Michigan Tapping and Sap Flow Reports.

[DonMcJr]

Hello all! I figured I'd Start this thread so when everyone in Michigan Taps we can see how the flow is going!

So put your General Location i.e. "SE Lower Michigan" and the Date you tap.

Please report how your sap flow is going too! We can all help each other get the most sweetwater we can!

[Maplehobbyist]

I'll contribute. Put in 11 taps in 9 trees yesterday at about 5:30pm. I emptied some containers last night and then again when I got home from work today. A total of about 14 gallons, stored in 5 gal buckets. Two buckets tested at about 1.8%, the other was at about 1.6%. Put lids on and buried the buckets in snow, hoping that will keep them cold until tomorrow. Threw a couple of quart milk jugs filled with sap in the freezer in case the snow is melted by morning. Hoping to get enough tomorrow to make a half gallon of syrup, but the rule of 86 tells me I'll need almost 24 gallons to do that, so that seems doubtful. I'll boil tomorrow no matter what I end up with. Be a nice early season boil to work out the kinks in the evaporator.

[shane hickey]

Just filled the pumps up again theres over 2400 gallons
In the tank putting more taps out tomorrow and boiling
Tomorrow night

[Butcher]

Sap slowed waaaaaaaaay down today by the afternoon my releaser was only dumping every fifteen minutes, it wasn't worth the fuel I was using. I did tap 50 more this afternoon and they ran really good but that seems pretty typical but after a day ir so they really slow down almost as if u sucked em dry am I the only one that experiences this rapid shutdown.

[Maplehobbyist]

Got another 7.5 gal this morning that tested at 1.9% and 3 gal after work that tested at 1.7%. Total of 24 gal at 1.8% in 48 hours. Boiled for 4.5 hours this evening, still had 6 gal in the evap when I shut it down for the night. The residual heat will boil some of that away. Was snowing when I came in, so no worries about it spoiling out there tonight. Hopefully not too much to finish on the stove tomorrow, don't expect to get more with the temps dropping like they are.

[DonMcJr]

Sap slowed waaaaaaaaay down today by the afternoon my releaser was only dumping every fifteen minutes, it wasn't worth the fuel I was using. I did tap 50 more this afternoon and they ran really good but that seems pretty typical but after a day ir so they really slow down almost as if u sucked em dry am I the only one that experiences this rapid shutdown.

If it goes below freezing and stays there day and night then the sap doesn't flow...

[Butcher]

Don, on high vacuum I've gotten good flow for 3 to 4 days during a thaw in the past on a different bush, just wondering if it waas the overcast rainy weather that killed it.

[DonMcJr]

Maybe the deep freeze before this quick 2 day thaw had the trees mostly froze still... I know the ice on my pond didn't thaw out totally so if you compare that to sap in a tree that may be why...not warm enough long enough to totally thaw...

[Leadft]

Were going to start tapping this saturday !!!! Maybe another good warm up next week...

[DonMcJr]

I'm holding off still... Forecast for here says Friday's High is 32 and every day before that has lower highs...

BUT I may Tap Friday the 8th because 2 out of the 3 weather sites I watch say 36 on Friday Feb 8th and then above freezing for over a week after that... So February 8th May be GO TIME!!!:lol::):cool:

[Ed R]

Don I'm looking at next Friday or Saturday as well depending on my work schedule.

[DonMcJr]

I'm gonna watch the weather forecasts as well and I'll post if anything changes...

[mzstein]

Tapped yesterday. Put in about 80 on bags .

Tapped mostly due to to work schedule
and my helpers were available. The
weather forecast down here looks
promising for a weekend warmup .

Still have about 40 left in a swamp, but trying to
decide if it is worth the aggravation - I'll probably
tap them friday .

Either way, we're locked in now - let the
games begin.

[Limitpusher]

Started today, mid west Michigan.

[DonMcJr]

Work Midnights so I'm gonna get about a 4 hour Nap then Tap my trees/run tubes! I got a gut feeling now is the time and I'm gonna run with it!

Gonna Video tape it all so look for a Video later tonight!

[jblaker]

Sugar Shack Jack here. Our plan is to tap next weekend the 16th. Thats when we have some help, around 250 taps this year. Had 150 last year. Praying we won't miss too much sap. Please keep us posted on how it's running. We are in Adrian MI.

[southfork]

Going to start within a couple of days near Okemos, Michigan, about 125 taps.

[DonMcJr]

Well I musta needed sleep cause I never heard my Alarm at 1:30pm... BLAH! First thing Tomorrow the taps are going in!

