So I had an idea to use my joule to preheat some maple sap to boil down for some Pure Michigan maple syrup. I had an insulated 10 gallon beverage cooler that is to be used as a mash tun for beer making full of maple sap. I then decided since there is a lot of evaporation when using the sous vide if not covered it may work for reducing sap Down to a lower concentration to finish boiling for a shorter period of time. I rigged my joule with a styrofoam float so as to stay at a set depth as it evaporated running it at 190*. After approximately 24 hours it reduced 10 gallons down to about 3 without babysitting and After a couple hours on a gas burner in a large stainless pot I was rewarded with a quart of pure sugary goodness!
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
It cleaned up fine, at that concentration it’s still mostly water. I have seen a sous vide circulator used in beer making and put directly in the wort so thought it would work in this application.
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
Here is how I rigged it to float as it evaporates. Not sure what the cost is to run this vs a propane burner but I don't have to watch this. I have another 10 gallons started today and the tree is producing about 5 gallons a day right now so we will see how it goes for a few days.
Lol, the first time I tried this with my boy we had about a quart of sap. Once the water boiled off it about instantly turned into a tablespoon of maple candy.
My close friend who is in ICU as I sit here observing him, is a big Maple syrup guy. He makes about 40 pints of syrup a year, last year anyways. I can’t wait to show him this thread. I agree with Spin, this is fascinating.
The comedy tream of RonB & P-smoke is good for the soul, the maple nut does not fall far from the tree. 🕶
Prayers for your friend!
A buddy and I made an evaporator with a rocket stove design burning cherry pits but wasn’t big enough. Need to re-engineer for next year.
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
1 tree about 28†diameter with 2 taps is producing about 8 gallons a day. A second bigger tree is only produced about 4 gallons in 4 days, go figure?
So yesterday at 4pm I emptied my sap bucket to finish another 10 gallons in the cooler. I started the joule set at 190 degrees and it took about 4 hours to get to temp from about 36 degrees. At 5am this morning it was down to 6 1/2 gallons. I had almost another 4 gallons of sap to add this morning, filling it back up took the temp down to about 150 degrees. I think it was back up to temp in less than 2 hours. I hope to continue these additions till the weekend since weather forecast looks like thi may end.
Last edited by Powersmoke_80; March 20, 2019, 07:26 AM.
So a couple warm nights that stayed above freezing and the sap quit running. 20 more gallons evaporated down to 3 and it boiled down to 2 quarts worth.
Hey! This is an old thread but I figured it's worth a shot in replying. Do you still use this method? I've been considering using a sous vide too for my backyard sugaring. I'm also a brewer and smoker so I have a large mash tun (with a spigot and filter) and a sous vide.
Did you notice any damage to the sous vide device?
Where do you do the evaporating? I would try in my garage or something but I worry it's too cold overnight and will need too much electricity. I also worry about bugs or things falling in? Do you cover it with a cheesecloth or something or just leave it to the elements? Or do you just do this indoors?
Any suggestions for someone wanting to start this. Thanks so much
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