Hello, I am Nick from Dansville NY. I became hooked on sugaring as a teen at an uncles small scale sugar shack. it was a 2x6 wood fired evaporator with about 400 taps. Recently I started working for a guy that has a 7400 tap operation that uses a 3x12 oil fired evaporator. I starting building sap line pliers and I am starting to grow my product line to include more tools. I currently only build single hand pliers, Double hand Cut-in pliers and spout pullers.
Hi everyone, my name is Benjamin Ive started collecting sweet water back about 5 years ago and been collecting ever since. I live in nw missouri and and I started with tapping the 4 maple trees at my house with about 10 taps. I now collect sap from a neighbors field plus ours and have about 27 taps. I collect in buckets and I boil on the stove using to big pots boiling around 1-2 gallon per hour.
Ive been reading on this this forum for the last 5 years and just wanted too post what Ive been doing
Benjamin
I'm a backyard/neighborhood hobbyist in central Ohio. I started sugaring in 2015 after noticing a sapsucker take a keen 'interest' in my large sugar in the winter of 2014. 2 buckets in year 1, 4 last year, and 6 in the neighborhood this year. I don't feel the need to scale up significantly...mostly I enjoy the time outdoors, learning the skill, and strengthening my neighborhood community by sharing the rewards. I did upgrade from a large pot to a steam pan for my outdoor propane stove this season, and I'd love to convert to wood-burning if/when the stove becomes impractical.
I've read a lot of archived threads from this forum the last few years, self-teaching and troubleshooting. Look forward to being around awhile.
We live in Minneapolis, have been tapping our silver since 2009. The last couple of years we've been missing the season - either tapped too late, or the sap never really ran. So I thought I'd come by here to hang out with some experienced folks, work on my timing and skill.
We're working with an old pickle bucket, some spiles I carved from the sumac that grows along I-94, and a hand drill. We did extraordinarily well on 2-3 taps in 2009-2010, I'd say some 35-40 gallons of sap (it's a very large tree). But then we were hit by a tornado in 2011 which ripped up the crown, and the yield has never really recovered.
Hello all!, my name is Tom, northern Michigan Cadillac area, this will be the first year I tap my trees and attempt to make some home made syrup. I'm going to use 1 gallon water jugs, and use 20 of them. I was going to use a Turkey propane gas rig, but was told to be careful as the rubber hose could melt and cause a blow out! Soooooo!, that turned me off to that idea. I am making a evaporator from a 55 gal barrel and a stainless steel pan fired by wood. It still a work in progress but I hope to have it done by tapping season which is getting close. Any how thanks for having me here and hope to learn a lot. Guess I already did, I won't be blowing myself up with da turkey fryer... lol have a great season!
Trapper, Lake Winnebago Wisconsin
I'm 62 years old. Started sugaring with my Dad in early 1960s until 1973 when he sold the farm. 1990 I bought a 40 that is predominately hardwoods in central Wisconsin for hunting. I've been dabbling with 5o taps on buckets most springs, cooked down about 7.5 gallons of syrup last year as my land is 80 miles from my house timing is a bit of a challenge. I have a 36" X 40" flat pan with a 40" X 12" preheat pan setting on top of it that dribbles in about 8 gallons an hour. It truly is a family/friend event as I had 13 people helping or getting in the way last Saturday on our first boil of the year. Picture is at the end of the boil with the preheater removed and the roller conveyor not in place yet to roll the pan off at 217.5.376.jpgrolling off.jpg
Last edited by Trapper2; 02-25-2017 at 10:53 AM.
Reason: added picture
Hello from southern Michigan.
I have been tapping my trees here for the past 4-5years using hand carved spiles and plastic jugs. I usually collect around 20 gallons of sap and start boiling using a Coleman stove in the garage, with finishing on the kitchen stove.
It is a very manual process with collecting done on foot as this is the muddy season and vehicles get stuck.
I tapped a new tree yesterday and when drilling saw no sap at all. With the recent warm weather, I expected it to be running.
That is what brought me here to see if others were tapping this early.
Hope to learn something new, and am glad this forum is available!
Mark
Greetings from Northern NJ!
This is my first year tapping; I meant to start last year, but the season came and went without a single tap going in. This year I was ready with my taps and pails in hand and all the trees taped off just waiting for the appropriat weather to show up.
My sugar bush is actually located in Orange County, NY where my family has 20 acres of land. The 80-mile round trip is a small price to pay for the golden goodness that awaits at the bottom of every evaporating session. Because I am a newbie and don't have a lot of equipment, I conduct a boil every 10-15 gallons in my house. My wife loves the way the house smells!
Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and say thanks to all the highly informed folks on here for sharing their sagely advice. I wouldn't have been able to appreciate fresh maple syrup without you!
My name is Jay, living in Charlestown, NH. For a long time I boiled 20-40 gallons of sap in a flat pan for my own use. This year I got married, and my father in law is a real sugaring addict. He bought a leader half-pint evaporator and I built us a sugar house. We have 50 buckets this year, and plan 100 next year, with a larger evaporator. I do most of my farm work with a pair of Percheron horses, and that includes bringing in the sap. Thanks for adding me to the forums, there is much to learn here.
Hi All - Tom from Norwalk CT. Started 5 years ago with a big sugar maple in my back yard. Then recruited 8 other trees in my neighborhood (my neighbors think I am crazy for getting up at 430 on weekends). I boil mostly on the firepit with large pots, but just converted a file cabinet to an evaporator, which keeps a lot smoke out of the eyes! Sad that this year year is winding down already - I tapped in mid-january so have been boiling away on weekends, but was waiting to tap another 10 trees to double output and I don't think it will happen. Anyway - I appreciate all of your contributions to this forum.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote