Collected just under 9 gallons and made just under a L of syrup.
I realize the cheesecloth gets the bigger pieces of nitre, but last Spring my DYI vacuum filter left it crystal clear when I bottled it, now I can see it is cloudy, but settles clear the next morning.
Night time temps will be above zero, so I am not expecting any new flow until Wednesday, but then I might have five days of flows.
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
I went for my morning walk and checked the pails when I went by and was surprised to see a little sap flowing, as temperatures were above zero for over a day and the previous night, the temperatures went barely below zero.
No sap flow expected until Wednesday, but there should be some good days right to Boxing Day. It will shut down after that. For how long we will see.
I might end up with 7 L before New Years, which is a 1/4 of what I hope to get by the end of the season. Who knows if the taps staymopend like last year and there are a few warm spells during winter, I might end up with considerably more.
I might try and set up my fire pit boil this week as well.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/01bZ...Xd13__snhHR_5Q
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
I was thinking the same thing last year when I upgraded from my steam pans to a built pan. Deciding to have my nee pan the same size as 2 steam pans worked well for small batches. With the new evaporator I built this fall I will have the pan and one steam pan. I can put water in the steam pan instead of sap if I'm doing a small batch.Originally Posted by Swingpure
2021 - Year one. 15 taps using 5/16" and drop tube into buckets. Homemade barrel evaporator with 2 steam trays. 4.7L syrup.
2022. 32 taps. Added AUF.
2023. 51 taps. Ditched the steam pans for an 18x22 flat pan.
2024. 56 taps. Built a proper evaporator to fit the 18x22 flat pan and 1 steam pan.
I agree. Steam pans and smaller flat pans can really give the hobbyist flexibility. Obviously if volume is your target, you need larger pans and evaporators, but if you have fewer taps, I think hobbyist should be very happy that they have the right tool for the job with the smaller pans and evaporators.
I will check the pails later tonight in the rain just to see what flowed. Next boil will be in the afternoon Wednesday.
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
I expected the sap to flow today but it did not. Next sap flow day will be Saturday, with 6 possible sap flow days, but the forecasted overnight temps have to drop a little.
So far I had been boiling with my two induction stoves and a turkey fryer. If flows ever get strong, I have access to a second turkey fryer, but the plan was also to boil over my fire bowl, with my old steam pans. I thought I would give it a try today with the 2.5 gallons of sap I had collected the other day.
It actually worked quite well. In the attached pictures you will see one with two pans and one with four. The two center pans had sap and the other two, meant to be warm up pans had water.
The two sap pans boiled pretty good and the two warm up pans did warm up and one was giving off steam. That will add 2 gph to my boiling capacity when I need it.
It used much, much less wood than my monster evaporator did last year, but for obvious reasons.
The one lesson learnt is to spend a little time leveling out the support rods.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/062c...HSv9pjil35msxw
https://share.icloud.com/photos/071k...5diSW7wUx0_Omw
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
I wasn’t happy with the sugar sand in my finished product. Although I could simply pour off the syrup into another container when I planned to consume it and just leave the nitre behind, it just wasn’t something I liked, especially because the high standards I had last year.
I was in the neighbourhood of CDL, which is an hour and a half drive away, and picked up a cone filter with a number of cone prefilters. Tomorrow I will rig something up to hold it in place. My next boil will be Saturday or Sunday. The forecast keeps changes this coming Christmas weekend, but sap will run.
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
I use cone filters for my filtering. The stand I made is with a piece of plywood with a hole in the middle to slip the filter through. I put 4 finishing nails partially set to hook the filter ribs from. The plywood has 4 legs long enough that my pot fits under the stand to collect the filtered syrup.
2021 - Year one. 15 taps using 5/16" and drop tube into buckets. Homemade barrel evaporator with 2 steam trays. 4.7L syrup.
2022. 32 taps. Added AUF.
2023. 51 taps. Ditched the steam pans for an 18x22 flat pan.
2024. 56 taps. Built a proper evaporator to fit the 18x22 flat pan and 1 steam pan.
Thanks. I will work on it tomorrow.
My primary cone filter has four loops at the top, so I can see how you supported it.
Edit: I did make a stand for it as you described using plywood. Mine is a little fugly, but is functional.
We will have six days with temperatures above freezing, but night time lows may be above freezing, I am not sure how much sap will actually run in that time.
My lines run and face east, but are also on the north side of a slope, so they do not get a lot of sun, especially this time of year with the sun not high in the sky and daylight hours close to the lowest of the season. I will get some sap and will boil whatever I get and will make syrup, one bottle at a time.
Last edited by Swingpure; 12-22-2023 at 12:52 PM.
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
Boiling again today. I am not getting a lot of sap as the nighttime temps are above zero. A 7 day warm spell, but too warm, producing a very rare green Christmas.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/04aY...IUgCX66PyG2HNA
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
Made 1.25 L today. Not all shown in the picture. It was Golden syrup.
The new cone filter worked really well and the syrup was very clear.
Earlier in the day we had pancakes with my Grandkids and we had the syrup I made earlier in December. Everyone loved it.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/036-...OgxTAiQ8qBq7cA
That might be it until we get another warm spell, which may come in the second half of January.
I am not making a lot of syrup, but I am making syrup. We will see how long the taps flow for. If like last year they stay open into April that will be bonus, if they shut down, I have many other trees I can tap on my property and have drops into buckets.
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
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