Feb 12, 2009

Let the 2009 season begin!

Welcome back. I've started thinking about the 2009 season and what things I'd like to do differently. Last year, I only made just shy of 1 gallon of syrup. So, my first goal this year is to make more syrup. Second, boiling took a long time, so I'd also like to reduce that time.

So far I've purchased 10 more taps, more filter paper, and some funnels. Now, I'm looking for outdoor propane burners (the gas grill approach didn't generate enough heat to maintain a boil on cold days).

1 comment:

P.H. said...

We use a propane fired dual burner, and boil in a 3 foot by 2 foot (small) evaporator pan with a spigot. The spigot comes in handy for pouring off into the finishing pan. With this set up I can boil in the ballpark of 60 gallons of sap between the hours of 4 AM and 2 PM. Giving me an hour to finish the boil before my children get home from school at 3.

Also I recommend getting a felted cone filter for filtering out the maple sand. It works a whole lot better than paper.