Salisbury Sugarworks 2011

[Parker]

Well, Ray and I started tapping today, got 300 in,2800? to go, despite the cold some of the smaller trees were running,,,gonna try to get tapped in this week...got 2 of my tanks repaired and ready,,picked up a 10" press and another double releaser...R.O. not plumbed or wired,,might be boiling raw sap to start...time will tell...very excited about this season.....May the sweet godess bless us all..... :)

[tuckermtn]

amen to that...

[Backyard Sapper66]

Parker,
Glad to hear from you and it sounds like its going to be a good season. Seems like everyone has some major enthusiasm (myself included).
Keep talking to the sweet godess for all of us, we need sweetening!!!!
Doug
:)

[maplecrest]

parker i think every day about how bad i want it. tapped 750 today which gets me to 6000, made a drum of syrup yesterday, and was 30 below with wind chill last nite freezing sugar house right up.had to turn heat on to thaw out the place. did not think the wind was going to get that cold.hope to have the rest tapped by end of week. looking like going into sugar weather next week.

[Parker]

750 in a day is making it happen Jeff, you have to be beat!!! Had to do Hockey with the daughters yesterday. All maple rest of the week.....long list of to-do's...but much further ahead than in years past..tapping southern orchards first..Sanborns, hoit rd,,then rte.11 and last Hill...we have alot of work to do in Hill...Doug-stop by!

[Uncle Tucker]

Parker, sounds good. I will be cleaning tomorrow and taping Thursday. Best of luck this season. I will swing by some time on the way home from picking up my girls.

[Parker]

Looking forward to it tucker,,got around 750 tapped,,total,,gonna finish tapping sanborns then go to hoit and rte.11, hill (needs fixing) last, and tap fast as we can,fix vac. leaks when its above freezing, staying on top of snow with the tubbs ,,tapping is kinda nice,, borrowed 2 good size hitichi drills just in case some help shows up...Have fun!

[Parker]

Sanborns and Hoit rd tapped. Hoit road is my oldest set up..many broken t's and damage..gonna set up vac at hoit and sanborns tommrow and check fix leaks while it is warm,,,then back to tapping when it gets colder,,that way mabey we will stay on to of the snow and get some sap...about 1200 in,,2200? to go

[Amber Gold]

Get to it Parker. Season's about here. I want to see Marvin cherry red, billows of steam from my house, and full barrels lined up in your SH. Good luck this season.

[Parker]

It was colder than expected yesterday morning so Steve and I went tapping on rte.11....we got 828 taps in,,should not take too long to finish today....Ray is comming over this A.M. and we are gonna get pumps out,,tanks moved...gonna get vac. tightened up befor we go to hill and tap...

[Backyard Sapper66]

Sounds like you are going to be ready when it finally breaks loose. Have you been talking to the sweet godess for all of us? I must not have been a good boy because she didn't favor any of my trees yesterday. Kick some #*$$ today and get-r-done.
Have a great day Parker!!
Doug
:)

[Parker]

Friday in the snow ray and I worked in the barn building pumps,,changing oils,,getting all thing suction ready to run...we got all 4 transfer pumps running in good shape,,put together an extensive box of spare parts and tools...deployed the rte.11 pump..got the hoit rd. pump to the welders (done now),,got the releasers out and in the woods...
Yesterday Russ and I helped a friend move some tanks in the A.M. then I went to sanborns where I met Steve and we set up that vacuum system,,got it running,,by 4 we had 17" at the releaser and sap trickeling in (32 deg)...I have many big leaks there so I am sure I have like 8" in the woods...am going there today to tighten that woods up when it gets above freezing...Monday lookins like it might run with the rain and warmth...we will see! STAY AFTER IT!!!!!

[Backyard Sapper66]

Parker,
I swung by after the Maple Syrup class that Eric had. It was about 6pm but didn't see anybody in the yard, knocked on the door but only the dog welcomed me.
I will stop by again soon when I'm in the area.
Have a good day!!
Doug
:)

[Parker]

Doug, Sorry I missed you,,,,Well never got warm enough to check vac. leaks. I did start the one pump that is set up and snowshoed out (we have alot of snow! 16" since friday) the 2500' to the first lat. mainline,,but the wet and dry lines both had sap frozen in them so no vac in the woods (gotta fix that next warm spell!!!!!) spent the rest of the day plowing out tanks, sugarhouse......NEVER GIVE AN INCH!!

