Finally made some paple syrup

Adirondack case guy · Mar 12, 2013

Well, my finger slipped when spelling maple, BUT, we are putting up white smoke/steam out of our chapel. HeHe.
We made our first marketable maple syrup yesterday afternoon after a week of sub freezing temps day and night. As I stated this is a old operation, using yesteryears tech. Had a big crew show up Monday afternoon, family and friends. Also hired a couple of Amish lads to help. Collected about 2000 gal of sap. We fired the evaporators about 10:00AM and ran to 11:00PM. made 19.25 gal syrup. Temp remained in mid 40s overnight with moderate to heavy rain. Snow shrank slush. Tomarrow we hope to gather again and refire the evaporators.
All of you who e-mailed me will receive a price list and ordering info. tomarrow. Thanks so much for the intrest.
Loren, the Acg.

David G · Mar 12, 2013

How many acres of trees do you need for a gallon of syrup?

I would like to try the new "paple".

Sid · Mar 12, 2013

Loren, I am enjoying your posts and reports.

larrystinescorner · Mar 12, 2013

very interesting pictures,thanks,,,,

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 12, 2013

Looks good. I think papal syrup is syrup that is consumed in the Vatican, but I could be wrong. Did you boil all of your sap? Seems like 2000 gallons should have made more than that. Pictures show our little sugar house. It is a one man show and so far I have boiled twice and gotten around 2 gallons from around 60 gallons of sap each time. First time was a bit over and second was a bit under. The ladder is so I could take the bucket off the stove pipe before lighting the fire. The blower is .75 amp and blows a narrow stream into the bottom of the fire. It helps the boil recover faster after I put more wood on the fire and keeps the coals from piling up too deeply. The cupola doors are controlled by cables. They have loops on the end and are hooked over nails on the wall inside to hold the doors closed or partly open.
Zach

Lazy WP · Mar 12, 2013

Loren, my wife is pretty sure that you are in dire need of a hydraulic pump for a 430. She has never had "real" maple syrup. Years ago, my grandparents had friends from NY that would send "tin" gallon cans of it out to them.
What fond memories.

SweetFeet · Mar 12, 2013

Loren AGC,
Thanks for posting. Really interesting!

Adirondack case guy · Mar 12, 2013

MY friend,
I have not forgotten our deal. I could have sent you some of last years, but we are using it to make maple cream and candy. You will be receiving some of from this run shortly.
Loren
Ps give me an e-mail with your addy again, and we will put USPS to work

Adirondack case guy · Mar 12, 2013

Zach,
You built a real nice little sugar shanty. Years back when gramps was alive we had a little 2'x4' Grimm arch and he would take surup up to the cream and candy temps and had a hand cranked creamer to make maple cream and candy. As a little guy, I really liked the "jack wax on some snow from a snow drift or bank.
Loren
Ps. Sometime this summer me and the wifey are going to have to travel up to the other side of the ridge and meet up with you and Bret.

Adirondack case guy · Mar 12, 2013

Zach,
Forgot to answer your question about how much we boiled. We let the evaporators die down and flooded them so they would not boil dry, and scorch the front pans.I can remember many a night whed Dad and Mom woke me up as the sun was starting to light the sky to head home from the saphouse. We're too dam old for that now. LOL "tomarow will be another day" The sap ran slowly today, and we will get back to gathering tomarrow, hopefully. Temp is at freezing as I post.
Loren

Lazy WP · Mar 12, 2013

That works.

RickieBlue · Mar 12, 2013

Nice pics..Thanks for sharing!

TimBinWV · Mar 12, 2013

I'd like to be there to help out, but it's a bit far from WV. Good looking operation.

Adirondack case guy · Mar 12, 2013

Dave
Syrup production is based on the number of taps rather than acres. Weather and orientation are major factors in regard to production. For instance if the trees are on a southern slope, they produce earlier than those on a northern slopes. The size and age ot the trees also affect sap production, as does the density of trees in a given area. trees with a girth of about 16-20" are prime producers, but larger trees with healthy tops will suport multipal taps. We only put multiple taps in trees that a person can't reach around and touch fingers. Weather is the biggest factor. Day to night temp ranging from 20's at night to 40's during the days is ideal. Snow cover is also a contributing factor as well as how far the frost embedded during the winter.
This is a harvestable crop, BUT, it is far from raising any grain crop where you can change tillage practices, genaric properties of the seed, weed control, etc. A maple tree will produce sap for a human lifetime, with proper forestry practices.
Loren, the Acg.

