[AT] Sap is rising/good news and bad

[David Bruce]

My maternal grandfather was the man for boiling sugar cane in these 
parts in the 1950's and early 1960's.  He had his cane crop and he would 
make molasses for others on shares.  He had a large pan as big or bigger 
Charlie.  It was constructed with compartments and a gate to the next 
compartment that could be opened to allow the sap/molasses to be moved 
from one section to another as the water was evaporated.  It was set up 
on a rock frame (composing the firebox) which he ONLY would fire.
He also had a press that had been converted from mile power to be run 
with the belt pulley from the AC D-10.
I was small so I didn't learn a lot of details but I do remember the 
product was very tasty.

David
NW NC

charliehill wrote:
> Bob the pan that my friend built was a big one.  More like 8' x 16'.   He 
> didn't do to well making syrup.  He spent all that money on a pan and fixed 
> up and old cane press.  Then he had a crop failure on his cane patch.  I 
> don't know if he tried it again the next year or not.  His health turned bad 
> about that time and he has since died after a long fight with cancer.
> 
> Charlie
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Bob McNitt" <nysports at frontiernet.net>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 12:25 PM
> Subject: Re: [AT] Sap is rising/good news and bad
> 
> 
>> Henry's right ... w/o a sap pan, appropriate firebox and covered shelter
>> bldg, you'll be wasting sap. As I recall, our pan was about 5x3. You might
>> consider seeing if anyone nearby you is sugaring and review their 
>> operation.
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Henry Miller" <hank at millerfarm.com>
>> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" 
>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 11:23 AM
>> Subject: Re: [AT] Sap is rising/good news and bad
>>
>>
>>> If you haven't figguered out how/where you are going to boil the sap 
>>> don't
>>> bother starting.   I learned this the hard way when I was 14.   My
>>> neighbor had the spouts, and buckets were easy to find.  Nobody had
>>> anything useful for boiling sap.  We ended up with about 200 gallons of
>>> sap, and were dumping some for lack of storage!  (I'm not sure how much 
>>> we
>>> dumped, I think we were collecting 10 gallons a day)
>>>
>>> What we tried was a hot water bath canner on a barrel wood stove.  Never
>>> got hot enough to boil anything despite plenty of dry wood to work with.
>>> I was told my friend's parents had tried boiling in the house a few years
>>> before, but the house got all sticky.
>>>
>>> You don't need everything now, but if you don't have a plan and all the
>>> equipment on order, you could be wasting time.
>>>
>>> Roy Morgan <k1lky at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Mar 13, 2009, at 11:04 PM, Paul Waugh wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I will try the copper pipe and screw. Thanks
>>>> Ask around the town. You may find someone who's got buckets full of
>>>> the made-to-purpose spigots that simply tap into the hole, and who is
>>>> not planning to use them now.
>>>>
>>>> You'll need some buckets, too.
>>>>
>>>> Note: about one barrel (50 gallons) of sap is needed for a gallon of
>>>> syrup.  You'll need a big pile of sawmill scraps to feed the fire.
>>>>
>>>> Roy
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Roy Morgan
>>>> k1lky at earthlink.net
>>>> 529 Cobb St.
>>>> Groton NY, 13073
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Sent from my Android phone with K-9. Please excuse my brevity.
>>
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