# anyone else getting ready for Maple Syrup



## cleb (Jan 8, 2003)

Last year was our first season sugaring... We put up about 3 gallons of syrup... This year we decided to move the boiling from the wood stove to a cinder block evaporator we put together this weekend...

Last years batch was pretty good but we had a little sugar sand settle in some of the jars... I have a filter coming and am hoping to avoid that with the filter...

I am looking at the different maple syrup hydrometers... last year we did it based mostly on consistency... we did not get to much crystallization in the jars so we were not to far off...

Here's a video of our setup... just testing with snow... they're calling for a warmup this week so the trees should start running soon...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd9SD-6MXfc[/ame]

So anyone else doing syrup this year... would love to see what others are doing...


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## tcromeans (Feb 4, 2014)

I wanted to tap some trees around our house this year just for fun..we live in Mississippi so no sugar maples but I read a silver maple would give you something to work with..we tapped one the last week of January but have gotten nothing yet..maybe we did it wrong or maybe its too late to tap this year??


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

we make mallases every year our furnace is made of blocks and mortar it has survived 4 years the chemminy is an old drain pipe we also have a shed bilt over every thing includeing a picnic table though having a SS pan bilt 3 x 7& 7inches deep was costly it will last a lifetime


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## cleb (Jan 8, 2003)

arnie said:


> we make mallases every year our furnace is made of blocks and mortar it has survived 4 years the chemminy is an old drain pipe we also have a shed bilt over every thing includeing a picnic table though having a SS pan bilt 3 x 7& 7inches deep was costly it will last a lifetime


That looks great... we hope to eventually build a real sugar shack... for now we're just making due

couple of new videos 

we tapped trees a couple weeks back... now we just need the weather to change... I have a feeling that sugar season will be very short this year

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wSiSTDN8cc[/ame]

First run of sap... weather has been interesting... after this we had another one day warm up then a blizzard... then another warm up... I'm heading down tonight to process more sap but it's going to get cold again...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UjiE_y0f0o[/ame]


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## cleb (Jan 8, 2003)

Finally got our first batch finished and canned... We have a little over a gallon and a half so far. There is about a gallon of syrup that is 80% done and what ever the trees gave us this week. I am hoping to get around 4 gallons this year.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyfApCP844Q"]Maple Syrup - Finishing our first batch and canning[/ame]


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Not in this weather. It'll only be a 2 wek season.Not worth the bother and don't like bitter syrup.

Wade


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## cleb (Jan 8, 2003)

1shotwade said:


> Not in this weather. It'll only be a 2 wek season.Not worth the bother and don't like bitter syrup.
> 
> Wade


Ours hasn't been bitter... but not alot of run time... we put another gallon and a quarter up yesterday & have another gallon thats about 80% done with enough sap for another... should bring our year total to around 5 gallons...


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