So when are we tapping?

[twofer]

Everyday I check the 10 day forecast and can't help but look at the drills.

[wcproctor]

Me Too!!!!

[MartinP]

I am holding out until later in Feb.

[Don(MI)]

Still a little early, Late february at the earliest for us.

[Tweegs]

I’m holding off until the end of Feb.

The surest way to send temperatures plummeting until April and incite record snowfall is to sink a bit right now.

If you want to have some fun and kill a little time, repeat our experiment from last year.
We recorded the weather forecast 10 days in advance, then recorded how the prediction changed every day in that cycle, and then compared that data to the actual temperature on that day (10 days in the future). The great prognosticators weren’t even close, not even on the day before.

[BoarsNest]

It is tempting, but I am not even close being ready. I remember how much snow we received last February, so it's best to hold off. I am building a couple of new pans to improve the evaporation rate and hopefully they will be done sometime this week.

[mark w]

Going old school on you I am 36 my gandfather had been tapping tree since the 30's and he said never to tap before valentines day after that go by you gut. But I to am wondering how soon and the drills are looking sharp and needing to get tapping

[pierre]

im not even close either i have 2 more mains to install hook up lats get tanks in the ground .(hole all ready dug) hook up releaser run 220 to shack test pump oh yeah i need to go to wisconsin to pick up my new hood from smokey lakes and install that and im sure theres more but im getting overwhelmed i think ill have another drink please

[Leadft]

I've REALLY been itching to tap too... Just started a new 16x16 sugar shack in my barn... It will be here before we know it... I'll be working on new main lines the next couple weekends... Hope to get into another woods down the road if I have time...

Does anyone else wonder about this wierd weather with no frost in the ground in January ??

[Don(MI)]

Leadft,

Ya, I wonder about no frost too.

I got a bad feeling that it could be like 2 years ago, a very quick season with no moisture in the ground. One of our worst years. But, gotta stay optimistic!!

[Four D Acre Farms]

I have a freind (also sugars) said he knows somemone that has been testing because of the weather and that the sap has very low sugar content.??? anyone else have any ideas or tests on that, i am thinking just the same may be a very short season but only the Good Lord knows the future. We do have some frost in the ground but not like previous years and very light on the snow fall but we had that last year as well and had a good season anyway i am behind tring to set up a new rig in the suger shack (new to me) and the flue pan is in the UP being repaired so i wont be tapping for at least three weeks, which is ok seeing how tubing is still layed up and only have about half the wood needed LOL. My freind is usually tapping in third week in feb (helps to be on the shore of lake Michigan) i am usually a week to 10 days behind him. I willpost when i do tap and good luck and be ready with drill in hand

[davep215]

Has anyone ever experienced a warm up like this mid winter? Any ideas how this will effect us? Our 15 day forecast for Clare has it freezing over night and high 30's for the next 2 weeks. Reports have it that the sap ran well yesterday.....

[twofer]

Well the 10 day isn't looking any better since I started this thread.

I'm about to send my wife into town for a magic 8 ball so I can get some direction on when to tap. The drills are ready, the vacuum pumps are ready, and the evaporator still needs put back together........grrrrr.

[Chris W]

I have a REALLY bad feeling about this season. Looking at the 2 week forecast for the Lansing/Jackson area shows mid to upper 40s and lows in the upper 20s. By all accounts, I would love to see this at the end of February rather than the beginning of February. I'm still not planning on tapping (nor am I ready to do so) for another few weeks. Frankly it feels like winter hasn't arrived yet.

Anyone else with the same sinking feelings or am I tapping up the wrong tree? ;)

[Don(MI)]

No, chris, feeling about the same!

Don't know whether to plant the garden or drill trees!!

Seriously, think we should be tappin?

Craziest winter I ever seen yet.

[fishman]

We usually don't tap till the second or third week of March up here but this has been crazy in the UP also. I tapped one tree yesterday just to say I tapped in January. Heck, I've never even tapped in February. I've only had to plow snow once in January and that was only for 4". Hardly any frost in the ground either. I think we've had 12 days in January above freezing and we usually only get 2 or 3.

[toquin]

Drilled tuesday afternoon, got almost 200 gal. off of 150 taps at 10 am today. Runs hard when you first tap then slows down. Im going to wait a little longer on the rest of them.

