tapping in the catskills.

[mountainvan]

1.200 taps in 2,200 to go. a couple hundred gals of sap in the tanks so far with warm weather this week and first boil should be thursday. switched all spiles to antimicrobial after .5 gals of syrup/tap last year. sugar content is already higher than last year so it should be good.

[MillbrookMaple]

Greetings from the other side of the mountain. Went to Tom's and met the CDL truck today and picked up 6000 feet of main line and 15000 feet of 5/16. We are switching over 500 taps to CVs and got around 150 changed and tapped from 2-4. We hope to have the 500 done tomorrow. We hope to add 700-1000 taps with the Antimicrobial adaptors on stubbies in the next 2 weeks. Sugar content tested 1.6 for us which is better than last year which ran between 1.3-1.5. Here's to what hopefully will be a great season. Good luck!

[Brian Ryther]

Go get em Van. Have a great season and keep up on the posts. I am not to far away and have a similar tap count so I always enjoy reading your journal.

[mountainvan]

another 600 today with lots of damage from Irene and squirrels to fix. sap was flowing well and tested at 1.8%. I was at Toms this evening to get my RO that was damaged in the flood. this week looks good for sap so I'm tapping till it's done. should be boiling by wednesday.

[mountainvan]

another 300 i n today, vacuum pumps are out and ready. two sugarbushes that are tapped the tanks are already full, around 1,000 gals. I'll be boiling tomorrow night!

[Starting Small]

Mountainvan what is your tap total going to be this year? Do you need to special order 15,000 feet of line and does it come in 500 ft rolls? Just curious also if they give you a break because of the volume you purchase.

[MillbrookMaple]

We got our new vac system up and running today and started collecting at 3:30. We have around 400 gallons of sap on 500 cv taps in 6 hours. Now if I only had the other 1000 taps up and going! ;) Hope to have around 1000 gallons to boil by tomorrow night.
Van-- are you going to be around the sugarhouse tomorrow? We might run over to fix up a few odds and ends left from a job we did up the road from you. I would like to stop by for a minute and meet you in person if that is ok.
Starting Small-- the rolls come 500ft each so I got 30 rolls of 5/16. Most of the dealers that we buy from only make around 10% so there really isn't much room for too much discounting. The best time to buy is usually after the season since all the manufactures offer discounts on equipment and supplies. We are planning on adding another 1000-1500 for next season also so I will probably buy a lot of the supplies in April for that expansion.

[mountainvan]

just got internet back to the farm after the flood. pulled in 3,000 gals so far and made around a barrel. still have 1,100 taps to put in. good start to the year. if my trucks at he saphouse I.m around, so feel free to stop in.

[grimmreaper]

I want to tap......I'm in Rome ny....still waiting for my new evaporator......anybody close that would buy SAP?I have400 ready to tap

[sugar ED]

I want to tap......I'm in Rome ny....still waiting for my new evaporator......anybody close that would buy SAP?I have400 ready to tap
Hi grimmreaper, Where are u located N,S,E,orW of Rome ? Can you deliver ? cost ? or pick up ? cost ? When do you plan to get your evaporator ? Not sure it's smart, but I've been waiting for winter ,lol. (As I hate frozzen storage tanks,) But there is alot of tapping going on around just south/west of here! and even in vermont! (Fear of trees budding early) So not sure yet if I'll start tappin ,as in my location it's cooler due to snow cover .
Good luck sappin ,Ed

[grimmreaper]

Sugar ed,I live invienna.evaporator should be here about 2-3 week's tapping now seems too tempting miss out due to the early budding .its all a gamble...do you risk your investment or lose out on a short season gamble

[adk1]

If I were you guys down there I would be pullingthe trigger.

[grimmreaper]

Adk1 , hard to pull the trigger with no evaporator
,still waiting,waiting oh did I mean waiting lol..

[sugar ED]

Sugar ed,I live invienna.evaporator should be here about 2-3 week's tapping now seems too tempting miss out due to the early budding .its all a gamble...do you risk your investment or lose out on a short season gamble
Ok I'm a stilla sitting on my taps, lol ,Hey just to hold them down! As for one -It's alittle cooler/ more snow than south east and west of here, Two - maybe was just a long Jan.thaw? (with fingers crossed) .Tis cold tonight :}. 3) And I'm Still looking for more storage tank /s (learned last year I need atleast 400 gals to 500 gals sap) to make it worth .. firing it up ! and this year with improvements who knows, lol.
So yes it's a gamble. But Most are still holding off ?? Talked to Links today and Thay said thay where going to give it another week and if the forcast continues than ...off to the woods . But He's got vacume and I don't and without vac. thay/taps can dry up early if tapped to soon !!! the game is on !! .
Ok grimmreaper ,I lived in blossvalle most of my younger years .So If u tap in about a week or two U should to able to store or sell your sap till your ready If... are u ready for the unit to set right up ? Wood /holding tanks ect. ? And how big it the arch/pans ? With 400 taps ... hope it's a big one! Is this your frist time with an arch / continues flow pans ?
or just an up grade ?
I think Links will buy sap, and if my tanks arn't overflowing by than, I maybe interrested in some ! So time will tell ?

[sugarman3]

Getting ready to tap this week,got all neverous fri as Peaceful Valley Maple was boiling and had 6000 gals of sap,

[grimmreaper]

Sugared , already to go wood,all tanks,and arch is bricked for my new pan 30''x10' Patrick Phaneuf is making.what size tank are you looking for.

[sugar ED]

grimmreaper , Sounds good ! I"m looking for something 300 and up ,to use just out side shack and before being pumped to filter/ tank in upper part of shack .

[grimmreaper]

Sugar ed,I have a 550 gal. Bulk tank. If interested .550 dollars takes it .315-571-5151

[RUSTYBUCKET]

Tapped yesterday afternoon and it was running steady. Seemed real strange with no snow on the ground. Whole week looks good for our area.

- Russ

[mountainvan]

more sap to boil tomorrow. spent most of the day working on a vacuum pump that was 4ft under water during the flood. got it going and pulling 20".

[mountainvan]

another 400 taps in and syrup total close to 100 gals so far. still more taps to put in.

[mountainvan]

all tapped! unless I add more taps. 1,000 gals sap from yesterday waiting for more sap from today to be made into syrup. weather this week looks sweeeet for maple sap flow. let the fun off 48hr
days begin. diet of bananas, granola bars, spaghettios, and pbr. maybe a little jim beam after the shift.

[maple flats]

Also all tapped unless I add a few more, but still setting up vac at new bush. Setting pump today, likely have running tomorrow AM. First boil yesterday. RO is nice but I need bigger. 250 was running 240 gph at 6% which barely kept up with evap. I bought 600 gal sap too. This PM, will pickup my biggest bush and run that.

[MaplePancakeMan]

Hey Glad to see your alright after the flood i often wondered how you made out afterwards. I tapped a Friday and i've collected 100 gallons on 40 taps. My buckets seem to be running inconsistent. i only tapped 40 because i'm leaving this weekend for work so i don't want to be innundated after i get back. So i decided that i'll put another 40 out on sunday. Hopefully the stretch of mid to upper 50's doesn't hurt me too much. the buds are already apparent. Just hopefully they hold off.

