Syrup 4sale

This is an older setup and it operates differently than the earlier boiler. With this model the sap is fed in from the outside tank (controlled by a float valve) where it goes into the larger tank (right photo) which has deep slats that extend into the fire chamber for maximum surface area.

The reduced sap feeds into the front section where it goes back and forth through a snaking labyrinth, ending up greatly reduced. It is finally poured off when it reaches a "syrup" temperature of about 218 degrees. They then pour it into a rig that both filters and reheats the syrup to 180 degrees before it's ready to be bottled and sold.

These folks sell the syrup for $35/gal, $11 qt, and $6 pt. The earlier sugaring house made their syrup for friends and family.

On the wall, but not quite readable in this photo, are records all the way back to 1977. Each entry is a date (month/day) and how many gallons produced. Looks like '77 was a good year, 20 gallons on one day and 130 gallons all totalled.

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