[kdawger]

put in 4 taps in two trees on my yard today, and its flowing pretty good. the 14 day is perfect weather for it, with very little snow/rain in site. (sucks on that end as I do snow removal)

[Ausable]

Normally - When someone asks - when should I tap? We can give ourselves and them an answer that makes some sense. Last year I tapped in the middle of February and the normal tapping date - in my little part of Michigan - is 01 March. The Temperature plunged - the sap stopped - my trees got mad at me and I had my worst run ever. My Son and Grandsons hauled up sap for me to boil and saved my bacon. So I vowed to wait till 01 March this year - no matter what......And Along comes the strangest Winter I have ever saw in my life and I'm 71. What to do? The Weather Forecast says Tap - tap - tap and then there is the Vow thing that says wait till 01 March -----I know - I'll be a politician and compromise - tap only half of my trees. Dang -----Mike---

[BoarsNest]

I watched the 8 day forecast this morning and next weekend projects cold and the weather gal said it looks like it might be cold for a while after that. We are thinking of tapping some trees this weekend, but it really is against my better judgement.

[Don(MI)]

So dang messed up for weather right now, common sense says WAIT, but the weather says NOW???

What to do??

[Leadft]

We are going to get started this weekend... A few others have done the same... Mother nature can be a cruel dictator at time but we have to go with the FLOW !!!! Good Luck everyone...

[Brian Kloepfer]

I taped Thursday afternoon and I am boiling right know collected 100 gal. off 83 taps. :cool:

[konwinski]

I'm a newbie, But I am wondering what would be the drwback of tapping too early

[whalems]

I put out 5 buckets today to see how it was going. I got 3 gallons in 2 1/2 hours. I haven't checked to see what the sugar level was yet. It is way to early to tap here but the weather is disagreeing with the calender

[davidscyc]

I debated and finally decided to tap today after all. In the 5 years I have been doing this, this is the earliest yet. I have tapped from the 9th of February to out at the 15th of March in the 4 previous years. I've gotten 11 batches of syrup whether I started in Mid February or Mid march, so I don't know how much of a difference it makes, but it sure feels too early. I like the lighter syrup though, so I don't want to miss the earlier runs, which more often have it. Boiling already tonight. I got about 12 gallons in half a day out of 40 taps. Should be enough for a quart of syrup. Small time operation as you can see;-)

[kharvey]

Good Decision I think! I'm going to start some softs today and hang a few sample bags on the Sugar Maples. Looks to me like almost a week of Tapping Weather. So Much for Bill's Blog and the Merciless Snow and Cold we were gonna have. Europe is getting It Big Time!

[Ed R]

I tapped February 1, 68 taps on buckets all reds and silver maples. We gathered about 135 gallons of sap on friday about 1.9 sugar concentration. Last night i canned up 1 galllon of the reddist colored syrup Ive ever seen. It taste great and there was absolutely no sugar sand so filtering was easy. There is lots of sweet left in the pans and it looks like a great sap day today. I just need to figure out how to get a tv out to the barn so I can watch the super bowl. I am about 6 miles north of the ohio st line.

[Leadft]

My cousin said they tapped on Janurary 28th before... So it's time to get the drills going and see what happens... It

[Maplehobbyist]

I looked at the 7 day forecast and couldn't resist putting a few (8) in on Friday at about 9pm. It didn't cool off overnight as much as the forecast indicated so yesterday morning I had about 5 gal, which tested at about 2%. Collected another 3 gal by 9 Saturday evening, for a 24 hour total of 8 gal from 8 taps. Temps in the low 20's last night stopped the sap and highs in the low 40's today should produce a good run.

[Tweegs]

I’m going to hold off at least another week. The local forecast says the temps are going to tank after Tuesday and only 1 day above freezing projected out for 10 days in this area.

I really could use another week anyway. The shack should be done tomorrow or Tuesday, then I can set the evaporator and tanks and be ready to roll.

[TC matt]

Brian,
Where are you located?
Matt in Traverse City

[Don(MI)]

Still gonna hold out....Next week calls for only 2 days above freezing....So maybe the weekend of the 11th, but definetly by the 18th-19th. I think even though this has been a very screwed up year, this is the best choice for us.

[whalems]

Don where in Michigan are you located. I am in Northern Lower west of traverse city 25 miles.

[Ausable]

With weather like this - I just had to tap something - So tapped 26 trees and got 10 gals of sap today - Hey - lol - It's a start and I sure feel better now. Good day to wash my dishes outside - got my 5 gallon buckets and lids today - Tomorrow gotta wash the storage barrels before Winter starts up again. --Mike--

[Don(MI)]

Closest larger town is Lapeer or saginaw.

[jblaker]

We put in 110 taps and buckets, we are old school, on Jan 28. By the end of today we have collected 410gals. Started boiling yesterday, just about ready to draw off. By the way we are in SE Mi.

[davidscyc]

I had tapped on the 4th of Feb. and today I had about 1 gallon per tap. More than I was expecting.

