We run a small wood fired 1.5x6 hobby evaporator with about 100taps out. What would you say is a standard rate for cleaning? We are usually clean 2 to 3 times a season depending on sap quality and the weather.

This is just an extensive hobby for us that has built over the years. We try and boil off everything we collect in a 24hr period. It's difficult on those days that run hard though! Most of the 30 gallons we ended up bottling this year was medium to dark

Thanks! Good info in that article.

Planning on getting a hobby RO unit for next season. That should shorten boil time and maybe give us that light amber 🤞

Ha! I giggled when reading this. Literally say this every time I switch from quarts to pints!

I would agree with you. All maple syrup should be a sugar content of 68%. A higher percentage and you make rock candy, any lower and you risk fermentation in the bottles. The color comes from the time of year and the quality of sap. Where we tap trees, our syrup tends toward the darker spectrum.

When I first started out with just a few trees. We often made light syrup.

I sometimes wonder if extreme heat from a bigger evaporator helps caramelize the sugar to a darker color. When I made syrup over a stovetop it was often lighter. Maybe I'll test this theory next year