Does anyone know what is the best way to get sap from a Sugar Maple? I want to be prepared for this spring, as I have at least 20 large Sugar Maples on my property.
Here is a link that might help. http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/LifeInNewEngland-BackyardSugaring.html I use stainless steel grimm spouts http://www.bascommaple.com/store/index.php?cat=6 I tap in Jan or Feb when daytime temps in 40s or 50s and nighttime below freezing. If you drill on a day like that, the sap will flow immediately. I got tubing from the local farm store and run it from the spout to a 5 gallon bucket. I have made syrup from Silver and Sugar maples. Each has a distinct flavor. Be prepared to burn a lot of propane Keith
Yep, it takes 80-100 gallons os sap to produce a gallon of maple syrup. I operated a "sugar shack" in college, feeding a huge wood-burning stove for 18 hours at a time while feeding sap into our syrup evaporator. Propane would have been alot easier, but we were running a demonstration maple syrup production operation at a Rutgers University property in the NJ mountains. We thinned an old Sugar Maple grove, and used the felled trees to build a pole barn Sugar Shack and to fuel our evaporator. We gave away half pint containers of syrup to the Forestry School's big donors. I'll never forget the sweet smell of evaporating sap. Check out this info online that I found, http://www.goshen.edu/merrylea/sugar/physics.htm http://www.goshen.edu/merrylea/sugar/evaporator/evap.html .