[Leadft]

We started Feburary 2nd... We have about 300 taps or so on tubing... going to try to finish the woods this sunday and move on to the road side stuff...

[acerrubrum]

This is great to hear who is doing what in Michigan. I know people are putting in taps, but how about some info on how much sap flow there is. I'm in Jackson County and wondering if I should put in taps or wait til next weekend.

[Plainjane]

This is great to hear who is doing what in Michigan. I know people are putting in taps, but how about some info on how much sap flow there is. I'm in Jackson County and wondering if I should put in taps or wait til next weekend.

I'm going to put some taps in today with my daughter. I'll let you know tomorrow what I get after work.

[DonMcJr]

Mine 15 Taps on Gravity Tube are going in the next few hours. I'll have Video of the tapping process and Video periodically of how the Flow's going and hopefully by next weekend this year's 1st Boil!

My guess is most who have tapped before today have only got some flow a few days and not much to report....

[DonMcJr]

Took my son Tyler and I about 3 Hours to run 5/16 Tube on Gravity and tap 15 Taps. Noticed my Big Sugar Maple had some sap dripping when I drilled! Gotta clean 5 Buckets and Taps and then we're heading out to Hang and Tap 5 Buckets too! I'll just the tube line on my way in and see if anything is flowing!

[Jonnyp390]

Put in 18 taps over the last three days (clearly these guys that are putting in thousands of taps don't have 3 year olds and a wife with a camera in tow;) Sap ran a little on Thursday night before the freeze and just started to run again in the last couple of hours. All of my trees are into a milk jug or a piece of tubing into a 5 gallon bucket on the ground.

PS - if you have any polish bakeries around you they may have free 5 gallon food safe buckets available in the next couple days. I asked at my local bakery, and she said with Paczki day on tuesday they will be going through a bunch of filling, which happens to come in a nice food safe bucket with a strong handle. I was able to pick up 20 buckets and lids for free.

[Spolcik]

Just got back from the woods put in 30 taps. Some not all where dripping while I was tapping. Definitely should have some sap tomarrow! Found someone about 4 miles from me with 40 acres offered to let me tap there for a jug of syrup. I was in heaven when I got there 2 to 3 tap trees everywhere I looked! I think I'm going to have to order more taps. Not that that's a bad problem to have. Lol

[Tweegs]

Got a late start this morning, was -4 when I got up with an eerie ice fog hanging in the air.

Made a quick trip to Lowes and scored some food grade buckets over in the paint aisle…just thought I’d mention that in case someone was looking.

Got my tanks cleaned and set by 3:00 and put in about 70 taps. Over half were weeping.

Plan to get an early start in the morning, looks like it will be a good day for sap, may run all night down here, low is only supposed to go to 36.

[Spolcik]

If you have a Menards around you they have food grade 5 gal buckets too. $3.69 plus $1.29 for the lid

[ehausinfrats]

Put out 200 taps today. Late in the day the sap was running on the south side of the trees.

[Cake O' Maple]

Rural King's white buckets are food-grade as well. I called the company that makes them, last year. Can't recall the price off-hand, but they go on sale periodically, too.

[DonMcJr]

I ended up with 15 taps on Gravity Tube and 10 Taps on Buckets. Same here the South Side of the Trees were Dripping! I have Video that I am editing and should be ready to post in the next hour or so...

Tweegs... Howel isn't too far from me and we're going down to 15 degrees tonight then 35F tomorrow and 41 Monday! Perfect!

My son Tyler and I Tapped 15 Taps and ran Tube Gravity Line. Took about 3 Hours then we tapped 10 Trees with Buckets for a total of 25 Taps this year. We found a bunch of other Maples too but 25 is all for this year...next year I think I could reach 100 Taps!

There's 2 Videos...

Running Gravity Tube Video...


http://youtu.be/OK1Kaz-b8dg

Tapping Buckets


http://youtu.be/UCcd96vypDY

[Plainjane]

Well I put 15 taps in around 3pm and got a little under 1/2 gallon on the taps that got the sun. On those if I had put them in around 9am I bet I would of had almost a gallon. Today isn't sunny so nothin is running.

[DonMcJr]

Thanks for the report plainjane. I just checked my tube lines and buckets and nothing flowing today here either...the sun really helps.

[Maplehobbyist]

Put in another 17 yesterday and today, for a total of 28 taps. Anticipated getting some good flow today with forecast highs of 48 but so far nothing. All the taps I put in today were dry. Maybe it will come later, since tonights low is only supposed to be 34 and a high of 41 tomorrow. Let's hope.

[Spolcik]

Not much here either out of 30 taps maybe have a gallon or two. Hope for a sunny day tomarrow.

