maple syrup equipment

[IDRBS]

Does anyone know where in CNY I can find taps?

[HectorBuckBuster]

Back many years ago I used to get them at our local agway. Not sure if they still sell them at the Ithaca Agway.

[tuckersdaddy]

2 weeks ago i bought 24 from my local agway. better hurry the run is winding down.

[growalot]

Farm and Tractor

[Gthphtm]

If you Google Maple Syrup supplies there are many companies selling supplies as Leader Ect.Yep it will be winding down soon.I boiled down my 2 gallons of syrup for this year,ready to pull every thing out wash it and put it away.This was one of the better years the sugar contant was up pretty high.

[wdswtr]

There are multiple dealers for equipment through out the state.  CNY is a pretty vast area if I knew where abouts you are I could point you to the nearest one.  Season will be over by weeks end though.  You also can order them from Bascom's Maple Supply out of NH.  Order today and ground shipping they will be at your door tomarrow.  Hoping to hit the 200 gallon mark by weeks end. Been an okay season, better than last but still below par due to the hard 2 week freeze and an early end again.  Usually make syrup into mid april so we are losing about 3 weeks production all together.  If I didnt tap in January for the early runs I would of been in real trouble.  You can also check on Sugarbush.info for lots of great info and links to all the dealers in the maple belt.

Edited March 31, 2013 by wdswtr

[landtracdeerhunter]

I have made spiles, in a pinch, out of  3/8" aluminum tubing being extremely careful driving into the tree. I've heard of people using CPVC also but, never tried.  Fabricate some pail hooks. Will get u an extra day or 2. Maybe another gallon

[Jeremy K]

mmmmmm , maple syrup (in Homer Simpson"s voice)

Edited March 31, 2013 by Jeremy K

[landtracdeerhunter]

Not when dripping into pails. I believe, that is with tubing system.

 

 

 

 

One could use tubing into garbage cans also, as long as the end of the tubing is above the sap.

Edited March 31, 2013 by landtracdeerhunter

[Jeremy K]

Not when dripping into pails. I believe, that is with tubing system.

 

Makes sence , i really screwed the pooch here , i didn't mean to erase my question about the check valves .

[landtracdeerhunter]

That's fine. Anyone else that cares will figure it out, LOL.

Edited March 31, 2013 by landtracdeerhunter

[F-150]

Hess Farm Supply , Andover, NY

[wdswtr]

Not when dripping into pails. I believe, that is with tubing system.

 

 

 

 

One could use tubing into garbage cans also, as long as the end of the tubing is above the sap.

 

Only if you dont care about the poisoning your friends and family.  This is the biggest and worse thing any one trying to produce maple syrup can do.  If its not food grade dont use it, between the recylced materials garbage cans are made out of and the toxins and BPA's they will leach into your sap I can not stress enough NO GARBAGE CANS, they were made for garbage not food products. 

Now did someone say check valves?  I run strictly check valve taps made by leader invented by Dr. Tim Perkins.  One of the best if not the best tap made for tubing systems.  They will allow you to tap in January and still run in April if weather permits. 

5500 gallons of sap boiled down and hoping for 2000 more this week.  One last big hurrah before its over.

[landtracdeerhunter]

You're right with the garbage cans. I keep forgetting the age we live in now. We worry about things like this, though we keep eating far worst chemicals in the foods we buy off the store shelves.  Good luck to your last few days of production. MN is going to help u out for the next few anyways.

[Dom]

How many gallon's of sap to make one gallon of finished product?

[Gthphtm]

About 50.

[wdswtr]

How many gallon's of sap to make one gallon of finished product?

 

You hear all the time 40 to 1 but that is definately varies greatly through out the season.Usually early on or after a deep freeze you will get a lower ratio.  The longer the season plays out the higher the ratio gets as well.  If you take the number 86 and divide by the sugar content of your sap you will get your ratio.  Gthphtm is much closer to reality at 50 to 1.  It varies so much from one area to another, whether your tapping true sugar maples or soft maples as we call them in NY.  I am a 50/50 mix of sugars and soft maples and averaging 53 to 1 this year.  Last year was 62 to 1.  The bigger the crown the sweeter the sap and summer sun sure helps out a lot as well in the sugar category. 

[fasteddie]

I recall a lot of Maple Syrup gathering equipment at our local Tractor Supply in January . I don't recall seeing it lately but I havn't looked for it either .

[josephmrtn]

ebay

[Dinsdale]

You hear all the time 40 to 1 but that is definately varies greatly through out the season.Usually early on or after a deep freeze you will get a lower ratio.  The longer the season plays out the higher the ratio gets as well.  If you take the number 86 and divide by the sugar content of your sap you will get your ratio.  Gthphtm is much closer to reality at 50 to 1.  It varies so much from one area to another, whether your tapping true sugar maples or soft maples as we call them in NY.  I am a 50/50 mix of sugars and soft maples and averaging 53 to 1 this year.  Last year was 62 to 1.  The bigger the crown the sweeter the sap and summer sun sure helps out a lot as well in the sugar category. 

 Have about 300 taps on gravity tubing......only drilled about 80 this year.

 

Over the last 8 years 52:1 here almost like clock work.....just a few gallons either way for average.

 

I always read about these 40:1 numbers but my woods trees just never hit those marks.

 

In the past a friend boiled off everything from my trees; this year I did 6 gallons on a little homemade arch just for fun as I had some free time.....he did the same after selling his bigger evaporator off the winter.

 

Fun hobby........and just like any farming, a ton of work to make a living off it.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2013 by Dinsdale

[wdswtr]

Yep its a ton of work and relies on the weather.  The spring climate has changed really drastically over the years.   Use to tap first week of march for almost 3 generations.  Now its just not so.  Tap firts week in January to get the January thaw runs, sit and wait, get a few runs in between, sometimes feburary is decent and then when March comes you hope you already made atleast half a crop due to the March being so unpredictable now.  Last year we were in mid 70 second week of march and the season was over,  this year froze up 2 weeks in march couple small runs here and there another deep freeze and now that we are out of that we have 2 days left before there are no more freezes in sight.  Use to make syrup well into mid to 3rd week in April.  Not anymore we are lucky to get this far into April.  You want to make a living at it taps need to go in at first warmup in January and then cross your fingers.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Trust what wdswtr says....He makes some AWESOME product.

[wdswtr]

Why thank you Culver its sure is an exhausting time of the year but makes it all worth while when you get good feedback and can put some smiles on peoples faces.

[Doc]

It seems like everybody is into "hobby" syrup making these days. I've been seeing all kinds of collecting equipment hanging off trees in people's yards, all over the place. Back in the early 70s, we had a bunch of trees tapped and boiled it down with an open wood fire and a tub. It came out pretty good. Occasionally we went a bit far and wound up with some rock-candy in the bottoms of some of the jars .... lol. 

 

For a very brief time I was considering tapping the trees up the hill. We have a huge number of maples scattered throughout the hill. The cost of what they call a "hobbyist" style of evaporator was relatively cheap. But eventually the thought just passed and we never did anything with it.

[First-light]

Brother in law cuts the sides off of 55 gal drums and places a big pan in the hole. turns it on its side and make a wood fire in the drum.

Has two going at once and boils all day long. Well worth it, best syrup I have ever tasted.