[michiganfarmer2]

My plan is to tap on the weekedn of the 18th. If the forcast is for freezing temps I might wait, but this weather has me nervous. VERY NERVOUS! I put in a vaccum system last year. IM using check valves this year. My first time. IM really afraid we are all screwed.

[DonMcJr]

Well I'm a newbie and just ordered the 3 buckets and taps and such yesterday but I came on here cause my sugar maple has big buds already and I thought I read when it buds then the syrup gets a bad taste...maybe I read that wrong but I see I was right in worrying if I should be tapping yet.

I'm excited to try and already thinking 3 buckets aren't enough but I told myself its gotta be til I get enough to boil and make my 1 st batch.... I'm thinking I'm gonna be mad at myself for not ordering more buckets...LOL

[sugarmangraham]

Careful Don cuz this maple hobby can get quite addictive.



I am very tempted to tap right now but looking at this weekends forecast I might wait til early next week to tap. Besides I'm not really ready yet anyway. So much stuff to do and so little time.

[firetech]

GET"R done we are going all in this weekend 1200-1400 not quite ready in the suagrhouse but that is ok we need to pull a curciut for the RO any sparkys not busy??? HAHAH . and the trucks will need set up but 1 afternoon will have that covered.

[Melody Bee Farms]

I tapped Feb 2-3 and have finished off 56 gallons so far

[Ausable]

Well I'm a newbie and just ordered the 3 buckets and taps and such yesterday but I came on here cause my sugar maple has big buds already and I thought I read when it buds then the syrup gets a bad taste...maybe I read that wrong but I see I was right in worrying if I should be tapping yet.

I'm excited to try and already thinking 3 buckets aren't enough but I told myself its gotta be til I get enough to boil and make my 1 st batch.... I'm thinking I'm gonna be mad at myself for not ordering more buckets...LOL

Hi Don - and welcome. You picked a tough year to start Sugarin with the most unusual Winter most of us have ever witnessed. This year who knows - Ok - So You have Your trees tapped and your pails hung - watch the color of your sap --- normally - it should be crystal clear and sometimes it might be a little dark and that is ok. But - if it gets a Pee Yellow look - dump it on the ground. Now don't give up - sometimes it might go yellow on a tree a day or to and then be ok again. remember this is a really different year for all of us and the normal starting dates in most area are all off this year. If you can get more spiles - you can hang milk jugs - coffee cans or anything that will collect sap on the spiles to get you through. This year - I was able to get hold of several 4 and 5 gallon plastic buckets and lids. Ordered plastic tube spiles - cause they are cheaper - and where I have trees in a cluster or hard to get to - I used the tube spiles and run drop tubes from them and into the plastic buckets through holes I drilled in the lids and placed a piece of slab wood on top to keep things in place.....So - don't worry about the look - just get lots of sap to boil......Best of Luck and make lots of good Maple Syrup. -Oh Yeh! To insure good quality maple syrup - get a Syrup Hydrometer and something to use for a test cup and eliminate all guessing about when You have syrup. ----Mike----

[JBIV]

Hey Don, good to see a new Michigander interested in making syrup. This is a great site to learn from. All you need to know and more is just a few clicks away. I second the syrup hydrometer; it takes the guessing out of it. Sugarbush supplies in Mason is a good place to get your supplies from here in S. Michigan.


I’m holding off from tapping for a while longer, but I’m starting to get twitchy. I sure hope this won’t be a spring like 2 years ago.

[beetree]

I'm all in this weekend to. The earliest Iv taped before this was the 13th,and the14th, and those where the best seasons Iv ever had. I don't like to tap when its in the 20's but with a more than full time job, I don't have much of a choice. I guess Ill just have to make sure my helpers don't pound the spiles in to tight and split the bark.

[Tweegs]

I am seriously debating whether I am going to tap at all this year.

Lots of swelling buds here at work and on the drive home. I need to have a good look at my woodlot this weekend and come to a decision. My gut tells me that, with these temps, I’ve got no more than a week and a half before those buds open. That much sap wouldn’t bring in much more than it cost me in taps/drops/T’s.

Tough decision.

[Don(MI)]

Tweegs..

I think we are in danger only if the nighttime temps are above freezing, thats how our season usually ends.

We will hold off until 18-19th, as next week will be above freezing, but cloudy nasty weather. Trees won't run good anyways.

[Tweegs]

True…true…

But if the buds break, we’re also done.

I keep going back and forth. The temps are forecast to be perfect Monday through next week. If I could average a gallon of sap per tap per day for 10 days, I’d still do better than last year…..