[shane hickey]

High vacuum is producing and gravity is dead

[Cake O' Maple]

Well, reading the responses since I last checked in answers my question!

I put 10 taps in this morning, and just checked 2 of them on my way home 7 hours later: the 2 I checked had about a gallon each sitting in their buckets. I expected a whole lot more after the freezes we've had and the high temps today about 40.

Guess I should be grateful I have any sap...And I don't have to collect tonight, and can get some work done for my "real" job. Seein' as how sugaring is a hobby, and not work. :lol:

[Tweegs]

Yup, same here Shane, gravity is dead.

Got everything on tube hooked up and half the buckets out. Most of the silvers I tapped were weeping, but the sugars were bone dry. Checked the woods tank before coming in, not a drop in it. The laterals have sap in them, not enough to push through the loop back to the saddles though.

Running low on buckets, need to talk to the neighbors one last time before I start tapping their place and want to make sure I have enough buckets on hand to get their sugars. Still have a couple dozen or so silvers on my place yet, but they can wait until I get more buckets.

[acerrubrum]

It seems like all of us have the same thing to report- not much sap. I put in only about 12 taps so far and expected to see something out of the Sugar Maples- nothing. I figured nothing out of the Red Maples, they seem to be more finicky.

[Leadft]

Just a trickle at the tank and the laterals are full... Maybe a little sunshine mid week will get us some juice !!!!

[Schiefe4]

Nice videos Don, looks good! We tapped 200 today near Vassar, MI.

[Tweegs]

Checked a couple of the buckets on my way in to work this morning. Looks like it ran some overnight.

One bucket had about a half gallon, the other about a quart.

Winds from the south this AM, supposed to switch to the west and really pick up, gusts to 45mph, they say. Temps to stay favorable through the day.

Hope I don’t have any trees blow down and mess up my tube.

[DonMcJr]

I work nights and still havent made it home yet to check mine. Im at the ER getting an xray of my good left arm...bashed my elbow pretty good and it hurt so bad I felt sick for a bit. Hoping nothing is broken. I'll report the sap flow as soon as I get home though!

[TerryEspo]

Don: You gotta take it easy,,,,we dont want you out of commission for your sap run !! Take it easy man.

Good luck with the elbow.

Terry

[DonMcJr]

nothing is broke just bruised. should be home in a half hourto give a sap report

[hfitch]

I put my very first few taps of my life in yesterday and today!!! The 2 taps I put in 1 tree yesterday managed to run a quart or so overnight but looks to be slowing down now. Our temp here has dropped 4 degrees since this morning and the stinkin' wind is whipping like crazy. Quick question....I can freeze the little bit of sap I get, right, until I have enough to boil??? I thought I read some where that you could, but I just want to make sure. Thanks guys, this site is a great source of info and everyone seems to get a long really well with no bashing of anyone:)

[DonMcJr]

Here my sap flow report for SE Michigan near Port Huron...

I have video where it picked up flow big time but I cant get my mouse to work on my home computer so this is the only video I have for now, I work nights and need to goto bed.


http://youtu.be/igvBn_r_DvY

[DonMcJr]

...and yes hfitch you can freeze it and use it later.

Some people freeze some then thaw it out on a hot summer day and drink it!

[hfitch]

Thanks Don! I clicked on your latest video, but it said "This video is private" Just wanted to let you know but it could also be my phone.

[lyford]

i couldn't view it either

[DonMcJr]

Does it work now?

[lyford]

yep, its working, nice video

[Spolcik]

It should be fine outside too. When it's colder I usually store mine outside till I have enough to boil.

[hfitch]

so I should be ok then to just leave the sap in the containers for a couple days unless it gets over 40 or so degrees. They're clear, thoroughly cleaned punch jugs with clear tubes running from taps, sealed up really nice to keep rain and debris out.

[Ed R]

Your better off to leave the sap in smaller individual containers than to put it into a larger storage container. The new sap entering the jugs will loosen up any frozen sap.

[ehausinfrats]

140 gal of sap tonight off 200 taps

[shane hickey]

Yeah it ran pretty good today.

[Spolcik]

Got about 12 gallons from 30 taps.

[TerryEspo]

Great video Don Jr. Just saw it now.

Today in my city, way north of all you guys, I checked a tap and drop line and I had sap in it. I am bumming out though cause I never checked that drop line for over a week, had no reason to so i dont know how long it has been in there.

It is near time for us to tap I think.

Next day the forecst says anything above freezing I am tapping.