PS. i think you should switch from PBR to Busch.... since i sell busch and not PBR lol

[mountainvan]

filled another barrel tonight. not much sap today so no boil tomorrow. Busch huh? the best is the sugarbush!

[MaplePancakeMan]

i seasoned my pans lastnight checked this morning and i have about another 70 gallons since 4pm yesterday and they're running ok. i feel because of how warm its going to be the next few days that it will slack off until the weekend. i'll boil thrusday with hopefully 100 gallons. I need to make sure i have atleast 10 gallons this year as i'm making it for wedding favors for my wedding in October. sugar content on the last boil was 2.1 but i had a good amount of ice that i extracted.

[mountainvan]

congrats on getting married. several words that can lead to a long marriage... yes dear I was wrong, I'm sorry. Always said by the husband, the wife is god! another barrel filled tonight and a head start on tomorrow with sap in the ro tanks. one of my four vacuum pumps is ill, only pulling 10 inches,(that's what she said) and needs to be taken apart and fixed tomorrow. they always have trouble during the big runs. all other pumps are pulling 20+ and sap is coming in at a good rate. tanks should be full tomorrow= 4,000+ gals sap. Banzai!!

[mountainvan]

closing in on 300 gals. no huge runs yet but enough to keep me busy

[MaplePancakeMan]

Whats your extended forecast looking like? Mines upper 60's by thursday, then backs off before surging for the next week into the mid 60's i think i'm done after this weekend :(

[mountainvan]

cold tonight, 8, then slowly warming back up wednesday to thursday in the 50's then back to 40's and 20's. looks to be a huge run for me this week, a repeat of the past couple days. with all antimicrobial spiles I think I'll go into april easily. I did leave yesterdays sap in the tanks to freeze tonight to help keep the sap cooler this week. if you finish before me you can always come up and visit.

[MaplePancakeMan]

i think this year i will come up there as my finance's family is out that way (sorta) in kerhonkson, ny so i'm much closer all the time. This weekend is it for me. i'm sure of it. I'll make probably 7-9 gallons when its said and done. which will give me just enough for favors...none for me(oh well) i cut it close but the last 25-30 i zipped on friday/saturday saved me a bit.

[Snowy Pass Maple]

Wow, some pretty close neighbors - MaplePancakeMan - I'm right down the road near Shunpike/82!

Looks like we have good freezes still in the outlook for Fri/Sat nights, so I think I will wait until the run ends on Sunday and then re-evaluate whether the 10-day forecast is drifting anything below the current 36 degrees.

Another good site if you want to look out 15 days in hopes of finding a reason to keep hanging on :lol:

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/salt-point-ny/12578/march-weather/2128755

I just hope to find buckets running over when I get home today!

[mountainvan]

just finished boiling and another barrel is filled. lower elevation bushes are frozen but up top the saps still flowing. time for a whiskey and sleep.

[MillbrookMaple]

We just finished up for the night and our weather report for my elevation is 36 but the therm said 28 and frost on the cars. Hopefully they will be that far off all week.

[mountainvan]

another barrel filled. concentrate ready for early boil and sap in the ro tanks ready to go. saps flowing well but I'm not. time for some rum and a little nap.

[mountainvan]

freeze last night got the higher elevation taps going, so I'll be boiling again tomorrow. still hoping to keep the sap going till winter comes back. If not I'll be on the lake for trout April1st.

[Riverdale]

Done in Delhi....lines cleaned, tanks away. Just need to finish up in the sap house. 125 gal. for the year, the last 40 was B/C could never get back to table grade with the warm temps/low sugar. Happy with the short season even after making 160 in 2011. Off to Catskill Mountain Maple tomorrow for breakfast!

[MaplePancakeMan]

You still boiling ?

[mountainvan]

I'm done unless by some miracle it freezes next week and the sap starts again. reds have budded and sugars are not far behind. glad I tapped early, but still a disappointing year after all the work I did after the flood to get back to sugaring.

[MillbrookMaple]

It looks like a Miracle is about to happen. We are going to try to isolate our sugar maples the next 2 days and clean the lines and tanks and hope there is still some quality syrup to come out for the next week. I don't know if the buds have broke yet on the sugars but they look promising from 50 feet below the branches. Over half of my trees are reds but I'll take 30-40% productions over no syrup.

[mountainvan]

I think it may be too late,, but who knows. Guess we find out next week. I'm all cleaned up at the saphouse, but it could get dirty again for enough sap. If it does flow the first saps on the ground.

[DrTimPerkins]

I think it may be too late,, but who knows. Guess we find out next week. I'm all cleaned up at the saphouse, but it could get dirty again for enough sap. If it does flow the first saps on the ground.

Good idea to let the first bit run on the ground (if it does run much again). It would likely prove to be very difficult to filter due to the heavy microbial load in the first flush of sap.

[mountainvan]

reds are budded but sugars are still tight. 32 tonight, 14 monday night then I'm very curious if the sap will flow after over a week of nothing but summer. everything in the saphouse is cleaned up, but vacs and tanks are still out. I'm keeping my schedule open, just in case.

[MaplePancakeMan]

I got down to 18 on monday night and the one tree i left tapped for fun has been running a little bit, but my sugars are basically popped so it wouldn't have made good syrup anyway so maybe you'll get some. I had about a quart over a 2 day period.

[mountainvan]

saps still kinda going. antimicrobial adaptors are still going, but sugars have budded and sapflow was not enough to get everything dirty again. plus my hearts not into it. house and property are still a mess from the flood and it does get depressing after awhile. I've got volunteers coming in a couple weeks to help with the remaining cleanup.

[maple flats]

I also checked my taps at higher elevations yesterday, after upper teens overnight, some sap flow, on check valve adapters, but far too many trees have opened bud to be worth pulling the budded and restarting again. All in all my best year ever, but I added 400 taps to get there and bought 1400 gal of sap. Total= 233 gal, up from 206 last year. Still going to add about 4-600 more this year again, wet/dry is up, all I need to add more is the mains and laterals, and likely another tank or 2. Short season for sure, all tapped 2/6, collected very little until the last 10 days before big warm up.

[MillbrookMaple]

We aren't setting any records up here but we are getting some flow. I took a half gallon of sap last night comming out of the releaser and boiled it down. It isn't horrible but not good syrup. It has a sour taste that is about even with the sweet. It is really light in color. I'm not sure if it is still some of the old sap still comming out of the lines or trees that I might have missed pulling that have just began to bud. I will test again this afternoon and see if it improves. I'm going to boil it down either way and in worse case I can experiment with it; Make granulated sugar out of it if it will crystalize or cream and see if the flavor dissapears with the high heat, or make a maple glaze for chicken, or see if they want it in April when they are buying at Tom's.

