Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[dancan]

Geez guys , looking through the pics to find that , I found this from 07'2013 almost a year after surgery .

And I was using this cane that I made as an aid .

Could only make these and take plenty of meds .

got more ambitious , made a draw knife from a leaf spring and peeled a ton of these because it was really starting to get to me .

Back in and out by September .

Could only drive by and watch in october .

But , I got a go Ahead in November so it was on !!!
Pioneerguy600 and his friend Doug cutting on their side , I was on the other .

Thinking back , it was a rough go LOL
Wouldn't trade it for nothing though , learned a lot of stuff .
I hope I didn't/don't bore you guys with any of the pics and stuff .
Just so you know who I am if you ever make it up here .

My only pic of me LOL

 

[dancan]

Curious.....since we've been talking about sugaring, everyone mentions wood fired. Is a propane fired turkey fryer set up not a good idea?

I have another friend that's been making his own for years , boils it off on a turkey fryer burner , finishes it off in the house , he doesn't care about the cost , he loves his own syrup.

 

[svk]

I have another friend that's been making his own for years , boils it off on a turkey fryer burner , finishes it off in the house , he doesn't care about the cost , he loves his own syrup.

I pay $55 a gallon shipped and its worth every cent. A gallon lasts us almost two years.

There's a local place that does infused maple syrup. Habanaro maple is really good.

 

[Red97]

Maple syrup you say?? Hmmmmmm wonder how many gallons 12 2-3 footers would make in a season? Being my front yard has 12 trees all sugar maple.

 

[svk]

Maple syrup you say?? Hmmmmmm wonder how many gallons 12 2-3 footers would make in a season? Being my front yard has 12 trees all sugar maple.

Tap em and find out.

 

[Red97]

Tap em and find out.

LOL, I think I have bought 1 little bottle of syrup since I have lived here 5 years. Not much of a breakfast fan, but it does sound fun to make. Going to have to do some research on what to do.

 

[svk]

LOL, I think I have bought 1 little bottle of syrup since I have lived here 5 years. Not much of a breakfast fan, but it does sound fun to make. Going to have to do some research on what to do.

Real maple syrup in coffee or tea is way addicting. I try to refrain.

 

[johninky]

Maple syrup you say?? Hmmmmmm wonder how many gallons 12 2-3 footers would make in a season? Being my front yard has 12 trees all sugar maple.

Helped making syrup as a teenager in Ohio. From memory I will say your trees can take 4 buckets each. On a good day you will have to empty the buckets twice. Also thinking it takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Lots of boiling required but nothing in the world tastes better than a glass of just made hot maple syrup.

 

[MustangMike]

I love Maple Syrup on my Pancakes, and in my garden Squash (mostly Butternut).

I know U can use Sugar (Hard) Maple, and Norway Maple, did not know U can use the others.

When do U need to tap the trees, I think my tax season may interfere!

I see several places around here are using tubes instead of buckets, I guess it makes sense, but as a kid, I still remember those buckets up at my Aunt's farm!

 

[SteveSS]

I want to learn it, just because if I don't, who will? Seems like we're (as a society) not passing on all of the good stuff anymore (and I mean, me.).......but here I am not knowing it either. My Grandad knew it. How did it skip a generation to the point that I don't? Technology can be a hindrance as much as a blessing. I don't know.....I've been on an "old school" learning kick for a while. It's not a "tin foil hat....EMP....global thermonuclear war" kind of thing, as it is a, "I just want to know", kind of thing. I'll be 46 years old in April, and I feel like a dummy. I've been a techie most all my life, and I really can fix most anything......I haven't paid a auto mechanic in probably twenty years. I don't know a lot about saws (yet), and I sure can't tell you how to raise a farm animal for meat or milk, but I want to. I wish that I was as eager for knowledge when I was twenty years old, as I am now. If I was, I'd be a kajillion-aire.