I told my friends that spring is around the corner, I don,t have a pet groundhog to forecast but I do have Black Squirrels and they came out a few days ago. They have been hiding since Dec. but now re-appearing.

They are my Groundhog !!:lol:

Good luck everybody !!

Terry

[DonMcJr]

Here's the Video I wanted to post this morning but my Computer was messing up...

I got about 13 Gallons on my 15 Tap tube line and about 8 Gallons on my 10 Buckets!


http://youtu.be/JS-M2PlcdMg

[TerryEspo]

I love it !!

Best video of 2013 ,,,So Far.

The other video are real good too, but I am happy to see the sap a dripping for you.

Thanks for sharing Don Jr.

[DonMcJr]

Thanks Terry!

[Run Forest Run!]

Don, are your Box Elders running yet?

[DonMcJr]

Don, are your Box Elders running yet?

I didn't Tap any Box Elders this year I was just thinking about it... If I get some more buckets Friday I might do it...

[Run Forest Run!]

Do you remember from when you tapped them last year if they ran the same time as the other maples?

[Maplehobbyist]

Got about 20 gallons between what little it did yesterday and today from 28 taps. Wunderground is forecasting highs of 46 Wed and 43 Thurs, while NWS is forecasting high of 38 for both days. Sure would like Wunderground to be right but I think NWS may be closer to reality.

[Cake O' Maple]

Your better off to leave the sap in smaller individual containers than to put it into a larger storage container. The new sap entering the jugs will loosen up any frozen sap.

Hmmmm, my thinking is that once it's frozen, a large block will keep cooler longer than in smaller containers.

[Cake O' Maple]

Got 16 gallons from 10 taps approx 32 hours after tapping.

Added more taps today, & quit when i ran out of buckets in my van!

[Ed R]

Cake O'Maple I don't like to have sap freeze up on me all sorts of bad things can happen. When I do have that happen when I drain the evaporator its easier to deal with individual 5 gallon sized ice cubes as opposed to a 30 gallon plus ice cube. For short term "refrigerated" storage of sap its still best to keep in smaller containers. Once you combine those sugars into one "vat" microbes can have a feast. By keeping the sap in smaller containers you can limit the spread of microbes plus smaller containers are easier to keep cool an easier to handle.

[DonMcJr]

Do you remember from when you tapped them last year if they ran the same time as the other maples?

I believe they run the same time as other maples. I tapped 2 last year when there was only a week left in the season and didnt even get enough to boil. I've got 2 pretty close to the house and 2 extra buckets ill tap them in the morning and let ya know. Then I can boil that sap in the turkey fryer and see the difference.

[acerrubrum]

Don,
Nice video, I like your setup. I noticed at one point in the video you showed a tree saver plastic tap that was not fully into the tree. How far do you insert it into the tree. I've been putting them in about the length of the shaft- 1 1/2" or so. So in other words, the round part of the spiel you tap is practically seated against the bark. What's the proper depth?

[DonMcJr]

Here's the Instructions:

Leader Tree Saver 5/16" Tubing Spout

This plastic tubing spout requires a 5/16" diameter hole drilled in the maple tree and installs only 3/8 - 5/8" into the tree for proper sealling. ***DO NOT DRIVE THIS SPOT ALL THE WAY INTO THE TREE.*** The hole in the maple tree only needs to be drilled approximately 1-1/2" into the tree. Using these smaller diameter spouts will cause 30-35% less damage than the tradition 7/16" spouts. The hose barbs for the drop line to attach to are designed for an ultra aggressive hold that locks tubing on to eliminate leaks. The heavy head makes tapping the spout in with a hammer very easy using a light wrist tap while choking up on the hammer. During tapping the spout will seal tight and the hammer will bounce back off the spout to a "thud" sound signaling the tree saver spout is tightly installed. It is better to slightly under tap the spout and tighten it later, than to overdrive the spout which will cause additional damage from splitting, which also results in a leak.

[DonMcJr]

Everything is froze here at 8:30am. Going to 35 today with little Sun. But Tomorrow 40 and Sun!

[shane hickey]

Don,
Nice video, I like your setup. I noticed at one point in the video you showed a tree saver plastic tap that was not fully into the tree. How far do you insert it into the tree. I've been putting them in about the length of the shaft- 1 1/2" or so. So in other words, the round part of the spiel you tap is practically seated against the bark. What's the proper depth?


Boy thats not good you will be very lucky that you didnt split the wood
Around the spile

[acerrubrum]

Thanks for the feedback. It looks like I'm driving them in too far. I think I'll try removing some (gently) and re set them to the proper depth.
Funny thing is I use a 5/16 bit, go into the tree 1 1/2" and tap until I hear a definitive 'thunk'. It just seems like that doesn't happen until the shaft if most of the way into the tree.
Thanks again for the feedback.

[firetech]

My son checked all of our collection sets yesterday and said the bucket were about 1/3 full. We will let them set until the wind dies down a bit or are pails will be allover the county. Only 1 barrel went for a walk.

[DonMcJr]

Thanks for the feedback. It looks like I'm driving them in too far. I think I'll try removing some (gently) and re set them to the proper depth.
Funny thing is I use a 5/16 bit, go into the tree 1 1/2" and tap until I hear a definitive 'thunk'. It just seems like that doesn't happen until the shaft if most of the way into the tree.
Thanks again for the feedback.

Choke up on the hammer and tap lightly like you could break it and listen as you tap. You will hear a difference...

I don't think I'd remove them and try to put them in not as far, they taper and your hole is already too big to do that. I think leaving them for this year is probally your best bet.

If you listen close in this video you might hear the difference. Too many cars were driving by...


http://youtu.be/B5Uk7hI8oq0

[The Village Farmer]

I'm planning on 60 taps this Sunday. First I have to snowblow my trail. The 16 inches of snow last Friday
ruined my plans. The driveway and roof came first plus work has been very long with all the snow.

[Tweegs]

Took the day off today.

Wondered why I didn’t have more sap in the woods tank, turns out I need to get more side ties on the new mains. They were sagging, the tube is full, and everything was frozen by the time I got home last night just before dark. Telltale icicles hanging from a couple of saddles indicate leaks, but only 2 of those. Not much slope in those mains, need to wait for the thaw to get them tightened up and graded out.

Also had a branch come down in that wind Monday and broke a T on another main, which cut off about 40 taps. I’ll get that at first light. The buckets tell me we had a light run yesterday, today might be good.

Going to be a busy day.

[acerrubrum]

DonMcJr,
thanks for the video, it seems like I was a little over zealous with the hammer! I already pulled about half of them, but I think I will leave the rest and see how they do.

[Plainjane]

Here comes the sun. It's going to run today. :)

[hfitch]

finally seeing some sun!!! Went out this morning and put 5 more taps in for a total of 9. Nothing running yet here but like I said, the sun just finally came out and we're still a touch below freezing. Hoping to get a little sap in the jugs today :) I'm getting pretty anxious to get to my first boil!

[hfitch]

drip, drip, drip :D :D ;) :cool:

[DonMcJr]

Got about 8 Gallons from my 10 Buckets last 2 days. Can't really tell how much I got from the 15 taps on Gravity Tube. All together Since Saturday I have probally about 20 gallons of Sap. Still needs to get warmer during the day.

[Tweegs]

Just came in from getting the nightmare fixed, all’s well in the woods.

Sap is just pouring into the woods tank right now and the buckets are dripping, looks like a decent run.

Things didn’t really thaw out until about 1:00 here, but when it did, the dam burst.

[DonMcJr]

Glad you got it all fixed! There's still snow on the ground here and it's keeping it too cold to get a great flow. That an so far I am wishing I woulda went with my plumbing knowledge and ran a bigger mainline... A few told me to go with all 5/16 to hope for natural vacuum and now Dr Tim told me you need about 30 feet of elevation to get good vacuum. So now I feel like my flow is just restricted by the all 5/16 tubing....we'll see!

[shane hickey]

boy did the sap run first time i have ever seen a 2 1/2 main
Line run full all day long on vacuum

[toquin]

Its amazing how fast the lines thaw out when that big orange ball hit them.

[DonMcJr]

Of course I tapped so it's gonna stay cold again...LOL!:cool:

Cold starting tomorrow, A little warm up Monday-Tuesday then cold again til the following Monday...

[Tweegs]

Of course I tapped so it's gonna stay cold again...LOL!:cool:

Cold starting tomorrow, A little warm up Monday-Tuesday then cold again til the following Monday...

Hey, c’mon now, we’re in Michigan, you know the weather is going to change in 5…4…3…2… :lol:

[David in MI]

I have been really tempted to tap this coming Saturday (16th) but I think we're going to hold off until at least the following Saturday. Gotta keep watching the extended forecast but we're not quite ready yet. I'm going to get my lines tightened up this Saturday and put in some high-tensile line to support a few of my longer runs. I had some sagging last year and while the sap still ran due to gravity vaccum I think the extra support will allow the energy expended to draw the sap up the sag to pull more from the tree, hoping anyway.