[Parker]

Snow-Ice-then rain,,,,nice day in the woods,,,went back to sanborns around noon thinking since it was raining and 32 deg. by the time I got the major problems fixed in the woods the lines would thaw enough to do vacuum patrol...well, I fixed all the problems I saw when I was tapping and for a brief moment there was very, very weak vacuum in the line,,,but then that stopped...did manage to get pretty wet and tired,,,16" of new snow (up to my waist w/o snow shoes) with rain makes for tough shoeing.......also got the 2" valve in the tank,,the vac. regulator on the pump, and the conductor lines graded better,,,,today we are back on rte.11,,,,,not supposed to get warm enough to run for a bit...lots to do still,,,,AT IT,,,,,,,Doug I was reading thru your posts,,you have it BAD,,,:)

[HobbitMannor]

Sounds like you are well on your way! How's Marvin is he ready to roll? Do you think you will have the Ro running this season? :)

[Parker]

Havent done a thing in the sugarhouse to get ready. I like to have 3000 gal in the head tanks befor I start getting ready to boil....gonna have to get the r.o. going at some point, I only have 34 or so cords in the shed.....time and money....
Now I am not complaining mind you,,BUT,, the snow we have now is DIFFICULT to get around in! Finished tapping rte. 11 and got the vacuum going there..Pulling 4" on the system. think I might have some leaks..will work on that today..ran the vac. @ sanborns today but still have frozen wet-dry lines...(unlike rte.11).....This frozen lines thing is really aggravating, wont let that happen agine...would of liked to have vacuum patrol done @sanborns by now...
Got a drain welded on the tank on hoit road and we will be setting that today. try to get the vacuum going there as well today.....NEVER A DULL MOMENT,,,a littel over 2000 taps...gonna get everything tightened up that is tapped and go tapping in Hill,,,,THe snow in Hill is usually a couple of feet deeper than in my other orchards...should be challanging..

[Parker]

Got the tank set at hoit road,,gotta try to put the pump-releaser together over there today,,need to regrade mainlines there cause the tank is higher now (because it now has a drain on the bottom)
Warmed up enough to start the pump @ rte.11,,was flowing enough to go on vac. patrol..have that woods pulling 14" now (WOOHOO!)..still alot of vac leaks to find-repair,,,found 5 spots where a bear chewed on the mainline,,,2 spots where something smaller (but with equally sharp teeth) chewed on the mainline..
Steve fixed the lid on the hoit road tank then went to sanborns and started the pump...was warm enough to suck the ice out of the lines and get vac. into the woods,,,14" on releaser,,,5" on the lateral mains (2500' away),,,,isolated the major leaks on 2 of the lat. main lines,,,fixed what I could find until a littel after dark...in the snow..vac. up to 7" in the woods...gaining...still a long way to go befor the woods are tight,,,,,got a whole bunch of snowshoe trails broken so it will be easire to work next time it gets above freezing...legs are a littel sore this a.m.

[Backyard Sapper66]

Parker you are the MAN!! Its a good thing that there bear was hibernating because if he wasn't I could picture you teaching that bear a lesson!!
Keep up the good work my man,looks like we might get a little warmup on Sat and Sun.
Good day my friend!
Doug
:)

[jwalker]

We had some bear damage too. Ah nothing like multiple puncture wounds to the main line. We also have some porcupines hanging around. You can see where they are chewing the hemlock branches all off. They love chewing on maple trees too. They can thin the hemlock but they need to leave the maple alone. We just might have to do something about those little buggers.

[Parker]

Yesterday I was pretty whiped out from breaking all those trails the day befor,,almost got the vac. on hoit rd set up..need a couple of peices,,,,repaired all the major problems I could find in the woods with no vacuum on (too cold)...started to shovel my head tanks and transfer tanks out agine (3rd time).....fellow with a backhoe is gonna plow out Hill today so we can get started up there.....
There is a porcupine living at sanborns,,I can see 3 nice big maples it has eaten most of the bark off the smaller limbs....