[MaplePancakeMan]

PM me about your clean up i'll be back on Easter maybe when you're volunteers are up i can come by and lend a hand for a day or so. I've been out that way after the flood, and its very depressing we just finished cleaning up my fiances parents property.

[mountainvan]

property is finally cleaned up, no more pavement in the yard. best thing is I now have a maple syrup evaporator in my living room! turned the whole place into my sugaring facility. adding more taps this fall and am excited for next year.

[Maplewalnut]

Hey van good to here from you. What did you do, move into the sugarhouse and move your sugarhouse into your home? Need some specifics. How many taps you adding?

[mountainvan]

bought a house by woodstock, ny, no flood worries even today. old saphouse is barrel storage/workshop. 20x 24 wing of old house is sugaring wing. 20x40 old oneroom schoolhouse is my barn, and 20x24 wing is my living space and somewhere to go if my wife is really pissed. I now have a commute to the farm, but am much closer to my customers and wendys for those late night burger cravings. it is nice being close to stuff after 23 years in the mountains. I'm planning to get up to 4,000+ taps. so adding 600+. it has been a lot of work, but everything turned out good for my family and I. If anyone reading this lives close to water and does not have flood insurance, get it.

[mountainvan]

as soon as I wrote this, flash flood and now more cleanup. house and sugaring stuff are dry thanks to my new berm.

[MaplePancakeMan]

Van how'd you make out from this storm i know you guys were hit harder then over here again! Hoping it wasnt too bad for you!

[mountainvan]

no worries so far. no flooding or big trees down.

[mountainvan]

let the long days and sleepless nights begin. started tapping and the sap was dripping at 32. next week in the 40's so I should start boiling!

[Starting Small]

Have you been able to test the sugar content yet on this?

[mountainvan]

one sugarbush tapped with vacuum hooked up and first sap in the tanks. only 3,000+ taps to go! sugar tested at 2.2% which makes me happy. weather looks good for the week for sapflow. more taps to put in tomorrow.

[mountainvan]

over 50 gals light made so far. sap in the tanks for tomorrow.

[mountainvan]

over 100 gals light made the last week. now to tap the other 2/3 of my trees.

[mountainvan]

warm up #2 and saps flowing hard. started tapping the 3rd sugarbush today. should be boiling tomorrow!

[sugarman3]

got a 2hr ride,what time will you be boiling like to see your operaion

[sugarman3]

got a 2hr ride,what time will you be boiling like to see your operaion

[mountainvan]

should be boiling by noon.

[sugarman3]

Van
very nice setup,was glad to get my maple fix tday
ve

[mountainvan]

glad I could help! sap ran all night and am boiling away. 2,500 gals sap this run from 1,500 taps. Jan. has been good to me.

[mountainvan]

back to tapping trees. another 2,000 to put in before warm weather returns next week.

[mountainvan]

close to done tapping and fresh sap in the tanks. life is good.

[sugarman3]

Hoping to finish tapping last 500 today,not warm enough for sap to run,need about 5-7 degrees more,but w are ready

[mountainvan]

still almost finished tapping. had to stop tapping to get sap before the tanks overflowed! sap tsunami! maybe sapnami!!! time for a rum and rest. thinking hard on the auto drawoff.

[sugarman3]

Van
You won't regret getting one

[mountainvan]

2,000+ gals sap = full barrel and canner today. 200 gals finished so far.

[ChromczakC]

Van, About how many taps do you have all together? And on how many acres?

[mountainvan]

another barrel and a bit yesterday, back to light amber. I'm up to around 3,500 with 100+ old taps to put in and then a new sugarbush to open up this week. not sure how many acres I tap, but I have permission to tap over 2,000 acres. I never will do that though. Happy working by myself. I should be around 4,000 taps this year. still haven't made up my mind on the auto drawoff.

[Randy Brutkoski]

If you want an auto draw off, i have a new marcland in the box that i will sell.

[mountainvan]

just got one today, thanks randy. Needed other stuff, so figured what the heck! no sapping today though, dentist visit. arhggg.

[Greyfox]

dentist visit. arhggg.

Too much sugar in your diet....? Seems like a maplers occupational hazard.

[MillbrookMaple]

We have finally 1000 taps in and 1000 to go before the next run. I expect this weekend. NOAA says a high of 35 tomorrow then way colder for most of the rest of the week. Dentist! You've met my business partner, Adam, he just had his tooth pulled last month. It is the one for the last 3 years he told me it would hurt when we would have syrup. If it was too thin then it didn't hurt. I guess we have to depend on the hydrometer now. ;)
We are working in Phoenicia quite a bit lately. We will try to stop by if we get a chance in the next couple of weeks.

[Dar-View Maple]

650 Taps in yesterday. Half way there. Looks like good sappin weather for the weekend. Happy Tapping Jody!!

[Riverdale]

600 tapped, sap house is ready. 200+ more to go in this weekend on the cold side of the valley. First boil was 2/22 in 2012, maybe the same day in 2013? Here's to a good season for all..

[MillbrookMaple]

650 Taps in yesterday. Half way there. Looks like good sappin weather for the weekend. Happy Tapping Jody!!
Brad and Swett
We were wondering what you guys are up to. I'm going to try to get Adam over there this year. Keep March 16th planned for the hotel. Sap or not it is going to be our last Detour show. Also, we got a new pump for this season. If you guys want to get a releaser and moisture trap, I'm sure we can let you borrow it for the season if you want to get started with vac this year. 15" would be better than none. You know where to find me.

[Dar-View Maple]

Hey Jody and Adam,
Come on over anytime! I will make it over to see your set-up this year as well. We are waiting for the sap to run like everyone else. I will give you a call about the pump. We are putting in a all new vaccum set-up this summer and tapping the remaining tree's behind the sap house. Hope to have 3000 taps for next year. I will be to the Hotel for the Grand Finale of Detour!!

[MillbrookMaple]

Van,

I just posted a question to the Vac category but I would ask your opinion directly. Are you planning on running your pumps 24/7 for this next week? I should be all set with our new pump tomorrow so I will hopefully pull some sap Monday.

[mountainvan]

If it's above freezing and saps flowing yes. Looks to me only tuesday night will be warm. weather does look promising.

[stimyg]

I'm a very small hobbyist producer, usually have about 12 taps that I run for a couple weekends to get some yearly syrup for my family. I work in the city and only come up to our home in Hancock NY on certain weekends, so it's tricky to do more. Last year I missed the season entirely. So as I plan my next month or two, my question is:

When does the season usually end in the Catskills? I know there have been some unusually early years recently. Just curious what your vague guesses might be as to when the trees will bud (and thus when I've got to get my weekends in by).

Thanks!

Tim

[MillbrookMaple]

That's hard to say generalizing the Catskills . Our sap bush is sitting between 2000-2300 feet so we are 2-4 degrees colder than the weather report for our town usually. Hancock is probably 2-3 degrees warmer than our town. Are you way up on a hill or down in the valley? I would guess you are at least 2 weeks earlier than us on average. We started last year at the end of January and were done on March 13th last year. Other years we made syrup well into April. I know Van has already made syrup from a couple of thaws in Jan but we are still waiting to get started. I think you might be starting your season now. Your forecast for the next few days looks great, High 30s to low 40s with nights right around freezing and recorded temperatures for most of Feb look like you haven't had very good sapping weather. The extended forecast for all of us looks cold so if that holds true you might be making syrup in April also. I would think you would be done late March most years. Hopefully someone on here might be able to give some historical data for your immediate area. Hope this helps.

