lpakiz, Thanks a bunch for that tid bit! At times it seems I am mathamaticly challanged.
It has been a tad busy 'round these heya' parts as of late.
I have as much sap as can safely fit in a supposed Rubbermaid 32 gallons trash can, brand new of course, washed, rinsed, and weathered some to make a feeble attempt at removing the mould release waxes. Lots of ice cakes in there too.
Since I hadn't been planning to make sugar this year things are out of order.
As it turns out the wood I had hoped for, seemingly so far as I can see it, is junk, all wet, and not 5 years dry under the 3 feet of snow. More like soggy and frozen in hard. So hard the bob cat just tries to climb a too steep angle for it, but the weight is supported.
It might work if I can bust the ice and spread it out, but later in my season.
I will gather again on Saturday, and get more wood right from the standing dead here, and see what happens.
I have no tools to tell me what the sugar content is, and haven't seen any mention fron those who may, to tell what kind of year this is in a general way.
If this is generally a high percent year that 32 gallons could make 1 gallon, but if it is more like a 40 gallon year I won't make 1 whole gallon maybe.
Some of my 15 taps are picking up from the dismal amounts I was getting.
What I don't want to do is get more sap than my body can deal with, which counts gathering, cutting wood and tending the fire. This is a one man deal, and was a spur of the moment one at that.
Depending on what happens this time around, will determine if I can afford more taps next year.
In the past I like to get about 1" of sap in the pan, to get things moving, then I add a little drip from a large pot, to so much as will stay at a hard boil.
This year I have a new method, which I am not sure will work. The plan is to allow gravity to force sap from a pot to run several wraps inside copper tubing UP HILL heating. So sap should be moving up hill by both gravity and heat rising to atleast the level in the pot.
The copper tubing perhaps being a flexible amount higher that the level in the pot, and as flexible as needed to swing the end of the tubbing right back into the pot as a means of control.
All hot sap then would gather in the pot when off, and cooler sap at the bottom would still flow down hill in the tubing where it will heat and climb.
When the pan demands more sap, the flow in the copper line can be altered to land in the pan..
I hope this works..
If not, I will be whining all about what I have done WRONG soon enough so no one else does my folly.
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