[Parker]

Met the fellow with the backhoe in hill @ 10,,by 10:45 he had it so stuck (4x4) that he was swearing-flipping out,,,said we had to call a wrecker and get it winched out,,,,I offered to get it out for him (took 5 min).....he said if I wanted I could finish plowing out the place as he remembered he had somewhere to be......snow is about 4 feet deep up there,,was nice having such a big machine to use,,by 2 had the place to my liking,,dug the sugarhouse road out (so we can get to the pump),,,dug the tank out,,Ray and Dan showed up @ 2 and we finished shoveling the tank out by hand the shoveled the sugarhouse roof off (befor the rain-emminant collapse),,,@ 4 big Russ showed up and the 4 of us loaded the tank into the back of my pickup,,(16 foot tank in the back of a dodge 1500 with 8' bed always looks cool-if you are like me :) ) got the tank dropped off at the tank repair mans shop..should be done monday...took all day but now we have plenty of room to work...will start tapping up there when it cools down agine....
Supposed to be in the 40's today and tommorw (with rain) Ray and I are gonna start the pumps and do leak patrol, try to get Sanborns and rte.11 tight,,mabey get some sap to boil...this afternoon me Ray and Russ are going up north to a nhmaple48's sugarhouseto help get some heavy tanks in place,,,,,FULL STEAM AHEAD!!!

[Backyard Sapper66]

Parker,
I can only imagine how you were laughing (at least inside that is) at the guy and how he wad flipping out. Man versus machine!!! I would have bought a ticket for that show if you were selling them. as far as the 16' tank in the 8' truck, all I can say is "YES"!!! Some kids just never grow up (and I'm glad you haven't). Hope you got some sap today to feed Marvin, he was looking pretty lonely the other day all by himself in his little sugar shack.
Doug
:)

[Parker]

Got 153 taps in in Hill yesterday,,got some supplies we needed from nhmaple48 then went to sanborns for leak patrol,,,pulling 20" at the releaser,,,at the first lat.mainline 2500' away,,nothing,,AAAHHHH,,,thought I had my lines graded better than that,,,looked and looked for the sag and could not find it,,got to the releaser and the last 6 feet of the mainline going into releaser goes up hill,,,,,how did I not notice that?????DETAILS!!! well, that thawed out as we were regrading it,,then back up into the woods,,a whopping 4" of vac!!! Ray and I worked on that woods till a littel after dark,,got it up to 14"....was running slowly,,,left the pump there and at rte.11 running last night...could hear water dripping off my roof all night,,,gotta go and check the tanks then in the woods at sanborns @ first light,(ray says he is gonna beat me there,,cant let that happen!!),get that tight then to rte.11 and get that tight.....just listened to the forcast..might get something going here......GOGOGOGOGO!!!!!!

[tuckermtn]

I'm right behind ya Parker...go man go....

[Parker]

I can tell the season is here,,not much going right today,,,,got the vac to 22 " @ sanborns,,when I came out of the woods vac. pump going da,da,daaa, brap bpar,,,,one of the carb bolts broke off inside the head :),,,,had another moter I was going to run in hill,,,,@ sanborns now,(took 2 hours of no vac @ sanborns),,,ray and stevo got tanks in trucks and head tanks all set up-washed out,,,I went to rte.11 to get the vac there over 14" but when I saw 900 gal. in the tank decided I better be putting Marvin together-get ready to boil,,running hard,,1200 gallons trucked home and lots in the woods..hoit road vac. not running ,,hill not tapped,,,,I was wondering as I was putting the evaporator together tonight just how I expected the season to start,,,,not full throttell I guess,,,,ray still trucking,,says if he gets 2 more loads tanks wont run over tonight.....told you she was smiling

[Backyard Sapper66]

Parker,
I like the lyrics to your new country song!
Sorry to hear about the broken bolts on the motor but happy to hear things are gushing!
I bet Mighty Marvin is getting excited but probably not quite as much as you.
Go getum' bud!!
Doug
:)

[TapME]

It's always a good sign when things go wrong that something bigger is around the corner Parker. going to get things all together here for the end of the week or sooner. go get-em

[Parker]

2400 gal of 1.3% sap,,started boiling @ 11:45 done @ 9 pm ,,,22gal,,,,,gotta get the RO going!! Auto draw was not working,,,standing there looking at that themometer is kinda a drag!! Off to Hill to tap

[Parker]

we got hill tapped, going to set up vac. there today,,hoit road, rte.11 and sanborns all pulling 22".not much sap yesterday,,just a littet to cold.just got in from checking pumps,,gonna get something to eat then go get a couple of loads to keep tanks from runnung over,,,not running to hard but that might change with warmer weather...should be boiling by noon...orderd membranes yesterday,,should be here tuesday...

