Maple Syrup making

[Sinker]

Its been going crazy here. Over 500l in 36 hrs!!

[moose]

Sap has been running non stop since Saturday night

Running out of storage while boil go on

Strapped battles to atv to collect sap

In horseshoe valley area

[SmokestackLightnin]

Running like crazy here too.

[Sinker]

Ive been boiling non stop since monday. I have all my storage containers empty now and in the pan, so ready for tonights collection. Ive lost count of how much syrup ive made but im around 18 or so litres. Looks like lots more to come.

[BillM]

You guys are machines!

[ketchenany]

Ive been boiling non stop since monday. I have all my storage containers empty now and in the pan, so ready for tonights collection. Ive lost count of how much syrup ive made but im around 18 or so litres. Looks like lots more to come.

You need more pails

[Rod Caster]

I'm boiling today. Looking for another 3 or 4 litres of syrup ...total should be around 7 litres so far this year.

 

It's running good but the rain and upcoming cold will once again slow things down... I'm pretty such the peak of the run hasn't started yet here

[Rod Caster]

Do you guys ask restaurants to save pails for you? One of the country styles puts their buckets beside their dumpster and I pick 'em up. All food grade and free. Dumpster diving isn't just for raccoons. So far they've given me nearly 30 pails

[crappieperchhunter]

Do you guys ask restaurants to save pails for you? One of the country styles puts their buckets beside their dumpster and I pick 'em up. All food grade and free. Dumpster diving isn't just for raccoons. So far they've given me nearly 30 pails

 

Good idea. I used to do a lot of carp fishing and needed buckets for my feed. Kawartha Dairy in Bobcaygeon gave me all the food grade buckets I needed just for asking. Maybe some syrup guys could squirrel some as well.

[Sinker]

So in 4 days I've finished 16 litres. I have 160l boiled down to about 50 litres now. Have to finish that tonight.

 

25.5 litres finished, might have 30 after tonights finish.

 

I need a break. I hope it doesn't run for a few days!!

 

S.

[Rod Caster]

I just finished 7L of fairly light coloured syrup, down from approx 220L of sap. I'm very pleased and surprised at that ratio. I wonder if my de-icing of the buckets helped

[Sinker]

Skimming ice will help for sure. That is a really good yeild. How are you dtermining when its syrup?

 

I collected another 180l tonight. Just make it stop already!!!

 

I have boiled thru 220l and just keep adding. 20l/hr. I will have a mega batch when im done. 340 litres of sap in one boil.

 

S.

[Rod Caster]

20l/hr. That's a good boil down rate. I was getting closer to 10. For the next boil I'm going get my rocket stove up and running, and double boil.

 

 

I use a hydrometer with the Baume and Brix reading. Last year I estimated/calculated I was getting close to 35:1 ratio. Maybe some trees have better concentrations of sugar???

[Sinker]

Oh yeah, the yeild varies all the time. Sometimes I get 33:1, other times I get 40:1.....You can get a device to measure sugar content as well. I haven't gone that high tech yet though....lol.....I use a thermometer and a hydrometer, but I can get it really close by eye. The hydrometer doesn't lie though.

 

The hardest part for me is filtering. I had a few batches this year that I filtered too hot and ended up with a layer of "sludge" on the bottoms of the bottles after it settled out for a couple days. I don't care myself, its harmless, but I don't like giving that stuff away, so I re did those batches. If you filter above 190 degrees the syrup can still create nitre (maple sand) after its been filtered, so I let it cool to 190 before I filter. It takes a little longer to get thru the filter, but it comes out crystal clear every time.

 

What are you using for a filter? I use a wool ( or felt, whatever it is) bucket filter with 3-5 pre-filters. Once it starts getting clogged up I remove a prefilter, and keep removing them until its all through the filter. I find the bucket filter works a lot better than the cone filter....for me anyways. The cone filter always gets clogged up sooner than the bucket filter.

 

Anyways, just filled all my propane tanks....again....off to boiling lol

 

EDIT: I meant to say that I have tried using two burners, but for whatever reason I still get the same evaporation rate, so I just stick to the one heavy duty burner and use A LOT less propane. I had it figured to about 1 tank per 300l of sap. That's pretty efficient for propane I think. What are you boiling in?

 

 

 

S.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Sinker

[SmokestackLightnin]

I use a felt cone filter, I purchase a new one every year at Atkinson's. I think I will try a bucket filter next year as the cone filter does clog up, but it's efficient. Also line it with 2 layers of pre-filters. Does a decent job but I also filter it when it's hot so I get the sugar sand at the bottom of the jar. Adds character is what I say, you know it's not commercially made then.

[Rod Caster]

Oh yeah, the yeild varies all the time. Sometimes I get 33:1, other times I get 40:1.....You can get a device to measure sugar content as well. I haven't gone that high tech yet though....lol.....I use a thermometer and a hydrometer, but I can get it really close by eye. The hydrometer doesn't lie though.

 

The hardest part for me is filtering. I had a few batches this year that I filtered too hot and ended up with a layer of "sludge" on the bottoms of the bottles after it settled out for a couple days. I don't care myself, its harmless, but I don't like giving that stuff away, so I re did those batches. If you filter above 190 degrees the syrup can still create nitre (maple sand) after its been filtered, so I let it cool to 190 before I filter. It takes a little longer to get thru the filter, but it comes out crystal clear every time.

 

What are you using for a filter? I use a wool ( or felt, whatever it is) bucket filter with 3-5 pre-filters. Once it starts getting clogged up I remove a prefilter, and keep removing them until its all through the filter. I find the bucket filter works a lot better than the cone filter....for me anyways. The cone filter always gets clogged up sooner than the bucket filter.