[DonMcJr]

"If you don't like the weather in Michigan just wait a few....HOURS! LOL!:lol:

[dschultz]

boy did the sap run first time i have ever seen a 2 1/2 main
Line run full all day long on vacuum How many taps do you have on that line.

[DonMcJr]

Well It's currently raining here and 36. Suppposed to hit 30 by 3am. I went out and checked my tube line and it's dripping! Still Flowing! (almost 9pm)

Make sure you check your buckets in the morning!

[TerryEspo]

Hey Don:

Tomorrow is the trophy lake day we leave.

I have a great idea, come to Canada tomorrow,,,, bring me your sap, I will stay home and boil, you take my spot fishing!! Be sure to bring lots of "our style" measuring tapes, with this gang you will need them !! LMAO. :lol:

Glad to hear your sap is running for ya !!

Got my camera charged and packed !!

Good luck to all for the next few days.

Terry

[DonMcJr]

Terry if you woulda said that 4 years ago before I was married id be going fishing tomorrow...lol!

Have fun and good luck!

[firetech]

Picked up 300 gals of sap last nite. Not a lot but we are only 1/2 set right now. I'll finish setting up the evporator tonite and boil soon. It's only a six hr run of raw sap not going to use the RO yet. But it was running really late last nite.

[Butcher]

Sap ran decent yesterday, came into the released at 125 gallons an hour on 2400 vacuum taps , not the best but better than nothing. Got out 3000 roadside taps right now and got 3000 to go. We will start picking that up this afternoon, some of the holes have already given 5 gallons + per tap. Hopefully we will average.20 + gpt this year.

[DonMcJr]

I got about 8 gallons from my 10 buckets Thursday night. More in the Tube lines too but don't know exactly how much.

Everything's froze solid here now. Hoping for another flow Monday and Tuesday.

I want to get about 80 Gallons before I start boiling, Half Tempted to get out the Turkey Fryer for Ole Times sake...but naw... I'll wait til I can fire up the Half Pint Evaporator!

[shane hickey]

Hey don sorry for stealing your tread but i have to get something off my chest that no one will understand but you guys.i went to wal-mart today for groceries and my wife was with me when i wasnt looking she put fake maple syrup in the cart i didn't notice it until i was home.she apparently doesn't relize on how hard we work for that syrup. She says its to sweet and i told her its like me she just laughed and said ya right.

[Tweegs]

Oh man, I don’t know Shane, that sounds like grounds for a time out. Send her to bed without her breakfast! :lol:

Finished setting the rest of my buckets this morning, well, almost. Got 6 buckets left and nothing but silvers to put them on. Gonna snoop around, see if I can’t find another sugar or two.

I finally got my hood today, just in time, too. Need to clean my pans, set the hood and steam stack and light a fire. Going to get the first boil in tomorrow. Haven’t picked up the buckets yet, but as a guess there’s something near 100 gallons of sap out there. 70 in the woods tank, 30-ish in the buckets (didn’t have all the buckets out last Wednesday). That‘s enough to get the pans sweet, maybe a draw.

[Cake O' Maple]

Hey don sorry for stealing your tread but i have to get something off my chest that no one will understand but you guys.i went to wal-mart today for groceries and my wife was with me when i wasnt looking she put fake maple syrup in the cart i didn't notice it until i was home.she apparently doesn't relize on how hard we work for that syrup. She says its to sweet and i told her its like me she just laughed and said ya right.
I know several people who really prefer the fake stuff. Some have reasons from childhood with different flavors being used to cover up medicine. I'm sorry she doesn't seem to appreciate the hard work you do for the good stuff.

[DonMcJr]

That's ok Shane we have the Fake Stuff in the fridge too...but only cause we ran out of what I made last year:cool:

You should tell her she must use the real stuff so she will get sweeter:lol:

Only have about 50 Gallons so looks like if It runs a bit this week I'll be boiling on the weekend!

[Leadft]

Hey don sorry for stealing your tread but i have to get something off my chest that no one will understand but you guys.i went to wal-mart today for groceries and my wife was with me when i wasnt looking she put fake maple syrup in the cart i didn't notice it until i was home.she apparently doesn't relize on how hard we work for that syrup. She says its to sweet and i told her its like me she just laughed and said ya right.

I let mine have her " Log Cabin ".... It just seems to take a few years for the bottle to empty !!!! :rolleyes:

[fishman]

Only 3 or 4 weeks to go before starting in the UP:cry: I did see a skunk last week so we could be earlier:lol:

[shane hickey]

There will be a warm up tomorrow in area it says 45 degrees definitely have syrup then.

