+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: Number of Taps vs Finished Quarts

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Bath, New Hampshire
    Posts
    5

    Default Number of Taps vs Finished Quarts

    I remember years ago the Old Timer's saying in a really good year you should end up with 1 quart of finished syrup per tap. I'm a backyarder and only set 35 taps and have never been close to that ratio.......until this year. Maybe a longer season, maybe near perfect conditions, but batch boiling on a 2' X 4' divided pan I was able to finish up with 34 quarts. Quite happy with the result and I probably shut down a day or two early. Anybody have a similar good year?
    Tim

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Location
    Upstate NY
    Posts
    51

    Default

    Upstate NY here in the hills outside of Albany. This season was kind of a roller coaster with things starting off well and then we had a big warm up in March (like 5 days in a row in the 60s and not freezing overnight) but the trees survived and came back strong. I tapped on 2/20/22 and pulled the taps on 4/5/22. From 4/1 to 4/5 i made a third of the years syrup, things were flowing very well. But overall it ended up being a great year for me, i had 51 taps and made 16.5 gallons, which works out to be about a third of a gallon per tap. All of my syrup ended up grading as Amber, and i hit the upper and lower limits of the amber range. Last year i was on 30 taps and made 7 gallons.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Lanark, ON
    Posts
    2,387

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by nhmaple_enthusiast View Post
    I remember years ago the Old Timer's saying in a really good year you should end up with 1 quart of finished syrup per tap. I'm a backyarder and only set 35 taps and have never been close to that ratio.......until this year. Maybe a longer season, maybe near perfect conditions, but batch boiling on a 2' X 4' divided pan I was able to finish up with 34 quarts. Quite happy with the result and I probably shut down a day or two early. Anybody have a similar good year?
    Tim
    That was before modern production systems, high vacuum, natural vacuum, disposable spouts etc... My father made 1 L per tap (just more than a quart) once in his life. We now average well over that.
    4,600 Taps on vacuum
    9,400 gallons storage
    3 tower CDL RO
    3.5'x14' Lapierre Force 5
    Twitter & Instagram: @ennismaple
    www.ennismaple.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Barnet, VT
    Posts
    2,580

    Default

    We have made 510 gallons on 995 taps. Will boil out rig today and get a few more.
    William
    950 taps
    3 X 12 Thor pans on a Brian Arch
    CDL 600 expandable

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    River Falls, WI
    Posts
    831

    Default

    I've always heard that a quart per tap was the average for buckets or tubing without vacuum. I'm sure it varies by region though.

    My neighbor last year put out 100 taps on 3/16 with a big slope. He hauled me a bit over 4000 gallons of sap, making over a gallon of syrup per tap! I had been doing real well averaging about half a gallon per tap with my 3/16 and shurflo setup, but that was enough to convince me to ditch my shurflo pumps and swing for the fences with a rotary vane pump and electric releaser for my 300 taps.

    I'm at a bit over 9000 gallons of sap for the season so far and right about .8 gpt. We've got another week to go it looks like, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed to hit a gallon per tap. I have brand new tubing this year, so I know it may not happen again, but it sure would be something to hit that number once in my life!
    -Ryan


    Went off the deep end. Might be in over my head...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    chester, ma
    Posts
    905

    Default

    I'm all on buckets, and I get a little over 11G sap per tap in an average year. But my sugar content is lower than those further north it seems, so that nets me a hair under a quart per tap.

    There's a lot of variability (duh) from season to season. My best year I average 0.3 GPT, and my worst season 0.18 GPT.

    GO
    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

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Berrien Center, MI
    Posts
    130

    Default

    I know the North American Maple Syrup Producer's Manual mentions the quart of finished syrup per tap in a bucket operation. We have been pretty close to that. Last year we had 50 taps and got 13.5 gallons of syrup. This year we had 100 taps and got 23.5 gallons of syrup.
    Daniel & Eleanor Bliese
    Heritage Woods, LLC
    SW Michigan

    Smoky Lake 2x4 raised flue on Corsair arch
    The RO Bucket 80gph Single Post
    100 taps on buckets

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    chester, ma
    Posts
    905

    Default

    Then there are the trees that are major outliers.

    I have one tree that is pure maple gold. I had measured the sugar percent from it before, and it puts out sap with more than three times the sugar of my low-sugar sugar maples. But this year, for the first time, I measured how much sap I got from it. It came in at a whopping 80 gallons of sap. That's with buckets - no vacuum. And on the day I shut down, it was still pushing out high-quality sap (four gallons in under 24 hrs) when every other tree was shutting down. It is very big, so it gets three taps. Still, that's an average of 27 gallons per tap, or an average of 10 gallons per run. So every run it puts out a quart of syrup. Sure would be nice if all my trees were like that!

    GO
    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

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Northfield, VT
    Posts
    35

    Default

    I started with all 5/16 line and a single 1/2” mainline (no vacuum) and averaged about 0.2-0.25 gallons per tap with ~120 taps. I since converted to all 3/16” and have around 260 taps. Each line has 19-25 taps on it and runs downhill to the collection tank with about 100’ elevation drop. I have vacuum gauges at the top of each line that routinely have 22-30” of vacuum. (Cheap Amazon gauges, I know 30” isn’t possible). I now get 0.3 to 0.33 gpt. The sap rarely is over 1.7% sugar. I made 86 gallons of syrup so I’m happy.
    2013 Started with 6 used buckets, 6 sap sacks, concrete block fire pit in the woods and a 20g Agway galvanized tub for boiling - made 8 quarts campfire grade syrup and got hooked. Over the years I acquired or built a 2x6 Leader evaporator, 20x30 barn/sugar house, home-built RO with 1-4x40 membrane and Kubota L3200 with log winch. In 2020 I was certified by VT Audubon as a bird-friendly producer.

    2021 250 taps on 11- 3/16" lines hoping for 80 gal.

    Out of control hobby, not a business!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Hopkinton, MA
    Posts
    1,778

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by motowbrowne View Post
    My neighbor last year put out 100 taps on 3/16 with a big slope. He hauled me a bit over 4000 gallons of sap, making over a gallon of syrup per tap!
    Wow! That's incredible.
    Woodville Maples
    www.woodvillemaples.com
    www.facebook.com/woodvillemaples
    Around 300 taps on tubing, 25+ on buckets if I put them out
    Mix of natural and mechanical vac, S3 Controller from Mountain Maple
    2x6 W.F. Mason with Phaneuf pans
    Deer Run 250 RO
    Ford F350
    6+ hives of bees (if they make it through the winters)
    Keeping the day job until I can start living the dream.

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts