WV MAPLER TAPPED 02/11/06

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I checked the forecast this morning early before leaving and it wasn't as good for next week as it has been, so I tapped the 2 bushes on the south side which is about 2/3 of my taps. I planned on tapping the north side bush maybe Wed evening if the forecast was better.

I get home this evening and the forecast is as follows:

Tues sunny 39
Wed sunny 44
Thurs Sunny 54
Fri Rain 55
Sat sunny 33
and then cold after that.

Hopefully I can get back over early Tues morning before work and tap the north side bush if the forecast is as optimistic.

Let the sap flow freely. :D

[Daren]

Go man go! Let the games begin...(feeling very olympic like! :lol: )

[VA maple guy]

That 40 second from tap to tap shure is mighty quick. Daren your right, it Must be the olympics. I hope the snow dosen't slow you down to much.
Good luck Brandon. I hope your sap flows as freely as mine has this week. :D
Gerry

[lharris1]

Good to see you tapped Brandon. It is looking pretty good at Intellicast.com, showing these temperatures this evening.
Tues 21 - 45
Wed 28 - 53
Thu 33 - 56
Fri 42 - 54
Sat 29 - 36
Sun 18 - 30

I'm anxious for another run. :)

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Larry,

Here's the most accurate forecast I have found for our area. It is for Meadow Bridge and is the most closely corelated with our area. All of the others base it on Lewisburg or Beckley and are usually too warm. :)

http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/coldandflu/tenday/25976?from=36hr_topnav_flu

[sweetwoodmaple]

Wow, looks like good sap weather.

Our forcast is at least 5 degrees colder, so I'm still in the clear with waiting another week (I'm still not ready).

[lharris1]

Thanks Brandon, I didn't know weather was available for Medow Bridge. I've been looking at Lewisburg which Richard says generally compairs good with his temperature. I'll watch the weathe here. We have a little more taping to do and will try to get it done before this run.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Larry,

Lewisburg is 5 or more degrees higher usually. :?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Tapped my bush on the north side this evening and I am all tapped. Most of the taps were running when I drilled them and it got to 40 today and all sun. Just warm enough to start thawing things out as it has been cold here for 10 days and lot of low temps. Supposed to be 50 and sunny tommorrow and mid 50's on Thurs and sunny. It has been a long time since I got this kind of weather for my first run. 8O Probably will run most of the night tommorrow and run thru Thurs night until Friday afternoon or night as it is supposed to get cold on Friday and stay that way for the next week which is as far as the forecast shows. God only knows how much sap we will get. I will probably boil Thurs and Fri evenings and up to 18 hours on Sat. If that don't get it all, then I will start again Monday evening. Never know, the sap may not even run that much. It ran some today and was still running some at dark, so I'll hope for the best. With the weather getting cold again, I can probably hold the sap for at least a week! :D

[Parker]

Good luck Brandon,,I bet it will run pretty well with those temps!!!

[Russell Lampron]

Brandon it looks like you need an RO machine to cut that 18 hour boiling time down to about 5 or 6 hours.

Russ

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Russell,

I try to keep the boiling to Fri evenings and Saturdays and not boil during the week any. That is reason that sometimes I have long boils on Sat. Work thru the week, church on Sunday and rest, and live almost 30 minutes away, so I try to collect and hold until weekend and it usually works good. I am getting 50+ gph including startup and shutdown out of my evaporator, so it works good enough for me not to need and RO. :D

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Went over this evening to collect, but not much sap. The sap was running very good, probably about 75% of full bore. The ground is still frozen quite a bit from the very cold temps we had. It hit 50 today and got the trees awake some. I hope it runs nearly all night tonight and fills up the tanks at least 2/3 full. I would like to have at least 1000 gallon to boil off this weekend, but will have to wait and see. Wind mainly out of south, so might not be much. Supposed to be 55 tommorrow, so hopefully they will pour and then get cold again on Friday. :D

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Collected 500 gallon from what it ran the last two days. It is not supposed to freeze tonight and gradually get colder until it hits freezing probably by 8 or 9 tommorrow night. I am hoping and praying it runs all night and all day tomorrow even though it will probably gradually slow to next to nothing. I hope to have another 500 gallon by tommorrow evening so I can have a good boil about 8 hours tommorrow night and all day Sat. :D

