Northeast Ohio?

[heus]

When do the NE Ohio sugarers plan on tapping? Of course it depends on the weather but I hope to be tapped by the first week of Feb.

[christopherh]

I'm looking at Feb myself, we'll see what happens after this cold blast get through here.

[heus]

Chris Im hoping the cold lasts at least 3 more weeks. I am just not ready yet. Going to vac for the first time so Im in the process of setting that up. Have a new evaporator this year too. I returned hour PM by the way.

[Kevin M.]

i agree with you heus, im not even ready yet i need two more weeks but three would be better

[Kngowods]

My hood should be here next week. So we could be pretty much ready once it's plumbed in. We are getting very excited for the season to start and will be watching when all of you tap.

Adam

[johnallin]

Hi guys, I don't expect to tap here until the end of the month at best... maybe the 26th if it warms up some. Looks like decent temps this Sat and Sun, but it's supposed to be windy which could shut it down. This weekend could be good for some work outside but, all next week looks like it never gets above 27, so the 26th at best and maybe even a bit later.

Anyway, I've been working on a new dump tank with an automatic bilge pump to transfer sap up into the big collection tanks and save my arms - so holding off doesn't bother me too much.

[jhd504]

It looks like the 28th or so, the current blast of cold weather will have moved through and the temps look decent. I'm still a rookie and depend on the recommendations and actions of the experienced guys to help guide me on when to tap the first tree of the season.

[Timberwolf]

I think I will go ahead and tap tomorrow. I know it is going to freeze back up over the next few days, but it will be warmer by the end of next week and I have more daylight hours on the weekend to work with. Besides you never know if we might get an early warm up again this year and end the season early. Gotta make hay while the sun is shining, oh wrong season, but same concept.

[OneLegJohn]

Did you tap, big guy?

[Timberwolf]

I did, got a whole 75 gallon before it froze up again and now it seems like Monday before any real chance of more.

[heus]

Timberwolf did you boil in your 2x6 yet? I am anxious to boil sap in my new A&A 30x10

[heus]

[QUOTE=OneLegJohn;200930]Did you tap, big guy?[/QUOTE

OLG the 2 handed tool works fantastic!

[heus]

So who in NE ohio is using the new clear check valves? I will be using about 80% clear cvs and the rest will be the old style CVs with stubbies.

[Timberwolf]

heus I did, but was not getting the rates I had hoped for. Though I am not blaming it on the rig yet, I think I may be pushing too much heat up the stack with my AUF blower and my wood is not the best. Don't have a stack thermometer yet, but plan to get one before my next boil so I can see what is going on better.

[Pete Cerup]

When do the NE Ohio sugarers plan on tapping? Of course it depends on the weather but I hope to be tapped by the first week of Feb.

I'm looking at either this weekend if I can get my new sugar house in order or first week in Feb. never seem to get out in front of the season.


Pete
started with 4 taps on blocks in my back yard in 2009
70 taps on tubes on 3.5 acres in Concord, Ohio
potential for 150
1/2 pint - looking for a 2x6 for next season
new 12x16 sugar house built in Dec 2012
1 bee hive

[SevenCreeksSap]

This weekend is looking good for a few days. we're going to go ahead and tap the half we have laterals on and use the decent weather to run the rest of the laterals on 700 ft of new mainline, trees we couldnt get to last year. Virgin Maples, never seen a drill. woo hoo.
They're calling for it to get colder after next thurs again but it can't last. I think we'll be all in by the next warm spell.

[heus]

I am still hoping the cold weather continues for two more weeks. I am still not ready. Slowly getting my vac set up. Tubing is all done except for a couple dozen saddles and one sap lift. Still have to run electric to my pumphouse.

[Ohio Maple Blaster]

So who in NE ohio is using the new clear check valves? I will be using about 80% clear cvs and the rest will be the old style CVs with stubbies.

I went up to Richards to pick some up to see what they were all about, and they had told me that the only ones they had were all spoken for. I only run 30-40 taps, so I'm not sure how much gain I could expect to see.
I just checked my trees and frighteningly, they almost look they are starting some bud development. Is that possible already? I know last year it happened way ahead of schedule, but it hasn't been that warm yet. Maybe tapping this weekend, in expectation of another warm spell later in the 10-day?

[heus]

No way you are budding yet. If you have reds or silvers they always look like they are "budding" this time of the year. Karl Evans in Orwell had clear check valves two weeks ago thats where I got mine.

[Ohio Maple Blaster]

Heus, That was reassuring, but when I went outside this morning, I found this: 6482

Is this still what you were talking about? Or is this somewhat ahead of schedule?

[OneLegJohn]

They always look like that. Also, I have 80% red maple and they still produce good syrup after the buds come out.

Heus, not tapping yet. If I had my pans, we would be boiling today.

[heus]

OLJ I thought you had the pans aready. I see your ro is 900 gph did you add on to your 600 or get a whole new ro?

[OneLegJohn]

I bought a second 600GPH unit. The exact same unit. I like the first one so much, I bought another one just like it. Only, I only have 50amps, so I will run two posts on a single pressure pump. When you do that, you don't get 1200GPH (I wish it did) - you get 900GPH. Down the road, I'll have the power supply to run two 600GPH units for 1200GPH, total.

[Kngowods]

Is everyone still planing on taping this weekend?? I just dusted off the quad and the dewalts batteries are charging we are planing on taping this weekend

[johnallin]

Starting to look good for next week - it's also getting close to normal tap time..President's Day is what I was told. If it's in the mid 30's Sat and Sun; I'm going to start drilling some holes and hanging some bags.

[Ohio Maple Blaster]

May tap Thursday morning, they are calling for 38/31. Saturday looks nice enough to have some friends over for beers and a boil if we can get a decent run on Friday.

[maplekid]

ima tap probley saturday, im not even close to ready. my dealer is pulling some strings for me and will hopefully have me a base stack and 20ft of 16in pipe by this weekend. gotta go buy more taps and clean pans. oh and i gotta insulate the evap still. did i mention there isnt even a roof on the building yet? roof or not there will be syrup made lol. i gotta stop this procrastinating thing!

[miller maple]

gonna start tapping tomorrow hopefully, been workin like crazy to get everthing set up, all the upgrades im doin this year is taking a lot more work then i thought, but its gonna be well worth is allmost done tho have 400 taps on vacc this year so im trying to prefect that we willl see, the weather is lookin really good for this weekend, im ready to smell that sweet aroma in the sugar house.

[christopherh]

Look like this will be a good weekend to start tapping! I'll probably start Friday!

[SevenCreeksSap]

we have 100 in and got a good run a few weekends ago, and have 1500 ft of 5/16 to hang this weekend. hoping to have it all up and tapped. I've got about 80-100 taps left so may no make it to 300 this year, but It'll be enough for this time. will be ready to boil this weekend if it runs, got about 80 gallons frozen waiting on the real start, and out of freezer space.