 

[farmer steve]

I want to learn it, just because if I don't, who will? Seems like we're (as a society) not passing on all of the good stuff anymore (and I mean, me.).......but here I am not knowing it either. My Grandad knew it. How did it skip a generation to the point that I don't? Technology can be a hindrance as much as a blessing. I don't know.....I've been on an "old school" learning kick for a while. It's not a "tin foil hat....EMP....global thermonuclear war" kind of thing, as it is a, "I just want to know", kind of thing. I'll be 46 years old in April, and I feel like a dummy. I've been a techie most all my life, and I really can fix most anything......I haven't paid a auto mechanic in probably twenty years. I don't know a lot about saws (yet), and I sure can't tell you how to raise a farm animal for meat or milk, but I want to. I wish that I was as eager for knowledge when I was twenty years old, as I am now. If I was, I'd be a kajillion-aire.

i'll be 60 "to soon" and i try and learn something new daily. i always listen to the old farmers because they didn't learn stuff from a computer.mostly trial and error till they found out what worked.sometimes i even relearn stuff. like yesterday.the darn saw won't cut after you touch a rock.

 

[zogger]

i'll be 60 "to soon" and i try and learn something new daily. i always listen to the old farmers because they didn't learn stuff from a computer.mostly trial and error till they found out what worked.sometimes i even relearn stuff. like yesterday.the darn saw won't cut after you touch a rock.

I relearned yesterday I am not 20 years old..Mr. tardo here thought it was a slick idea to try and ride the donkey bareback...the dogs and donkey got into a tussle with me on it, took a hard fall, about busted my leg...I can sort of hobble around a little...hurt like heck, still does, all swollen, can't hardly bend my knee, I think it's screwed.

Odd thing is, while I was laying there on the ground, I was laughing like crazy, cussing myself out for being mega stoopid.... heh

No scrounging for me for awhile now...

 

[KenJax Tree]

I relearned yesterday I am not 20 years old..Mr. tardo here thought it was a slick idea to try and ride the donkey bareback...the dogs and donkey got into a tussle with me on it, took a hard fall, about busted my leg...I can sort of hobble around a little...hurt like heck, still does, all swollen, can't hardly bend my knee, I think it's screwed.

Odd thing is, while I was laying there on the ground, I was laughing like crazy, cussing myself out for being mega stoopid.... heh

No scrounging for me for awhile now...

I guess we know who the real jack ass is lol

 

[1project2many]

I've been on an "old school" learning kick for a while. It's not a "tin foil hat....EMP....global thermonuclear war" kind of thing, as it is a, "I just want to know", kind of thing.

But don't lose the hat. Definitely don't lose the hat.


Freezing saves a bunch of time but you do lose some sugar that way. The big operations generally have a big evaporator to remove most of the water then a smaller finishing evaporator that's easier to control temps in. I used to use two different size pots so I had better control of the final product. The lightest syrup in both color and Maple flavor is made at the beginning of the season and as time progresses you get darker syrup and stronger Maple flavor. I've microwaved a bowl of sap to preheat it before. I've always wanted to try using one from start to finish. Some guys are using reverse osmosis machines now for the bulk of the water removal. I've never seen one. I've only used wood fires although my father used to home make syrup on the propane stove in the house before we got our wood stove. That took quite a while as I remember.

Don't over tap. Sap can go bad if you don't process is fast enough and it's left out. And keep the sap from being exposed to sunlight. I've frozen it before to store it. Don't use strong cleaners,regular bleach, or scented detergents to clean the equipment. Maple syrup picks up flavors easily. Best to get some screen or silk to pour the sap through before making sugar. It picks up junk in buckets and pans and it's much easier to filter it out before you make syrup. Nothing says yum like pouring a bug onto your pancakes. Don't wait for warm weather to start if you want light syrup. The taps need to be in the trees before the first warm day. Best sap production occurs when nights are around 20 degrees and days are sunny and in the '40s.

And for related scrounging content? That's easy. When you're dragging yourself up the side of a hill covered in rocks, wet snow, and mud trying to get the hose from the sap trailer into another collection tank, that downed tree in front of you, an awesome scrounge nine months of the year, becomes just another dang obstacle to get around.