[mountainvan]

every year is different. I've started in Jan. or the middle of march and ended the middle of march or end of april. you can't figure trends in the weather. people ask me how the year will be, I'll say ask me in May. maybe you can find someone who lives in the area year round who could use the sap when you're not up. I finished tapping today and have retreated to the hottub in woodstock for this storm. not much sap today but maybe thursday.

[stimyg]

Great, thanks for the replies. That's about what I thought but good to hear confirmed.

[MillbrookMaple]

Van,
How did it run for you today (wed)? Everything was thawed when I got up this morning and I started the pump, but sap didn't start running until about 2-3pm. I had band rehearsal tonight so I got back at 10:30 and my releaser was all iced up (I have no idea for how long). I took it apart melted the ice with the heat gun and back up and running. I'm going to check it in an hour and see if I'm still getting sap. 1700 taps on vac today only 400 gallons as of 10:30 for the day. Was hoping for better but oh well.

[mountainvan]

collect 1,400 gals this morning, 2.2% sugar. new auto drawoff was stuck closed. called marcland and new valve sent out today. that's good customer service. I did get it to open and it is working well, but marcland is sending a valve for my size rig. now that's customer service!

[MaplePancakeMan]

Hows it going up there Van! Its been going pretty well over here i'm only at 95 taps but i'm happy with it! Sugars been high and i cant seem to make anything else but light syrup. Which is good but bad for me because i don't really care for it. Hope all is well with you!

[mountainvan]

things are good up here. 1,000 gal collected by 8 am and I'm boiling away. dark yesterday and light today. I'm up to around 3,600 taps and happy with that for this year.

[mountainvan]

not much sap yesterday, but still made 15 gals lightest of the year. staggering my tapping seems to have worked. looks like the flood gates open tuesday! time to go to the grocery store and stock up my mountain retreat.

[MaplePancakeMan]

My last batch was my lightest of the season so far as well. I haven't had much of anything in the last 3 days as far as sap. Maybe 50 gallons total. hopefully today and tomorrow i get enough sun to kick them back into gear. We shall see. Whats your total gallons this year so far van?

[mountainvan]

300+ so far. this week looks great for sugaring.

[mountainvan]

slowly thawing out and sap is flowing again. still making light amber tonight.

[mountainvan]

couple thousand gals collected today, filling barrels with light amber. saps still pouring in. antimicrobial spiles put in jan. are still going strong.

[Snowy Pass Maple]

We also seem to be unable to make anything dark this year - this is with taps now in and sap flowing 3-4 weeks! Will be interesting to see what comes later this week after the warm spell... in the lower elevations, not sure we have a whole lot of time left after this weekend...

[mountainvan]

about 7,000 gals collected on this run and saps still flowing. just went to medium. minor flooding in the valley today, only had to call 911 once.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Van,

What's happening now with you and how much syrup have you made?

[mountainvan]

not much, just waiting for warmer weather. no sap in over week, but the rest of march and into april look good. I'm up to 500 so far, 1/2 way to my goal.

[mountainvan]

warmed up and I'm back to sugaring. think I'll go to May 3rd this year!

[MillbrookMaple]

Did it warm up enough for any sort of run yesterday? 200 gallons was it between 3-5 so the pans will stay cold for a couple of more days at least. We are working in Phoenicia today and though we might pop by on the way home if you were going to be around.

[mountainvan]

collected around 500 gals last night, but waiting to boil till I have a couple thousand gals tomorrow. I'm in Oliverea till it gets to freezing then turn of the pumps and go to woodstock. I should be around till 8 or so.

[MillbrookMaple]

I drove by around 1:30 and didn't see any signs of life around there. I did poke around your sap ladder for a few minutes and then got all excited and ran home to see if we had any sap. Only have about 700 gallons in the tank. Not enough to RO and boil so we will hopefully get some more tomorrow and be ready to make syrup again. We will be working on and off around the area the next few weeks so I'll try to stop by another day. Here's to 3 weeks of perfect sapping weather!:rolleyes:

[mountainvan]

I was up on the mountain chasing leaks. all 4 vac.pumps are pulling 20, till tomorrow when something happens to the tubing. I ended up running 1.000+ through the ro to get a head start on tomorrow. sugars up to 2.4 so I am a happy man.

[Riverdale]

Decent runs the last two days in the valley. Finished 11 gallons Monday and 13 last night, back to light amber with noticeably more sugar sand than before the freeze up. The extended forecast looks perfect. 80 gallons for the season to date. Boil on!

[mountainvan]

my buckets runneth over, and almost my tanks. still drawing light amber.

[mountainvan]

still alive a kicking. not huge sapflow but enough to keep me very busy. close to 800 for the year so far with good weather for the next week at least. 1,000 + looking like a real possibility. went to dark yesterday. good sappin to those still going, if your done stop up and say hello. I will put you to work though!

[MillbrookMaple]

Looks like we finally got a season started around here. We had sap for a week straight and most of it was in the last 3 days. We collected around 13000 gallons and made 218 gallons of Medium and Dark. Really cold today and tomorrow and it looks like we will get another 7 day run after that!

[Riverdale]

Looks like a final 4 day blast here in the river valley before an extended stretch with no freezing temps. Should hit 200 gallons on the year, best in a long time.

[MillbrookMaple]

We are going to try a visit again tomorrow. Working up near Cold Spring Lodge. Huge sap the last 24 hours! Looks like we are going out with a flood of sap the next bunch of days.

[mountainvan]

I'll be collecting in the morning boiling by noon. another barrel and a bit today, still medium.

[mountainvan]

froze last night! saps coming in well and barrels are being filled in the saphouse. almost in a rhythm with the trees. have a nice mention in an article on sugaring.




http://www.chronogram.com/hudsonvalley/in-the-land-of-maple-leaves/Content?oid=2154587&storyPage=2

[Riverdale]

Game over. 200 gallons - best year ever. 800 taps gravity, 50 buckets.
Hardly any B grade. Lines are clean and the pans are soaking.
Time to go fishing.

[mountainvan]

no boiling today, down to 2,000 taps flowing because of vacuum. should fill another barrel tomorrow, then maybe a freeze this weekend.

[mountainvan]

good freeze last night, will be boiling tomorrow! I feel the end is this week for me.

[MillbrookMaple]

Let us know your grand total when you finish! We ended last Wed with 558 gallons for the season. Tom told me that they were not buying any buddy syrup this year so I pulled the plug as soon as it started to turn. Put in 85 birch taps today and hope to be around 400 by Wed night. Building an air injection for the 2x4 we plan to boil on. Should be interesting. Last year it was 80 degrees and made the birch end in a few days. Hopefully we will get 2 weeks out of it.