[dave44090]

I'll start tapping on Sunday 2/10. Just learned you can tap black walnut trees too, will give that a try. Will keep the sap separate, and I may even wait until I'm done tapping the maples.

[mapleguy]

I thought I was going to tap this weekend but have my doubts after looking at the forcast , which depending on who you believe, is not looking that great, maybe a one day run then back to freezing temps. the end of nxt. week and the following week look fantastic. we'll see.

[christopherh]

Well the forecast doesn't look to good now. We'll see what happens.

[WoodButcher]

i was planning on tapping this weekend too Chris, but am looking for any excuse in the book to not tap till later next week as im not totally done running my tubing :o .

[miller maple]

got 300 taps in today the high was only 33 and the sap was running the sun was out so it was nice and warm have about 150 taps to finish up tomorrow, according to the weather it should be a really good weekend, tomorrow the high is 40 so im hoping for a good run. it was so much fun to see the sap run through the lines that i worked so hard to put up gives you a satiesfing feeling and a sence of accomplishment.

[Pete Cerup]

I'm in. 70 taps on gravity fed lines; thanks Grossman Bros and Jason Grossman. Ready for the first good run.



Pete


70 taps; gravity lines - can have max of about 150-160
1/2 Pint Leader
looking for 2x6 for 2014 season
12x16 sugar house
1 bee hive

[maplemat1]

well started tapping thurs 2/7 will finish up tomorrow next week looks awesome weather wise

[heus]

I planned to tap in the morning but not so sure now. Have to finish a sap ladder, clean tanks, level pumphouse, and some other odds and ends. I must say that it was much easier on the stress level when I simply had buckets and gravity tubing.

[Kngowods]

We are in the process of taping I only have about 1 hour after work per day. I can get about 50 in per night only 20 today "had to collect". I have about 120 in now buckets and bags will have 450-500 in after the weekend.

Can't WAIT to boil on the new evaporator!!

Adam

[OneLegJohn]

I planned to tap in the morning but not so sure now. Have to finish a sap ladder, clean tanks, level pumphouse, and some other odds and ends. I must say that it was much easier on the stress level when I simply had buckets and gravity tubing.

Stress? C'mon now. It will be so fun just watching the releaser fill up. I bet Papa Heus is going to love it this year. I predict he will say, "why didn't we do this sooner?"

[heus]

OLJ dont you sleep?:) Have you tapped yet?

[heus]

Got my sap ladder done. Tapped 100 clear check spouts. Have 6 basketball games today so hoping to tap the other 230-250 vacuum taps in the morning. Lots of hissing from squirrel chews and leaky saddles. Still getting about 15" at the releaser despite these leaks and several drop lines completely open and hanging.

[Kevin M.]

just put in 150 taps today

[heus]

183 tapped on vac today. Hope to get the other 148 in the morning. Then still need to wash my tanks. Still not sure if im putting out buckets this year.

[maplemat1]

got all taps in yesterday will probly start pump in a few hrs then look for those little leaks . may everyones season go stress free and please keep pierre delfranconie in your prayes he is having back surgery on monday and has 2000 taps out .

[Kngowods]

We have 223 in so far should get the rest in today

[christopherh]

I'm in!, 350 tapped today and I'll finish tomorrow with another 100!

[johnallin]

Itchin to go and have one out to see what's going on... but not a drop today. It looks too too windy monday and tuesday for me, wednesday and thursday look awesome but look at fri-sat and sunday...back in the freezer again with highs at 26-28 and lows of 20-23. Today would have been an ideal day to be in the woods, and I may kick myself for not going for it, but there's alot of good weather ahead.

[heus]

I am about fully tapped with about 325 on vac. However, I am having problems with my water pump connected to my electric releaser so they are running on gravity tight now. Hope to get the vac going again tomorrow.

[mapleguy]

now that it seems everyone is tapped what kind of "runs" are you guys getting ? how is the syrup? whats your sugar count? just curious. I will be tapping by weeks end. looks like a decent forcast nxt. week.

[Ekrueger]

I had a good sap run on Thursday night and Friday morning before the freeze set in. It was right at 3% sugar. Sunday did not run a much as Thursday.

I initailly had strange results with my beer hydrometer initially. It is calibrated at 70F. I tested sap from my tank at 32F. It read 0.5% sugar. I thought at lower temperatures it was supposed to subtract from your reading not add to the reading. After it warmed up in the house to room temperature it read 3%. It didn't seem like much water evaporated out of my cup because it still nearly filled my hydrometer sampling holder.

This was an exciting weekend for me as I made my first syrup ever. The first two batches were pretty light in color and tasted great!

[christopherh]

Gathered 185 gallons tonight, some trees ran well and some didnt. Trees on the edge of a field ran extremely well, the ones deep in the woods did not.

[RC Maple]

For those of you that tapped @ the end of January how are your trees running? Sugar content? I got one good run in the last couple days of January but things do seem slower now. I know it's only mid 40's and not 50's or 60's like the last good run. I am glad I tapped when I did, I had some bugs to get worked out before we got really going. So if you were in @ the end of January, how do things look now?

[CrossBroMaple]

i tapped in my tubing on sat. repaired those darn pesky squirrel chews sun. ran pretty good for me and got to boil in about 600 gallons last night. made some really nice medium amber

[tom jr.]

got tapped sunday gathered 500 gal of 2.5% sap no buckets tapped yet. good early run to get things going. Christopherh, did you find a gathering tank?

[christopherh]

Tom, Still looking. I might have one built this spring. For now I'm still using a 65 and 35 gallon tank in the Gator. It's tough pouring the sap in the 6 inch opening. I did have a that Amish guy you mentioned build big funnels for them. Theyre not done yet. I think I'll hook up the 6 barrel tank to the Kubota this year to.

[WoodButcher]

For now I'm still using a 65 and 35 gallon tank in the Gator. It's tough pouring the sap in the 6 inch opening.

Chris
have you thought about tubing? some bushes are not the best layout for it but. ..

[christopherh]

Yes, Tubing will be in the works for next year.

[Kngowods]

Collected 100 gal off of 323 taps put in about 30 more. My trees are all reds and silvers and not very good producers. I really need to find a bush I can put vac to!!!

[jluckay]

forth boil last night, got ruffly 60 gal. sap off 90 taps. still getting tons of sand & med-dark color! trees i taped on 1/12 are still going well. we made 20 gal last year off of 80 taps & the 30 i put out in jan. produced close to 2-1/2 gal,syrup! glad i rolled the dice.

[johnallin]

Tom, Still looking. I might have one built this spring. For now I'm still using a 65 and 35 gallon tank in the Gator. It's tough pouring the sap in the 6 inch opening. I did have a that Amish guy you mentioned build big funnels for them. Theyre not done yet. I think I'll hook up the 6 barrel tank to the Kubota this year to.