 

Anyways, just filled all my propane tanks....again....off to boiling lol

 

EDIT: I meant to say that I have tried using two burners, but for whatever reason I still get the same evaporation rate, so I just stick to the one heavy duty burner and use A LOT less propane. I had it figured to about 1 tank per 300l of sap. That's pretty efficient for propane I think. What are you boiling in?

 

 

 

S.

 

Filtering is starting to be an issue for me, only because I'm getting better at this and clarity is starting to matter for me. I use the woven with paper pre-filters and try to pass the sap through it as many times as possible throughout the boiling stages. I didn't know about the 'hot' filtering issue, so that's great info! I'll use that.

 

The best way I found for removing the sediment, is to leave the batch sit overnight, then decant off. Wow, does that eliminate a lot of impurities and it's super simple. I transfered very clean sap (from 220L boiled to 10L) into my finishing pot after an overnight sit and the batch turned out very clear, but I still found some white/foggy deposit , different than the grey/brown sand I normally get. I suppose I should have cold filtered before I transfered to my finishing pot. Can you filter the syrup just before or just after it's complete, or will it just stick to the filter??

 

For boiling, I have a 50L stock pot and a 65,000BTU banjo style burner. I find it uses too much propane, but I need to do calculations to find the optimum fill level, otherwise I overfill it and it slows down the rate. It's all about air-surface area ratio, so I've read. I'll sometimes use a second turkey boiler and a 20L pot if I want to double my rate.

 

Also...I've been playing with a rocket stove I built last summer. Take a look at the pics. After a couple adjustments, it easily boils the 20L stock pot and I feed it with small sticks. Nice and easy and cheap! I hope to eventually boil everything down using rocket stoves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First batch on the right, it never settled. The second batch on the left settled very nicely the next day. I can't figure out why the earlier batch is darker!?

[Sinker]

Filtering between boils is a waste of time. I've learned that the hard way. One filter at the very end at the right temperature is all it takes to get perfectly clear syrup every time. I used to waste time filtering all the time too, and it did nothing to help clear up the syrup. Boil your sap until its syrup with no filtering, let it cool to 190 degrees and then filter it once with the prefilters and wool filter, removing prefilters as they clog. The cloudy stuff you are getting is nitre, and is formed most when closest to syrup, but only at temps above 190 degrees.

 

When I collect I pour my sap through a funnel with a very fine screen into water jugs, then boil, and filter the final product once when it is finished syrup.

 

I find if I get a full pan (100l), and boil it all in one shot, my syrup comes out the lightest, and clearest. If I keep adding it gets darker. I like the dark stuff myself, but right now i am adding to my boil because I have way too much sap to deal with. I am afraid to even look at my buckets today LOL.

 

Evaporation rates are all about surface area and heat. The larger the surface area, and more heat, makes for the best evap rate. I use a 2ft x 2ft square pan that is 12" deep. One burner is most efficient for me for propane use. I add 20l to the pan every hour or so. Since I boil in my garage, I put a big fan by the pan to blow the steam out the garage door, and it seems to help with evaporating as well. I have had people stop and knock on my door thinking I have a fire in my garage several times LOL

 

I can't believe the snow you guys have there....wow.....looks like you have plenty of season left there!!

 

Great pics! That rocket stove looks interesting too. Add a small blower to that and you would have some serious heat!!

 

S.

[Sinker]

I use a felt cone filter, I purchase a new one every year at Atkinson's. I think I will try a bucket filter next year as the cone filter does clog up, but it's efficient. Also line it with 2 layers of pre-filters. Does a decent job but I also filter it when it's hot so I get the sugar sand at the bottom of the jar. Adds character is what I say, you know it's not commercially made then.

I don't care about the skim at the bottom of the bottles either. Its perfectly safe, and probably healthier too lol

 

I really find the bucket filter works better for small batches. The flat bottom seems to make a big difference.

 

And yes, if you filter at a lower temperature, you will have nice clear syrup every time. Try it.

 

S.

[Sinker]

Another trick I use is to put a grate over my pan, and sit my propane tank in the steam. The steam keeps the tanks from icing up, and makes a much, much better burn. You can also keep the tanks in a container of warm water to prevent ice up. Once they ice up, you lose a lot of BTU's.

 

S.

[Sinker]

Finished 7 more litres last night. Nice dark thick batch.

 

Getting a break now. Might get a bit of sap this week, but daytime temps aren't quite warm enough.

 

S.

[north560]

My sap is at a stop weather too cold maybe this coming week, 16 taps and only 5gals collected so far that won't even give me 1 qt after boil down.

[Rod Caster]

Even with the cold my trees are weeping. I'm thinking next week, when it warms up, I'll be scrambling to keep up

[cheaptackle]

Well of course they're weeping - some guy keeps punching holes in 'em, you'd weep too! Sounds like ya need to start selling some at the end of your driveway.

 

Michael

[Rod Caster]

Well of course they're weeping - some guy keeps punching holes in 'em, you'd weep too! Sounds like ya need to start selling some at the end of your driveway.

 

Michael

Ha!! Don't get all tree-hugger on us

 

 

The end of my driveway is actually the worst spot to sell anything, I get one or two cars per month driving by house

[cheaptackle]

Me? Tree hugger? When both arms were working I was the nastiest dude with a chainsaw y'all ever did see! But I took 'em down quick like, didn't torture 'em punching all those holes in 'em, humane that's me.

It's gonna be interesting to read how much you get on the next cycle - it's almost as if you're getting a double season this year the way the weather's been. Next time I see ya you'll probably weigh in around 300 lbs after swabbin' up all that syrup with pancakes, waffles...

 

Michael