Homesteading Forum banner

Maple Sugaring Equipment Source?

2K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  mistletoad 
#1 ·
As in, do you have one? We used sap bags last year that friend gave us, and thought they were a pain to clean. I am looking for a source for covered buckets. Our local Rural King doesn't carry sugaring equipment. Lehman's only has sap bags and spiles. We need one of the felt cones for filtering the syrup, and are at a complete loss as to where to get one. Please help!!

~Elizabeth
 
#3 ·
Here's another supplier much used by people in our area:

Reynolds Sugar Bush
P.O. Box 16
W18850 Maple Road
Aniwa, WI 54408
715.449.2057

I can't find a website for them but believe they put out a catalog. They offer pretty much everything one needs to have a maple syrup operation.

LisaBug
 
#4 ·
leader evaporator co has an online dealer list by state @
http://www.webathena.com/leader/site/

Also:
Grimm evaporators (rutland vt)

Small Brothers Evaporators (canadian)

Waterloo Evaporators (canadian)

Danforth's sugarhouse (VT)

Bascomb's Sugarhouse (VT)

All the evaporator companies have dealers in the lower 48. They should be able to help find you one near you.

Also try your state maple syrup producers association.

Eric
 
#5 ·
Elizabeth, if you can push a length of rubber tubing onto the spiles you could use plastic buckets to collect the sap in. Check at your local bakery/grocery store. We did this one year with the covered plastic food grade buckets, cut a small hole in the lid and fed the plastic tubing through. Nothing was able to fall into the buckets and we could swap out the buckets with a new one, no pouring into a new container. You can purchase the cheap plastic spiles for very little then purchase the tubing by foot and cut to the length you need to reach the buckets. We can find the supplies we need at the local hardware stores from spiles to filters. I think the only thing they don't carry are the evaporator pans. Good luck!

Lisa
 
#6 ·
Many thanks to all who have responded. I guess I should have been a little more specific. We don't have a sugaring "operation." We tap the three trees in our little suburban yard. The neighbors get a real kick out of it. Thanks for the tip, Lisa. I'll try that. I have been picking up those buckets, ever since I found out they would just give them to you when you ask. What a deal!! I'll check the hardware store for the felt, too. I didn't even think to look there.
Thanks again everyone.

~Elizabeth
 
#7 ·
In that case Elizabeth just use milk jugs or soda bottles. That's what we have done on the 8 trees we tapped this year - first time, lots of fun!

Here's a closeup of a 3 liter soda bottle - we cut a triangular flap for the spile and it stays on even when full. We have been collecting for 2 weeks now with the same bottles so they hold up well.

 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top