ChristopherH. I also collect with 35 gal tanks in the back of my gator. This year I built this set up to avoid having to lift up and try to pour into the 6" holes. Not an original idea, but the bilge pump empties the dump tank almost as fast as I can pour. The pump has a built-in float switch so it shuts off on its own. It's powered by the 12V outlet on the dash of the gator. The pipe coming out of the dump tank swings from one tank to the other when one gets full.
I figured last year I had almost as much running on the outside of the 35 gal tanks as inside- this should fix that.
673667376738

Good luck this year.

[christopherh]

Johnallin, Wow! what a great idea! Where did you get the pump?

[johnallin]

ChristopherH. I got it from a Cleveland boat supply store - West Marine. But found this link on line;
http://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Bilge-Pump-1500-GPH/dp/B003BQ934E

It's a 1500 gph pump ( that's 25 gal/min!) with an automatic float switch. Once powered up; it begins pumping as soon as sap depth gets to about 1/2" and continues until the tank is empty. This way I just dump and go for the next pail. I also took another bucket and cut the bottom out to fit snugly in the top hole - this acts like a big splash gaurd and holds a 12" ss mesh screen and filters to pre-filter the sap.

The pipe is 1" cpvc on one of those new (to me anyway) push type fittings. The added benifit of these is that they swivel; which allows me to swing the discharge pipe from one tank to another. The pump is screwed into the bottom of the tank and comes apart for cleaning by depressing two little tabs on the sides. Entire assembly then can be lifted out and cleaned each day or as needed.

Like I said; I can't take credit for the idea, it's been mentioned here before, I just put it together with what I was able to come up with. As I go to bigger - and taller- tanks, this will become even more useful. As it is now, I'm only lifting to about waist height - but can empty a pail as fast as I can turn it on its side.
I can send more pictures if you're interested.

[heus]

Well today's "run" was a letdown. Was supposed to be in the low 40s but never made it much above freezing in our bush. Pulled in maybe 80-90 gallons off 325 taps on vac. Looks like the next run wont be until Monday, but of course the forecast changes by the minute.

[heus]

A big thank you goes out to One Leg John who spent much of the day yesterday at my place troubleshooting my electric releaser system. Its definitely a work in progress. Fortunately I have been able to run the releaser and water pump at 15" of vac but no higher. Even at 15" Im amazed what vacuum can do when gravity tubing would just be weeping sap.

[heus]

Well what do you know. I went back down and turned vac back on at 830 and weve got sap running. Not great but ill take it. It actually warmed up after 7 pm. Still running as of 12:30 am.

[christopherh]

Heus, how much have you pulled in since yesterday? I'm on buckets and I was lucky if the spiles were damp!

[heus]

I got about 200 gallons on 325 taps. Not great but better than nothing. Most of that came last night between 830pm and probably 1 or 2am.

[heus]

I think I will put out my 50 or so buckets this weekend. If they dry up early oh well I have hundreds of other maples to tap if needed.

[heus]

Hangin 100 buckets and bags today to get my tap count to 425.

[christopherh]

Collected 85 gallons yesterday. I'll try to get the rest of my taps in tomorrow. Hopefully Monday and Tuesday will be good to us! I did can some syrup off the first batch. I'm using new pans that I did a test boil on and cleaned. Unfortunately the syrup has a metobolic taste, anyone have any experience with that?

[WoodButcher]

141 taps in , about 25 more to go.

usually a metallic taste is from old english tin pans (which you definitely dont have), RO systems, or pan cleaner residue left . when was the last time you cleaned your pans? use a solution of just hot water?

[christopherh]

When I did the test boil and cleaning, I only used water. I did this just prior to the first run. I dont use an RO either. This is a new set of pans, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it.

[WoodButcher]

just give it some time until your next boil mid week... im sure itll be fine.
or bring it to my house and ill put it on my oatmeal.

[Maple216]

26 Taps on Sunday, Feb 10th. About 30 gallons collected so far. Experimenting with a turkey fryer this year. Can't really have much of a fire... I'm cooking in the inner city. Neighbors think it's meth.

Much to learn. Hoping for about 6 gallons of finished product this year...

[WoodButcher]

Can't really have much of a fire... I'm cooking in the inner city. Neighbors think it's meth.


lol, i love it . first post and you mention methamphetamines ..... :lol:

good luck this year and we all have been there before ... until the maple bug sets in . then your broke on the streets selling meth just to support your sugar habit ...

[Ohio Maple Blaster]

26 Taps on Sunday, Feb 10th. About 30 gallons collected so far. Experimenting with a turkey fryer this year. Can't really have much of a fire... I'm cooking in the inner city. Neighbors think it's meth.

Much to learn. Hoping for about 6 gallons of finished product this year...

Nice moves.

[Maple216]

Here's the current urban driveway set-up. Slowly adding sap to the boil in the turkey pot... evaporating in the pan. Finishing on the kitchen stove, with adequate ventilation. Any tips from the Ohio pros?

6872

[christopherh]

Looks like you guys are on the right track! Beware, this can become a lifetime addiction! This is a great site, with a ton of info buried inside. Also pick up a copy of the Maple Syrup Producers Manual.Well worth having.

[heus]

6 degrees out right now supposed to get to 37 but not until later this afternoon. Not sure how much of a run we will get but the dun will help. Not supposed to go below freezing tonight then cold again tomorrow afternoon.

[Jeffery G.]

Tapped last week, 245 taps in on 12th and 14th. Collected 75 gallons on 14th but a lot of ice in the buckets. Hoping for a nice little run today/ tonight.
Good luck brother sappers.

[chuck240z]

I tapped Feb 11th, 170 on vacuum (mostly soft) and 130 on buckets (100 hard). Put about 500 gallons of sap in my 2x6 so far, bottled 5 gallons on sunday. Its been slow, wheres all the sap!

[heus]

Collected 250 gallons of sap from 450 taps yesterday. 190 from vacuum and 60 from 100 buckets/bags. Wish I would have left my vac on Monday night. Sugar content only 1.5.

[Timberwolf]

Collected 120 last night from 150 bags, best run in sometime, tapped Jan. 19. Weather sounds good starting Friday through next week.

[johnallin]

Put 96 taps in on Saturday - will do the rest next weekend - and collected 85 gallons Tues morning. It ran like crazy after the front came through Mon night and they were just starting to slow down at noon when the temp started dropping again. Glad I got that in when I did, cause it sure looks cold until the weekend. Sugar content suprised me at 2.5%, we're normally less than that over here.

The new dump tank and pump system worked really slick and saved having to pour into the small 6" hole on the tanks.

[Ekrueger]

Yesterday, I was able to collect about 75 gallons of sap from 115 taps. We had to break the skin of ice in every bucket. Luckily got most of it before it all froze. It yielded right at 2 gallons of syrup.

[Kngowods]

We got about 80 gal off of 350 taps have I mentioned my trees SUCK. The good news is the new evaporator is kicking butttttt got the preheater finished and installed still have some adjustments to make to it but we had 100 - 125 gal. Lit a fire at 7:00 and was in the shower at 10:15-10:30 we were pretty impressed and finally got the pans sweet and drawed off about a gal waaahooo finally seemed like it took forever!!