Hmmmmm

(Ain’t it funny just how hard the maple bug bites?)

[BoarsNest]

We have 12 test taps in this week and probably have about 12 gallons. We aren't quite ready but will put in a few more this weekend. Next weekend we will go all in if the weather looks like it's going to hold to the 10 day forecast. Hopefully we can put in about 200 total and make about 40 gallons yet this year.

[Forrest hunters]

Tweegs I have been debating on tapping this year myself. I have a 4 day trip to the great white north (UP) the 16-19 and could tap when I get home. Last year a tapped around the 27 and then put 10 in the last week of the season. Those 10 did almost as well as the ones I had in all month though. Hoping the forecast is wrong and we get a cold snap yet and maybe march will cool off some too. Guess I will wait and see as i can't tap until the 20th at the earliest.

[cherryfarmer]

I lost my lease last year so i do not have to worry about it this year and i am glad I don't. I do not know what to think.

[Tweegs]

Got home yesterday with enough daylight to check the trees.
My silvers are about to pop those little flowery things…I give it a week.
The sugars are hanging on, the buds are swelling, especially near the top of the crowns, but I figure 2 weeks on those, give or take.

So it’s a go…

The shack isn’t ready, I still don’t have a front wall, but there is no time, my builder will have to work around me.

I’ve got the gang coming over Sunday to help move the evaporator in, and figure I’ll start sinking taps on Monday. It will probably be Wednesday before I get them all in.

It’s going to be one busy weekend.

[mzstein]

I really wanted to tap the week of Jan 28 th - seemed like perfect conditions .
Had to go out of town though......

SO I put in 50 last weds ( feb 8 th ) and another 35 or so on thursday ( feb 9 th)
in a new area ( swamp ) with about 1 ft water / ice .

Most holes were running, but I think I missed the best run earlier in the week .
9 taps from weds had 5 gal on thurs - the other 41 had 5 gal .
With the cool down, everything stopped or froze . Weather looks good for
the rest of the week though - doggone job keeps getting in the way of
my mapleing addiction .

One thing is for sure, its gonna be a MUDDY one this year .

[maplemonkey68]

I don't know what response this will bring but I tapped on Jan. 14. 100 taps on buckets. I've made around six gallons of syrup to date. Looking to have a good week with daytime temps in the mid 30's.

[Tweegs]

Got the evaporator moved Sunday, the mortar on the firebrick didn’t hold up well with the move.

Broke a couple of the carriers getting the arch inside the door, but I told them to put ice on it and take some ibuprofen, they’d be up and around again in no time.

Set around 20 taps on silvers last night before I ran out of daylight, none were running at the time. Fewer than I wanted to get in, but I was making drops on the fly and having a devil of a time getting the tubing on those Leader spouts (5/16). The tube fitting comes off the spout at an angle making it hard to get a straight push with the tubing tool. Spent the rest of the evening making drops in front of the wood stove. Should get those silvers finished up tonight, and then some.

Still have to set the stack, re-brick the arch, set the pans and holding tank. No test boil here, trial by fire, there is no time. Expect my first boil will be Saturday…late…and a long slog on Sunday, if the weather guru’s predictions hold as promised.

[kharvey]

Hi, I'm just South of you down here in Allegan, We had a Super Run today by the way, how was it up there? I have about 1/3 of the taps that you are putting out. Boiled off my first batch yesterday with about 2 gallons of syrup completed.
I still have not figured out the filtering method that is going to work for me, what are you folks using. I tried cloth filter; maybe got 2 quarts through it before it started backing up. I had a paper filter also but that wasn't working for me. Does the batch method produce more sugar sand problems? I have finished with a friends continuous flow Leader evaporator seems like his filtering process goes so much smoother without much hassle at all.

[BoarsNest]

We will put in our 150 taps Saturday. My buddy tapped 300 on Tuesday and collected 900 gallons today. We will haul about 300 gals to our shack and he brought the rest to another guy. We have options so if it's a short season we can bring more up north or sell it to someone else. Have a good boil this weekend if you've got sap.

[DonMcJr]

So here in SE Michigan I should Probally Tap? I am only tapping 3 taps cause I'm just getting into tapping and just wanna boil a small batch and I know after that I'll be HOOKED!

[Brian Kloepfer]

That's how I started 5 years ago is with 3 taps now I have out 100+ Have fun.