[Ausable]

Well - Brrrrrrrrr! Here in Glennie - We had -8F this am. Tomorrow - We are supposed to get a high of 33F tomorrow so guess I'll start tapping somemore trees. But - We are not supposed to get above freezing again till the end of February. Getting more like the old days again only not as much snow. I Can't imagine when they will start in the U.P. and above Sault Ste. Marie. Well - lol - It will flow again - we hope. ---------Mike----

[Mark]

Only 3 or 4 weeks to go before starting in the UP:cry: I did see a skunk last week so we could be earlier:lol:

I hope it does not warm up until March 10th, just started tapping and have almost 20,000 taps to go. The important part is to keep the peepers quite until the end of April

[The Village Farmer]

My weekend was planned away from me so I did not get to tap I did snowblow my trails. So I took this Friday off andforgot to tell anyone. Don are you happy with the half pint evaporator? I will have one less college student to pay for next year . Im hoping to buy one (bricks instead of books).

[Jonnyp390]

I was able to collect 20 gallons of sap during the 2 day warmup we had here in southeast on Monday and Tuesday. First boil last night with the newly constructed 55 drum evap went great! It is truly amazing the difference a purpose built evaporator makes over the campfire of the previous years. Finished the night with a little over a quart of the lightest syrup I have ever made. My wife is finishing up a little video that I will post soon.

[David in MI]

My weekend was planned away from me so I did not get to tap I did snowblow my trails. So I took this Friday off andforgot to tell anyone. Don are you happy with the half pint evaporator? I will have one less college student to pay for next year . Im hoping to buy one (bricks instead of books).

I sent this ad on craigslist to a friend recently. Looks like it's right there in your neck of the woods, too. I'm not sure if this will boil as quickly as the half-pint but the price looks pretty good to me. http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/grd/3582736066.html

[hfitch]

everyone seems to be getting a lot of sap already (of course I don't know how many taps everyone has in) I have 9 taps in 7 trees and in a week and a half, I don't even have a gallon : ( Hopefully it's just a practice in patients and I'm worrying for nothing! These are all good sized, road side and yard trees. I know I shouldn't worry too much because we haven't had a streak of more than 1 day above freezing, but it's still bugging me. Waiting til this weekend and I'm going to put in 5 or 6 more taps and that will be it for me. Hopefully I get enough sap to make syrup...

[Spolcik]

I sent this ad on craigslist to a friend recently. Looks like it's right there in your neck of the woods, too. I'm not sure if this will boil as quickly as the half-pint but the price looks pretty good to me. http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/grd/3582736066.html


I called on this ad a few weeks ago he sold it. I was interested too.

[Spolcik]

everyone seems to be getting a lot of sap already (of course I don't know how many taps everyone has in) I have 9 taps in 7 trees and in a week and a half, I don't even have a gallon : ( Hopefully it's just a practice in patients and I'm worrying for nothing! These are all good sized, road side and yard trees. I know I shouldn't worry too much because we haven't had a streak of more than 1 day above freezing, but it's still bugging me. Waiting til this weekend and I'm going to put in 5 or 6 more taps and that will be it for me. Hopefully I get enough sap to make syrup...


Dont worry I only have about 20 gallons from 30 taps. Its still early yet the weather in the middle of the state hasnt been great yet. It will run for you just be patient. I know its hard I did a test boil with water to try out my new pan and arch set up. It worked great and made even more anxious for the first boil.

[Tweegs]

Couldn’t get the boil off yesterday, only manage to retrieve about 60 gallons of sap, lots of thick ice in the tanks and buckets. 60 gallons isn’t enough to fire up the first time with, takes 30 just to fill the pans.

Warm up today, supposed to stay above freezing until 5 AM tomorrow. Don’t know if that means any sap, but at least things will thaw enough that I can get most of what I have moved.

[Jonnyp390]

Here is a video documenting our first boil of 2013. Got the little ones involved in every step of the process and the new drum evaporator worked quite well. My temp here is at 40 degrees already, so I hope to have some more sap to boil tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwvcx9fkGBQ

[David in MI]

Saturday - Wednesday appears to be primed for a really good run. Upper 30s during the day w/some sunshine and a good freeze at night. Right now I'm planning to take the day off on Friday and get all our taps in by Saturday. Ladies and gentlemen........ start your engines!

[DonMcJr]

My weekend was planned away from me so I did not get to tap I did snowblow my trails. So I took this Friday off andforgot to tell anyone. Don are you happy with the half pint evaporator? I will have one less college student to pay for next year . Im hoping to buy one (bricks instead of books).

Only got to use it for one boil last year... Really liked it but I'll know more this year!