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Collected another 380 gallons this evening and cold temps now for several days. I am boiling as I am typing this. I am hoping to boil off 350 to 400 this evening and boil off the rest of it tommorrow. It doesn't get much better than being able to get onto the trader via company computer and wireless card out in the sticks and making syrup at the same time. Sure is wonderful to be able to have my own sugarhouse for the first time in my life. God sure is good! :D :D :D :D

Watching that light amber trickle out of the evaporator! :D :D

[brookledge]

Well Brandon you pulled it off. Building a new sugarhouse plus a new child in your family all in one year. Congats!! I did the same in 2002.
Keith

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Boiled off 880 gallon Friday evening and all day Sat. I drew off around 15 gallon and stored it in bulk. Will try to get at least that much more before filtering and canning it. This way, nearly all the sugar sand settles to the bottom and it makes for much faster filtering and canning in a couple of weeks. I didn't grade any of it, but it was all light amber or very close if not. :D

It got to -1 where I live last night which was a record and probably at least -5 or -6 at the sugarhouse as it is always a few degrees colder there. Sure was probably the coldest day I have boiled in before as it was in the single digits last night when I finished. Looks like a pretty cold week with a couple of days barely above 40. Hoping for a few hundred gallon so I can boil Sat.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Collected 2 of my 3 bushes this evening and got 280 gallons of sap. It looks like it will run a little tommorrow and Sat, so hope to have 500 to 800 gallons to boil off on Sat. :D

[mapleman3]

Hey Bud congrats on your first boiling season in the new Sugarhouse... your right , having the wireless card is great, I'll have the web cam on again this season when I boil.. so I take it everything is working flawlessly? I'll try to give you a call today to chat with ya. doesn't look like I'll boil till next weekend but thats okay as long as I get at least 4 weeks in this year!!! 5 - 6 would be better 8O

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Didn't collect anything today but it looks like somewhere around 600 to 800 gallon of sap to boil off tommorrow. Start about 600 in the morning and boil and collect until it's all gone hopefully. :D

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sap ended up running better than expected yesterday and I ended up boiling off 820 gallons yesterday. Sure made for a long day, but the end result was worth it. All the syrup appeared light or medium. I still haven't filtered and canned anything yet, but I have drawn off around 33 or 34 gallon. I sanitized all my tanks in the woods yesterday after collecting as I try to do nearly every week and the sap was still pouring. Probably left around 200 gallon in them before it quit running last night. It was running full speed yesterday. Cold here today and tommorrow and warming back up. Appears that it may be one of the best sap weeks of the year and I have to be out of town on Wed and Thurs, so a lot may run on the ground unfortunately. :( Do the best I can and go from there. So far, it has been a good year and if the past two weeks are any indication, it is looking like it may be a good year. :D

[mapleman3]

WOW nice run.. way to go

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

It is supposed to warm up here Tues and stay that way thru the middle of the next with with no freezing. Went thru this 2 years ago and 8 straight days from March 1 to 8th with no freezing and temps in the 50's and 60's every day nearly killed the season and the holes wouldn't run much after that. Too early yet and with being out of town two days this week and trying to do three days worth of work on Fri, may loose a lot of what runs this week. :(

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Get some extra tanks set up beside you regular tanks and have someone check on the level for you this week/if there getting full have them move the mainline to the other tank :idea:

[sweetwoodmaple]

Plumb up a splitting manifold with one of these in each tank.

www.mcmaster.com

Item #46585K16

This will stop the flow to the tank that is full, but let flow into ones that are empty.

Brian

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Some of my stock tanks have a factory hole just below the rim where you could use a bulk tank type fitting and pipe it over to a tank a little lower in height/so when the first was full it would overflow through the pipe to the 2nd. tank..

[mapleman3]

Better yet !! Tell your Boss like I do.. During Sugaring season I don't travel... Period.. oh.... what sir? I have to find a new job?? Crap :? :wink:

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Collected 480 gallons of sap last night and hoping it will keep. Some of the sap was not completely clear. I ran it all thru the UV light and hoping to get it all boiled off on Thurs as I have someone hopefully going to boil for me all day on Thurs as I am out of town until late Thurs evening. Sap should be running today and tommorrow before shutting off due to no freezing. I am hoping that sap will keep until Sat as I hope to get it collected Thurs and Fri evenings and run it thru the UV light. Sure stinks having to be out of town as I could have boiled today and tommorrow afternoon as work hasn't been too busy this week. Supposed to get cold thurs night and stay that way until the middle of next week, so that should help some.