[heus]

Tapped last week, 245 taps in on 12th and 14th. Collected 75 gallons on 14th but a lot of ice in the buckets. Hoping for a nice little run today/ tonight.
Good luck brother sappers.

Jeff you had some impressive steam flying when I drove by after school the other day.

[heus]

5 day forecast not as favorable as it looked two days ago. Temps barely above freezing except for Monday. Why even bother looking at the long range forecast it changes every half hour? 34 degrees here all night but trees are still too cold.

[mapleguy]

heus you are right about the long range best therapy is to quit looking, but the overall trend seems to be cold could this be a very short season? I keep thinking once it warms up it may stay warm

[christopherh]

I was putting in drops yesterday late afternoon. Nothing was running. We could use some sunshine with this 30 ish degree temps! I agree the forecast changes every 24 hours!

[Maple216]

Nothing but frozen buckets here in Cleveland. Would love a few more good runs. Thoughts on this being a shorter season?

[jhd504]

Today will be another disappointing day since the weather changed again.

[WoodButcher]

same here . nothing running.

Either Mother nature or the weather forecasters- whichever you want to blame- has duped us this year. 95% of us are all tapped in since last weekend.

we will be ok though.... here's that old study we've all read before .... http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/tapping.pdf

im guessing a short season too ...

[heus]

Staying positive. Just because its still cold on the last week of Feb doesnt mean we are in for a short season. Yeah Im going with that story.

[WoodButcher]

i agree , i am just going with my gut, thats all .
think about it... aside from last year , most of my taps were put in within 7 days of march 1st ... so we are on somewhat of a normal schedule for the year.... just a lot of bluffing going on . :rolleyes: . thats ok , gives me more time to work on things. . . like getting a deicer to thaw the 150 gallon iceberg in my poly tank !

[christopherh]

2010, 2011 I tapped Late in February and didnt pull taps until April. Last year really through us off. You never know what might happen. But at least were all ready! I finished my 100 extra drops today, so I think that puts me at 460-480? I don't know I lost track somehow.

[tom jr.]

well, I spent the day putting up a couple short mains for 2 sap ladders. going to finally come close to finishing that woods this year with all the extra time we are getting. tomorrow i hope to get the branch lines up on half of it. should be close to 75 more taps on the vac. also have 200+ buckets so far this year should put my tap count to 800 and something, (I better get christopherh to count them for me:lol:!!) just kidding. I have my eyes on 1000 silvermaples across the street for next year tested the sap last year it was anyware from 1.5-2.5%

[christopherh]

Ha! Tom, I'll have plenty of time to do an official recount! I didn't realize we had that many silver maples here. How big are they?

[heus]

No silvers growing wild around me. There are several yard trees though. I take that back there are some growing "wild" in my pasture. Seedlings from my yard trees.
Think Im going to spend some of the day counting my number of sugars and reds tapped. First time Ive made medium instead of light to begin the season but I attribute that to the higher number of reds that I have tapped this year. Also on vac for the first time.

[tom jr.]

chris, the trees are various sizes most are 2 tap vac trees and some three because of how they are split at the trunk.the population is very thick cause its an area of five acres on the map. im pretty shure i could get 1000 holes without trying hard and the cost of tubing it per tap would be cheap because of that. going to try to get up some pics of it and the sugar maple woods so u guys can see the difference. hues and chris, do u have any pics of the woods you are tapping

[christopherh]

Tom, Here's a link to my facebook page. Lots of pictures on here. This is my first year for drops, next year I plan on a pipeline and vacuum. Right behind the sugarhouse is a nice slope good for 500+ taps, all reds though. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pleasant-Valley-View-Farm/109461782466784?ref=hl

[heus]

Tom there are a couple pics of our woods on my website:
http://www.rootsmaplesyrup.com

[tom jr.]

nice guys Ill try to get some up of the silver maple patch if i get a chance this week. finished one ladder and have 31 taps on it sap was dripping out of a couple fresh holes today for a few minuts. going to be more than the seventy five i thought when its all done

[Maple216]

We've been dry for about a week here in Cleveland. Sun's out... hoping for a decent run today. Staying optimistic. Tapped on Feb. 10th... too early, perhaps?

[tom jr.]

7014 7009 7010 7011 7012
was able to get a couple shots this morning before i started to get working on the other ladder. middle 3 pics are of the silver bush for next year the others are the sugarmaple woods. sap is running slow today

[heus]

Vac is running decent as we speak (6:40 pm). Hung 25 more sap sacks today to get my tap count to 517. Some of my buckets/bags facing the sun were running ok this afternoon. Hoping for a good sap day tomorrow

[christopherh]

Nice pictures Tom . .. . . . Trees on the fields edge were running pretty good this afternoon, hopefully the next couple of days they'll keep running.

[WoodButcher]

my buckets were drippin quite a bit early afternoon. . . lines are moving too, but many are frozen .

[heus]

Brrrr its a cold rain at this time but the vacuum taps are flowing right now.

[Sugarmaker]

Nice work Ohio neighbors! Sap should be flowing as we are getting some slushy rain at 7:00 p.m.. I will gather and try to boil in the morning. My guess is the run will be pretty good overnight.
Regards,
Chris from PA

[heus]

Im heading to the woods now to boil.

[Sugarmaker]

Jason,
How much sap do you have for that big rig?
Regards,
Chris

[heus]

I boiled around 200 gal last night and am boiling all night tonight I think. Have collected about 280 gallons on buckets and over 600 on vac since last night. Its still running strong as we speak.

[WoodButcher]

snagged 160 gallons from last night until today. nice little run . . .

[Gary R]

Heus, that is great you are getting big sap. It's very slow over here. Have you calculated you GPH yet?

[heus]

Gary I haven't done the calculations yet. I know that with good wood im probably around 85gph. Yes i know this can do much better. I need a preheater next year. I should be able to get over 100 gph.

[tom jr.]

hues, you had some serious sap from those trees for the weather, we got just over a gallon a tap by 4 pm 600 on vac @ 25'' and 160 buckets
so almost 900 gal of 2.4% to boil today.
going to dial in the new cyclone arch!!!

[Ekrueger]

I had a pretty good sap run yesterday of just under 1 gallon per tap. I had 100 gallons per 115 taps. Monday and Tuesday I only collected 20 gallons a day.

[tom jr.]

so the cyclone arch claimed its first victim. was watching the fire through the window and all of a suddon sap started to run down the break of the back syrup pan ( cross flow) like no tommorrow. i never seen anything like it ,everything running smooth then it all breaks loose for no reason . I was even running 2.5 inches in the pans just to be safe. it did sugar over within a few minuts though and i did manage to get it all boiled in. made over 20 gal in 6 hours

[heus]

Very nice run here the past couple of days. Looks like cold sets in again for a few days.

