Going to try my hand at gathering sap

[FullMetalBucket]

My property up north has an old shack that was used to boil maple syrup down and was built in 1940. So I figure why not try to continue the tradition. I bought a beginner tapping kit off Amazon that comes with bags, tubing and the spouts. The bags are 5L so I hope that is enough to not overflow in a week, because I can pretty much only head up on weekends due to that annoying job I have. Figure I’ll set maybe 4 or 5 on a Sunday and head up next the Saturday to check. Then I guess I’ll boil them down over an open fire in my Stainless steel 8 gallon pot I used to use to brew beer. That’s the plan anyway. I’ve never done it before so should be a learning experience. Any tips appreciated.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

great hobby..... but me thinks if its a a stand from the 40's you should plan on more like 2 - 5 gallons / day / tree. Your tiny bags would need to be emptied multiple times per day. Pic's of your trees would help me estimate better

Also to boil down having BIG surface area is key. A big tall pot would take a long time versus a flat pan. the more surface area the faster the evaporation.

You should boil down the sap every day you collect. 1X per week is likely to produce pretty crappy syrup unless kept very cool as it forms bateria. During sugar season around these parts the 1 or 2 weeks the sap is flowing has the sugar shacks boiling off 24 hrs / day. Guys take their holidays especially for this short season as sap doesn't store well.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

just a thought as an option if you stay at your place over the weekend you could tap a few more trees than your planned 5 on friday, manage your harvest and pull your taps on Sunday.

More trees / shorter run / same amount of sap collected.

During this run you could start your boil with the risk of storage / bacteria gone away??

just a thought.

 

[CalG]

I've sugared every year for the past 30 years we have been here in S.Vt. Did it for the kids, now for the grand kids. Seeing a child's
smile after the first sip of fresh sap out of the bucket just warms the heart!

We now set out 6 or 7 taps, and make 4 -6 gallons of syrup. That's enough for waffels and hard candy, and to send off to less fortunate relatives who don't live in a sugar bush. (I say we have "a hundred head of maple, just in the yard")

Anyway, Filling a two gallon bucket on a sunny day is easy. Often, when it's running good, we empty twice a day. A 5L plastic bag will NEVER work for a week long collect. And if your trees only put out that much over a week, It's a waste to boil that sap any way.
Collecting every day is not an option for us. We can get 20 gallons of sap EASILY with just a half dozen taps. On a hard run day, It's more.

We used to set out a hundred taps and then take the sap to a nearby farm operation. Now we boil on a Coleman gasoline stove. We barely keep up, but it seems to work. Likely over 5 gallons of gasoline to boil out the sap to make 5 gallons of maple syrup. It takes a constant fire to boil that way, but I've only burned the pot once in all these years. The boiling set up is right outside my window on the floor below, so with the rising steam, it's easy enough to keep an eye on it in the late evening.

Last year we were boiling now, with a storm power out to boot.
This year, It's still winter, with temps just breaking freezing , and colder air expected for Monday. My bet is there was a soft run today, temps got near 33 degreesF. but it didn't feel like sugar weather, so no taps were put out.

You "kit" and description of what you plan sounds like a disappointment to me. Sugaring is NOT a week end proposition.

 

[FullMetalBucket]

Thanks for that info, I did not realize they would give that much sap in a day. So I think you’re right I may just have to take a day or two off. I don’t have a great pic of the trees but here’s what I found on my tablet where I am building a little mini cabin/ shed that shows some of the trees.

 

[CalG]

just a thought as an option if you stay at your place over the weekend you could tap a few more trees than your planned 5 on friday, manage your harvest and pull your taps on Sunday.

More trees / shorter run / same amount of sap collected.

During this run you could start your boil with the risk of storage / bacteria gone away??

just a thought.

Pulling taps does not stop the flow of sap, it just stops the collection.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

nice trees.... I would put one tap in trees with diameter 12" or bigger. 2 taps when about 18" and 3 taps if bigger than 22" diameter. That's kinda standard in our parts.
Of course there is the science then there is the art so you will get tonnes of opinions and techniques. Old school vs book learning types can argue forever. We always have good arguements about whats right between the old timers in these parts.
Lots of resources on internet and your local gov't extension office probably has recommendations of their own. Check with your local ag. office my experience lots of good people that want to try and help.
Sap normally flows when night time temps below freezing and daytime temps above freezing

 

[CalG]

nice trees.... I would put one tap in trees with diameter 12" or bigger. 2 taps when about 18" and 3 taps if bigger than 22" diameter. That's kinda standard in our parts.
Of course there is the science then there is the art so you will get tonnes of opinions and techniques. Old school vs book learning types can argue forever. We always have good arguements about whats right between the old timers in these parts.
Lots of resources on internet and your local gov't extension office probably has recommendations of their own. Check with your local ag. office my experience lots of good people that want to try and help.
Sap normally flows when night time temps below freezing and daytime temps above freezing

Now there is a comment worthy of a high school text book!

ps, sap NEVER flows when it's 10 degrees F both day and night!@

 

[Jstpssng]

Sap is like milk; it will spoil in sunlight and/or warm weather. In the early season you might get away with leaving it all week, but as it gets warmer you would be better off having it dump onto the ground, then start collecting when you are there. As has been mentioned it won't run every day. It takes temps over freezing in the day, and cold nights- but not too cold.
The bags are nice to keep it a little cleaner... Nothing like finding a flying squirrel in a nice, full bucket of sap. On a good day you may find your bags overflowing in a day.
Get a few spiles with tubing, and feed it into a 5 gallon bucket on the north side of the tree. This is the standard needed if you were going to be organic; note there is no science involved with this, as research shows it doesn't hurt the trees to tap down to 6 inches with 5/16 spiles.

Health Spout (5/16”).
1 tap 9”-14” dia. ” dia. (47”-63” circ
2 taps 15”-21” dia. (47”-63” circ.)
3 taps 22” & over, dia. (69”+ circ.)


Standard Spout (7/16”)
1 tap. 12”-18” dia. (36”-54” circ.)
2 taps 19” & over, dia. (54”+ circ.)
3 taps Prohibited

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I am so jealous of you folks who live in Maple syrup land. Not really a viable hobby here in the southeast. I would LOVE to put up 4 or 5 gallons of maple syryp every year. Seems so much easier than bees, hard work for a week or two and then your done. Bees you are married to them year round. Maybe one of these years I will find someone to invite me up for a week of suraging.