[pierre]

well i tapped 200 yesterday fixed a couple leaks and still got 150 gal of 2.4 percent not to bad i'll tap the rest monday

[whalems]

So here in SE Michigan I should Probally Tap? I am only tapping 3 taps cause I'm just getting into tapping and just wanna boil a small batch and I know after that I'll be HOOKED!
I started with 10 taps 8 years ago and will have 800 this year with 500 on vacuum. This sickness is VERY contagious. good luck, Mike

[Tweegs]

Took yesterday off to try and get caught up. Finished up tapping everything on tube and set all the buckets this morning. I’m all in.

Good run yesterday, shame it took so long to get all the taps in.

The shack is all done. The arch is set, stack is on, re-bricked, just need to set the pans and feeder tank. Frist boil will be tomorrow afternoon. I’ll collect in the morning and expect I’ve got near 150 gallons out there. That’ll sweeten the pans up right nice, might even get a draw.

[simpleupdates]

Set 20 taps so far. Southwest Michigan. Forest trees with an average of around 1.75%.

All taps are flowing.

Shack almost finished. Perhaps boil on Sunday 2-19-2012.

[DonMcJr]

I'm Gonna put in my 3 taps Tomorrow and see what happends...:cool:

[firetech]

750 gals in last nites pick up frist boil today, the family wants the 1st 5gals raw sap boil. The RO comes online Moday the last 350 taps go in today near 1200 total. See ya in a month good season to all

[JBIV]

I put in about half of my taps today (29). Good luck guys, lets hope for a long season.

[DonMcJr]

I tapped today and posted a video in another thread. Nothing was flowing when I tapped and it was 28 degrees here...

[twofer]

Since I started the thread I figured I better throw in an update.

We've been tapped since Wednesday (02/15) and have made ~18 gallons of light amber so far on ~400 taps. Vacuum started out at 15" and after cleaning up leaks we're up to 17" but there is still some leaks to be found. Tonight was spent re-doing the draw offs on the syrup pan to quick disconnects so we can try recirculating collected steam hood water to clean the nitre.

With the cold temps today we cleaned out the collection tank in anticipation for a good run tomorrow. Looks like the temps for next week means it is off to the races with boiling.

[Josh Schaeding]

5440

We finished putting our 270 taps in yesterday. This is our 6th year. We started with 4 copper pipes as taps and have been adding homemade bag holders the past 2 years. Our evaporator is a homemade rig and we hope to convert it to a roadside BBQ pit this summer. We are located between Saginaw and Hemlock.

www.themaplegrille.net

[DonMcJr]

23 Degrees here now and nothing flowing...Suposed to hit 37 later....

[DonMcJr]

Checked the tap closest to the house... about 4 oz of Sap flowed today...

[arics]

Placed 38 taps on Wednesday (2/15/12) on drops to buckets.
Collected 80 gallons of sap over 3 days.
Finished off 2 1/4 gallons of light amber syrup on Sunday (2/19/12).

Let the game begin!

[DonMcJr]

Checked the other two taps a little while ago...first day and I have 2 gallons already from 3 taps!

[michiganfarmer2]

a couple of us are adding more tubing, and a couple of us are tapping. Hopeing to get 1100 taps in this year. Up from abuot 700 or so last year. I put the vacuum pump, releaser, and collection tank in the woods yesterday

[retubjb]

I put in 36 taps at 2 pm yesterday and dad called at noon today to tell me some of my 10 qt pails were overflowing. I picked up 50 to 55 gallons at 4 pm today. Here's to happy boiling.

[whalems]

a couple of us are adding more tubing, and a couple of us are tapping. Hopeing to get 1100 taps in this year. Up from abuot 700 or so last year. I put the vacuum pump, releaser, and collection tank in the woods yesterday
how many did you tap? and was it running? I am in a debate with my self to tap or wait:confused:

[DonMcJr]

Woo Hoo! Sap musta flowed all night!

The one tree with 2 buckets gave up 3 more gallons since 11pm last night!

5 Gallons Half way to be boiling 10 Gallons this weekend to make a quart of Syrup!!!

[Tweegs]

Picked up about 120 gallons and got the first boil in today.

Nice to be in a bona-fide shack for a change. Got a draw right at the end of about 2 quarts.
Pans are good and sweet now, downhill from here.

The sap hasn’t been flowing all that well, fair to middlin’, I’d say, over the past 2 days.

Today looked decent, tomorrow maybe OK, but the weather folks are now calling for up to 4” of snow come Friday.

[DonMcJr]

I looked at the weather earlier and they said 7 Inches here by Friday morning then another 1-3 Friday...

Good thing I'll have my 10 Gallons by Friday...Boil all weekend or as long as it takes!

[michiganfarmer2]

If I had all my taps in and all my leaks fixed I might have gotten a few hundred gallons today. Ill just have to get everything buttoned up this weekend

[twofer]

What are you guys getting for sugar content?