 

[olyman]

Curious.....since we've been talking about sugaring, everyone mentions wood fired. Is a propane fired turkey fryer set up not a good idea?

exceedingly costly..........

 

[olyman]

Maple syrup you say?? Hmmmmmm wonder how many gallons 12 2-3 footers would make in a season? Being my front yard has 12 trees all sugar maple.

depends on the freeze/thaw cycles.....and the temp swings each day.....

 

[olyman]

i'll be 60 "to soon" and i try and learn something new daily. i always listen to the old farmers because they didn't learn stuff from a computer.mostly trial and error till they found out what worked.sometimes i even relearn stuff. like yesterday.the darn saw won't cut after you touch a rock.

not so much trial and error in those days,,its was a lot of handed down info,,as no one was trying to hide anything........

 

[svk]

I love Maple Syrup on my Pancakes, and in my garden Squash (mostly Butternut).

I know U can use Sugar (Hard) Maple, and Norway Maple, did not know U can use the others.

When do U need to tap the trees, I think my tax season may interfere!

I see several places around here are using tubes instead of buckets, I guess it makes sense, but as a kid, I still remember those buckets up at my Aunt's farm!

In VT at a latitude similar to Saratoga, sap can run early February to mid March. Where you catch it within that time frame will determine which grade of syrup you get. I prefer grade B which is the darkest, thickest, richest syrup and comes last. The very beginning of the season yields light amber which is the most commonly sold "real" type of syrup followed by Grade A medium amber, then dark. Light amber is so light that is basically disappears when you pour it on pancakes.

Grade B is not of lesser quality it's just a different name for the last stuff.

 

[NSMaple1]

This thread is getting very hard to keep tabs on - never know where it will be when I check on it.

Maple syrup, you say?

Big yard maples are usually about the best for getting a lot of sweet sap out of. Don't know why. Here, they seem to make sap that is twice as sweet as the trees in the woods. So that's a good place to start if you want to try it. The recipe is pretty simple - boil the bejeebers out of it until it gets to 219°f or so. You could stop a bit sooner if you don't mind it a bit thin. Which takes a lot of boiling. And wood. Or $$ if you use propane. Whatever you do, don't use ANY cleaners to clean stuff (filters etc) with - just hot water. Even if you run filtering material through the washing machine without adding anything, it will pick up off flavours from the residuals of other washes. First of season gives the lightest stuff, end of season the darkest.

Sortilege - yummy. Crown Maple doesn't hold a candle - moderation advised.

Just some random stuff....

 

[Marshy]

I have a sugar shack that boarders my property. I go visit him a few times a year. He runs hose to the trees and also uses a vacuum pump to draw the sap out when its flowing. He also uses a reverse osmosis maching to drop the water content of the sap. He explained to me that it is the best bang for the buck to drop the initial moisture content. He has 3 large tanks, first tank the raw sap comes into from the trees, second tank holds the sap after the first pass through the osmosis machine and third tank holds the sap after the second pass through the osmosis machine. From there he can continue to cycle a batch back and forth between tanks 2 and 3 to continue removing moisture. Not sure how many cycles he puts a batch of sap through but after that it goes into his evaporator that is fueld by wood. He told me the reverse osmosis machine is more efficient ($) than running the evaporator to remove that moisture. Keep in mind he has to buy firewood to fuel the evaporator but, typically is scrapps from nearby Omish saw mills so its still cheap. He told me that all the major sap makers are adopting this method of vacuum and reverse osmosis.

https://www.leaderevaporator.com/c-60-reverse-osmosis-machines-and-accessories.aspx

BTW, I prefer honey over maple but my wife like maple over honey. My favorite is Wild Turkey Honey to be exact. Dont bother with Jack Daniels Honey it will give you the runs, dont ask me how I know. Also, I was not impressed with Crow Royal Maple, I think Jim Beam Maple is better but still no comparison to Wild Turkey Honey.