[christopherh]

Gathered 525 gallons from Wed and Thursday, at 6Pm some trees were still running yesterday.

[Sugarmaker]

Jason,
Glad you got some of these last runs. Mine have been lighter than normal. I may need to bite the bullet and replace taps and drops next year:(
Regards,
Chris

[heus]

Had a nice visit from Daryl ( the 5" hand filter press builder) last night as I was boiling. It was nice to talk maple with him and get some pointers.

[heus]

I have been able to bottle 35.5 gallons so far. All medium except the last 9 gallons or so were grade A dark. Hoping for a real good week starting Tuesday.

[christopherh]

Boiled down another 400 gallons yesterday. 15 gallons of light syrup so far. This weekend looks great!

[heus]

Have bottled 54.5 gallons at this point. Its been grade A dark the last 25 gallons or so. Lots of boiling this weekend northeast Ohio!

[heus]

Get ready everyone. The floodgates open today!

[Ohio Maple Blaster]

So what does everyone prefer: Boiling in snow or boiling in the 60's?

[Timberwolf]

Snow, I was sweating today and nobody wants to see me take too many layers off.

[WoodButcher]

Snow all the way . . .

fruit flies are out now so i had to put the screens on the windows.


lots of niter this year... lots.

drawing off light amber still .

[heus]

I second the niter comment. Have to shut down every 3-4 hours to switch sides. Have been able to bottle 80.5 gallons. After being grade A dark for awhile, the last 20 gallons have been medium. With warm sap tonight and tomorrow I assume it will go back to dark or even B (my favorite) before the cold sets in mid week.

[christopherh]

Defienetly snow! But I'll take the nice weather for gathering! I've made 45 Gallons so far. The last 20 were medium.

[woodburner]

Big run, we boiled for 5days and really needed a break. Visited Gingrich for more containers today and found it very busy with most also buying containers. We are up to 120 gal. finally making some dark. Sap is running at 37 to 1. Nice freeze up and rest up till Friday. Heard a few frogs last night so the end is near. The old timers would say the frogs will get frozen three times before spring is here for good. We don't make much syrup after hearing the frogs.

[WoodButcher]

12 gallons of light and 5 medium so far... got another 300 gal of sap in the trailer for tomorrow night. ... love this weather .


I've got a good feeling we're going to have at least another couple 3-day runs before its close to over. At least that is what I hope :)

[heus]

I am up to 96.5 gallons bottled plus another several still in evaporator. Its going to be nice to get a little break and then more sap Fri hopefully. I am currently making grade B but hope it will lighten back up after this cold spell.

[Maple216]

Starting to get some cloudy and yellowish sap here in Cleveland. I guess the maples are budding. Anyone else? On a more positive note, here's my new cooking rig! Any feedback? My hillbillyness is reaching new and epic levels.
7404

[Run Forest Run!]

You've reached Hillbilly Heights right there on your meth lab. ;) Seriously, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

[Holliemac]

Hey All,

I was very late in tapping this year-just kept thinking it was winter still, so I missed the first gush and don't know where the trees are in the process but I got about 15 gallons of sap the first two days-which was last weekend,
and today is the first the sap has run since. I got about as much today. I have maybe 20 taps on the trees that are within hauling distance. As in, hiking back up the hill with my pitchers full because the trees are all downhill. I boil in a pan ontop of my outdoor grill which has a side burner for like beans or whatever. It works pretty well but yes it would save me a bunch of money if I would just buy the stuff.

But then, I wouldna get to do all this sipping.....

[christopherh]

Nice rig Maple 216, nothing is budding here. Don't be fooled by the red maples, they always look like theyre budding. . . Ontario, glad your grill is working out! It's all fun!!

[bluefinn]

The few silver maples I tap sure look like there budded out but sap still looks clear??? Dripping good right now.

[heus]

Happy to report that I made light amber for the first time this season. Didnt hit it until my 122nd gallon. Sap is crystal clear. Looks like a good week starting Saturday.

[Holliemac]

Hey good for you! You sure have a nice setup. I have about 2 dozen taps and carry it uphill, so getting a workout.
Just makes it taste all that much sweeter. After a dry week the bottles filled up overnight on Monday, so I got a little more syrup on the stove. Then everything froze again. I am about midway between Cleveland and Columbus.
It is usually 8-10 degrees cooler here than Columbus--the low pressure systems that sag across the lakes keep the clouds wrapped around us. Two of my big maples are budding but the rest are waiting for a better forecast.

[Pete Cerup]

Tree's budding?

[heus]

I pulled the 9 taps on silvers in my yard just because their buds are swollen but I bet they would be good for another week. I think the rest of my trees are good for another two weeks at least looking at the forecast.

[dave44090]

My taps got pulled on the 17th when the trees started budding. Of course, I've been having second thoughts on that, due to this great weather for sap running. Doesn't matter though, as I hurt my back on the 18th and wouldn't be able to finish this season if the taps were still in. It's a lot of work collecting from 55 taps with 5 gallon buckets, hauling out of the bush on foot!

Nice setup Maple216! I'm in Wellington, but work in Cleveland. I grew up in the Memphis/Fulton Rd. area.

[heus]

Hope everyone is ready for the flood of sap next week!

[WoodButcher]

im ready to go. boiling as i type this. collected about 310 gallons today ... half of that was frozen from this weekend.

havent hit B yet... knock on sugarhouse. but i got a feeling its coming next week!

[Kngowods]

Wow after 7 1/2 weeks we had the best run of the year some buckets over flowed twice

[heus]

What a great year it has been. I hit 200 gallons made this morning.

[WoodButcher]

when will it stop! :) 320+ gallons every day for the last 3 days..thats on only 163 taps. i love it but i need a vacation!

[2boxers]

If what they say about the peepers is true we're done. I heard them out in hunts burg tonight.

[WoodButcher]

i dunno . i think we would be done if it werent for this mini freeze tomorrow. but im making medium still .... barely any dark and no B yet . i like the B for smoking meats. im sure ill get some B wed/thurs and then it should be over .

[christopherh]

That was a great run! Finished up yesterday! Syrup went back to light at the beginning, and sap in the tank was 2.8. Saturday and Sunday it was medium. Sap was 2.3 to 2.1. Great year! Hoping for one more run this week!

[heus]

So who is still producing good-tasting syrup in NE Ohio? Mine still tastes great but I know of some who are producung some off-flavored syrup? I assume today and tomorrow will be our last boils, unless the syrup still tastes good, then we will keep going as long as there is still sap flowing under vacuum.

[WoodButcher]

I collected 2 gallons per tap the last two days. Everything is still tasty DA .... and I will pull them on Sunday

[Ekrueger]

My taps have been running good and clear the last 3 days. The syrup has gotten much lighter again like it was the beginning of March. I plan to pull my taps on Sunday. I was shooting for 20-25 gallons this year and am actually over 60 gallons now! What a year to start out.