I measured today's run and we're running ~2%.

[pierre]

i have had between 2.4-1.9 so far but i got 50 gal today but didnt check it yet thats on about 200 taps on 18"vac

[twofer]

Yeah, forgot to add that's ~400 taps on 16" of vacuum.

[maplecrazy]

I had 3.4 yesterday first collection all sugar maples. Not a lot of sap but good stuff

[DonMcJr]

I added another Tap today and after I drilled the hole the tree spit at me! Since 9am I have gotten about 3 more Gallons from 4 taps. Boiling tomorrow I have 17.5 Gallons and hoping to have over 20 gallons when I start boiling!

First time and small scale but next year I'm gonna expand and even make some Box Elder Syrup...:cool:

[DonMcJr]

Make that 5 taps...just bought another tap and bucket!

[Sue @ Battel's Sugar Bush]

We're in the Thumb and we tap old school. We're continuing to wait. Every year since my husband I joined the in-laws in helping with the sugarbush, I've been anxious to get out and tap earlier. Grandma and Grandpa are usually right.

[michiganfarmer2]

950 taps in as of tonight. Im gonna add another main, and I hopw to find another 400 taps. I guess I need to enlarge the mains that are closer to the releaser

[sugarmangraham]

As of yesterday I have 38 taps in and hope to put in about 20 more tomorrow. I hope to start boiling tomorrow but there wasn't much of a sap run today.

[BoarsNest]

We gathered about 70+ gallons of sap in GR and 100 gallons at the Boars Nest plus we had a little left from last week. Boiled 179 gallons yesterday plus the 205 from last week and made just under 6 gallons of light amber. Still have a sweet pan and about 35 gallons in the tank to start next week. Most of the buckets had ice in them when we emptied the Friday night. Sap was nice and clear. Oops..... found 6 trees that had buckets next to them that didn't get tapped. That's what happens when the bucket guys get to far ahead of the tapper!

[DonMcJr]

I tapped last Sunday and got 18 Gallons of Sap that made 48 oz of Syrup yesterday. I don't know how to measure sugar content but it was the sweetest syrup I have ever tasted! With this weeks temps anyone in SE Michgan would probally be good to tap NOW! (Im just south of Port Huron)

Here's a Pic...

http://www.michiganoutdoorsman.com/MOPhoto/albums/userpics/10005/normal_firstsyrup3.jpg

[DonMcJr]

I just collected 4 gallons from my 5 Taps... 2 on one tree only gave up a gallon and the other tree is a gold mine!

That was probally from yesterday because I didn't check them but man are they flowing like crazy today already!

I work nights and gonna go to bed in a few and I bet when I wake up all 3 buckets on that tree will be full!!!

[twofer]

They ran all night here in Charlotte. Picked up ~400 gallons on 400 taps between 9pm last night and noon. Got the evaporator fired up now. Vacuum is off so maybe I'll get it all boiled and have a decently early evening.

[twofer]

Check that. I've been boiling for 3 1/2 hours now and only gained 150 gallons on the collection tank. I think this is why my wife rolls her eyes every time I tell her I think I'll be in at a decent hour. :)

Someone turn the woods off!

[DonMcJr]

I hear ya my wife said "yours gonna do more this weekend?" I said well ya you can only collect sap til the buds on the trees flower so ill be doing it every weekend for hopefully the next month....LOL

[acerrubrum]

Are you guys tapping any Red Maple, and are you getting anything from them yet?
My sugar maple are running fine, but not a drop from the red maples. I'm pretty sure they were running by this time last year, not sure what to make of it.
I'm in Jackson county.

[Tweegs]

No reds, but if my silvers were running any slower…

Today:
1 stand of silvers, 25 taps, got 10 gallons, or less than a half-gallon per tap.
Averaged 1 gallon per tap from the sugars.
Silvers were 1.7%
Sugars were 2.8%

Usually, my silvers run fairly well, though the sugar content is low. This year they just don’t seem to have broken loose yet. Got a couple of big sugars on buckets that haven’t coughed up a drop yet either, but they are typically stubborn.

[retubjb]

I got 90 gal off of 36 taps on Monday but had a bunch of ice that I threw out and got 75 gal yesterday with very little ice. I sure am glad that I built a block arch and switched over to a 2x4 flat pan this year rather than my little 16x24 flat pan on a wood burner. Now I need to decide if I want ot try my divider pan and do direct drawoffs. I have never seen that process in action.:)

[BoarsNest]

Sugars are running really well with over 2% sap. The reds are hit and miss but seem to be flowing well from the taps on the south side of the tree and not so good on the north taps.

