March 9, 2009 – Boiling Sap

Well, today I started to boil the sap down.  After 8 hours of heating, five gallons of sap evaporated down to about a gallon and a half before I stopped for the day and put the sap in the fridge to wait for another day.

I’m not sure if it was the weather or the stove that prevented a boil – it was a foggy, very windy, cold day and the pan never did boil, although you could see the vapor escaping all day.

one year ago…”12 Feet!”

2 thoughts on “March 9, 2009 – Boiling Sap

  1. Burn your fire hotter and faster to reach a oil. You need a very hot fire, and have to stoke it constantly. Hard wood in small pieces packed in is key.

  2. I hope your boil went better. I’m finishing today. This is my fourth boil of about25 – 26 gallons each time. It usually takes about 11 hours beginning to end for 25 gallons for my stove.
    However mine is in a garage, (woodworking shop actually), and I have 4 pots and a pre-warmer pot going.
    One thing I am adamant about is jamming the splits to the fire at every opportunity.
    I make sure I use good dry wood, split fairly thin for quick heat and I keep the firebox jammed full at all times.
    I’ve found that once I lose my boil it takes forever to regain the sustained heat.
    You will definitely need a vigorous boil to make syrup — not just “evaporation.” You have to hit somewhere around 216 to 219 degrees to make syrup, (depending on your altitude and barometric pressure on that day).
    You cannot hit those temps without rapid boil.
    Good luck.

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