Maple Syrup Sap-to-Syrup Yield Estimator

How this calculator works

This uses the maple industry's "Rule of 86": divide 86 by your sap's percent sugar content (Brix) to get the number of gallons of sap needed to produce one gallon of finished syrup. The 86 comes from the math of concentrating a dilute sugar solution up to the legal finished density of roughly 66.5° Brix.

A note on boiling time

How long boiling actually takes depends enormously on your setup — a shallow, wide evaporator pan over a hot arch fire boils off water far faster than a single pot on a backyard propane burner. Because of that wide variability, we haven't tried to give you a precise boil-time number here; as a rough planning rule, expect backyard stovetop/single-pot boiling to take considerably longer per gallon of finished syrup than a dedicated evaporator setup, and budget your fuel accordingly.

Where these numbers come from

• Rule of 86 and finished syrup density (66.5–66.7% sugar / 66.5° Brix): standard maple science, as documented by university maple research programs including St. John's University's maple sap resources
• Typical sugar maple sap Brix range (1.5–3%, average ~2%): widely published maple production references

Legal syrup grading and density standards can vary slightly by state/country — check your local regulations if you plan to sell your syrup.