[DonMcJr]

I am tapping 2 Sugar Maples, 5 taps total... I got 12 1/2 Gallons yesterday alone!

That means I now have 20 1/2 gallons and I'm not boiling again til Friday Night... so if they keep up at this rate I'll have 25 more gallons for a grand total of 45 1/2 gallons to boil this weekend...Oh Boy and this is only my 2nd Boil!

I need an evaporator!!!:cool:

[michiganfarmer2]

duplicate post

[michiganfarmer2]

1100 taps in now. I got a bunch of leaks fixed last night. IM at 18" of vacuum. IM hoping to get up to 22"

[whalems]

1100 taps in now. I got a bunch of leaks fixed last night. IM at 18" of vacuum. IM hoping to get up to 22"
You getting any sap yet?

[acerrubrum]

I think I'll print out some of these reports of high sap flow and go and read it to my red maples! Maybe they'll get on the ball.

[firetech]

We picked up 1375 gals Monday, looks like another 1400 for tonite 75% sugars the rest are reds who by the way are stacking. Sap content has been coming in about 2%. 62 gals finished syrup 40gals lite amber 22 gal of fancy. Love the new RO I will never boil raw sap again. Well time to get going 3% for all.

[michiganfarmer2]

duplicate post

[michiganfarmer2]

You getting any sap yet?No sir, but next week should be great

[whalems]

I couldn't take it any more I tapped 300 of my 500 vacuum taps yesterday and have collected 190 gallons. I will finish tapping the rest tomorrow or saturday. Then gravity next week. The sap is running today.

[DonMcJr]

Kinda slow run since 9am this morning... I only have about 2 gallons total in all 5 of my buckets...

[Forrest hunters]

So in west Michigan here are we done early next week? Looks cold this weekend through Monday and then Tuesday mid 40's with it not going below freezing in the forecast. Then again this is Michigan and I should have been a weather man to throw darts and make stuff up.

[Tweegs]

I’m leaving the taps in until the buds break or the frogs croak.
Weatherman here hasn’t got the forecast right for tomorrow, let alone next week
That big (hrmph) “snow” we got last week wasn’t forecast until the night before.
So wrong, so often.

[Forrest hunters]

Oh that's right I haven't heard the peepers yet. Guess I will leave them in as I only tapped on the 20th and 26th. Hope it cools down again.

[michiganfarmer2]

Oh that's right I haven't heard the peepers yet. Guess I will leave them in as I only tapped on the 20th and 26th. Hope it cools down again.leave your taps in untill you are sick of it, or the buds open

[Tweegs]

Our forecast low was supposed to be 34. We’ve got one of those thermometers that records highs and lows. I see we dropped to 26 last night, I’m looking at 28 right now. It’s our own little micro climate around here.

We pay attention to the barometric pressure, too. A deep low pressure front went through last night, before I went to bed it was 29.32, very high winds, some rain. Right now it is 29.51 and rising.

It seems to me that for those of us on gravity and buckets, the pressure plays as important a part as a good freeze/thaw cycle. What I’ve been observing suggests that the best sap runs occur when we are in low pressure when it freezes, followed by a warm, sunny, higher pressure day.

We’ve had days where there was a good freeze the night before, upper 30’s during the day, and didn’t get squat for sap. These were days that the barometric pressure was also steady or falling.

I don’t have enough data to state that as absolute fact, but it helps me sleep better at night knowing there might be an explanation for no sap, other than Sasquatch quenching his thirst with my buckets.

(Sasquatch takes the heat for many of the abnormalities around here. :lol:)

[toquin]

Pulled em. Found a frog in a bucket!

[DonMcJr]

2.5 Gallons in each of my buckets on the slow tree...yesterday it looked as if my Good tree slowed down...gonna run out and check it in a few...

[DonMcJr]

Got 5 gallons before this freeze... Trees are locked up and saying "Brrrr! No Sap for you right now!"

Wednesday looks good for a warm up down here!

[fishman]

tweegs- we like our sasquach's around here. They help keep the wolves away. I didn't know they moved south of the bridge.

[Tweegs]

tweegs- we like our sasquach's around here. They help keep the wolves away. I didn't know they moved south of the bridge.

Yea, had one take up residence in my barn a couple of years back. Kind of a nuisance really, using my power tools and leaving them out, saw dust everywhere. I wouldn’t mind near so much if he’d sweep up now and again.

We’re on a time share agreement, him and me. I get the barn during the day, he gets it at night. Powerful temper, doesn’t much like being woken, especially after he’s been on a three day bender in town. Never can tell when he’s in there, so I just avoid the barn altogether after dark.

