What a bunch of saps! (maple syrup makers)

[tcsmpsi]

Down here in these parts, we still have quite a few saps.  Well, not exactly, as our syrup is made from sugarcane.  I have around a few operations. 

I, too, am glad this thread was started.  Good looking operations.

[OH logger]

we are in oohio and have done it off and on for 10 or so years. getting a little more serious lately. this year we s tepped up from a 2 by 3 flat pan (half pint) to a 2 by 5 "drop tube" evaporator that bill mason from maine biult for us. we a lso built a new sugar shack this year out of our 130 year old bank barn that was damaged by the wind storm this summer. pretty excited for this year. basically ready to go except for insulating aND bricking the evap. our buiggest problem here is that all of our woods are about 4 or so miles fron our house which is a paain in the $%# to go gather sap. but we do have a gator which helps. making syrup is my only hobby besides working in the woods so im a pretty lucky guy. keeps me, my dad, and my boy out of troiuble;....in the spring anyway..  :D

[thecfarm]

Bill mason.what town does he live in?Age about 50?

[HousewrightVA]

Cfarm that is a Ford 9n in the photo.
OH logger I like the look of that Mason drop tube let us know how it works.
Boiled again last night and took a few more pics.

Sap hauler

 
Looks like the weather will hold for a couple more days before it turns warm, 22 last night.
Taps running yesterday

 
For several reasons most of my boiling is done at night, (gotta work in the day).
I am curious when others do most of their boiling.

 

[bill m]

HousewrightVA,  What do you use for a vacuum pump?

[HousewrightVA]

Bill
I am running an oil lubed 3/4 HP rotary vane. Its a 220V Italian made unit brand name I cannot remember, that I picked up on ebay for 50 bucks. It has worked great,it pulls 26-27" at the releaser 24-7 for months at a time. I do have to change the oil often,it gets a lot of condensation in it. I have not figured out how to stop the condensation. I am using a Lapierre releaser which has been trouble free so far.

[loggah]

Housewright, You dont use that rig for "moonshinin" in the off maple season do ya?? down there a cloud of steam could have the revenoors showing up !!! ;D Don

[Charles Barnes Sr]

I have what I believe is a wooden tap. I was cutting firewood back in 96 in Liberty, ME and felled a large maple just a short distance from an old cellar hole. When I split the wood I found an old wooden tap buried in the tree and overgrown by several inches of bark. It was whittled by hand and drilled through the center, not sure what species of wood it is. I would like to post pictures of it but can't seem to figure out how to post photos.

[loggah]

charles, They used to make a bunch of taps out of sumac,wittle them out and just take a hot piece of iron and burn the pith out. I think its the only thing sumac is any good for. Don

[Charles Barnes Sr]

Thanks loggah. I've told people it was sumac but also that I wasn't 100% sure. I know sumac draws the deer...that's something good. I have a couple of patches of sumac and when the weather turns cold you'll see deer tracks into most every night. When the snow gets deep I go out and break the stalks so the heads are within reach for the deer and it is usually cleaned up within a day or two.

[loggah]

I know some birds eat it also ,but it seems last resort. Don

[ArborJake]

 Heres my sap house, What I gather with and some finished product.

  

    

  I put aout about 200 taps and boil with a vermont 3 by 8 evaporator.

[hillsidevt]

I've been involved in sugaring for about all of my 32 years. lately with my wife's family at her grandfather's place on the VT/Canada border. Images of his operation were on the old metal syrup cans and in various ads etc. roughly 4000 to 6000 taps varying from year to year. half buckets, the rest pipeline with half on vacuum. 2 years ago we tapped in early spring in 3-5 feet of snow, last year mid winter in 2-3 inches of it. They gathered with horses until not too long ago. We boil with a 6x16' Grimm arch, wood fired. I would guess it averages 1/2 cord burned per hour. Wife's grandfather is in his mid 70s and cuts about twice as much wood as he needs each year in order to keep his land looking like a park. It's still a smaller operation as far as commercial sugaring goes up here. Some have over 100,000 taps, of course use reverse osmosis and boil on single pan arches powered by huge steam boilers, drawing off in an hour what we make in a year!   

[Stephen1]

We started about 40 years ago when we were kids, 15, shooting our 22 at the trees. Sap came out and we decided to start boiling. We started with pieces of copper pipe as spiles into milk jugs. We had 500 buckets for years, now we are reduced to 250 on gravity tubes, and 50 on pail.
Here are some photos from the past I found. 

  

 
We used to trade with a local gentlmen to plow the bush for syrup 

 This is my daughters Boy friend from down under, putting him to work 

Here is Rich installing the last of the firebrick in our new arch  

here is myself and Rich, pretty happy we are back boiling Here is a pic of most of the setup for boiling, on the right is our homemade finnishing pan fired by a BBQ burner

 

[Bogue Chitto]

Thank's for posting this.  This brings back memories from when I was a kid.  We made sugar cane syrup the same way as best as I can remember. 

[Chuck White]

Stephen1, is your set-up made by CDL.

Looks like a CDL, that's what my brother bought, now he's very anxious to use it!

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

Thank's for posting this.  This brings back memories from when I was a kid.  We made sugar cane syrup the same way as best as I can remember.

I grew up in north Florida, about sixty miles east of Tallahassee. One of the Deacons in my Dad's church grew sugar can and made cane syrup every fall. It was not a commercial operation. He would normally make about 250 gallons each year. The cane was pressed using a mill that was powered by a pair of old mules. They walked in circles for hours as the cane stalks were feed into the rollers and the juice collected in old milk cans (4 or 5 gallons). The juice was boiled down to reduce it to syrup. The process took place in a large metal basin held up by brick walls with wood fire burning underneath. The syrup was bottled in used Jack Daniel's bottles which the Deacon collected from all the bars in the area. He used them because they were square and would pack better in boxes and on the shelf.

Those were the days.


Herb

[Bogue Chitto]

We pressed the Cain with a mule also.  When the mule was tired I remember hooking the tractor to the press and it would go in circles without a driver on it.  : :D.   

[Stephen1]

Chuck, I am trying to remember, but that name is not familiar. I know there has been consolidation between the makers of the evapourators. Ours has 2 names on it, I believe, could be Dominion/Grim, will be at the barn to tomorrow so I will have a look and let you know. It does work good, we just don't like the plugs they have when blocking the back pan from the front pan, when we are finishing and have water in the back.

We also boil at night, we like to do work, and collect till around 4 or 5, then we start up the evaporator and boil until about midnite depending on the Hockey schedule . We have satellite TV and when we are boiling late march early april, the playoffs have started and we get to see the east coast, then west coast games 8).
Its a great, boil, eat, a few pops, and watch hockey. Life doesn't get any better than that

[Chuck White]

Stephen1; I can see the name on the end of the arch in the pic where you're bricking the fire box.

You have a Dominion-Grimm.

I think they are part of the current CDL company!

Won't be much longer and the sap will run!  8)