MAPLE SYRUP time again....

[daveomak]

After the Faux Pas' from last years maple syrup evaporating step, I came up with a new plan.....

This new plan is AWESOME...   

Same old electric fry pan......  New SS Dog Dish for evaporating the syrup...      New SS TIG rod bent into a W or M...  depends where you are looking from....  And some "used only twice" vegetable oil that deep fried some fish..... 

The W supports the dog dish to keep it from sitting directly on the frying pan hot surface, and also allows for hot oil to circulate under the dog dish to evenly heat the syrup...   

The oil acts as thermal mass absorbing heat from the fry pan heating element then the oil warms and heats the dd and maple sap... 

The heat controller is functional...   the fiberglass insulation keeps the fry pan and thermostat warm...

This set up works sooo good...   maybe you can adapt it to a project you may have ....

....Evaporating the sap....

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• daveomak
• Jan 31, 2017

....The W supporting the dd about 1/16" above the heating element.......

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• daveomak
• Jan 31, 2017

..... You can see the pink insulation under the fry pan.....

.... The temp probes from the Mav ET 73.....

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• daveomak
• Jan 31, 2017

...Sap temperature and oil temperature......

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• daveomak
• Jan 31, 2017

The high dome fry pan lid will cover the fry pan and dog dish to protect the sap from gathering dust etc.. when not evaporating....  It's cold enough overnight for stuff to sit outside... 

I evaporate this stuff outside as to not fill the house with humidity....

AND the oil smells like fish...  not all bad but.......

 

[HalfSmoked]

Looks interesting how sweet it is

how long does it take to get the thickness of syrup your looking for and how muck do you usually make.

Warren

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks very interesting Dave!

I never knew how maple syrup was processed.

Al

 

[crankybuzzard]

I'm watching this one

 

[daveomak]

 
Looks interesting how sweet it is

how long does it take to get the thickness of syrup your looking for and how muck do you usually make.

Warren

 Morning Warren...    Takes several hours to concentrate the sap...   I boil it down until it coats the back of a spoon...   about 8º above the local boiling point of water...     I'm going to make a real effort to not burn a quart of syrup this year...   I ended up with a quart of good syrup last year...   It is sooo good when you coat your bacon with it while it's in the oven cooking...    talk about snack sticks...     

 

[daveomak]

 
Looks very interesting Dave!

I never knew how maple syrup was processed.

Al

I didn't either Al, this is my 3rd year and I'm getting better figuring out my mistakes...   good thing I'm not too old to learn...  

 
I'm watching this one

Stand by for more good stuff Buzzard......

 

[daveomak]

Todays sap from the last 24 hours...   Can't figure out why one tree has more sap.....  and it's partially frozen... 

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• daveomak
• Jan 31, 2017

 

[daveomak]

BAD DEAL !!!!    I had the high dome lid covering the SS dish to protect the sap from yesterday....    Little did I know, condensate formed on the lid and ran down into the oil bath.....    Turned on the evaporator setup and came inside to post pics of the days syrup collection....  Went back out to check on the temps AND oil had blown all over the place from the moisture that had settled beneath the layer of oil...   makes sense now...   I will not put the lid on the evaporator from now on....    I didn't take pics...    also, oil had blown into the SS pan also covering the sap...    I will figure something out...   I absorbed most by laying a paper towel on the surface several times...  sucked up a lot of oil...  

The older I get, and the more stuff I try, the smarter I get....    HAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[HalfSmoked]

  sorry about it s--- happens but then again  just so we can't say Hey Dave send me some you telling us you screwed up. 

Al asked about the amount I understand that it takes about 40 gal. of liquid sap to make one gal. syrup.

Warren

 

[daveomak]

I get better results than other folks...  They are tapping trees in the woods...    I irrigate my trees every week with about 2" equivalent rain...  for 6 months of the year...  About 48" of rainfall during the year...     Others rely on snowfall melting only in the spring and limited rainfall the rest of the year......    I can't remember too well but I think last year my recovery was ~20:1.....      If I find last years numbers, I'll post them....    I tried irrigating 1" per week but the trees suffered during the last 2-3 days before the next irrigation...    With 2", they do awesome...    especially when the temp gets to 100's....

 

[smokepigtails]

This reminds me it is almost time for syrup festivals up here. We usually use an old wood stove, with a cheap as possible segmented trough on top, sap is evaporated in one finished in another. Usually in a shack or shed as to avoid others, its nice alone time for some.

 

[heavy hauler]

I used to use a old SS pan about the size of a turkey fryer on an open fire pit. It took all day and the syrup had a little smokey taste.

 

[daveomak]

That would have been some really good syrup....   smokey....    My evaporation step is daily with about 1 gallon per day +/-....  and 6-8 hours to evaporate that amount....   really SLOOOOOOOOW process...  but, time is on my side.....  hopefully...

 

[heavy hauler]

I read once the Indians would gather SAP from trees and let it freeze removing the frozen top layer and keeping the sugar consintrated liquid. It makes you think that if they didn't do it that way it would make your "slow" operation look fast given the alternative of dropping hot stones into a clay pot.

 

[daveomak]

That would be slow....   I'm not in a hurry but....  more hurried than using that method....

 

[noxwaste]

I wish I was in an area to collect sap... I've always loved the idea of everything "homemade" -- syrup, meat, cheese, etc. Syrup is just one of those things I've always wanted to make, but don't have the trees to do it with.

 

[daveomak]

Where do you live ???   Nothing in your profile...

 

[noxwaste]

 
Where do you live ???   Nothing in your profile...

Good ol' southeast New Mexico, right on the border of New Mexico and Texas. There isn't anything around here but dirt, mesquite, and cypress haha.

 

[daveomak]

Pretty difficult to tap trees when you ain't got some...    But then, your mesquite is free... 

 

[noxwaste]

 
Pretty difficult to tap trees when you ain't got some...    But then, your mesquite is free... 

Hahaha! Yea, I guess that's the good part of it all. I do love some mesquite smoke.