[christopherh]

Great tasting syrup this year!! I had a slight problem with the first gallon and a half I made, but after that its been awesome! The last ten gallons have been dark amber.

[heus]

Dark amber lately here too but with grade b taste, which actually is my absolute favorite.

[heus]

Cant believe how dry my woods has gotten just in the past few days. Maybe this is why the sap flow hasnt been great the past two days even those we have had freezes at night. Most likely the last boil will take place today. Its been an awesome season.

[christopherh]

I agree, my wood are very dry, not getting much of a run either, some taps are dried. Taps on the north side ran much better, but mine have been in since Feb. 10th. I do have to say it's been a great season!

[heus]

Just bottled another 6.5 gallons of dark amber. I cant believe the trees are still producing good syrup. This puts us at 240 gallons. Leaving the vac on overnight and one last boil tomorrow.

[johnallin]

No where near 240 gallons, but the 26 made so far this year is some of the nicest syrup I've ever made. Just put up another gallon tonight and you are right the trees are still producing wonderful clear sap and syrup. Collected 140 gallons today from 130 taps all of it clear as a bell and sweet.
All I can say at this point is Wow.

[WoodButcher]

163 taps, 61 gallons bottled as of this afternoon. . . boiling my last 350 gallons today and tomorrow . pulling all tomorrow. best year ever

[Ekrueger]

What a first year! I made 67 gallons on 115 taps. I pulled my taps Sunday. Can't wait for next year and upgrading to a raised or drop flue pan.

[christopherh]

Here's my numbers, 110 gallons made mostly light and medium. Just made 10 gallons of dark over the weekend. Boiled down 4375 Gallons of sap. Finally did a tap count when I pulled the buckets, not as many as I thought. We had 431 taps out. Great season, and tasting syrup!

[heus]

My final numbers: 248.5 gallons made, equal amounts of light, medium, and dark, with a small amount of grade B, .48 gallons of syrup per tap. An absolutely awesome season. Ordered an RO for next year. Went through 10 cords of wood!

[CrossBroMaple]

final totals for my woods were 135 mostly all medium. i did make some late season light amber which was nice. all in all pretty good season for me on little over 500 taps. could of kept the vacuum on longer but the wood pile was a little short after this long year.

[WoodButcher]

forgot to tally ... have been tied up cleaning.
i made 74.5 gallons on 163 taps .... thats .46 gallon per tap on buckets and tubing.... oh and no vacuum. best year ever.
well i better get started bucking some logs...

[woodburner]

Finished with 146 gal mostly medium . Sap ran sweet all season. Good year, We are a little shy of 400 taps
on vacuum, no major problems or breakdowns .

[mapleguy]

I couldn't believe it till I saw it,. but a fairly sizable operation just south of me has already tapped. Seems to me a bit early seeing another "Polar Vortex" headed this way next week. I'm still looking at the middle of february for me thats if the weather guessers are right.

[WoodButcher]

ya, no way im starting this early. it should be a law that mother nature gives us at least until feb 1st . mid to late feb is the typical magic time for me in the last 5-10 years.

[mapleguy]

I guess the one exception would be the 2012 season if you tapped in early Jan. you looked pretty smart. Most people around here I think look at mid. Feb. The long range I'm watching is not looking good tip the second week of Feb. I really hope we have a normal season if there is such a thing. Wouldn't it be nice to get 10 or12 inches of snow between now and then?

[heus]

I have averaged around Valentines Day the past four years.

[Sugarmaker]

Jason,
We have the tubing hung for 200 taps.The rest is yet to put up soon. Just got three mor batteries for the drill:) Its get things ready time. Yea first to 14 of Feb is pretty standard. But if I see 2 weeks of good weather at the end of Jan., it might be go time. Haven't even started to look at the forecast yet. Hope things are good across the 'line'.
Regards,
Chris

[SevenCreeksSap]

I have averaged around Valentines Day the past four years.

Thats usually my average start date I've noticed.

[heus]

Chris my tubing is about ready to go. Just have some odds and ends to take care of. I coach basketball so I hope winter stays with us at least for another two weeks. Pretty tough not being able to start until after 7 pm or so.

[mapleguy]

Looking at the long range forecast it looks like the last week of Jan. is looking tempting. The weather channel said this morning a major pattern shift will take place the last week of Jan. Jet stream will be more zonal which would be great!

[heus]

http://www.cleveland.com/living/index.ssf/2014/01/rare_snow_rollers_form_in_nort.html#incart_river_d efault#incart_m-rpt-2

[WoodButcher]

http://www.cleveland.com/living/index.ssf/2014/01/rare_snow_rollers_form_in_nort.html#incart_river_d efault#incart_m-rpt-2

if that aint a sign that we have at least another week till tappin, i dont know what is ... time to get out the snowmobile :cool:

[mapleguy]

Snowmobiling is all you'll be doing for the nxt. month at least according to accu- weather . I know long range forecasts are typically useless but with nothing else to do right now I've been going on a number of sites and the news is not good even in the short term. Maybe with all the new tech we can figure out how to thaw the trees out .HAHA I wanna know where the guys in southern ohio heard temps were going in the 50's this weekend. we are in ohio right?

[mapleguy]

Just looked at the long range. It looks like the week after nxt. it's gonna be 40's to 50's. If so I will be tapping starting nxt. wed. the 12th. Although I know how long range forecasts go ! I think sometimes accuweather is in tune to us and throws out these little teases now and again. The puzzling part is long range for March is nothing for the most part in the 30's. Now I wish I would have become a meteorologist like my niece.

[Timberwolf]

I am south of you, SW of Canton, and thinking similar. Probably tap toward the end of next week if forecast stays same or warmer.

[WoodButcher]

next weekend is showing 29,28,24 fri-sun for chardon , but we all know how that can change .

[mapleguy]

What I see on accuweather is a bit warmer nxt. wknd, though may not be good for sap to run it's the following week that gets my attention. It takes me 3 days to tap so if the following week holds up I want to be ready. Besides it's getting to the point by then I don't think it will be to early to tap.

[mapleguy]

I've been sitting here bored to death and upon looking at the extended forecast(which is just a waste of space) for northeast ohio they are forecasting after this coming week, low 40s to 50 that sounds great, but when you look at march the first 3 weeks anyways there is not a temp above forty. At least you would think that far out they would throw in a 40 or 50 somewhere. Just goes to show why they shouldn't keep trying to forecast that far out. I still say those weather guessers are playing with us.

[Sugarmaker]

I went out and replaced 150 drops, met a friend back at the house and he said the neighbor had steam rising. I thought I had better go check and Keith was testing his new pans. Water was freezing on the floor but we had some heat and he got most of his testing done.
Forecast looks the same across the line. So we continue to get ready. To cold to clean tanks!
Regards,
Chris

[mapleguy]

Once again I'm getting cautiously excited about starting to tap. Just read an explanation on accuweather about why there will be a pattern change coming at the end of this coming week. the following week will feature mid 40's to around the 50 mark. time to tap! They also said March will be normal in the sense there will be temperature swings from cold to mild etc. pretty much a normal march. lets wait and see.