It’s a suitable arrangement between us until my wife puts me in the dog house. I don’t own a dog, the barn is occupied, which leaves me to spar a few rounds with the rooster for a spot in the henhouse. Him I can at least take, though he does put up a pretty good fuss.

[davidscyc]

That is an interesting observation on the barometric pressure. I will have to see how that holds here. Any theory on what combination of circumstances produces the very lightest syrup? I have had my lightest run anywhere from the 1st to the 6th batch.

[Forrest hunters]

5592Just finished up bottling my first batch. 2.125 gallons from last week.

[twofer]

Looks like we are pulling taps. The buds are opening on the hard maples.

[DonMcJr]

Looks like we are pulling taps. The buds are opening on the hard maples.

Where are you located? I'm near port huron and all the sap I got yesterday was still Crystal Clear...

[Tweegs]

Looks like I had the best run of the season yesterday.
48 hours of below freezing temps followed by a sunny, 55 degree, high pressure day.

Was a little disappointed when I got home from work yesterday, not much in the buckets or collection tanks at the time, but the sap was flowing hard, like it had just got cranked up. Decided to wait until this morning to collect. Checked a couple of buckets at 9PM last night and the sap was still flowing, though it appeared to be winding down.

At 5 PM yesterday, my main collection tank had about 40 gallons in it, this morning it has about 160 gallons. That stretch of mainline has 102 taps on it. The single tap 5 gallon buckets are half full, I’m sure the double tap buckets are full or overflowing.

A rough calculation based on a history of this bush tells me I’ve got in excess of 320 gallons sitting out there. My best run this season prior was 210 gallons.

Always take Wednesdays off during the season to boil, and expect to have the fire lit by 10 AM this morning. Gonna be a long day.

I’ll post details on sugar content, sap and syrup yields later.

[twofer]

Where are you located? I'm near port huron and all the sap I got yesterday was still Crystal Clear...

We're in Charlotte, about half an hour south of Lansing. The sap was clear going in the float box but had a slight tinge to it when looking in the tank.

Yesterday we picked up 1400 gallons of sap off from 400 taps.

[Sue @ Battel's Sugar Bush]

We just tapped here in Cass City over the weekend. It ran like crazy yesterday and throughout the night, so much so that it overflowed the second bulk tank. 800 gallons ready to boil.

[DonMcJr]

I got 9 Gallons from 5 taps yesterday. Running good today and tapped 3 more Sugar Maples and 3 Box Elder Maple for a total of 11 taps now! Hopefully 2 days of warm doesn't hurt the run. Supposed to get below freezing Thursday thru Sunday night...

I made a video of my "Tap Line" and later today when it's uploaded I'll post the Video...

[twofer]

Still boiling and haven't run into "buddy" yet so I guess we'll keep the vacuum on and keep throwing wood.

[Tweegs]

Wow, rough day.

Overestimated the sap haul, got 265 gallons.
15 gallons from the silvers (28 taps) @ 1.6% (Freaking silvers!)
45 gallons from the buckets @ 2.6%
160 gallons from the main bush @ 2.3%
45 gallons from the secondary bush @ 2.5%
Made a total of 3.25 gallons of medium…things don’t add up and are the subject of another post.

1 calamity, 1 near disaster.

I ran about 75 feet of 1” mainline from the main collection tank up to the holding tank so I could just pump it up rather than transport it. The pump has 1.5” ports.

Normally I run the pump at its lowest speed, but this morning I was in a hurry to get the fire lit and bumped it up a notch. That’s when I noticed the priming cap on the pump start to leak. Reached down to give it a twist, but the cap blew off before I got my hand on it.

Had to chuckle later at my attempt to thread the silly thing back on before hitting the kill switch. I did, however, find the cold sap bath rather… refreshing.

I had the evaporator dialed in and singing along at 28 GPH all day. My wife got home from work and wandered down to the shack to see what was going on. Instead of the usual pleasantries, she was met at the door with “DEFOAMER! NOW!!! HERE!”

I was at the end of the sap, the fire was winding down and I figured I was making the last draw of the day. All of a sudden that last channel in the syrup pan started foaming like crazy. Once the defoamer did its thing, I saw I was an eighth inch from scorching the pan, literally. Flooded the pans and averted disaster. No idea what happened there, why it foamed like it did. Never had that happen before. Guess I’ll use a little more defoamer from now on.

[DonMcJr]

I got 10 more Gallons just from my 5 Hanging Buckets since 9am and it's still flowing good!

Not checking the 6 new Taps I put in today until morning...

Here's the Video of my "Tap Tour"


http://youtu.be/nZUI8otryWg