Either way, do the best I can and leave the rest in God's hands. I am just thankful for the awesome privelege to be able to do what I do. :D

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Got the 480 gallons boiled off today without me being there and it was all dark A grade due to some of the sap being 5 days old and the temps have been high the last 2 or 3 days. Collected around 520 gallons this evening and ran that thru the UV and hoping it will keep until early Sat morning. Supposed to get in 20's tonight and low 30's tommorrow and 15 tommorrow night. Looks like we should get a pretty good run next week and then it may be over. If I can get the sap I have now boiled off Sat and get 1000 more gallon next week, I would be around 75 gallon which would be fine. Been a hectic year here to say the least and with my dad working on the new house he is building all the time, I don't have him to help me like normal. :)

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Hopefully you'll have a couple more weeks left to the season?? 100 gallons would look better then 75? wouldn't it :?: Has it been a Good? Average? Bad ? year.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Kevin,

100 would sure be better, but either way, just take whatever comes and be thankful. It has been a hectic 12 months with helping my parents move and getting started on their house, building a new sugarhouse of my own and moving and resetting up everything, have a baby, whew, need I say any more. 8O

What do you think about my line in the stream. :?:

It looks to be below average year here. Tommorrow will make 5 boils. :?

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Stream mainline :?: Good idea to keep the sap cool but with all the dips and humps sap is going to settle and be a day or several before it makes it to the bottom of the hill into the tank./Myself i would run an aerial mainline and be happy with that knowing you got it all in that day and none was left behind..

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Kevin,

The problem with an aerial mainline is it would be about 250 yards in direct sunlight. By the time the sap got to the tank, it wouldn't be fit for anything on a 1 percent grade. I can keep the sags out fairly good in the stream. Guess I will know by this time next year. I may just burry the thing about 12 to 18 inches deep permant. Our frost usually never goes over a few inches deep. :)

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I boiled off around 500 gallons yesterday in 9 hours and was finishing syrup the entire time I was boiling. Was the best evaporation rate I have gotten so far for an entire day which included startup and shutdown. I would have done a little better if I had just concentrated on boiling, but I hadn't finished any yet and had people waiting. I canned everything I had drawn off and ended up with 20 gallons of light, 14 med and 14 dark for 48 total. Everything yesterday I boiled was dark or b, but I mixed it with some lighter to ensure it was a dark A. The syrup yesterday tasted med or dark, but it was extremely dark in color. It has been a weird year with 2 or 3 days every week with 50's and 60's temps and it really makes it difficult when you work 40 to 50 hours @ week and live 1/2 hour from sugarhouse. :D

My little helper is sick, so I am sitting on my rear relaxing all day as I can't take him to church so my wife and I can alternate. :(

[VA maple guy]

Well it sounds like your handling things pretty darn well with all the things you have going on . Just think, it will be all over for us down here verry soon. I think i'll get one more small boil this week and that's it. Good luck with the rest of your season.
Gerry

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Gerry,

Thanks and it looks like my last week also. I am hoping for my best week like it did last year. :D

[Rob Harvey]

Hey Brandon I find it amazing that you are winding down and we are just getting started. If it were not for this websight it would never have occured to me that there are sugarmakers that far south. Rob

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Rob,

Last year I went two weeks later than this. The last two years the season lasted six weeks, but this year I don't think it will make it 4 weeks. Not to be a gloom and doom, but I'm afraid it may be the same up north the way the weather has been all this year, :(

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I collected sap at 2 of my 3 bushes this evening and got 290 gallons. Probably 75 to 100 at the other bush but will leave it till Wed and collect it then. Hope to collect all 3 again on Wed and boil off what I collected today without mixing any of the sap. Cold tonight and tommorrow night and then warm for next 10 days. Likely this will be the last week and hoping for my best sap week of the year to make it a decent season. :D

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I collected 430 gallons yesterday and 280 more today which put me at 1000 for the week. I pull all the taps in 2 of the 3 bushes today and flushed all the lines. I left the taps in on the north side bush and will collect it one more time tommorrow evening and flush it. 60+ today and temps in 50's and 60's all the way thru next weekend. This is my 4th week and we have had at least 2 or 3 days every week where the temps have been 50+ and it has made it difficult this year with all the warm weather.

I should end up around 70 to 75 gallons and considering it hardly froze the entire month of Jan and the 1st few days in Feb, a good year considering those factors. Sugar content was lower than I have ever seen it and it looks like it will be around 52 to 1 ratio. Not suprising with the warm weather we had all winter.

