Is this an OK Idea?
Thinking about reusing plastic gallon milk/juice containers to collect sap. Since the handle is on the side of jug I was wondering if it's ok to hammer a nail into trunk to hang the jug handle on. Would this pose any problems?
Any advice/suggestions are appreciated!
No don't nail them. It will wound the tree and limit your tapping options in the future. What kind of spiles are you using? Are they made for tubing or buckets?
“A sap-run is the sweet good-bye of winter. It is the fruit of the equal marriage of the sun and frost.”~John Burroughs, "Signs and Seasons", 1886
backyard mapler since 2006 using anything to get the job done from wood stove to camp stove to even crockpots.
2012- moved up to a 2 pan block arch
2013- plan to add another hotel pan and shoot for 5-6 gallons
Thinking small is best for me so probably won't get any bigger.
I have seen these jugs used, with rope or webbing around the tree to hold them in place. No damage to the tree.
Jeff Emerson
www.emersonsmaplehill.com
3x12 Leader with over air, custom piggyback, 600gph CDL RO
2500 on 25" vacuum
350 4 wheeler, 500 snowmobile, and 1950's Ford 600 tractor, Husqvarna! (261, 372xpBigBore, 562xp), Stihl MS193 for in tree work
Tie some twine around the tree, hand a small hook made out of a coat hager on the twine and hook your jug on it.Originally Posted by Crystal
Homemade 46 by 26 wood boiler with two polished stainless pans
Home made sugar shack with Caputo Rooftop
15 gallon pre-heater tank with a circulating copper pipe stack heater.
two 45 gallon storage tanks with transfer pumps
150 taps (buckets)
Arctic Cat Prowler
Two big reds with bucket holders to collect the sap
Good wife to assist me
Getting sweeter one drop at a time.
I don't think a nail would hurt the tree too much, as long as it is pulled at the end of the season, but I think the nail is unnecessary.
I've seen people cut a small square hold in the plastic jug, slightly larger than the spout (with a utility knife) and just use the spout itself to hold the jug.
Or just tie the string around the spout.
ALSO: Go to google images and google: gallon jug sap bucket and you will se some interesting ideas.
Last edited by PerryW; 03-21-2013 at 09:52 AM.
2012: Probably 750 gravity taps and 50 buckets.
600 gal stainless milk tank.
2 - 100 gallon stock tanks
one 30 gal barrel
50 buckets
3' x 10' Waterloo Raised Flue wood fired evaporator w/ open pans.
12" x 20" Filter Canner
Sawmill next to sugarhouse solves my sugarwood problem
Gather with GMC 3500 2wd Pickup w/ 425 gallon Plastic Tank.
Been tapping here in Lyman NH since 1989 but I've been sugaring since 8 years old in 1968.
crystal, I've never used milk jugs but here are two ways to hang them.
http://mdc.mo.gov/media/image/milk-j...-sap-collector
I think a bungy might work, too, and make for easy release and emptying.
Another way is this image from a page that is no longer online but I had saved. Here's where a coat hanger might come in handy as a hanger on a spile made for buckets.
jug_bucket.jpg
Hope this helps and good luck!
“A sap-run is the sweet good-bye of winter. It is the fruit of the equal marriage of the sun and frost.”~John Burroughs, "Signs and Seasons", 1886
backyard mapler since 2006 using anything to get the job done from wood stove to camp stove to even crockpots.
2012- moved up to a 2 pan block arch
2013- plan to add another hotel pan and shoot for 5-6 gallons
Thinking small is best for me so probably won't get any bigger.
I have just used scrap copper wire in the past. Very malleable, just wrap it around the jug and spile. Really quick to undo and redo, no knots, straps, or bungees to mess with.
2011-18 taps, 3 campfires in the driveway. Pots,pans and an old kitchen sink. 5 gallons syrup. Good year. Funny looks from neighbors.
2012 more taps. Oil tank evap. w/sink and 2x4 flat pan.
2013 running our first tubes 40-60 taps.
Crystal, this year I purchased some extra spiles, but didn't have extra sap pails to go with them, so I used jugs. I have been THRILLED with them! They are really sturdy, and to make myself feel better, I did put a piece of twine through the handle and tied them onto the tree. They never flop around, even when it is really windy, and they give me less worry than the sap buckets. The only issue with them is that on a day when the sap is just gushing, you'll need to keep an eye on them and empty them more often so they don't overflow. Gee, what a wonderful problem to have.
When I cut the hole for the jugs I didn't make an "O" shaped hole I made a "U" shaped hole. I then folded up the top piece of plastic from the "U" so that it makes a bit of a roof over the hole to help keep bugs, rain and snow out. (And by the way, the sap in the jugs is 10X cleaner than the sap that you collect in traditional pails.) I then put small bits of duct tape around all of the cut edges for added strength, but mostly to keep myself from being cut by the sharp plastic edges. When you're done, slide the jug over the spile and push the jug toward the tree until it is snug. Wrap some twine through the handle and then wait for the bucket to fill.
I might add that I wish we had milk jugs up here in Canada like you do in the States. We can only buy milk in either boxes or bags, so the jugs I've had to use are water jugs. It take much longer to save those up than it would if our milk came in jugs.
Next time I go to check on the buckets and jugs I'll take a picture for you.
~ Karen ~
2012 - 10 taps, 1 turkey fryer - 169.5L sap 4.2 L syrup
2013 - 23 taps, 2 turkey fryers - 748.5 L sap 17.56 L syrup
2014 - 22 taps, 509 L sap 12.5 L syrup
2015 - 28 taps, 1093.75 L sap 25.1 L syrup
2016 - 25 taps, 1223.5 L sap 28.25 L syrup
2017 - 21 taps, 518.5 L sap 12.7 L syrup
2018 - 28 taps, 2 turkey fryers & Denali 3 burner propane stove - 798L sap 16.9 L syrup
2019 - 28 taps, 1409.5L sap 40.12L syrup
Sugar, Norway, Manitoba, Silver and Freeman Maples
Thank you all so much for the helpful advice!
After searching images I think I'll use a homemade wire "s" hook to hang the jug from the spile. Then notch a hole into the jug cap and stick the tubing through cap, attach the other end of tubing to the spile.
All about reusing.
Sorry for the late delay in replying. Apparently I hadn't gone through these posts before........
I've been using milk jugs for the past 3 years. I put a cable tie through the handle of the jug and then hang that on the S hook. If there is no S hook, I just put a cable tie around the spile and through the one on the jug.
Takes a little learning to twist the jug off of the spile, dump it into the pail, and twist right back on the spile, without removing it every time, but you will figure it out quick.
Only drawback on the milk jugs: over time the plastic tends to stretch, distorting the mouth or making it sometimes difficult to keep the mouth of the jug in line with the spile. But, by the time I need a new jug, I usually have emptied the milk out of another one.
Cheap, readily available, recyclable. I like it.
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