The Official 2023 Maple Syrup Thread

Been crazy ! So crazy..no time to post..or hardly sleep. Been 3 crazy huge runs of sap..with little ones in between . Our big runs are bringing in 350 gallons ! We have far exceeded last years total....as we sit...we are at about 44 gallons of 66 brix syrup. We have had all grades..now into the most beautiful redish dark. We are still at 2 percent out of the trees. I must say..best syrup we have ever made. Truly blessed this year! Still in season here...hopefully another week before things get "buddy" but we will see .
Also picked up a Harbor Freight cctv setup. About $60 bucks for a 4 inch moniter..two cameras..all the cords..and a cord to hook into the tv. No more people pulling in and surprising us...and no more getting up on a ladder to check the ro concentrate tank level. Was the cheaper of all the options. I'm impressed with this simple device!

 

Love following your progress the last two years! You have found your niche’

 

I was up at 4 am today running the ro . Had 3600 gallons here at the house. Syrup lightened up to 54% LT .

 

Thanks so much for saying that. Greatly appreciated!

 

After a morning of snow removal we’re off again. I’ve accumulated 17 gallons and there’s still buckets to empty at the trees themselves. I wouldn’t be surprised if I get a half gallon of syrup out of today’s work

 

Looking good Eric Wanderweg and everyone else! I'm getting the itch. Some of the guys on vacuum have been making syrup here but most of the traditional guys are still holding off. I see in the extended forecast there's still a bunch of days that don't get above freezing. I usually like to wait till after time change anyways. My trees usually run better towards the end of the season and if I tap too early they are starting to heal over on me when they should be running good.

 

Looks like fun. How much snow did you get last night? Just rain here.

 

Only about 3 inches, then it turned to light rain and became something akin to shoveling wet concrete

 

Well said Eric! We ended up with about 7 or 8 inches here. Started on snow removal early this morning, then over to the mother in laws to do hers. Pulled someone out of the ditch on my way. Then swung by the church to do some plowing. Back home now and unloaddd my counterweight. Snows melting fast. I’ll bet the sap is running today with full sun and above freezing. Probably run a batch tomorrow. Definitely like shoveling wet concrete. Snow blower even struggled

 

10-12” of heavy new snow. I’m collecting sap from the barrel using the ATV, carrying the sap in milk buckets. Had 8 buckets worth of sap the past few days- have had ok temperatures but no sun. I’m hoping tomorrow that it will really start to run.

 

Love that setup !!!

 

Like those milk buckets ! Pretty handy setup !

 

Likewise
For a crude first year thing with bare minimal investment, it works for me.

 

How much did you end up with after todays boil?

 

Dude… I’m STILL boiling Over 8 hours later… I ended up with 21 gallons of sap so I should get just over a half gallon of finished syrup. I’m letting the fire die down now. I’m going to put it in a 5 gallon bucket, cover it with a lid and pack snow around it, then finish it another day. I’m whooped.

 

Holy chit. Maybe i wont give this a try next year. Nice grove of sugar maples in my woods for it.

 

The first boil I did at about 10 gallons was manageable using this setup. I think even 15 gallons at a time isn’t so bad, but 21 is definitely a long haul. Next year I want to buy one of those reverse osmosis systems to eliminate a lot of the boiling. That’s got to make all the difference in the world.

 

It does indeed ! Our last run of 350 gallons...was only manageable because of our ro. Upgraded it to do 6 percent out of one pass this year...this is about how much water the ro got rid of out of that 350 gallons of sap..that we did not have to boil. Minus what we used for cleaning already....pretty amazing ! Go Ro bucket. Simple..no guess work...no messing around. Easy to maintain and clean. They have small ones that would be perfect for you !
Mine was an ro bucket kit...then I added the 5th membrane..and adjustable flow meters this past year. Game changer in time..firewood..and sanity lol. Low cost..low upkeep...huge results !

 

The ro stuff seems complicated ..but its actually really simple to operator. And Carl at RO Bucket is great about answering questions anything. Has a FB page for the stuff too. Game changing stuff!

That's a 275 gallon tote btw. That visual of permeate water removed before boiling...was a shocker to me as well !

 

You know it's getting late in the season..when the syrup gets darker..and the moths appear!