[mountainvan]

last sap in today, 1,100 gals 1.4%. should end up with 1,000 finished gals. not a bumper crop here, but enough made to keep being a full-time maple producer for another year.

[mountainvan]

Getting tanks, pumps, etc into the woods and general getting ready stuff. Tapped a tree yesterday, not much sap flow yet. I think the trees are still a bit cold from the -15 not long ago. Start tapping Monday just to have everything ready when it does break loose.

[maple flats]

We started tapping today, got in about 400. I'm using the CV2's this year. So far I like them.

[mountainvan]

1,000 taps in the last two days. Dropped my phone in the woods yesterday, luckily found it today. Forced off the mountain by whiteout this afternoon. Sap was flowing from smaller trees.

[Brian Ryther]

Looking foreword to your up dates. Lets hope for a great season.

[adk1]

I will drink to that Brian!

[mountainvan]

Another 1,000 taps in. Snowshoes will be required on the mountain after tomorrow.

[mountainvan]

Back to tapping yesterday. 3' snow with 5' drifts makes for slow going. Back to it tomorrow.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Great to see you back at it. Looks like a late start for everyone this year. Hope you are doing great and still cancer free!

[mountainvan]

Still healthy Brandon. Spent today digging out tanks and tapping some more. A couple small trees were dripping on the sunny side. More snow for tomorrow, then maybe some sap this weekend.

[mountainvan]

3 bushes with vacuum going today and upper bush gravity till some snow melts. I may be boiling this weekend.

[sugarman3]

good luck Van

[mountainvan]

Tough day today. Mainlines frozen solid under 3 ft of snow, deer walking up to the tubing biting it in two and walking away the way they came, and squirrels on an all sap diet. Oh well, that's sugaring. Back to it tomorrow. Some sap today but the rain slowed it down.

[maple flats]

My mains are above the snow, but my 950' transfer line at one bush is buried in many spots. Challenges for sure, but if it was easy and profitable, everyone would do it.

[mountainvan]

Another tough day slogging through the snow finding leaks and digging out mainlines. 1,400 taps on vacuum and 1,000 gravity are giving me a bit of sap today. I should have a couple thousand gals of sap this weekend. Still debating on getting the RO going or just boil. Next week and then some look to be back in the freezer. 33.8 out , almost time to go turn the vac off. Had an outlet in the house melt this afternoon, luckily I stopped in for coffee and caught it. Also did a one legged in a tank of sap this afternoon. Fun job some days sugaring.

[mountainvan]

Collected only 1200 this weekend. I didn't even put it through the ro, just boiled it down. Sugar was low and syrup dark. Now to finish tapping this week. The snow is now nice and solid and getting through the woods is much easier than last week.

[mountainvan]

Back to tapping this weekend, and some last week. Still 800 to finish before this weekends sap tsunami. Trying to be positive. http://ulstermagazine.com/liquid-gold.html here's my farm in a local magazine.

[Buffalo Creek Sugar Camp]

That's a great story. Congratulations.

[mountainvan]

Been busy bottling, tapping, and making improvements to mainline runs. Trying to get everything out of the snow for this weekend. Another 400 taps and ro to put back together, then I'm all set. Still holding off on buckets till July!

[dblact38]

Fantastic story, my kids & I enjoyed reading the story Goodluck

[mountainvan]

Finally finished tapping this week. Sap flow was slow yesterday, but enough to walk tubing and find leaks. Deer, coyotes, porcupines, and squirrels are all getting at the tubing. Hopefully the trees will thaw out and I start getting sap.

[mountainvan]

Lots of sap today and it's pouring in tonight. Everything is working well and I'm making some maple!

[MaplePancakeMan]

Glad to see someone is getting good sap! ours has been marginal the last few days because we barely got to freezing. It WILL however freeze hard tonight so by friday i should have a nice amount of sap for the weekend. Its going to be a slow season but hopefully steady. I've been on hiatus from the trader for awhile but was thinking of you a few weeks ago when we had all that snow and your hillsides for tapping! must have been pretty strenuous! Glad to see all is well!
Steve

[mountainvan]

Sap is coming in and looks to run till the next deep freeze tomorrow night. Not sure what I'll get, but it will be better than nothing!

[mountainvan]

Boiled a couple hours today, filled a barrel with some nice medium. A day to regroup, and do taxes, then back to it Tuesday.

[stimyg]

"Tappers"? Is that the correct term?

Anyway - I'm in Hancock, NY, small hobbyist. Have had a dozen or so taps last couple years. Went up to 30 taps this year. In years past I always had great luck with the sap flowing strong from the first day I tapped. This year it's been a lot slower. I've been particularly surprised about the flows this past Friday/Saturday, which seemed like great weather days - below freezing at night/45 and sunny on-and-off during the day - but the only trees that I got anything from were the ones in direct sun. Anything that had shade was completely dry. And even the sunny ones I only got a smallish amount from.

Any guesses as to what gives? My one thought is that maybe it's left over from our freezing winter - in that, the river in front of my house is still frozen almost bank to bank even despite the warm weather the last couple days, which rarely happens. So maybe the ground is frozen down a bit? Might that explain why the flows were slow? Certainly there's still snow covering everything, left over from snows that happened weeks or months ago.

Separate question, not Catskill specific but since I'm here: Often I notice that my trees are wet below my tap holes, long stains all the way to the ground, from leaking sap. It feels like I'm losing a good bit down the tree. Am I actually losing a lot? If so, am I doing something wrong? Is there anything I can do to get a tighter-sealing tap?

Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts...

Tim

[MaplePancakeMan]

stimyg,

The leaky tap holes are likely due to a wobbling drillbit. Could be from a dull bit. Its common for it to leak for a day or so afterward but if its season long the tap is not sitting right in the tap hole.

As far as the season, I think its just one of those years where we will probably make slightly below average production, the weather though seemingly perfect has been mostly cloudy or windy on the warm days. Direct sunlight really is key to good sap flow and we haven't been having consistently sunny days. The sap flow has been right around 3/4 gallon per tap on a good run this year and quart on slow days.
i have about 90 taps in and the most i collected so far is 105 gallons on a perfect day. compared to last year where i only had 15 more taps i was collecting 200-250 gallons on good days! Perhaps its the extreme cold we experienced this year with many days dipping into the -10's

Not really definite answers but i think we are all in the same boat.

[mountainvan]

Good couple of days for me. Sap broke loose Saturday, 2500 gals, and boiled yesterday finishing 60+ gals of med? everything is working well and now that some bare ground is showing the deer are leaving my tubing alone. A day of cold to recharge and make deliveries, then back up to the sugarcamp for round three.

[stimyg]

Glad to hear the sap started flowing again. I was out of town this weekend, but last week I got near to nothing. Hopefully I'll return to some full (and likely frozen) buckets.

