Talk to me about tapping a tree ,,,,,,,,

[runner]

I have some property up north. Can I tap a few trees ,, maple or birch ,,, and leave the tap feeding a five gallon bucket and check it every weekly ?? Will the freeze thaw cycle effect the sap? I am in Mass and the property is in Maine. Is it possible to sugar from a far ?

TIA

 

[wilco_99]

I made maple syrup last year and quickly learned it was easier to just buy it. Depending on the tree, I could fill a 5 gallon bucket in 2 days.

 

[jct61765]

It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.

 

[enbloc]

I'm diabetic.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Why would you tap a birch tree? Birch water? Jack.

 

[BarnBuilder]

Why would you tap a birch tree? Birch water? Jack.

Birch Beer for me ...

 

[Fritz the Cat]

A five gallon bucket will fill every day or two, maybe 3. A lot of variables like temperature and the size of the tree. Bear in mind not all maples are the same, that is not all maples are sugar maples.
If they aren't in your front yard, it's not worth the trouble.

 

[runner]

Why would you tap a birch tree? Birch water? Jack.

Birch syrup ,,,, very sweet , take like 100 /1 to make syrup ,,,, good as a glaze on fish, pork, etc. Okay on pancakes , but too much work for that. Birch water is supposed to be good as well ,

 

[runner]

I made maple syrup last year and quickly learned it was easier to just buy it. Depending on the tree, I could fill a 5 gallon bucket in 2 days.

I assume it will freeze and be okay when you evaporated it ,,,,, I wanted to try it for grins and giggles , and to see how much work it entails. There is plenty of dead standing wood to clean up , so it is just a time issue for me.

So if I coupled a few buckets and taps up a week later I would have enough to boil a quart or so ?

 

[runner]

I haven't made maple syrup since I was a kid. My father and I made it every year for awhile. If I'm not mistaken you don't tap until March. At that point the daily freeze cycle actually makes the sap flow faster. I'm also in MA but have property in ME. I don't know if I would do it from afar. I know the locals like to ride ATVS through my property. I would be nervous of someone taking a wiz in the buckets.

That is ,,,, no it is pretty secure and lots of video ,,,, I never really thought about doing it, but it kinda struck me that it could be possible to try it out ,,,, a tap and bucket is minimal investment , and I will just evap in the fire pit ,,,,

 

[Realtor MA]

Buy the tree a few drinks and treat it nicely. Then you'll have a good chance of tapping it.

 

[PatMcD]

Maine State Law: you can't legally tap a tree unless you are a legal resident.


Or maybe not....

 

[ScottG]

Buy the tree a few drinks and treat it nicely. Then you'll have a good chance of tapping it.

More along the lines of where I was expecting this thread to go

 

[MisterHappy]

I did it with the kids, on one tree, in the back yard a couple of years, as part of my, "It sukcs to have to produce your own food," educational series (like planting an maintaining a garden when the deer never sleep).

Now, my older kid defaults to giving Dad some maple syrup made by professionals for Christmas

If you want to do it for sport, go for it; you'll not get "commercial" quality product with out some ancillary stuff like filters, to get rid of the sugar sand, but you'll learn the advantages of living in an industrialized society!

 

[Mountain]

I've done it off and on as something to enjoy during my years in New England. Half dozen buckets and taps and I can evap in the same mongo boiling pot I use for cooking beer wort. For sure use a high BTU burner rather than wood fire unless you have a 3 day weekend to do it LOL. A decent purpose-made felt filter will get you close enough to commercial grade syrup when making a small batch.

 

[jakeroub]

I’ve done it the past 4 or 5 years. It takes a pretty good amount of time to boil all of the water away, and if you are using propane you will about break even with just going to the store and buying it. Add in a good thermometer, filter, taps, buckets, etc.

I always aim to tap around Valentine’s Day, when it is below freezing at nigh and above during the day. The week ahead looks good. If you tap too late you will get bud sap which is no good.

If you leave your sap too long in warmer weather it will turn cloudy with bacteria and should be discarded. Leaving it a week at a time might not go well.

 

[KBCraig]

Just remember, you'll need to collect that syrup regularly, because as soon as the leaves bud, the sap turns to crap.

 

[whacko]

I assume it will freeze and be okay when you evaporated it ,,,,, I wanted to try it for grins and giggles , and to see how much work it entails. There is plenty of dead standing wood to clean up , so it is just a time issue for me.

