The OFFICIAL MAPLE SYRUP thread

quietintheland · #**101** 02/25/13, 08:06 PM

Studhauler,

Your setup sounds similar to mine, except I'm using 4 gallon, 2 gallon, and 1 gallon buckets. While I have had sap freeze in the buckets, I haven't had any problem with it freezing in the lines that I've noticed. So long as your lines are in the sun, the warmth of the sun should melt any freezing in them and not prohibit the flow of sap.

I don't know how you are planning on getting your sap from the collection buckets to the evaporation site, but I will warn you that 5 gallon buckets filled with sap get real heavy, especially if you need to carry them any distance, especially up or down hills. You might want to consider drawing it out of the 5 gallons buckets 2 gallons at a time. If your place is flat, you could simply have two sets of five gallon buckets, and swap out the ones with sap for the empty ones and load the full ones onto a sled or cart.

For what it's worth, I've learned my 1 gallon milk jug idea doesn't work so well if you are only planning on collecting sap once per day. 2 gallons would be the minimum I would use in the future.

QuietInTheLand

Studhauler · #**102** 02/25/13, 10:01 PM

Quietintheland,

Actually i think they are four gallon bucket, I will empty them once per day. This year i will hand carry them, in deep snow, but at least it is down hill. I got these bucket from the local bakery, they were the cheapest way for me to go and only empty once per day.

quietintheland · #**103** 02/25/13, 10:39 PM

Hello again, Studhauler,

I got my buckets from the bakery as well. They were 4 and 2 gallon buckets used for icing, unfortunately, the lids don't fit on tight. But you can't complain when they are free or almost free...

The 4 gallons are still pretty heavy... I think 4 gallons of icing must weigh less than 4 gallons of sap

QuietInTheLand

**Ross** · #**104** 02/28/13, 05:28 AM

Thought I bumped this.

beaglebiz · #**105** 02/28/13, 12:19 PM

Michigan farmer, will you have any to sell this year? Just opened my last half gallon, which my adult ds swiped a pint jar full of when he stopped to visit.

Vermontelf · #**106** 03/02/13, 10:14 AM

It's our friends that own the sugar house and land, we help out. Today hopefully we'll get the last of the taps out and confirm all the lines are leak-free. We're way northeastern Vermont and sap is starting to run. We'll be in full swing directly.

What do you all do with your syrup? Personal consumption and gifts? Other products like maple mustard? (that's a favorite of mine!) We cook with it a lot too.

Forerunner · #**107** 03/02/13, 01:32 PM

Coffee, tea (hot or cold) cereal (hot or cold), milkshakes, ice cream, baking.......sometimes even pancakes, french toast or waffles

...... any and everything one might want sweetened.

SpaceCadet12364 · #**108** 03/02/13, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beaglebiz

Michigan farmer, will you have any to sell this year? Just opened my last half gallon, which my adult ds swiped a pint jar full of when he stopped to visit.

Yes, I too would be interested in knowing of those who will have syrup to sell.

DH likes the Mrs Butterworths stuff......me, I like the real maple.

VTHomestead · #**109** 03/04/13, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpaceCadet12364

DH likes the Mrs Butterworths stuff......

that's not even real syrup.. it's sugar and crap in a bottle.

tab · #**110** 03/04/13, 04:53 PM

Got some taps out yesterday and more today. After work tomorrow will work on droplines and buckets. The snow is yucky, crusty but one breaks through every step or two. Found my back really objects to that, who knew! Looks like good weather Wed on, yippee! Found more trees to tap but have to see if I have enough buckets. Sure hope ds can help as I now have more taps out than ever before.
FR, you make us look like slouches, that is a lot of syrup!
Syrup is good in most everything. Dh finally decided he likes it in his coffee. Makes great gifts.
What is maple mustard? That is a new one to me.

7thswan · #**111** 03/05/13, 08:19 AM

Sap is running here.

akaRach · #**112** 03/05/13, 12:25 PM

Beautiful weather coming here, 5 up and 5 down, sounds like magic to me

Unfortunately all our four wheelers need to go to the shop and the truck needs a rad so any collecting is on foot! Its a long walk for some trees to the sugar shack...I could just tap the close ones and get my boiling fix. We still have syrup left from last year...

I'm not sure, but I gotta decide soon!

**Kris in MI** · #**113** 03/05/13, 09:45 PM

Tapped today. Sap is definitely running, I couldn't get the spile in fast enough!

I had decided to limit myself to 10 taps this year. Well, since I tapped in 2011 (didn't get any taps set out last year, weather was just too crazy), I have discovered alot more maples in my woods. It didn't take me long to set my 10 taps (6 of which are in 'new' trees). Now I'm debating putting out another 10. . .

Forerunner · #**114** 03/06/13, 06:57 AM

Go for it, Kris !

Ecclesiastes 9, verse 10 comes to mind......

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..........

**Kris in MI** · #**115** 03/06/13, 08:09 AM

Forerunner, you are a syrup enabler

I'm counting how many more spiles I have. . . my spiles are hand-me-downs from my mother in law, and I'm not sure how many there are total. There will definitely be more taps going in soon.

Forerunner · #**116** 03/06/13, 10:32 AM

We're going to come close to breaking 100 gallons, today.

Our previous record is 113 for a season, second place being in the 60s.
The way the weather has been, it looks like we're going to bust the record wide open, this go 'round.

DarleneJ · #**117** 03/06/13, 06:26 PM

If I've started boiling down the sap, can I let it cool down and finish it tomorrow or does it need to be processed until it's completely done? Got sick today. Don't know if I can continue on in the process as late as I'd like. Thank you.

moeh1 · #**118** 03/06/13, 06:43 PM

You can stop, the boil killed the bacteria, it will be fine tommorrow.

stanb999 · #**119** 03/08/13, 06:08 AM

Just got the taps out yesterday.

Got 20 out. I tried something new this year. I went to home depot to get some homer pails. While their I got some 3/8" OD x 1/4" ID hose the clear soft plastic type and a roll of 1/4" od rigid tube. (they are right in the same area. on the shelf for me even.) I used the hoses to make the spiles. It worked real well and was cheap.

You take about 4" of the big hose cut with a bit of a taper and a tiny 1" piece of the ridged tube. You push the ridged tube into the larger one to just past the opening.

To set in tree.
Drill tree with an 11/32 bit. (this is 1/32 smaller than 3/8")
Push in tap. Take plier and push it home. They go in with just a bit of effort and seal well because the outer tube is flexible.

I also used these for pail setups where trees are very close together. I could get several into one bucket with a longer hose.

Cost per spile? Well 20 ft of the big hose was 6 dollars, Cut to 4" is 60 pieces, the ridged hose was 5 bucks for 10ft. enough for more than 100. Or about 18 cents a tap.

tab · #**120** 03/09/13, 07:58 PM

Stan, that sounds like a good idea. I wonder how well the tubing will weather the elements.

Heh, anybody else discovering how long a winter it was? I have muscles that are just plain grouchy.
Got somewhere around 55-58 taps out. Some require a long trek through the deep snow, which is slowly melting. May put out more taps but am finding it is tough to keep up the boiling. Of course that means I will just have to look at somehow doing a bigger set up {GRIN}.

DarleneJ, one time when the weather was really windy and I couldn't boil my started batch went two days. I was worried as it was about half boiled. It was fine. Since then I have had to do that for other batches and it works ok. This syrup thing has a way of kind of taking over one's life.