Tapping maples for sap?

[TRACY]

My kids want to make their own maple syrup and start from scratch. Does anyone have any helpful suggestions for making this project successful for some greenhands? We've researched a little and have decided to use clean milk jugs for collecting the sap. I thought that I could make a few spouts using leftover rivercane sections  tapped into the holes. Thanks Tracy

[Dane]

Tracy, I would recommend contacting a New England sugar house and see if they may be able to give advice. We  have a bunch around here.

As I understand it, it takes an enormous amount of sap to make a gallon of syrup, and a very long cooking time to reduce it in those huge vat thingies. They use hardwood to fire them around here. Something like 50 gallons sap for 1 gallon of syrup.

Good luck with this, though! It sounds fun.

Dane

[John K]

A friend of mine made it last year. She cooked 236 gallons of sap for 6 gallons of syrup  ! But man was it good !!!

Have fun, it should start to flow soon.

[El Destructo]

Tracy....it ain't worth it!!! I used to do it back Home...it would take 43 Gallons of Sap to make a Gallon of Syrup....and whole days to slowly cook it down....but if I cant talk you out of it....try this.....

http://www.mi-maplesyrup.com/Activities/activities_homemade.htm

[islandpiper]

ElDestructo, i had seven good trees and made syrup every year i could in Iron county.   Twenty degree nights/forty degree days.........my trees ran 32:1 and they were very worth it.  Nothing like real by-golly maple.   

At least make a quart or so.........it is fun, and you can call it science. 

Personally, i'd get a half dozen spiles and not mess with cane.  Real spiles knock out easily and don't damage the trees if installed RIGHT.  Yes, milk jugs work good on commercial spiles and they keep the moths out of the sap. 

Have fun. 

piper

[TRACY]

Appreciate all the advice. It seems like a lot of work, but I wouldn't build my own bows and arrows if it was easy ELD;D I did manage to use some rivercane sections and give them a little more taper to use as spiles and it seems to work fine. Funny you mention the moths IP. One tap was not a good fit and replaced it with one that was and the sap that ran during this time attracted a small tan moth, 20 or so around the spilled sap. I used a flashlight to finish up and their eyes were glowing red and all I could think about was the movie Mothman Prophecies, creepy. I did find someone that carries spiles in my area and will check it out. Thanks again!

Tracy

[jaybird]

You cant beat homemade syrup we used to boil it on top of the old wood stove it took a long time but was well worth the wait

[chigger]

Appreciate all the advice. It seems like a lot of work, but I wouldn't build my own bows and arrows if it was easy ELD;D I did manage to use some rivercane sections and give them a little more taper to use as spiles and it seems to work fine. Funny you mention the moths IP. One tap was not a good fit and replaced it with one that was and the sap that ran during this time attracted a small tan moth, 20 or so around the spilled sap. I used a flashlight to finish up and their eyes were glowing red and all I could think about was the movie Mothman Prophecies, creepy. I did find someone that carries spiles in my area and will check it out. Thanks again!

Tracy

Tracy I just got done making two and a half gal.its a lot of work but its worth it I'll probably try for two or three more gal. next week. I got a bunch of five gal.buckets at a school that had dish detergent in them ,rinsed them good and cut me off some old golf club shafts about eight long,drill 3/8 inch hole slanted upward 2to3 in.deep in tree ,golf clubs fit tight,tap in with hammer  drilled 1/2 hole in side of bucket stuck shaft in hole ..no bugs, leaves just clean sap,I've got a pan six in.deep 2ft wide 4ft long,iIboil it down and keep adding sap.. put in candy thermometer when it gets 219 degrees its syrup.

[TRACY]

Sounds like it's definitely worth it and I'm not too far in the rough. That's about the best use of a golf club for me . Hope to be boiling down sap this weekend. Thank you!

Tracy

[chigger]

Sounds like it's definitely worth it and I'm not too far in the rough. That's about the best use of a golf club for me . Hope to be boiling down sap this weekend. Thank you!

Tracy

        Srarted tapping trees today sap was running good ,if it keeps up I should have 100 gal by Monday and will start cooking,keep us posted...

[TRACY]

Chigger, I have the pancakes and sausage Sounds like you've done this once or twice

Tracy

[chigger]

Chigger, I have the pancakes and sausage Sounds like you've done this once or twice

Tracy

      Tracy ,I finished out a little over a gallon yesterday and collected about seventy five gallon of sap today ,I boiled down about thirty gallon of it ,will finish it off tomorrow, I've got two and a half gallon, tomorrow I'll have about four ,quitting till next year...How's your operation???
   Cut an Osage Orange tree today while I was boiling and took it to the mill to have it quartered,sending a guy on here a piece to make a bow...I don't stand an watch the boiling ,I stop by every little bit and keep the fire going ..It's a lot of work but you forget the work when you set down to a big stack of pancakes or waffles..
                                                                                          Harv.

[TRACY]

That's great Harv! I found that I can use the heat from the arch for boiling sap down to straighten cane and recurve limbs . I also set up my makeshift arch close to my targets so I could throw a few arrows between loading wood. 
My arch is primitive to say the least, but managed to get the job done. 1st batch I let it go just past the syrup mark and got some crystals in it. Tasted great! The second small batch turned out better with a golden color and no crystals.

Tracy

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[chigger]

That's great Harv! I found that I can use the heat from the arch for boiling sap down to straighten cane and recurve limbs . I also set up my makeshift arch close to my targets so I could throw a few arrows between loading wood. 
My arch is primitive to say the least, but managed to get the job done. 1st batch I let it go just past the syrup mark and got some crystals in it. Tasted great! The second small batch turned out better with a golden color and no crystals.

Tracy;
     I'm new at this ..how do you post a picture on here? I have a folder of pictures ,can I post the folder???
                                                                                                                                                      Harv.
 

[Marc St Louis]

It's a lot of work but the end result is worth it.  To boil use a a pan that has as much surface area as possible and not too deep.  Don't boil too hard or you will burn some of the sugar.  Sugar Maple will give you about 30 gallons of sap for 1 gallon of syrup while Red Maple gives you about 40 gallons to 1.  To collect use a small mouthed jug, this is so that if it rains you don't get any rain water in the jug