Tapper
| Tapper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Crafted Item |
| Recipe | Foraging (Level 4) |
The Tapper collects what a tree produces without cutting the tree down. Fixed to a Maple, Oak or Pine Tree, it slowly fills with Maple Syrup, Oak Resin or Pine Tar, and it keeps going all year, even through Winter. Those three products feed a long list of recipes, from Kegs and Looms to Speed-Gro and Bee Houses. Tappers also work on Mahogany Trees, Mushroom Trees, Mystic Trees and one kind of Green Rain Tree, each with its own product. The recipe comes from the Foraging skill, and a few well-placed Tappers become one of the farm's quietest supplies of crafting materials.
Recipe
The recipe unlocks at Foraging level 4. Each Tapper takes Wood and a couple of Copper Bars. The Wood comes from chopping trees, and smelting Copper Ore with Coal in a Furnace makes the bars. The Heavy Tapper, a faster version, comes much later from Qi's Walnut Room on Ginger Island.
These are the ingredients one batch needs.
| Name | Image | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wood | 
|
40 |
| Copper Bar | 
|
2 |
Use
A Tapper goes onto a fully grown tree. Holding it and using it on the trunk fixes it in place. From then on, the tree produces its product on a steady cycle, ready to collect each time it fills.
Each kind of tree gives something different. A Maple Tree is the slowest of the three common trees and fills with Maple Syrup after a little over a week. An Oak Tree gives Oak Resin after about a week. A Pine Tree gives Pine Tar fastest, in under a week. A Mahogany Tree drips a handful of Sap every single night. A Mushroom Tree grows Common, Red or Purple Mushrooms. A Mystic Tree fills with rare Mystic Syrup, and one type of Green Rain Tree sprouts Fiddlehead Ferns.
Tappers keep working in every season. The two exceptions are Mushroom Trees and Green Rain Trees, which turn into stumps over Winter and give nothing until Spring.
A Tapper can be taken down by hitting it once with an Axe or a Pickaxe. It comes off whole and can go on another tree straight away. Fruit trees do not accept Tappers at all.
Notes
The three common products are each worth tapping for. Oak Resin goes into Kegs, one of the most important artisan machines. Pine Tar goes into Looms and Speed-Gro. Maple Syrup goes into Bee Houses and Maple Bars. Oak Resin and Pine Tar also turn up in Community Center bundles.
Tappers are not limited to the farm. Trees growing wild in Cindersap Forest and around the valley can be tapped too. A few Tappers on trees along a regular walking route add up to a steady trickle of materials.
Leaving a tree standing with a Tapper is often better than chopping it down. A felled tree gives Wood once, while a tapped tree keeps producing for as long as it stands.
All Crafting
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