[WoodButcher]

man you guys are tweaking to tap !! ;) ill be snowmobiling at the ice festival at lake chautauqua this coming weekend... from the attached screenshot, it looks like next monday's the day for me !

[DRod2]

I love Presidents Day. NO SCHOOL. We be tappin.....

[heus]

I will be tapping this weekend.

[dave44090]

Here in Lorain County I will be tapping most of my trees today, in preparation for when it warms up later this week...we may be in for a good run! Especially coming off a deep freeze like we had today, it looks promising.

[WoodButcher]

Same here. Man did it get cold last night. Perfect start to the season. Lets just hope the warm up doesn't last too long. Tapping today for me!

[woodburner]

Did anyone else see the long range freeze up after Sat. it looks like eight to ten days below freezing. Time to decide about getting this run or not . Really cold here, it might thaw by Thurs.

[heus]

Yeah not sure about putting my sap sacks out for this run. I might wait for the next. I have all 532 of my vac trees tapped, though.

[WoodButcher]

wed-sat should be a healthy run of light amber im sure...especially since there calling for a bit of rain mid week, thatll help thaw the roots.
i figure ill collect enough for a boil on sunday and then let the lines freeze till the next run. no harm no foul.

next week during the freeze ill just throw a halogen work light under the flue pan and call it a day.

itll be interesting to see how much we collect this week as this has been one cold winter.

[mapleguy]

I saw the long range after this warm up and I still can't understand why I put myself through this abuse. Last week one local channel was calling for 60's this coming weekend and the the nxt. day pulled the plug on that idea and lowered it to the 30's.haha! Anyways it might be smart to be tapped in because we may only get a "run" here and there and before you know it , it's april and time to mow the lawn. I tapped all 650 on tubing and 100 buckets , the other 250 buckets are gonna have to wait because I have no way of getting to where I have to go. Hopefully if we get a thaw I'll get them by the end of the week.

[johnallin]

I was going to tap yesterday and did not. It's blowing like heck tonight and after seeing what's coming, I'm waiting until this weekend. This week looks like sap could be a no show with the "newer" cold temps and wind in the forecast.

[Sugarmaker]

We are watching you guys:)
Looks like Jason is ready for sap and several others too!
Huuuummmm what to do across the line?????
Regards,
Chris

[CrossBroMaple]

started to tap in my tubing yesterday. should finish today and start to fix all them dare squirrel chews. using this warm up as a chance to seal up the vacuum before it really starts. snows pretty deep so we will see what happens

[heus]

Putting in around 100-115 sap sacks today. Glad I didn't put them out yesterday boy it was windy last night.

[Kngowods]

I put 230 bags out the last couple of days I guess I'll be looking for them tonight.. I'd like be at 300 for this run

[WoodButcher]

start to fix all them dare squirrel chews.


same here... i think they were mad at me because i didnt ask their approval for my sugarhouse name .... :o

[christopherh]

I'm in, tapped 484 over the weekend.

[miller maple]

tapped 450 on my tubing in the last few days, today had the vac pump running got a nice little run lookin to get around another 400 taps out in the next couple of days.

[mapleguy]

Gonna try to tap some of the 250 buckets that are left today. Already have tapped, 650 on tubing and 100 buckets since Monday (17th)

[ohio sugar]

Tapped last night. Trees were dripping as soon as I drilled!!

[richbaxter]

With the help off pain pills, I got my 18 buckets out, took me all day. As usual my RA has flared up when I need to get things done like this. Would like to expand to 200 or so taps but I am afraid I would not be able to handle it. Hope everyone else is doing well and has a good season.

[bowhunter]

Rich,

Good luck...I know where you're coming from. I'm down here in Marysville and I've got 107 taps. I did the first sap run today and it took me two hours to run the buckets and felt like I'd put in 8 hours.

[johnallin]

Kids all coming out and we're going to hang 140 bags tomorrow, but don't know why. We're headed right back into the freezer!
Have any of you in NE Ohio gathered or boiled yet?

[mapleguy]

I had 600 gal. Friday at 2%. made about 5 gal. of A DARK First time ever usually medium or lite, Lots of sugarsand . sap was off-color but clear. Hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Will drain pans and wait to see what happens with the weather.

[WoodButcher]

still drippin to beat the band.. i wont have a final tally till this afternoon when i do my last collection before boiling tomorrow . . .

[heus]

Got about 800 gal on vac yesterday and around 100 on 115 sap bags. I kind of kick myself for turning off my vac last night. By 9 it had froze up but this morning at 730 when I turned the vac on it was running good with no ice. Even though the ground and all puddles completely froze up over night.

[CrossBroMaple]

Vac pulled 950 so far boiling right now making dark at 2% sap. Sap is clear as can be lots a sugar sand here too

[christopherh]

Gathered 325 today, making medium. Sap from the sugar maples was 2.1. The 200 red maples on vacuum was at 1.5.

[heus]

550 gal today at only 1-1.1%. Bags barely ran got around 50 gal from 115 bags.

[Gary R]

Just to the east I've done pretty well. I've gotten 515gal. off of my 196 taps for this run. Sugar content low at 1.0 - 1.4%. I've got about 4gal. of medium made. It looks like I have a bit more sap for today. I don't know if it will be worth boiling. Guys on buckets are doing bad.

Heus, did you start up the RO yet? Hows that working for you? Good luck guys!

[WoodButcher]

gravity did ok , about 240g on 140 or so, and another 15-20g on 23 buckets... just enough to boil today. ill check % today.

[2boxers]

I've had 160 bags up since last Sunday, I've only collected 40 gallons of sap so far and it doesn't look like I will be seeing any more for the next week or so. What is my best option for the sap I have so far? Will it keep for another week with below freezing temps? It will take 40 gallons just to fill my pans let alone sweeten them.

[mapleguy]

Had 600 gal. friday @2% made 2-3 gal. of ADARK. Pans were filthy so drained and cleaned. Have about 200 gal. from Sat. not gathered yet. Not worth bringing in hope weather straightens out soon. Still Have 140 buckets to hang yet maybe this week.

[Sugarmaker]

Nice job folks to our west!
Sap sugar content sounds similar and making dark syrup is the same as we are seeing too.
Gathered Friday and Saturday 600 taps on gravity and hauled in total 800 gallons of sap for the two days at 2.5%. Made 8 gallons of dark syrup that had a red/pink tint in the hydrometer cup. Sugars sand avg qty but was dark purple. Syrup had slight off flavor, improving with the sap from Sat.
Good luck with the rest of the season.
Regards,
Chris

[heus]

[QUOTE=Gary R;241481]Just to the east I've done pretty well. I've gotten 515gal. off of my 196 taps for this run. Sugar content low at 1.0 - 1.4%. I've got about 4gal. of medium made. It looks like I have a bit more sap for today. I don't know if it will be worth boiling. Guys on buckets are doing bad.