So if I coupled a few buckets and taps up a week later I would have enough to boil a quart or so ?

You will need more than "a few" buckets. To me "a few" means 3 or 4.....

The ratio is 40 gallons sap makes 1 gallon of syrup. So you'll need to collect 10 gallons of sap to make just one quart of syrup.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

You know that you're entering the (your choice) section of town when you see sap buckets hanging from the utility poles. Jack.

 

[Bigfudge16]

Made some syrup with my boss and his kids a few years back. Wood fire in a steel barrel with a large stainless pan on top and a compressor nozzle to keep the heat up. Took a 12 hour day to boil down 50 gallons into one 5 gallon bucket then my boss got drunk and fell asleep finishing it in a pot on his wood stove and ended up with smoke detectors going off and some burnt maple sugar candy

It was fun for a one time project with the kids.

 

[VTHunter]

Like others, I've been doing this for several years too. It is like owning firearms; It gets very addicting and can be expensive if you aren't disciplined.
Our forester advised that, 'Either you do it as a hobby and stay small, or make big investments and be very large. The medium size operations are having a hard time lately.'

We are very small. Plastic 5 gal. buckets and a cone filter. We make a few gals each year and keep it fun. Here is our evap set-up:


Although I have not been deputized by the NES Dupe Police staff, I recall seeing other threads on this. You may be able to find some additional info...

 

[Fritz the Cat]

You know that you're entering the (your choice) section of town when you see sap buckets hanging from the utility poles. Jack.

That's where we get molasses.

 

[fshalor]

I'm trying to get up the nerve to link John Ringo's series here. But I can't even find my ooomfffmdmdmdsyrupOMmG....oooofmfmdmdmdmwaaahhhhh!

 

[MisterHappy]

That's where we get molasses.

Thanks for the info. Thought of those poor, little, myopic animals being harvested.....

 

[runner]

Like others, I've been doing this for several years too. It is like owning firearms; It gets very addicting and can be expensive if you aren't disciplined.
Our forester advised that, 'Either you do it as a hobby and stay small, or make big investments and be very large. The medium size operations are having a hard time lately.'

We are very small. Plastic 5 gal. buckets and a cone filter. We make a few gals each year and keep it fun. Here is our evap set-up:
View attachment 580147

Although I have not been deputized by the NES Dupe Police staff, I recall seeing other threads on this. You may be able to find some additional info...

Hunter ,,, so order of magnitude type estimate,,, how long would it take to boil down 10 gallons ? I was thinking about a similar set up ,, a chimney out the back and a fire box under the pan ,,, plenty of dead dry standing to clean up. Would it be a day to boil off ?

 

[VTHunter]

Hunter ,,, so order of magnitude type estimate,,, how long would it take to boil down 10 gallons ? I was thinking about a similar set up ,, a chimney out the back and a fire box under the pan ,,, plenty of dead dry standing to clean up. Would it be a day to boil off ?

With a good boil, we manage to work through a 55 gallon drum in about 5-6 hours. So, about 10 gallons per hour. Add new sap at a trickle so that you don't stop the boil. Keep the sap about 2 inches deep in the pans.
The first year I tried it, it went really slow because I didn't let it get hot enough.

 

[runner]

With a good boil, we manage to work through a 55 gallon drum in about 5-6 hours. So, about 10 gallons per hour. Add new sap at a trickle so that you don't stop the boil. Keep the sap about 2 inches deep in the pans.
The first year I tried it, it went really slow because I didn't let it get hot enough.

as far as the pan ,,, is low and flat better than a large stock pot type container ?

 

[VTHunter]

as far as the pan ,,, is low and flat better than a large stock pot type container ?

Yes. One can get steam pans from resturant.com on the cheap. These pans have more flat area than a pot. The more surface area, the better the evaporation rate. I attached some cheap cabinet handles to make life easier. Here is a better picture showing the pans - and my messy yard.
One other suggestion... if you plan on doing this year after year, fill the block with sand. It will help control heat. You may also consider fire brick.

 

[Bigfudge16]

as far as the pan ,,, is low and flat better than a large stock pot type container ?

we used a low and wide stainless pan. Like hunter said 2" or so seemed best for maintaining temp without burning and we were constantly adding a little more sap trying to maintain depth. I'm sure theres a better way to create a slow trickle...

 

[greencobra]

don't forget to talk about doing an obligatory karma for syrup... builds good public relations even if you don't do one. YOU know who you are.....