I have about 300 more gallon to boil off tommorrow evening and I will be finished. Just have to wash up a few tanks and about 30 buckets and I will be ready to wait for next year. Not as much syrup as I would have liked, but just grateful to God for the awesome privelege. :D

[fk]

Im with Rob Harvey,...it is very interesting hearing your progress and how you are winding down as we up here are just hoping to start. I tapped another 75 today. Brook that Im climbing up and down is gurgling but Im walking straight up it on frozen ice without fear of breaking through. It got up to 34 degrees there today with a nasty south wind. I hope to have my first sap and time but none yet, just slight wet trees when I tapped today. Have about 1 ft of snow still in woods.
I greatly enjoy the pics of your footing work on your new sugarhouse. I need to do a similar thing for mine some day. Still working off pillars for a foundation and a gravel floor.

Frank

[Russell Lampron]

Brandon, 70 to 75 gallons is very good concidering the low sugar content. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Russ

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Russ,

Thanks! :D I collected another 100 gallon yesterday evening from the one bush on the north side I hadn't pulled yet. It has 130 to 140 taps and I left them in. Some colder weather this week, so they should run fairly good as they are on the north side and don't dry up nearly as fast. I wish all my trees were on the north side. North side trees are best in my opinion due to they stay cooler, better sap quality and run longer. Yes, I know they take longer to start, but over the years, they always run the most for me especially more so on really warm seasons like this year.

1100 gallon of sap for the week and boiled off the last 300 or so last night. We'll see what happens over the next few days. 60's to 70 the last two days and that way until Tues. The south side trees were slowing some and after this, they would have basically been finished anyway.

[Rob Harvey]

Brandon it sounds like its just about time for you to get cleaned up and start thinking about turkey hunting! Rob

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Rob,

I have all but two of my tanks that are still out washed and about 280 of the 425 taps have been flushed and the 14 buckets I had in one bushed washed. I am not much in to spring turkey hunting and haven't went in years. I enjoy fall hunting a lot better. Too much going on in the spring and a little dangerous for me. :?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Wouldn't you know it. After all this 70+ degree stuff for several days and warm days each week of the syrup season, now we are having perfect sugaring weather when the season is supposed to be about over. Got to 19 or below last night which is the first time below freezing in over a week and got to 40 and sunny today, but lots of cold wind. Supposed to get to 14 tonight and 45 and sunny tommorrow. 22 tommorrow night and low 40's and sunny Monday. Then cold until Wed or Thurs and low 40's again all the way into next week. 8O Haven't had this kind of weather in 5 weeks and now all my holes are dried up. :cry: :cry:

[royalmaple]

sounds like it is time to set up the new area and worry about the underground tubing later.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I pulled the taps on that sugarbush a week ago yesterday. :D

[Daren]

Is there a CPR for tap holes? :lol: If not, might want to try to invent one...maybe a little sap primer injection into the dry holes :P .

[sweetwoodmaple]

Brandon - would be curious to see if you drilled your holesfrom 5/16 to 7/16, if they would run again.

To save damage to the trees, you wouldn't have to do this to the whole bush, maybe just one on a two or three tap tree or trees that you know are especially healthy.

Last year, I undertapped some trees so after the warm spell came, I drilled another hole. Made an extra 7 or 8 gallons of syrup from just drilling a few more holes.

[Parker]

retap them and set up some vacume

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I put out 14 new buckets on Tues morning just to play around with things as I always have something up my sleeve and from then to yesterday afternoon, they ran around 1 gallon per tap. 8O There was hardly in freezing during the time, but these are field and roadside trees that normally pour and haven't been tapped for a couple of years and half have never been tapped. Got cold Fri night and last night and a nice sunny day yesterday and today, but temps never got past 40 or 41 and a lot of cold wind continually. I am interested to see what will happen over the next 10 days. Lots of cold weather, so we shall see. Always love experimenting and I have another one going on that I will fill you in on in a week or two. :o

[Parker]

I wonder how long vacume and spile extensions would have extended your season?

[sweetwoodmaple]

Parker - When you and Kevin had the meeting of the minds earlier this season, did you consider the consequences of tapping too early? :P

This year has been a strange one, that's for sure. If the weather forcast holds out, this will be the lastest I've collected sap by a long shot. I've never gone into April, we usually have summer weather by then! :wink:

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I am going to throw a good curveball at you. I put out a few of the 19/64 stainless spouts with a short piece of tubing on them in buckets and they dried up just as fast as the regular bucket spouts and the tubing.

