Lee Valley Maple Syrup Starter Kit

A springtime tradition in many households, harvesting sap from the maple trees in your yard to make maple syrup can be a captivating activity for the entire family. To help you get started with tapping trees and collecting sap, this easy-to-use kit contains enough spiles, buckets and covers for three taps.

Healthy trees should be more than 11″ in diameter for a single tap. To sustain two taps, trees ought to be more than 18″ in diameter, and for three taps, greater than 25″ in diameter.

Each spile allows the sap to flow from the tree to a bucket suspended beneath the spout. The translucent bucket lets you see the sap level inside from a distance, and the cover helps shield the contents from dirt, debris and insects. To tap the tree, drill a 5/16″ diameter, 1 1/2″ deep hole angled upward at chest height, tap in the spile, hang the bucket and install the cover.

Besides the stainless-steel rod that serves as the cover’s hinge, all components are made of easy-to-clean impact-resistant polypropylene. The nine-piece kit contains three each of 5/16″ spiles, 2-gallon (7.5 litre) stackable buckets and protective covers. Instructions included.

A great way to get outdoors and catch the excitement of early spring.