Maple Tree Tapping .....

[daveomak]

Drilled the 2 trees about 7 AM... No sap running...... about 11 AM, 1 drop every 2 seconds and about 1 pint of sap.... at 1 PM 1 drop about every 1.5 seconds....... This stuff is probably 1% sugar so it will take about 70 gallons of sap for 1 gallon of maple syrup or something like that.... The 2% takes about 40 gallons so they say.....

This is my first maple tree tap.... been thinking for several years about doing this..... even thought about planting a couple hundred trees.... until I learned it takes about 40 years to maturity to get to 10".... well, these are about 8.5" and I read after 8" you could tap them... so I did.... I have a wooden plug to fill the holes when I'm done....
See the screw ????? well, sap is running from it.... I learned something today, don't put screws in the trees to hold the bucket... I didn't want to hang the buckets on the taps because they are plastic.... OH, WELL ????

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• daveomak
• Feb 24, 2015

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• daveomak
• Feb 24, 2015

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• daveomak
• Feb 24, 2015

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• daveomak
• Feb 24, 2015

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• daveomak
• Feb 24, 2015

 

[timberjet]

I wonder how much my 15 foot diameter one in the front of my house would do?

 

[daveomak]

LOTS....... TONS........ OCEANS....... From what I've read, you can put 4 taps in a tree that big....

 

[timberjet]

Now I feel like a dummy for not getting on this this year dave. Boo...There is a levee along the river next to my house that could be plumbed for a couple of miles for that stuff.

 

[cliffcarter]

Which species of maple are you tapping?

 

[woodcutter]

Some of my neighbors use long runs of plastic hose from tree to tree. Some are gravity flow to a tank some are under vacuum from a pump. My close neighbors still cook it down from sap but some serious guys down the road are using centrifuges to separate the water from the sugar so they don't use as much wood.

 

[daveomak]

Which species of maple are you tapping?

Don't know Cliff...... Just some maples that were planted here before we bought the place.... I've done a fair amount of reading and darn near any tree can be tapped... when my Birch's get bigger, I'll tap them..... A guy on the coast taps Alders.... you can buy the syrup here....

Some of my neighbors use long runs of plastic hose from tree to tree. Some are gravity flow to a tank some are under vacuum from a pump. My close neighbors still cook it down from sap but some serious guys down the road are using centrifuges to separate the water from the sugar so they don't use as much wood.


I read about "tapping under vacuum" using 3/16" tubing.... sounds pretty cool..... the benefits and all....

 

[dirtsailor2003]

So you're saying I could tap all these junipers and ponderosa pines around my place, I've sampled the pitch from both before (not by choice) yuck! I'll stick with the Maple!

 

[a g k]

  In my younger days have tapped & cooked maple sap into syrup. Sugar (aka hard) maple has the highest sugar content of all maples. Knew a fellow who didn't know tree species well & tapped elm. The end product was not useable.  It helps to find out what trees variety you have.

A G K

 

[daveomak]

If Elm sap tastes half as bad as food smoked with the wood, that's awful.....

 

[woodcutter]

When looking at your picture with your tap, It sure looks like the hard red maple tree that they are using around here.

 

[daveomak]

There was a good amount of sugar in the sap... That burnt stuff is from about 2 gallons of sap... I was surprised at the amount of sugar....

I don't know the variety..... I will look up hard red maple.....

 

[woodcutter]

I know my neighbors cook it in a large 2'x3' pan and don't finish cooking it. After it is cooked down so far they dump it through a strainer and let it cool. Later they add more of the same and do a finishing cook and then they can it in Mason jars. The first cook is done over a wood fire and they use soft wood. (hardwood is too hot) When they do the final cook it is done over a burner for controlled heat.

 

[daveomak]

Here are pics of what I have for trees....

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• daveomak
• Mar 3, 2015

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• daveomak
• Mar 3, 2015

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• daveomak
• Mar 3, 2015

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• daveomak
• Mar 3, 2015

 

[twisted minds]

If Elm sap tastes half as bad as food smoked with the wood, that's awful.....

If you think that's bad, imagine what you would get If you were to tap a piss elm!

 

[a g k]

  The bark on soft maple is smoother than on hard maple, but it is hard to tell from picture as bark on both are smooth when small & get rougher on hard as tree gets bigger. When leaves come out, they are close but not identical.

  Both should be good for syrup but the higher the sugar content the less boiling. If you have a thermometer, maple sap is considered pure maple syrup when temp is 7 degrees F above boiling on that day. Barometric pressure does affect boiling point  Also hydrometers for sap sugar content & syrup sugar content are available.

A G K