THESE WERE BRAND NEW STAINLESS SPOUTS. It just goes to show when the weather is as warm as it was here this season, not hardly anything you can do. :cry:

[royalmaple]

Brandon-

Have you or anyone ever tried screwing around with something like you mentioned with the small piece of tubing, but say for example:

Put bucket on tree, attach small piece of tubing but long enough to hit the bottom of the bucket, then when you dump the buckets, leave the tube still under the sap level, kinda making a sealed environment?

May be a pain in the a$$ leaving the sap in the pail, but wonder if it would prolong the life of the tap hole?

[Parker]

Sweetwood- I was not aware there was a "meeting of the minds" until I read about it here,,,as this is my 3rd year doing this on my own I try to keep my opinions to myself caus I realize I dont know what I am talking about,,lets see,,I tapped on jan.22 that gives me till,,,,,,,,OH NO,,MY SEASON IS ALMOST OVER!!!! 56 gallons off of 2000 taps,,1500 of them with some ammount of vacume,,,,AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Hope the splie extensions work,,,

[sweetwoodmaple]

Parker - Just kidding, of course. Kevin posted a while back about your "meeting". :wink:

The sap extension and vacuum must be working as you have been tapped for 2 months and still getting sap.

[Parker]

My last post was incorrect,,should have wrote I tapped on FEBUARY22,,woops

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

When i brought Parker down the Pick-up tank that night we talked for about 1 1/2hrs so meeting of the minds just sounds good. It's an expression when 2 or more people get together and exchange ideas.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

One last hooray on Sat. I should have around 200 to 250 gallons of sap to boil. It is amazing as it is supposed to start snowing tonight and snow all the way thru Sunday and it has been too cold nearly all week this week for sap to run. Probably won't get a lot of accumulation but if the weather would have been normal this year and not gotten a lot of warm weather, I could have made syrup almost all the way to the first of April which is crazy for here. Quite amazing, shame we got all that warm weather in the peak of the season and throughout the entire season, but that's the way it goes. Just thankful for the opportunity and the good amount of syrup we made with conditions that were not favorable for syrup. Should be somewhere around 75 gallons once it is all said and done! :D

[sweetwoodmaple]

...I can't believe this year either. It's almost daylight savings time for Pete's sake! Never made syrup this late.

Curious to see what grade you get with that sap and if you have any buddy flavor. Have you tried to boil some in a pan and smell the steam?

[220 maple]

[quote]brandon I started tapping on feb. 2nd. at my camp in Grant County WV. Its been a good season so far, and its not over yet due to those Beaver River inserts. I expect to make syrup to the end of March. Everything I make from this point foward will be marketed as commercial, My friend H. Breenaman of Salisbury, Pa. has always treated me fairly, He quotes me a price per pound, I back my truck up to his warehouse unload syrup and load up tubing and jugs and other goodies.
I have him two barrels now and possibly a third by next week. Last years price was 1.10 a pound. May be higher this year. 880 pound at 1.10 will get me 900 plus dollars, or 900 dollars worth of supplies. Henry does not sell Beaver River Inserts. 19/64 to 7/16 They are running just like new holes, Clear water because of the cold weather and the vacuum pump. Probably a category 3 storm surge. I have started refering to my runs in storm surge categorys so the people who don't make syrup have a better understanding of how much water am getting. /quote]

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

220,

Give Henry my regards. How is he doing from his accident, is he able to make syrup and get around without crutches?? :?

[sweetwoodmaple]

Yes, and his poor wife who has trouble getting around as well, but now has to walk for the both of them.

Very nice people.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Boiled off around the last of the sap I yesterday from the past 7 days which was close to 300 gallon. All low sugar content even the 14 new taps I put in on new field and roadside trees that hadn't been tapped for a couple of year or most that had never been tapped was only 1.6. Did check 5 gallons off of two large woods trees and it was just over 2 percent. Guess I will have to get the sap hydrometer out and check the sap more often next year to see what different areas are producing. Kevin sent me one a couple of years ago and it has gotten very little use, but might see a lot more in the future for the fun of it. :wink:

Guess I will end of somwhere around 75 gallons once I boil out the evaporator later this week. I need to finish off what is in evaporator and around another 25 gallons and clean the evaporator and I am finished completely for the year. After that it will be time to start getting wood in for next year. I am going to build a wall across then end of my woodshed and leave the two small sides open to be able to back into and for air circulation. Considering the temps and the lack of freezing all winter and during syrup season, I would consider it a very good year. Also, collecting all of the sap and doing most of the boiling by myself since my dad wasn't able to help made it more difficult.

