Maple Syrup

[WNYBuckHunter]

I ended up pulling my taps and plugging the holes last weekend. Boiled down 43 gallons of sap and ended up with a gallon of syrup that landed between light and medium amber. Its yummy.

 

I do run mine through cheese cloth when I pour it into the jars. It wont last long enough to ferment lol.

[landtracdeerhunter]

I ended up pulling my taps and plugging the holes last weekend. Boiled down 43 gallons of sap and ended up with a gallon of syrup that landed between light and medium amber. Its yummy.

 

I do run mine through cheese cloth when I pour it into the jars. It wont last long enough to ferment lol.

 

Nice. Most advise not plugging the holes. Something to do with bacteria. Let them heal over naturally. Most of mine healed over by deer season.

The 5/16" taps holes close even quicker.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I wont plug them next year then. I was told to plug them to keep bugs out. Thanks for the heads up.

[virgil]

Making maple syrup sounds really cool.  But, it sounds like a ton of work and expense.  WNY, did you go through all that effort for just a gallon of syrup?  I'm guessing there must be significant costs to get started, no?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Making maple syrup sounds really cool.  But, it sounds like a ton of work and expense.  WNY, did you go through all that effort for just a gallon of syrup?  I'm guessing there must be significant costs to get started, no?

Taps are  $1 to $3 each. or less

 

I bet you have about everything else

 

If you wanted to step it up a notch a Hygrometer is about $30 and a good Thermometer about $20. nice but not needed for small batch. A turkey Fryer helps but My Grandfather always did his on an outdoor wood fire and finished on the stove.

 

drill bits- you got 'em

buckets- you got 'em

pans- you got 'em

stove top- you got 'em

[virgil]

I was imagining tubing and collection tanks, etc all over the woods.  Either way, sounds cool.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I drilled Grandpa's taps with an old brace and bit. couple 5 gallon buckets and he was off.

[kpkot]

Taps pulled yesterday. 60 gal of sap to finish into syrup then done.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Making maple syrup sounds really cool.  But, it sounds like a ton of work and expense.  WNY, did you go through all that effort for just a gallon of syrup?  I'm guessing there must be significant costs to get started, no?

 

I ended up with close to a gallon and a half of syrup this year, just from 3 trees. I paid $30 for 4 taps, buckets, cheese cloth and a couple of funnels. Other than the cheese cloth, that will all be used again, so I dont count it in the expense. I spent $40 for propane to boil. I still have a full tank left, so take $18 off of that, and I have $22 into a gallon and a half of syrup. The big expenditure was time, but it really wasnt too bad, as I was getting plenty of stuff done around the house at the same time.

 

Next year Im going to expand my operation a bit by tapping trees on my fathers property. There, Ill be using taps fitted with tubing running to a 55 gallon drum or two as collection points. Ill just need tubing and taps, the drums I am getting at no cost. I am going to pick up a second burner and install a valve to run them off of natural gas from the house. It will cost me even less than it did this year and Ill end up with more syrup.

 

Its not a pricey hobby really, and breaks up the monotony of the crap weather this time of the year.

[landtracdeerhunter]

The slowest and most time consuming is my evaporator. I'm running a wood fire under a 2' x 5' pan with an evaporation rate of about 6 gph. The seasons over here, already looking for improvements for next season. I know a future sugar shack is in the offing to get out of that cold wind.

[virgil]

What kind of pot or pan do you use to boil all that sap?

[landtracdeerhunter]

It is a 20 gauge stainless steel pan about 6" tall. I started, a few years ago with 2 steam table pans, Each pan was about 1 gph, evaporation rate.

It was homemade out of 2- 30"  range oven units bolted together. Cut a square hole on one end, with a vent below, where I attached an electric fan when more draft was needed. The other end was a 6" stove pipe, for a chimney. Cut holes in the top for the pans to fit in. Cost me the price of the steam table pans and a few bolts, about $60. Nice little starter unit and worked rather well.

Edited April 9, 2015 by landtracdeerhunter

[thphm]

Started to boil the little that I collected this year ,just enough for my self this year. It browned up fast the sugar content is up there  this year l.

[wdswtr]

Another dismal year and rather discouraging.  So many changes are coming for next year.  I currently boil on a 3x12 evaporator that has a gallon per hour rate of 150.  I will be putting a piggy back/steamaway on the flue pan and I should see numbers of 200 plus gph.  I will also be adding a couple more round bottom stainless steel tanks.  Im am fortunate that Im a tig welder and a partner in a stainless steel metal fabrication shop specializing in maple production equipment.  It saves me thousands of dollars building my own stuff.  A steamaway for my rig would cost me 12,000 from a dealer.  YIKES.  Im also going to double up taps on vac and tubing and at the least hope to have 2000 on line for next year.  Im at a crossroads of either cutting back or going bigger.  A few more years with seasons like the last 2 and I may have to consider getting out of maple production.  Too much work, time and money involved to just break even.  Time to start the long cleanup process and then start running more tubing.  It's funny cause I had 30 people in my sugarhouse Saturday and the topic came up when syrup season starts, my reply was simple, the day after it ends.  There is not a week that goes by throughout the year Im not prepping, repairing, expanding, building or welding something for maple. 

Edited April 18, 2015 by wdswtr

[WNYBuckHunter]

I did mine this year in a turkey frier. Next year Ill have something different to speed it up.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I did mine this year in a turkey frier. Next year Ill have something different to speed it up.

surface area, surface area, surface area.

[WNYBuckHunter]

surface area, surface area, surface area.

 

Yup.