Are Ya Sapping Yet?
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Highbeam
Minister of Fire
So tell us about your wood burning contraption down there. I saw something like that on youtube once, a woodgas burner or something.
I had a guy from Vermont send me some fancy NE maple syrup from treesap a couple of years ago and loved it. I went to the store to buy more and was floored at those prices that BG speaks of. Ms. Butterworths for us.
Something very odd about there being no ingredients in that syrup from the NE.
I had a guy from Vermont send me some fancy NE maple syrup from treesap a couple of years ago and loved it. I went to the store to buy more and was floored at those prices that BG speaks of. Ms. Butterworths for us.
Something very odd about there being no ingredients in that syrup from the NE.
That burner is actually designed as a patio fireplace, but I had another use in mind as you can see. Works slick. They are called woodgas camp stoves, basically a psuedo gassifer. Fan on the bottom pulls exhaust gas thru the stove and blasts it back into the top, top down burn. I've been using the smaller XL stove version (paint can sized) in the past, I ended up getting to know the owner of the company as he is local to me. Anyways, the owner Jim called a few months back and said have I got a deal for you, I took one look at that fireplace model and was all done. They burn anything (chips, cones, chunks of wood, pellets, corn, etc) that fits, 55000 BTUs on hi with pellets in the fireplace. The smaller camp stoves are battery powered, the fireplace is plug in or battery. I have access to some fireplace models with slight shipping damage at a discount if anyone wants, new ones go for $180-$190 or so, camp stoves too. I did post in the For Sale area a while back if anyone is interested. I'm not a formal sales guy at all (still have the day job!), like I said just got to know the owner and he calls me from time to time.
I don't know if there will be much sap this year. We kinda skipped the warm day/cool night thing. It's supposed to be 70 this weekend and the nights probably aren't going to be cool before long.
Matt
Matt
how much tree sap does it take to make a gallon of syrup?
does it matter the type of maple tree used?
does it matter the type of maple tree used?
About 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup with a sugar or hard maple. More for the soft maples. It's a lot of fun though. And you can't beat the reward. 
Matt
Matt
Typically you're looking at a 50:1 ratio, meaning for one gallon you'll need to boil down fifty gallons of sap. That's a ballpark figure, some trees give more sugar, others don't, and it is seasonal meaning that the amount of sugar in the sap changes during the flow period. All maples are ok with that said, some give more (sugar maples appropriately named), heck you can tap box elders or even birch. All impart a different flavor to the final product, trees and when the sap is collected during the flow.
thanks. few more.
about how much sap comes from one tree?
how long can the sap stand before you have to boil it or lose it?
about how much sap comes from one tree?
how long can the sap stand before you have to boil it or lose it?
lowroadacres
Minister of Fire
We are just getting rolling to our potential here where we are tapping box elders otherwise known as Manitoba Maple.
The in-laws share our acreage and they have 30 or more trees set up with pails and they are going great guns with their old Kozi wood stove under a lean to.
The weather here is perfect with night time temps just below freezing with 1-4 degrees above freezing during the day. A couple of the trees have been pouring out as many as 5 gallons a day (these are large trees!) and most are giving at least a gallon and a half per day.
The first batch came off the stove last night and it is incredible. I have some bacon curing in the fridge and I think I will marinate it in a water and maple syrup mixture before I smoke it.
We usually put up 8-12 pints each season but we are on pace for much more than that this year.
The in-laws share our acreage and they have 30 or more trees set up with pails and they are going great guns with their old Kozi wood stove under a lean to.
The weather here is perfect with night time temps just below freezing with 1-4 degrees above freezing during the day. A couple of the trees have been pouring out as many as 5 gallons a day (these are large trees!) and most are giving at least a gallon and a half per day.
The first batch came off the stove last night and it is incredible. I have some bacon curing in the fridge and I think I will marinate it in a water and maple syrup mixture before I smoke it.
We usually put up 8-12 pints each season but we are on pace for much more than that this year.
GotzTheHotz said:
I'm using a similar setup and boiling about 5 gallons of sap a day. It's a long boil down to a pint of syrup, but it's good stuff!
fbelec said:
Its taking me probably about 5 hours from cold sap to finished syrup. It would more than likely be a lot quicker with an evaporator pan - flat with more surface area, but we're only tapping 10 trees and the setup I'm using is my beer-brewing rig that was handy and quick to set up. Someday...
The burner I'm using in the picture will boil a full pot down in around 2-3 hours, that thing puts out some heat. I honestly only tap a couple trees, my big one has three taps and on a great day I will get 5-10 gallons of sap. Been slow here in MN now, got too warm too quick, sounds like it may chill down this weekend which may help. Busy with that and watching the old Mississippi over flow it's banks!
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
I don't tap any trees myself, but a high school buddy/friend has a sugar shack . . . sometimes in the Spring I stop by to hang out with him and his Dad for a bit. The funny thing is I actually prefer the fake syrup . . .
I just looked out the window and the maple tree's buds have popped. Little leaves already. I don't know that I've ever seen them in March before.
Matt
Matt
mayhem
Minister of Fire
Sapping yet? Sap season is about 1 week past now. The days are great, but the nights are above freezing now so the sap has all but stopped flowing...a little bit still comes, but not much.
Even if you go to the sugarhouse to buy your syrup, its $50/gallon. It takes a huge amount of sap and energy to make syrup...80 gallons of sap yields one gallon of syrup if I recall correctly...the rest is boiled off over a couple days of hot fire. Nothing better than making your own syrup or buying it from the sugarhouse and the container is still warm...you know its fresh.
Even if you go to the sugarhouse to buy your syrup, its $50/gallon. It takes a huge amount of sap and energy to make syrup...80 gallons of sap yields one gallon of syrup if I recall correctly...the rest is boiled off over a couple days of hot fire. Nothing better than making your own syrup or buying it from the sugarhouse and the container is still warm...you know its fresh.
I tried it one year with the maple trees in the swamp.
I did not get maple syrup.
It looked like it.
I've been told I tapped too late in the year and the trees I tapped aren't the best to use.
I'll fork over the 20 bucks a pint to someone who knows what they're doing.
I did not get maple syrup.
It looked like it.
I've been told I tapped too late in the year and the trees I tapped aren't the best to use.
I'll fork over the 20 bucks a pint to someone who knows what they're doing.
firefighterjake said:
Oh no! My siblings have the same preference. We grew up on log cabin or aunt jemima and they don't like the real thing.
BucksCoBernie
Feeling the Heat
- Oct 8, 2008
- 450
i got about 8oz of syrup from the 4 gallons of sap my trees gave me over 2 weeks. The warm weather came very fast here. There are buds on my maples already. The syrup I made is delicious though. I am definitely doing it again next year.
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