Time to start planning for next year. I plan on adding around 75 more taps on tubing to get me to 500 which will be my max. I was going to last summer, but due to having to move everything and build a new sugarhouse, it didn't happen. 500 taps is too many for me, but on years like this one and 2004, it is not and it helps to bring up the bad years. I would much rather dump sap than not have enough and I have dumped it more than once. :)

[sweetwoodmaple]

DUMP PERFECTLY GOOD SAP??!!! Bite your tongue! :P

You got plenty of room in your place for a larger evaporator or plenty of headroom for a steamaway. :wink:

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

10' celing and room for a 12' evaporator! :D I built the sugarhouse section plenty big so I would have enough room if I ever did go to a bigger evaporator. Actually, I could probably get a 16' evporator in their if I wanted. It is 24' wide and 18' long as far as the sugaring section of the building. I am very happy with my current setup and no reason to go bigger. The guy that helped me boil some this year in up in 60's and my dad isn't a spring chicken either. I guess when it gets to where the help is gone, then it will be time to get a bigger evaporator. Now, I have someone I can trust to go over and boil from 8 to 6 and knock of 500 gallons of sap while I am working! :D

As far as dumping sap, well it is not likely for me, but I have a few times. Better to have too much sap than not enough! :)

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I ended up boiling off 4100 gallons this year and only fired the evaporator 8 times. Not a lot of boiling in a 6 week period and a couple of those boils, I only boiled off around 300 gallon. Always room for improvement and something to look forward to for next year! :D

[mapleman3]

Good for You Brandon, you did well for the first year in the new setup!! I knew you would get more boiling in...,I was hoping for more sap tonight but will have to wait for the freeze tonight.. should be around 77 gallons... was hoping for 80 by tonight but oh well.... yes many plans for next year ...do we ever stop??

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Wouldn't be much fun in stopping, I guess that's when it's time to quit. :lol: :lol: I will be running out of things in a couple of years, but always room for a couple of little things each year! :wink: :wink: Of course, a bigger evaporator is not one of those things like someone I know! 8O :wink:

[220 maple]

Brandon,
Henry is doing pretty good however he is still on crutches. He was boiling Sat. when I was there. I visited three other camps that day one in Maryland near the West Virginia. They were at half crop, only boiled 40000 gallons of water this year but hoping for some big runs this week. Their trees was to cold to run. Last year they made syrup in April, and are planning to do the same. Mckensie's Camp on river Rd. in Salisbury was Three barrels short of last year. They believe they will make it this week.
Milroy Farms also on River Rd. in Salisbury had only boiled 65000 gallons of water which is half crop, They also are hoping for a couple big runs.
Henry is also hoping for some big runs, however some of the people he buys sap from did not open their trees due to the weather.
I questioned the price of Commercial syrup, unless something unforseen happens, it is probably going to be at or near record price. 1.30 a pound
Mark 220 maple

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Finished canning everything last night and cleaned up evaporator. Thanks to mapleman3, the vinegar does work great and pans look like new. I have some buildup like calcium on the 2 center divers in the syrup pan that it wouldn't take off, but everything else is clean as new. Next year, I may try to leave it in there for a few days and see what happens. I brought it up to a boil for about 20 minutes and it cleaned up pretty much by itself.

I finished up the year at 73 gallons. I have never seen so much sugarsand in all my life. I probably had 2 or 3 gallons or more last night and it was such a bear filtering. It backs up my theory that I have always thought was the case. The most of the sap that I canned last night was slightly cloudy and lower quality and had a much higher bacteria count and overall as a season, was by far the worst sap I have ever seen. Temps to warm nearly every week and the sap had no choice. Ended up at a 56 to 1 ratio which is the worst I have ever seen. Producer south of me with 1700 taps was 45 to 1 last year and 60 to 1 this year. 8O 8O 8O Goes to show what this warm weather is good for. Last year, cold all winter other than 2+ weeks first of Jan and extremely cold entire 6 week season and this year, the ground never really even froze other than a little on top. :?