syrup
2017 - 170 taps on 3/16, 2x4 Mason XL, NextGen RO. 50 gallons of syrup
2018 - 250+ taps on gravity and buckets, 2x5 Smokey Lake arch and Beaverland pan.
2019 - 250+ taps on gravity. A few buckets. 35 gallons of syrup.
2020 - 300+ taps on gravity. 50 gallons of syrup.
2021 - 280 taps on gravity and 40 buckets. 35 gallons of syrup.
I tapped Saturday, 1st time :-) Just 5 taps total in 3 trees. Mostly just testing the trees to see if they are any good as they are old(er) and I know just enough to be dangerous. My pan for the grill was delivered today and I can only freeze about 10 gallons so i was worried about doing too many and ending up with more than I could handle.
Never got warm enough at my house yesterday for anyBUT when i left for work this morning... I had about 1/2" in my jugs so hopefully they do not over flow while I am at work!!! The fun begins this weekend it seems :-)
Been reading a TON on here, especially the smaller guys. i should eventually have about 10-15 taps. Going to see how the 1st run or so goes.... I dont want to get overwhelmed and have to boil for 20 hours straight... wife might kill me!
Now THAT is an idea!
Sounds like as good a plan as any to start out with. Just wait by next year you will be talking about tubing and how to make a barrel evaporator. Best of luck to you this season keep us posted how it goes.I tapped Saturday, 1st time :-) Just 5 taps total in 3 trees. Mostly just testing the trees to see if they are any good as they are old(er) and I know just enough to be dangerous. My pan for the grill was delivered today and I can only freeze about 10 gallons so i was worried about doing too many and ending up with more than I could handle.
Never got warm enough at my house yesterday for any
Been reading a TON on here, especially the smaller guys. i should eventually have about 10-15 taps. Going to see how the 1st run or so goes.... I dont want to get overwhelmed and have to boil for 20 hours straight... wife might kill me!
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
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