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 12, 2013

I'd be glad to meet you if you do make it up this way.
Zach

Brian G. NY · Mar 12, 2013

Went over and helped my wife's cousin draw off his first batch about 3 hours ago. Had a couple of really good runs two days ago but it hasn't gotten below freezing the last two nights.

David G · Mar 12, 2013

I have about 7 acres of maple that I want to expand. It is second and third growth timber.

Rick Kr · Mar 12, 2013

Great pictures with all the steam rolling out of there.

Rick

Brian G. NY · Mar 12, 2013

His operation isn't quite as big as yours, but he puts out anywhere from 45 gals to a high in 2011 of 82 gals.
Altho I have never had an evaporator myself, I have helped my inlaws with syrup production for many years.
This is me boiling sap at my wife's late Grandfather's saphouse in 1957 when I was just shy of sixteen.

2x4 · Mar 13, 2013

does the white smoke mean a new Pope was elected?

Harold Hubbard · Mar 13, 2013

I boiled yesterday afternoon for the third time. Made about 45 gallons total.

It has been a bit of a scramble to get up and running. My nephew was here for two weeks, and we got the pipelines all set up and some new mainline out.

Then my older son came home on spring break, and wee got everything tapped, and the sugarhouse cleaned and set up. He went back last weekend, and my younger son came home, he is helping with the sugarhouse, getting in wood etc.but he will be gone back before there is much more boiling.

After that it will be just me and my wife, and what occasional help I can get from one of my neighbors.

I left the vacuum pump running last night, but I don't think there will be enough to boil today. The temperature is supposed to drop the next few days, so probably nothing more until Monday. That will give me a chance to catch up n a few other things. I need to go somewhere to get containers. I should check the tubing system over for damage, although that works better with the vacuum on. And I really need to get my taxes finished, before it gets too late.

Bret4207 · Mar 13, 2013

I'll never forget the new neighbor that moved in next door from Chicago. He was some sort of incredibly intelligent Phd. Engineer type and she was....well, she was just crazy. First spring they were up here he called in no less than 4 structure fires- all people boiling sap. Took Mr Phd. more than once to figure out steam and smoke are 2 different things! She was 10x as dense as he was.

Sometimes when neighbors move out you just don't miss them like you ought to!

John730D · Mar 13, 2013

From your title, I thought maybe you were making syrup fot the soon to be new Pope. LOL Sorry, I couldn't resist. Looks great, best of luck.

hd6gtom · Mar 13, 2013

I wanted to do this but the state told me, since it would be a new operation, all the equiptment I must have had to be stainless steel, including the buckets that collect the sap. couldn't afford to start, so I planted Pecan trees.

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 13, 2013

Actually that is steam, so I don't think it counts.
Zach

Dr. Walt · Mar 13, 2013

Zach:

I like your little sugar house, while looking at the pic's the '60s tune "Sugar Shack" popped into my mind. Like the pic with the toboggan, haven't seen one of those in years. Only time that I ever got to ride one was back in 1953 when I was 7 years old. We went back to visit cousins in Upstate New York, rode back there on a train pulled by a steam locomotive. I'll never forget, while waiting to board the train I was standing next to the locomotive and it vented excess steam at me, scared the dickens out of me.

Doc

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 13, 2013

Don't know that tune, I'll have to look it up. I bought that sled for $2 at an auction a couple of years ago and I have gotten my money's worth out of it. It slides really well on semi-hard snow but when the temps get up in the 50s for two days it tends to sink in and tip over. I use it to move 15 gallon sealed cans of sap down the field to the sugar house from where some of my taps are located.
Zach

Chip812 · Mar 13, 2013

Loren,
I would like to have some 'ordering' information as well... Good, old-fashioned, maple syrup is hard to find these days....

My e-mail should be open and available to use...

Finally made some paple syrup

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