What’s the best piece of advice you were given when you started?

[82cabby]

So to help kick off this area of the forum, what piece of advice were you given when you started that turned out to be really valuable? I’ve learned so much from this forum and from experts around my area it’s hard to narrow it down, but a couple that stand out:

Base all your decisions on the assumption you will have more taps next year.

Buy a hydrometer

Keep a bucket of sap next to the evaporator just in case the pan goes too low. (This one saved me more than once)

A little Homemade syrup makes bourbon taste even better!

[maple flats]

Keep it fun was the best advice I was given and that still is the best I can give others. You need to realize, brand new is not necessary, learn on an older unit. Just make sure is is not made with lead bearing solder.

[Someclown]

Some advice given from my father many years ago was, you better have a lot of free time on your hands to cut wood and keep a hot fire burning, his best advice was to have a pan with as much square footage you can get over that hot fire.
Man was he right, I'm still working on all these and enjoying every minute of it.

[Pdiamond]

It is an addiction that will grow over time. It seems you will always want more taps, a better evaporator, etc... In the end enjoy the product that you produced, it tastes the best and you made it.

[Ultimatetreehugger]

Take your time and don't save a dollar today just to spend double tomorrow.

Cheaper isn't always better.

Pumping is better than trucking.

Sap flows even if it doesn't look fancy.

Biggest one was to enjoy what you do no matter how big or small.

[buckeye gold]

After one year of tapping more than I could boil on a propane burner a seasoned producer told me to decide right now if I was going to continue doing this. if the answer is yes, then do it right and spend some money now on a real evaporator and the right tools. He said three years from now you will have spent more money and suffered twice the aggravation and three times the effort. He then let me use his old evaporator which I bought after that season and realized his wisdom. The second thing I learned from another producer is, sap is not sacred. If it's bad there's no saving it, toss it on the ground. One batch of bad syrup will cost you more than you can ever recover in customers, never sell off-flavor syrup.

To this day my wife and I taste test every batch (cold) and if it doesn't pass our taste test ( we are very particular) if never sells.

[cropseyvillemark]

Build your sugarhouse twice as big as you think you will need.(you'll end up using every square inch of it) and buy an evaporator 1/2 the size you think you need.(this will push you to buy the RO that you didn't think you would ever need).

[Gord]

I've seen on this forum and others how people pick days or holidays when they are going to start tapping. I was wondering myself when to start.
The best advice I got was from an old timer. I asked him when should I start tapping trees? He said ... When the sap starts to run.

[ir3333]

thin pans will boil much more efficiently.It is hard to out boil those steam pans ...all things being equal.Some
of them are 24 or 26 gauge.The better manufacturers seem to have settled on 22 gauge.I would try and
go with 22 gauge if possible.

[Kh7722]

Take your time and plan out your operation for where you want to be and not where you are.
Over exhausting yourself takes the fun out of it.