Question about the sun: I know it's preferable to tap trees in sunny locations. But for large producers, aren't the majority of trees not in sunny areas, and don't those trees produce decent amounts of sap too? About half the trees I've tapped this year are definitely in shady spots, and so far they've given me very little compared to the sunny counterparts. I just can't tell yet if that will change before the season is out, or if it will ever change, or if shaded trees are just not worth tapping in the first place. Thoughts...?

[MaplePancakeMan]

about a 1/3 of my trees are in deep woods and they produce fairly well. They just have a tendency to take a bit longer to thaw and on marginal days may run a bit slower due to the shady location. Later in the season these trees usually run better than those in the sun because it doesn't get as warm where they are. On average they will equal each other out and produce around the same amount of sap.

[stimyg]

That's good to know. Makes me feel better about my eventual production this season.

So generally is there a bit of a lag as far as the trees "thawing out." In that, I would have thought temps were good a few days this week for sap flow, but indeed it seemed like the trees themselves were maybe not thawed out yet, even if the air temps looked ok. So a day that's a 42 high / 25 low early in the season might not have a run because the tree itself is still frozen, whereas later in the season that same day might run just fine?

Sorry I know these are basic questions, but apparently I never came across this in the previous few years I've been doing it. (I also did a terrible job tapping this year, splitting a bunch of holes which are now leaking - guess I forgot how hard to set the tap in the intervening year. Lesson learned.)

[ChromczakC]

Back to tapping this weekend, and some last week. Still 800 to finish before this weekends sap tsunami. Trying to be positive. http://ulstermagazine.com/liquid-gold.html here's my farm in a local magazine.

Good Story Van, thanks for sharing.

I wasn't planning on tapping this year, we were expected to close on our house by now, but I got tired of waiting and decided to put my (40) taps in this past weekend. I'm hopeful to get at least a gallon.

[MaplePancakeMan]

Stimyg, Correct, this year has been a very cold year so it seems to me that the trees stayed frozen for awhile add into that the much deeper than normal frost layer int he ground and there you have a slow start. My trees just started normal production this pas week. That said i think i only have 1-1.5 weeks left as the temps at night look like they will stay above freezing. We shall see.

[mountainvan]

Some sap flow today, even with a low of 10. Spent most of the day fixing tubing from various damage. Trying to get everything tight and pulling decent vacuum for this weekend. Hope to double my syrup total by Monday.

[mountainvan]

Making some syrup now! 3,500 gals sap yesterday, pumps ran all night again, should get a couple thousand more today. Weather looks good for sugaring next week.

[mountainvan]

Closing in on 400 gals of syrup so far. 1,200 gals of sap to feed the ro at 5 am, then out to get more.

[mountainvan]

Busy couple days. Lots of sap and a trip to cdl to fix my ro. That was a 12 hrs driving and waiting, then getting back to collect sap till midnight. Big run today, this week looks to make my season ok.

[mountainvan]

Over 700 gals now. I'll keep the pumps running till 70 degrees then give the trees and me a couple days off. Next round starts Wednesday.

[mountainvan]

Day off from sugaring becomes a day on fixing things in the new house. Sigh...

[mountainvan]

Too hot to too cold in one night. Not much flow here yesterday. Didn't get going till 3pm and 30 degrees by 9 pm. Guess I'll find out today if I'm still sugaring or not. 23 here this morning and 36 by 9 am. Wish me luck.

[mountainvan]

Back to boiling! 1700 gals sap in today from 3,000 taps. Saps is still flowing in three bushes, replacing the drop and spout is kicking all alternatives butts. Another couple days for me.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Van,

Whats your total so far from how many taps?

[mountainvan]

Around 800 gals syrup from 4,000 taps. Not a good year, but could have been worse. Gravity did squat and mechanical issues lost me sap. Still going though.

[mountainvan]

Ribs still sore from last weeks jump from the roof. Started cleaning up from this year and already planning for next.

[mountainvan]

Yearly check for cancer this morning came back in my favor. Another year to enjoy!

[Revi]

That's awesome. I am really glad I did the sugaring thing when I did, because from here on out I don't know if I can take being healthy enough for it for granted.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Van,

Great to hear. How much syrup did you end up with for the year?

[mountainvan]

Around 800 gals Brandon.

[mountainvan]

Starting in the woods tomorrow with the 3/16 tubing. I already love it because it weighs so little and will be much easier to hump up the mountain. Trees are turning here and the geese are flying south.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

How many taps you putting on 3/16 and are they new taps or changing over old ones.

[mountainvan]

Only a couple hundred for now, all new taps. Working my way up to 5,000 taps. You want to come up from WV and help?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Would be fun to give you hand and see your operation. I gave been using hot end system to put mine up with and seems to work really good.

[sugarsand]

Would be fun to give you hand and see your operation. I gave been using hot end system to put mine up with and seems to work really good.

I've thinking of getting the Hot End too but someone told me about leaks because of the glycerine, think I will get one for my retirement gift to myself.

Sugarsand

[mountainvan]

First 300 ft mainline up and 3/16 runs in. The smaller tubing is going on the fittings easily for me with just my hands. Picked up another 1,000 of mainline, going to try the blue cdl.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

The blue CDL won't go on their fittings with hands unless you are a lot stronger than I am. I can but about 1 or 2 fittings your hands are hurting.

[mountainvan]

Another 10 rolls 3/16 tubing bought today. My motto next year may be go big or go home!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I put up 10 rolls of CDL 3/16 this week. I put all the end of line hooks and mainline entrance connectors in by hand. Definitely doable, but would wear hands out fast if doing a lot in short while. I modified my 2 hand tubing tool so it works for both 3/16 and 5/16 and putting in drops is easier and faster than 5/16 with it. I have two of the one handed tools and will modify one of those this weekend for 3/16. I am up to 14 rolls this year which should be around 400 taps on 3/16. Be close to 300 new taps on it and they are all on steep slope.

[mountainvan]

Hopefully we have a great crop next year and can take our wives to Barbados! I'm thinking of starting tapping in December this year if the weather is good.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I am thinking of paying back RO, permeate tanks, the cost of hooking it up, cost of building RO room, kitchen, bathroom, running water into sugarhouse, 15 rolls of 3/16", mainline and numerous other things I have done this year.

I tapped last year Jan 9th and won't tap early this year, too difficult trying to make syrup in Jan. Think I made whole 8 gallons. Shooting for first of Feb.

[mountainvan]

image.jpg (97.0 KB)
Close to the top of the new sugarbush. 8,000 ft 3/16, more to get this week, 1,500 ft mainline, and 500 or so taps so far. Working On the other side of the knoll next week. Hoping, nope, working for 2,000 gals syrup next year.

[mountainvan]

Most of my taps are in, just a waiting game for the right weather now.

[Ghs57]

Waiting, and waiting, and waiting......

[mountainvan]

Tapped some more yesterday. Sunny side of the tree was wet. When it comes it will likely be a sap tsunami.

[mountainvan]

Got the evaporator set and saphouse organized, along with fixing burst pipes. Sap was drizzling by late afternoon. Still have 852 taps to drill, ro to put back together, some tanks to clean, and then I'm ready. Hope to go till the end of April and have a " I'm going to Barbados" year.

