Tapping questions

[Troutman10]

What does it mean if a tap "goes dry"? Is the tree starting to heal up? Do I tap again on the same tree and in a different spot?

[happy thoughts]

I've only been tapping on a small scale for 5-6 years but in my experience a tap hole should be good for the season. You should get at least 4-6 weeks use from it. After a few weeks and especially when the weather warms, bacterial growth in the tap hole can slow or stop flow but if you're lucky the season will be over or you'll be sick of boiling so it won't matter:).

Are you having problems with a newly placed tap? If you think sap should be running are you sure you drilled to the right depth and did you clean out the bore hole before placing the tap? Are you far enough away from last years tap holes? Also, don't expect sap flow everyday. You'll only see sap flow when the temps are right, above freezing days, below freezing nights.

I don't think retapping the same tree in a new place in the same season is a good idea. Tapping does cause some damage to the tree and limits where you can place taps in the future so you want to tread lightly. You can probably try redrilling/cleaning out the tap hole but you may end up with a leaky tap if you're not careful.

[maple flats]

It means the hole has healed over. That rarely if ever happens early in the season, it generally is 3-4 weeks in. Things that affect it are tap hole sanitation, weather and time. Likely the most important is sanitation. Use a clean bit (I boil mine), drill the hole, don't blow in it to remove shavings, if needed remove them with a clean stick.
Some people do retap, in the same hole, either a little deeper or slightly larger but most agree it is not good practice. Don't tap a new hole unless the tree is large enough to have had another tap in the first place, basically one tap for each 10" diameter, if it is not 20" (18" bare minimum) don't drill another hole, find another tree.

[Troutman10]

Thanks for the help guys. I've tapped my trees and wasn't sure how long each hole lasts. Not having any problems or anything. I just didn't know if I should look to re-tap eventually as I've seen people talking about re-tapping since the season seems early. My production has been very good for the past few days.