formula for % sugar to gal of syrup

[marc b]

what is the formula for % sugar to how much syrup it would make. someone told me that u divide the % of sugar in the sap by 86 and that is your ratio of gallons of sap to gallons of syrup made ?

[spencer11]

yes, divide the suger % by 86 and thats how many gallons of sap it tapes to make a gallon of syrup.

spencer

[maple man]

rule of 86 % divided by 86 minus 1 86 divided by 2% sap =43 -1 =42 you have 42 gallons of water to make one gallon of syurp

[wiam]

rule of 86 % divided by 86 minus 1 86 divided by 2% sap =43 -1 =42 you have 42 gallons of water to make one gallon of syurp

Never heard of the minus 1 thing.

[spencer11]

i think what he means is thats how many gallons of water you have to boil off to get 1 gallon of syrup. i didnt understand it at first either.

spencer

[Maplehobbyist]

Where does the 86 come from? I'm having a hard time figuring out a relationship between that number and the amount of sugar in a gallon of syrup.

[spencer11]

i dont know where it comes from. i just know thats what we are suppose to use.

spencer

[wcproctor]

How much sap to make a
Gallon of syrup

3% will take 28 gallons to make 1 gallon

2% will take 43 gallons to make 1 gallon

1.5% will take 57 gallons to make 1 gallon

1% will take 86 gallons to make 1 gallon

[happy thoughts]

It's a recognized constant. I couldn't explain where pi comes from either but we know it works It probably has something to do with the weight/volume of water vs that of sugar in a given measure and that may be what's messing up the logic for you.

[DrTimPerkins]

Where does the 86 come from?

It comes from the empirical rule developed by C.H. Jones of the University of Vermont (Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station) called the "Jones Rule of 86" which was published in a long treatise (with J.L. Bradlee as co-author), "The Carbohydrate Contents of the Maple Tree" in 1933. We still refer to that paper occasionally even now...it is a very important contribution to maple science.

There is a section in the North American Maple Producers Manual which explains the "Jones Rule of 86" in some detail.