Heus, did you start up the RO yet? Hows that working for you? Good luck guys![/QUOTE
Gary the RO is awesome I removed about 700 gallons of water(from 950) Friday night and 400 gal of water from 550 last night.

[clw]

130 gals sap on Thur and Fri. Syrup also dark. Can anyone explain why we're making dark syrup so early in the season?

[mapleguy]

Haven't got a clue on why the syrup is dark , but look on the bright side, dark syrup bulk prices will remain the same while lighter could fall in price from what I've been hearing.

[Ekrueger]

I collected 220 gallons this weekend from 114 buckets and 103 on gravity. Sap was at 2.3%, syrup was Grade "A" Amber Rich. I am enjoying my 2x6 Lapierre since it arrived on Thursday. I had taps in before the evaporator arrived! It is a big improvement over the flat pan last year.

[johnallin]

As of Sunday, we're all tapped. Some trees were running up here, but not enough to collect anything. Some of you are getting some good runs, I'm envious.
Hope it warms up some by the weekend.

[chuck240z]

Last weekends run I made 6.5 gallons of Dark Amber and 1.5 of medium. I emptied my 2x6 and finished it on my wood stove and it was lighter.

[Maple216]

Tapping in the morning. Late start? It's just been too cold. How's it been going in Northern Ohio so far?

[heus]

Just wondering how everyone is doing. We have made approximately 176 gallons so far. 160 gal have been dark amber. I'm fine with that because my bulk buyer, customers, and myself prefer dark anyways. Made B for the first time this season last night. That's because on Friday I stupidly filled my head tank with permeate on shutdown and flooded the flue pan. Had to boil that off to get back down to normal level. Looking forward to a big run Thursday and Friday. No signs of buds. Some parts of the woods are still frozen. Haven't even heard any peepers yet.

[WoodButcher]

"too cold too late" seems to be the term that keeps ringing in my head. i have made about 12 gallons with another soon-to-be 5gal in the head tank , and to be at a quart per tap i need to make 43gal this year.... so im almost 1/2 way there for it to be a 'normal' season. nothing was 'normal' about last year as i made .45gal per tap!
i guess we all just got a bit spoiled last season.

if i had to guess its still going to be a normal year, just pushed back a bit.

[johnallin]

With what's bottled - and what I have left to boil off today - I've should have about 9 gallons by day's end. But got to say, that sap this year is some of the clearest I've seen with sugar holding steady the mid 2's.
Overall YTD we are about 1/2 of what we had last year and pretty close to a "normal year", whatever that may be.

[mapleguy]

heus, curious as to what your sugar% has been. I have 350 buckets that have been at 3% and the 650 on tubing is at 2% go figure. The only difference is you have vac. mines all gravity and you have made 100 gal. more than I have. Last nite started making "B" after it had lightened up to med. Pretty sure this season is finished after this week with temps going into the 60's after this weekend. Anyway was just curious about your totals thinking how much of a difference vac. must make.

[Kevin M.]

As of today I have made 10 1/2 gal , all dark amber

[heus]

Mapleguy there is no comparison between vac and buckets, at least for me. If I had to rely on my 190 sap saks I would have made about 9-10 gallons. When I did gravity tubing it ran even less than my buckets. Been running at 23-26" of vac all season. Vacuum has turned what would have been a poor season for me into a decent one. My sugar content stinks by the way. Have averaged around 1.7% I think we have a couple of weeks left the ground is still frozen in some parts of my woods. Last year we made good syrup until April 6th I think we will go at least that long.

[2boxers]

Northeast Ohio guys, I found a pic on ebay I thought some of you might appreciate. The pic was taken in 1943 at Fowlers mill. It was taken for an article in a newspaper from New York there are some cliff notes on the back. I though it was pretty cool so I bought it. Some how it made it down to Arkansas I had to bring it home. 94939494

[johnallin]

Thanks. Just finished boiling off today's run and saw this.
That's a very neat old photo

[heus]

Nice run yesterday about 2.5 gallons per tap on vac. Squirrels have decimated my tap count, however. 80% of our bags were destroyed in two days. I had already replaced most of them and replaced alot more yesterday. The trick of taping the bottom with duct tape to discourage chewing does not work. Fortunately they have pretty much left my tubing alone. No bags for me next year except for some yard trees. We are at 209 approximate gallons right now and hope to surpass last years total of 248.5 (although we have 200 more taps than last year)

[Gary R]

Jason, that's some great production in these trying times. I might have to sneak over and see how your doing it! Hows the RO?

[heus]

Gary I love it. Can't see how I lived without it. How's the evaporator running? Mine has done real well the past two seasons. It's made over 450 gal so far in that time.

[woodburner]

Great run the last few days. Sap holding at 2.4 . The last run started slow but really got going yesterday. Finished off today as the snow began, up to 102 gal. and should make near last years of 140. I like to sugar with snow on the ground. Still making medium. The late season is turning out better than I thought three week ago.

[Sugarmaker]

I think you guys are doing a great job across the border. Jason, like Gary said your numbers are very good.
Regards,
Chris

[heus]

Thanks Chris it has turned out to be a good season, especially after all of the dire predictions about a month ago. We are at approximately 224 gallons now with three to four sap days in a row it looks like. I'm still not convinced it will be over after next week. No buds, and no peepers yet. Also no B tasting syrup (my favorite) yet.

[CrossBroMaple]

just finished up boiling last night, our total is up to 125 gallons mostly medium. got to agree i thought we wouldnt make this much syrup with this weather but we are and i see a couple more runs left before it buds out. drain and scrub pans today prepare for some more sap.

[Gary R]

Jason, the evaporator runs great.I'm thinking of getting a spare front pan so I can take more time to clean. I'm really thinking hard on an RO also. I may get one from Ray or build it. I like those kinds of projects.

[WoodButcher]

boiling like a fiend right now.. lovin the wifi in the sugarhouse....
any predictions to the season end? lots of +32 lows comin up ....

[heus]

Cryst clear sap today. No peepers yet. No swelled buds. Supposed to be cold by the weekend. Broke last years record tonight. 264 gal made so far.

[johnallin]

Crystal clear is right!...collected 190 gallons late yesterday and boiled 105 off last night. Not at last year's numbers by any stretch though, more of a normal year over here.

[heus]

Just real thankful for favorable weather. Four weeks ago it looked like a disaster of a season.

[CrossBroMaple]

broke last years number last night with having packed up 152 gallons so far and still have sap left. sap is mostly clear still but clouds quickly in the holding tanks. waiting to see if it holds on or is just going to stop

[heus]

Matt I'm hoping for a nice run this weekend. Supposed to be in the high 20s for a low. Heard the first peepers of the year this morning. We are at .38 gallons per tap right now.