[Deano686]

We tapped last weekend, in hopes of enough of a run today to at least flush the lines...........looks like the mains won't be going into the tanks till after the next run. 450 taps yielded less than a half gallon in a test bucket. Fingers crossed for early next week!!!

[nacc]

155 tapes are in and after checking yesterday afternoon only about a quart----shure looks like it is going to be a fast and quick season

[mountainvan]

Best start in 20 years, sap volume wise. Seems I remember how to make syrup.

[Ghs57]

My 3/16 line is running like a SOB. 5/16 not as strong.

Anyone in the area have a spare roll of 3/16? My order will not be here until Tues at the earliest. Would like to get my other taps in before then. Will buy, or trade when my order comes in. I've run out of 5/16 tees also, and taps are low. Bascom is super busy, and it's taking about 3 days to fill an order. Usually it's here in 1 or 2 days after ordering. Unfortunately, parts for my evap are in that order also. Can't boil until then.

[mountainvan]

Go see Tom Kaufman at catskill mountain maple in Delancy ny he has everything you need for sale.

[Ghs57]

Thanks mountainvan. Good info to have. I don't know if I can make that trip this week before my other goods arrive though.

[mountainvan]

Another good day here. A couple thousand gallons of sap at 2.4% sugar fills the barrels. Still have 800 taps to put in once the snow settles and I become 24 again.

[mountainvan]

What a great day! 38 gals sap/ gal syrup and sap is still pouring in.

[Ghs57]

Whats with this wind? It didn't blow this hard during the last few hurricanes. There are branches down everywhere, but the lines were ok at sundown. I'm ready to boil tomorrow. Sap at around 2%. Still have about 50 taps to put in. Yeah, I know its getting late. Just not enough time in the day.

[mountainvan]

great day till the power went out and the ro was useless. Still have 2,000 gals of the 6,000 that flowed yesterday to process tomorrow. I will be enjoying the well insulated saphouse tomorrow. The shurflo 12 volt pump I put on 100 taps has worked well also.

[Ghs57]

I just bought a small shurflo 12 volt pump, and I have to say it works great. Drains a 55 gal drum in about 10 minutes. Pretty good for my operation, and under $75 with the strainer.

Mountainvan, how many gals do you produce in a season? I'd be delighted with 20.

[mountainvan]

1,000-2,000 gals syrup.

[mountainvan]

Finally all tapped! Snow compacted enough to get around the mountain without the eminent danger of bodily harm. Collected a couple thousand gallons this evening at 2.6% sugar. I haven't seen that in many years. Back tank is full of concentrate to boil tomorrow. Shurflo pump on 100 taps is kicking butt as is the 3/16 tubing. Next week looks to be epic flows and syrup totals. I love maple sugaring.

[mountainvan]

1,000 gals 2.7% sap already collected for an early start. Pumps will run all night and tanks might be full by 5 am. I'm a happy farmer.

[mountainvan]

Ok day here. 45 gals made,1,000 gals sap ready for tomorrow, vacuum pump fixed, and gas engine that went boom replaced. most of the work I did today is not in any maple syrup manual.

[mountainvan]

Sap flowed all night and made another 65 gals. Tomorrow rearm and refit for next week.

[mountainvan]

1/2 normal crop in. 1/3 going to Barbadoes crop in. Next couple days look great.

[stimyg]

I'm in Hancock NY, weekend home. Trying to decide on whether to pull my 25 taps this weekend, or leave them til I come back up next weekend. Any suggestions?

[mountainvan]

Still going strong up in the mountains. Strong freeze last night and good flow today and another late night/ early morning depending on your outlook. It's supposed to get below freezing tonight, but I'm keeping my vacuum going in case it doesn't.finished 185 gals last run, 6 hrs sleep in 3 days, but I kept up. I'm impressed with the Mes membrane, it takes the sap and asks for more.

[mountainvan]

Surpassed last years total and saps still flowing and 2.4% sugar. New sugarbush finally broke out yesterday. Great to see 28" vacuum on the 3/16 tubing.

[antelope76]

I'm in Hancock NY, weekend home. Trying to decide on whether to pull my 25 taps this weekend, or leave them til I come back up next weekend. Any suggestions?

Hey stimyg, Where in Hancock are you located? I live and boil in Deposit but know some folks in Hancock who boil.

[mountainvan]

Went out this morning to full tanks in my colder bushes, warm ones are still producing nicely. Boiling for a couple hours and then getting more sap.

[mountainvan]

Thursday nights freezing rain and thunder sleet kicked the trees back into high gear today. 3,000+ gals sap today with a midnight collection to keep some tanks from overflowing. This season is full of surprises.

[Ghs57]

It certainly has had a few surprises. Although I shut down earlier this week, while I was pulling taps on my lines today I couldn't help but notice how strong some of them were running. One drum was overflowing with what looked and tasted like perfectly good sap. The forecast at the start of the week predicted much higher temps. We did not hit 50 here the past three days or so. In reality, I could have kept running a few more days.

[mountainvan]

27 here last night and 60 this afternoon. Already did one collection of 2,000 gals to try and keep up with the sap. I'll be boiling till 9 pm then go and get more sap so the tanks don't overflow tonight.

[mountainvan]

Today may be my last boil with fresh sap, unless it freezes in the next two night. Only the new 3/16 tubing bush is flowing.

[mountainvan]

Still making maple syrup today. Pulled in 1,000 gals this morning and still have 2,300 taps producing. No more freezes in the forecast so tomorrow looks to be it for me.

[Mountain Winds Farm]

26 here this morning , should be close to 4,000 gallons by morning to cook tomorrow but that looks like it will be all for this year

[mountainvan]

Calling it a year. Last sap collected today was so close to fermented and no more cold days it will spoil too quickly. taking a day or two off then start the cleanup in the woods.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Van,

How much syrup did you make this year and how many taps do you have now and on 3/16 too??

[mountainvan]

1,129 on 4,000 taps and around 600 3/16. 3/16 bush was still flowing well but the sap was fermenting too quickly at 65 degrees. Still have to finish the sweet in the evaporator. Not my best year, but not my worst either.

[WMF]

Herb,
Are you still using those Alamo vane pumps ?

[jimsudz]

Mountainvan , how many 3/16 taps did u have? Pro's and con's Thanks Jim

[mountainvan]

I am still running the alamos. Do you have anymore? I have a 1920 perfection pump that's on its last leg.

3/16 tubing is great. I have a stand alone 450 tap bush, that was hard to judge because it didn't thaw out till April. I also have 150 incorporated into two bushes on vacuum. 5/16 taps had 15-20" vacuum, 3/16 25-spike the needle.
Now the bad. Finding leaks with or without vacuum is more time consuming, at least with my bushes. I had one 3/16 run that the deer destroyed and the amount of air being pulled though was not enough to cause a measurable drop in vacuum. I learned that if there is no sap in the line there's a leak, easy lesson. If I were starting a new bush on steep slope I would 100% go with 3/16" tubing. Actually I did that last year.

