Thinking about it, I guess you just dump the syrup into the other filters as you remove it.
Thinking about it, I guess you just dump the syrup into the other filters as you remove it.
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.
That's what I do. Dump it in and try to keep the worst nitre and sludge in the old prefilter so it doesn't clog up the other prifilters. As I get near the end I push up on the bottom of the cone with a stick or ladle to have the syrup filter through the upper portion of the filter where it's not clogged. I have seen people here use a bracket that makes the bottom of the cone into a sailor hat shape to increase the filtering area. It's like this. https://bascommaple.com/products/con...ire-rack-roundOriginally Posted by Swingpure
2021 - Year one. 15 taps using 5/16" and drop tube into buckets. Homemade barrel evaporator with 2 steam trays.
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.
2025. 62 taps.
Thanks good tips.
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.
The sap ran well today, relatively speaking, for February, on the shady side of a hill, with almost 2 feet of snow on the roots. It should be close to 6 gallons, which may not sound like a lot, but seeing how I have been mostly getting two gallons a day, it is a good day. Tomorrow might be a similar day and some real good days are shaping up for the end of the week.
I will boil tomorrow and maybe again Friday or Saturday.
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 today. I basically sold my evaporator from last year that boiled at 13 gallons per hour. Now I boil with steam pans over a fire bowl, two for boiling and two as sap pre heaters, a turkey fryer and two pots over induction stoves. It works.
I did singed my eyebrows when a gust came up as I was adding wood. Saves me from trimming them.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/076x...6YiKFmj6b2mmug
https://share.icloud.com/photos/08dm...tcKoroFzSYq2Ew
I made one and half litres of syrup.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/052Y...-jJmGB2JwQzitA
Last edited by Swingpure; 02-05-2024 at 06:33 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.
I debated doing the sailor hat thing with the cone filter without the optimizer. It seemed to hold its shape on its own. At the last moment I abandoned trying that and just poured the syrup dead center. I try to have as little syrup getting sucked into the filter. I did remove 2 of the 3 pre filters and dumped that syrup in. At the end I used a wooden spoon to push up on the bottom to get the last of it.
The one thing I did last year with the flat filters and again this year with the cone, is I immediately dunk them in a 5 gallon pail of water and leave them there over night, then rinse them under hot water in the morning and they come totally clean.
Last edited by Swingpure; 02-05-2024 at 07:39 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.
The sap ran yesterday and ran again today and should really run well tomorrow into tomorrow night. I will have my fifth boil Friday depending on the rain.
Just small amounts of sap and syrup made, but it is fun.
If I had all of the taps from last years, which were better producers the volumes would be substantially greater, but thatnis not what this season is about.
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.
The sap ran well today, I was tempted to tap some trees I have held in reserve for the more traditional tapping season, but I didn’t. The sap may run all night as the temperatures should remain above freezing.
Depending on the timing of the rain tomorrow, I may boil.
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.
The temperatures did not go below freezing the last two nights, so not much was collected today. I boiled 19 gallons and made 2.2L of syrup. It was all boiled, finished filtered and bottled by 4 pm and all cleaned up before 5 pm.
This is what I was hoping for this year, a much lower key day. The syrup tastes great!
That should be it now for a few weeks, then we will back to the more traditional March sap flow.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/092e...7iMBxtBC1Ex2vw
https://share.icloud.com/photos/07eN...7KXIAqfhmWTdnA
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0bey...wtrHhlJ5WqInRg
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.
Well today was a surprise. Temps today on some sites had it going just over freezing, some had it going to +2° C (35.5 F). Overnight it never reached -3° (26.6 F). I thought some sap might flow as it got close to +2. The sun came out at times. For whatever reason the sap flowed.
It just felt so good, I actually tapped some trees in my yard that were exposed to sun and in less than a half a day they produced a gallon of sap.
I went to the lines, one 5 gallon pail was filled to the brim. I think I just got there in the nic of time. Another pail had 4 gallons and the third pail over two gallons. I ended up with 15 gallons. Thatnis not a huge amount, but compared to other days so far this spring, it was a good day.
As I was collecting the pail taps were still dripping, and the lines still streaming and the temperatures were close to the freezing mark. Imam headed out now to collect again as I may get another gallon or more.
Edit: I collected another two gallons and it was still dripping even though the temperatures are below freezing.
I had no expectations for today, but I will be boiling tomorrow. Tomorrow night it turns cold for at least two weeks.
Last edited by Swingpure; 02-12-2024 at 05:08 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.
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