[HobbitMannor]

So ordering membranes does that mean that there is some progress with the ro? I am sure you will be very busy boiling this weekend as I hope we are but.......

[Parker]

made 230 gallons,,r.o should be going thurs,,about 16 cords left and its running hard,,,about 1800 left in the tanks tonight,,,,,not keeping up.....I LIKE IT!!!!

[Backyard Sapper66]

Hey Parker where are you? Did you drown in the overflow of sap?
Hope you had a great maple weekend.
Doug
:)

[tuckermtn]

last report was 5,000 gals of sap today

[Backyard Sapper66]

Well no wonder we haven't heard from him, he hasn't had time to eat let alone smash out any updates on his puter'. Thanks for the update Eric.
Doug
:)

[Parker]

LOTS AND LOTS OF SAP!!! Last night was the first night in some time I have slept in my bed (8hrs):),,,Been sleeping about 3 hours a night in the sugarhouse while ray boils (3am to 6 am)..I think the R.O. is ready to go,,all rewired and replumed (thanks Royalmaple), gonna try it in a couple of hours when it gets above freezing here,,cold yesterday so not alot of sap...all my wood was gone like a week ago so we have been cutting burning slabs (slower boils)...up to 675 gal,,,Previous best ever was 643 gal....very happy,,,,have been getting lots of help from lots of friends in terms of doing wood (when we boil for 24 hours we go thru 6-7 cords)....one boil last week we went for 26 hours and made 107 gallons...previous record was 80 gallons.....sugar content has not been super high (right around 2%,,,,,,I wish jones rule of 86 actulay worked we would be around 900 gallons,,,,we havent shut off the pumps and only had 1 tank over run a littel........Very proud of the crew we have and their tireless efforts......THE SWEET GODESS SMILES DOWN UPON US..GOOD LUCK TO ALL.......

[Parker]

Oh forgot to mention my syrup pan started leaking (was pretty warped when I got it in 05 and made 3000 gal on it since then)...have an extra but not sure if it holds water.....was badly burned when I got it years ago.....off to start pumps.....

[maplecrest]

hey nice show on u-tube. you looked good in a short sleeve shirt. looked like spring there.

[Backyard Sapper66]

Parker,
As they say in the "Facebook" world, "LIKE!!!"
Glad to hear you are having a good year. Weather has been crazy but when they are on, they are on!!!
Cheers with a "boiling soda" or two. Very happy for you my man!!!
Gonna have to stop over and harass you and the crew before the season is over.
Good luck wild man!!
Doug
:)

[Cardigan99]

[QUOTE=Parker;146459] (when we boil for 24 hours we go thru 6-7 cords) QUOTE]

Every time I hear how much wood Marvin chews through I shake my head.

I burn as much wood in 6 months heating my house (pretty much running 24 x 7) as Marvin burns in a full day.

[Backyard Sapper66]

Todd,
I can't even imagine burning that much wood in that amount of time. Do they ever keep the doors closed on the arch?
Doug
:)

[Parker]

Yesterday we concentrated 4000 gal of 1% sap into 1200 or so of 6%..boiled for 7 hrs and made 79 gallons...today we concentrated for like 5?hrs boiled for 4 hrs and made 40 gallons,,,AMAZING!!! At 898 gallons.....an RO is the way to go.....will be hunting for more taps

[Parker]

Jeff - what is the titel of the u-tube thing? How much u made?

[Backyard Sapper66]

Parker,
Where do store all that syrup? 898 gallons OMG!!
Sounds like the RO is really helping out. Are you going to be at it tonight? Been wanting to stop by but have been busy with my little backyard operation.
Cheers to the sweet godess and may she keep shining down upon those still at it.
Doug
:)

[maplecrest]

i think mighty marvin. just type in maple syrup boiling. r/o is the way to go. i boiled 2928 gals of 15% yesterday and made 366 gals fancy.at 3000 gals and sap running now.