I did tap 5 large maples 14' up with 3/16 and had the line go over a driveway then straight to a mainline with another 100 taps on a 12v Shurflo pump. Doubled my sap from the previous years. I also did the sapling thing which did produce sap, not sure how much but it worked.
Possible freeze tonight so I may keep trying.

[mountainvan]

Found out today that flushing 3/16 is a must. The t's get clogged very easily with gunk. Sap was still flowing some today.

[WMF]

I don't have any more Alamo's you got the last ones I had. I see them at auctions and on Craiglist for next to nothing .
How high vacuum do run them at? Seems I never dared run them much above 22" without being real hot.
Less than 25" this year and the sap quantity really took a hit for me. This prompted me to spend many hours out in the woods in the dark with a headlamp chasing leaks this year.

[mountainvan]

I run them from 20-24" without the pumps getting hot, but have a stream of oil going into the pumps. No counting drips for me. If you happen to find a nice unit at a cheap price, add a bit to it and I'll get it from you. I still pass through Warsaw a couple times a year. You must not have any sasquatch where you are walking tubing at night . Idon't dare go up in the mountains after dark.

[jimsudz]

hello mountainvan, what size alamo are you looking for. I have two narrow body alamo's that I want to hang onto,but I bought a 600g bulk tank that comes with a alamo pump. Not sure on the size but it is a wide body pump. The pump is supposed to have a newer motor on it. This pump was still in use when they quit milking. I don't plan on using it. I live about 10-15 miles west of WMF. Some time in the near future I will be removing it from the farm. let me Know it will be reasonably priced.
Thanks jimsudz

[mountainvan]

I'm not too picky about the size. Maybe a 60 or 75. I don't need a motor, I run all my vacuum on gas engines, but a reclaimer is nice. I have outlaws in east aurora and visit a couple times a year. Thanks for the offer Jim.

[mountainvan]

After three months I finally broke down and went to the doctor. Still waiting to see if I had stress fracture in my arm the entire season. Rock climbing at Joshua tree last weekend was the straw!

[mountainvan]

2016 maple season has begun for me. Tapped 500 this afternoon. My Christmas test tap yielded a couple gallons of sap at 2.7% sugar, so my trees are ready. I hope to have a couple thousand in by Friday for the first sap run of the year. I put new antimicrobial spiles on most drops this year, so I should get as much sap in April as January. Good luck to everyone else this year.

[mountainvan]

Up to about 1,000 taps in and sap was getting going for just a bit. Everything else is set, just need some sap.

[mountainvan]

Another 400 or so in today. Had an order to fill so I bottled the last of 2015 dark. Sap was flowing enough for me to turn on the vac and go leak detecting. This weekend looks good for a couple thousand gallons of sap, or more. Hope to have some syrup made to start filling drums.

[PATheron]

Were trying to get the same run Van. Half froze here. Fixing some leaks and waiting for it to warm up. How you making out? Theron

[mountainvan]

I'm ready for some sap. I have three bushes tapped and tight with vacuum pumps all set. Sap was flowing for a couple hours this afternoon, but only on the sunnyside. Good luck Theron.

[mountainvan]

After a 5 am tank switch, all is well with my first day of sugaring this year. Sap is 2.3% and coming into the tanks at a good pace.

[jmayerl]

Where the heck are you located that sap is running good already?

[mountainvan]

Catskill mountains in New York . Brought in 1,000 gals this afternoon, and almost ready to go get some more.

[mountainvan]

After a tough night and frozen morning I'm finally boiling and making maple syrup.

[mountainvan]

Put in more taps today and plan to tap tomorrow and saturday then hopefully have sap to boil Sunday.

[PATheron]

Do you think its going to run much with this wamup? Theron

[mountainvan]

I have come to the conclusion that sapflow is looking like a woman, you never really know what it's going to do. So you prepare for anything. I do think it will flow this afternoon through to Saturday night.

[mountainvan]

Sap flowing a little bit here. Not sure if I'll have enough to ro or just boil for a couple hours. In the past two days I've fixed my truck, repaired a leaking tank, rebuilt a vacuum pump, tapped a bunch more trees, fixed tubing, and had a couple beers. Good to be a maple farmer.

[mountainvan]

2nd boil of the year. Everything's falling into place.

[mountainvan]

Back to tapping. Only 1,500 more to go then I'll be all done. Looking forward to the next warmup Monday.

[mountainvan]

1,300 taps in the last two days, another 300 to go then I'm done tapping. Looks like the sap will get going tomorrow.

[mountainvan]

I should have a bit of sap tomorrow. 5 out of 6 sugarbushes are flowing well with all the kinks worked out. Time to start filling some barrels.

[mountainvan]

Turned 2,500 gals of sap Into syrup yesterday and had a small run today. So close to done tapping, only 100 or so, but I need to clear some mountain troll damage first. I hate when they get territorial and knock trees done on the tubing. I'm expecting a busy week with lots of syrup made next week.

[highlandcattle]

OK mountain van. Let's here it. How many gallons of syrup did you end up with?!. Were frozen up here in Montgomery county. No snow really. Just ice. Ron goes out and starts up the pump every few hours. Hoping to get some this week as temps will be higher.

[mountainvan]

Filled a barrel this afternoon. Ro is working on 1,000 gals of sap I just brought in while I have a quick dinner. Then back out to get more sap and another boil. Dinners done, time to get back work. 56 degrees here this afternoon, 36 at 7 pm.

[mountainvan]

5,000+ gals sap last run with 100 gals syrup made. Only problem was a blown fuse on the auto drawoff. 22 right now to reset the trees.

[mountainvan]

Finished another barrel this afternoon then went collecting. 2,000 gals sap going through the ro now to boil tomorrow am. Woods tanks are empty and ready for more sap tomorrow.

[mountainvan]

First day without sapflow in a week. Giving me a chance to get bottles, drain and clean the evaporator, and see my wife. Finished another two barrels yesterday. If sap flows this weekend I'll have 1/3 of my crop produced.

[mountainvan]

Back to boiling! Collected 1,000+ gals sap this morning. Turned pumps on at 12 and the lines were shaking with sap. This weekend looks cold, but back to sugaring next Wednesday.

[mountainvan]

Made another 20 gals yesterday. Now to try and stay warm till next next Tuesday.

[mountainvan]

-15 Saturday night and 50 Tuesday afternoon. I have all the pumps on and walked miles finding pulled apart tubing from limbs falling. Sap is pouring in the releasers and rain is pouring from the sky. Doctors appointment tomorrow to see if my cancer is back. Bad timing if it is. Guess I'll just have to toughen up a bit more.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Van keep us posted and will pray that you get clean bill of health. Know it has been a battle for you last few years.

[mountainvan]

Thanks Brandon. I have full tanks of sap and a new diaphragm pump on my filterpress to look forward to this afternoon.

[plattmaple]

Van. As Brandon said, I will be praying for ya, fellow sugarmaker! Hope ya fill some more drums!