Watts to Pancakes

This is the first year we tapped our maple trees for syrup making. The wife has been collecting bucket loads of sap every day from just two trees. Each of these 2 trees has just one tap in it.

We don't have a very efficient way of boiling down the sap. We have been evaporating the sap on our stove top. I had the inclinatation this is a very inefficient way to go about doing so, so I did some math.

It turns out there are alot of interesting factoids and conversion factors to ponder in maple syrup engineering.

First, I needed to figure out how much electricity our stove top is consuming. I shut off all the circuit breakers in the house, except for the stove top. Then, at the electric meter, I could count how fast our meter was spinning.

From the internet, I found an equation that turns electric meter RPM into watts. It turns out our stove uses 1200 Watts of power for boiling down maple tree sap.

Here are some other factoids necessary for the final math equation:

• I put 2 Tablespoons of syrup on each pancake
• Sap boils down to syrup in a ratio of approximately 40:1
• Our current electric rate is 9 cents per Kilowatt-Hour

Thus, 2 Tablespoons of syrup per pancake = 80 Tablespoons of sap. There are 256 Tablespoons per gallon, thus it may be easier to say that for every 3.2 pancakes you eat, 1 gallon of raw tree sap is consumed.

How fast does our 1200 Watt stovetop boil down sap? That is an important part of the equation behind my final answer. We figure we yield about a half a cup of maple syrup after an 8 hour day of boiling.

So, 8 hours of cook time at 1.2 KW = 9.6 KWH

Thus, 9.6 KWH at 9 cents per KWH = $0.86

These figures assume the production of 1/2 Cup of maple syrup. (1/2 Cup = 8 Tablespoons)

Thus, 9600 Watts divided by 8 Tablespoons = 1200 Watts of power per Tablespoon.

Since I use 2 Tablespoons per pancakes, my final number is 2400 Watts Per Pancake. Wow!

My Favorite Tools

I have a few favorite tools. A good quality tool is so nice to use. Many of these I use every day:

The Pocket Knife: I like this one because its so small, and has only the essentials (knife, scissors, screwdriver). I think Dad gave this to me many years ago. The backside says "Ciba Geigy" which I think is some fertilizer company or something.


Mitutoyo 6" Calipers: Always accurate, and has a good "feel" to it.

Hand vice / bench vice: This awesome little vice is great for small parts. It can be either a hand vice, or you can mount it to a benchtop. I use it alot for holding piping and tubing.

My Pocket Ruler: I carry this everywhere, because I use it so often. Perhaps Dad can lend me a pocket protector, eh?

My 1/4" Drive Socket Set: I use this all the time now. I made 3 little custom-built socket holders to keep the 3 styles of sockets organized (6pt, 12pt, and metric) and that has greatly increased the usability of this set. This set is small enough to go everywhere. I used it so much I had to have Sears replace the ratchet wrench last year. Sadly, the new ratchet now has a plastic "reversing" lever, and it doesn't have the same feel as the old one.

The DeWalt Portable Bandsaw (or Portaband, for short). It makes quick work of chopping out stock.

The Knee Mill: This is a knockoff of a Bridgeport, but it does everything I need it to do. Complete with digital read out.


The list could go on, but that's all for now.

Remembrances of Fall

I posted my first video to Youtube. I think it turned out pretty well....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sA8Pik1Q0U

Notes:
1. Meridian Road
2. Driving south
3. Coming home from the Huntington Pioneer Festival
4. 12 to 14 mph

This is my Boy's favorite video.