[Russell Lampron]

Parker glad to see that you finally got your RO going. Only 6%? You can save even more by running the RO longer and getting the sap really sweet before you boil. Marvin might be getting a little nervous when he sees that you don't need such a big evaporator!!!

[Homestead Maple]

i think mighty marvin. just type in maple syrup boiling. r/o is the way to go. i boiled 2928 gals of 15% yesterday and made 366 gals fancy.at 3000 gals and sap running now.

I can't imagine what it is like to make 366 gallons in one day! You must be busier than a one armed paper hanger with the crabs! :) Your at 3,000? You probably will end up some where around 4,500 if you have any amount of snow left in the woods. The temps for your area look good for a week or so yet and making fancy!

[tuckermtn]

Got a text from Parker this afternoon that he just passed 1000 gals of syrup for the season...

They are still making steam in Salisbury

[PATheron]

Parrr(done burnin whole forests, gonna do it "NEW SCHOOL"! Awesome having an ro isnt it? Gotta love seein that syrup come regular. What about 10 cord a day Ray? His career is over. Run that thing around the clock and get it up to 16% or so and see what the Big M thinks of that. Theron

[Thad Blaisdell]

i think mighty marvin. just type in maple syrup boiling. r/o is the way to go. i boiled 2928 gals of 15% yesterday and made 366 gals fancy.at 3000 gals and sap running now.

Jeff you better check between your tank and evaporator..... at those numbers you should have made over 500 gallons.....?????

[Parker]

Pushed water thru the rig last night,,,not quittin mind you...will wait a week for a freeze just in case...@ 1125 gallons.... :) ......The R.O I have does not have recirculation so getting the sugar much above 7% takes a long, long time,,I have been really happy @ 5%...these last couple of days we have been gathering as soon a possibel and r.o. ing one pass, getting it to 3% in the head tank starting Marvin and recirculating the rest of the sap as sweet as possibel....I like getting rid of 550 gallons an hour.....who is still going in N.H.?

[maplecrest]

thad 366 was the fancy did make more made over 1000 gals in 2 1/2 days

[maplecrest]

parker i am done. went to rope. up to temp. no density, 4350 total

[PerryW]

I got 4500 gallons this year; but in my case, I'm talking sap, not syrup.;)

[Homestead Maple]

Our forecast here calls for a low of 26 Thurs. night, 21 Fri. night, 29 Sat. night, and 30 Sun. night, so I'm waiting for that because I just started making Dark.

[Parker]

Well,,just back from a maple pilgramage to swanton-fairfield,,,very fun...now we see if the check valves are worth it...supposed to freeze...lets see if the sweet godess smiles down on her faithful.....

[Backyard Sapper66]

Parker your crazier than a hoot owl but that's what I like about you!! I have a feeling the Godess will shine down on you since you are such a faithful servant. Good luck to you my friend!!
Doug
:)

[Parker]

Well,,that is going to do it for me this year,,made about 10 gallos of commercial yeaterday,,had a real hard time getting it up to temp..acted kinda funny,,have it in the gas finisher now and will try to get it to denisty there.....what a great year!!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Parker,

What did you end up with for the year??

[Parker]

1100 gal on 2815 taps,,lost the vac pump on 380 taps 1/3 of the way thru the season..real happy with that

[Parker]

Well ray and I went to Bascoms with the final barrell yesterday,,unfilterd stuff, the fellow grading said it was the darkest stuff he had seen all season,,I told him I was never a very good quitter,,,,,got back and washed woods tanks,,much to my dismay found the tank @ rte.11 had 400 gallons (ran without vacuum) of sap in it on top of the 100 gallons of slime in the bottom of the tank,,,pretty slimy stuff all in all and I am not sure I could have boiled it and made anything but I hate dumping sap,,,,In Hill it was trickelling into the releaser without vacuum and there was 500 gallons of stuff I know I could have boiled and made at least commercial out of,,but the tank was out of the truck and it was time to wash so we did.......
Will focus on on the woods in hill during the off season..many, many improvements to make in those woods,,will be cleaning and pulling taps today......