Just CHecked my gravity tube line. No flow yet...If it rains like they said this morning Its should start flowing...

[sugar daddy 1]

I spill more than 328 oz you newbies are funny, not even time to tapp yet keep em coming

[sugar daddy 1]

First good run will be 3/10/13

[DonMcJr]

It started to drip in my collection tank from my tube line about a half hour ago...bet it flows all night it's not supposed to go below freezing until 9am ish....

[DonMcJr]

First good run will be 3/10/13

If you wait til March 10th you're gonna miss alot of good 1st sap runs. I tapped 2 weeks ago 10 buckets and 15 taps on gravity tube and have 30 gallons of sap and starting Saturday ( Feb 23rd) it looks like the run will be on.

Last year If I woulda tapped March 10th I would have just about missed it totally. I know last year was a weird year but my trees stopped giving it up around March 10th last year...

[shane hickey]

Sap is still running looks like it will be running all night long

[sugar daddy 1]

Yes last yr was weird we tapped Feb 18 , not so this yr last yr we made over 1000 gal of syrup my family had over 100 yes of recorded history yes you will get some sap but still not time

[DonMcJr]

Yes last yr was weird we tapped Feb 18 , not so this yr last yr we made over 1000 gal of syrup my family had over 100 yes of recorded history yes you will get some sap but still not time

Thanks! 100 years of family history is great info! I'll take all I can get with only 25 taps...hopefully they don't close up too soon!

[David in MI]

First good run will be 3/10/13

I'll bite. How do you know?

[Tweegs]

Looked like sap was just starting to flow when I got home last night at 5 PM. A little in the buckets, maybe a cup, but they were working a slow drip, nothing in the mains, and the laterals I checked were still iced up.

Buckets around the house were dripping this morning at 6AM, so it probably did run all night. 35 degrees when I left for work, falling temps, high westerly winds.

[Spolcik]

checked my taps this morning about 1/4 to 1/2 gallon a tap. Also lost one grill cover to the wind! LOL At least I didn't lose the SAP!

[GratiotCoMiMaple]

Fantastic video Jonny !!!
Those boys always have a smile on their face. Enjoy every bit of it.
My boys are 8 and 11 and would rather play video games then help dad...

Kurt


Here is a video documenting our first boil of 2013. Got the little ones involved in every step of the process and the new drum evaporator worked quite well. My temp here is at 40 degrees already, so I hope to have some more sap to boil tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwvcx9fkGBQ

[sugar daddy 1]

Our records show that 80% of syrup is made 3/10 - 3/20. Last yr the big runs started a week sooner. The days get a little longer angle of the . Weather patterns change around the 1st of March ( in like a Lyon out like a lamb) tapp to soon holes will dry up miss some early small runs,but the tapps will run a little more by tapping later. A few years ago I pulled up some slow runners tapped some new trees got the same amount in 15 days.

[Spolcik]

Ended up with 20 gallons of sap from 35 taps. Not great but i will take it. When I got home from the woods my trees that I checked first had a little more in the bucket. Still dripping a little but temps are falling fast.

[DonMcJr]

I didn't get much last night... Maybe 5 gallons total from 10 buckets and 15 on tube...

BUT I tapped 3 more Buckets taps and they were dripping steady and found 12 more trees to tap and bought the buckets but I'm not gonna tap them til this weekend. So I'll be at 25 Taps on Buckets and 15 on Gravity tube for a total of 40 taps this year!!!!!:cool:

[Spolcik]

BUT I tapped 3 more Buckets taps and they were dripping steady and found 12 more trees to tap and bought the buckets but I'm not gonna tap them til this weekend. So I'll be at 25 Taps on Buckets and 15 on Gravity tube for a total of 40 taps this year!!!!!:cool:


Nice! Gets addicting for sure I thought I would be happy going from 5 to 40 but the property I'm tapping keeps tempting me to order more. I put 4 taps out last night around 5:30 and at 9:00 am today I had about 3 1/2 gallons from those alone! Nice to see I'm not the only maple nut in Michigan!

[huntingken111]

I am new to post great stuff. Last year had 32 taps about 6 gallons of syrup. Kids won't touch store bought now. Used block arch and now am looking for 275 gallon oil tank to make an arch. I have 111 taps on buckets and homemade bag holdes out of aluminum gutter material and bag holders made from pvc pipe. They work great. Got about 80 gallons of sap yesterday but boil out in the elements did not appeal to me and going to wait till friday to do test. I have a homemade 2x4 evaporator witrh deviders but afraid I will not be able to keep up next week with sap. Thinking about building a secound block arch on Sat and use my steam pans too. Any sugestions would be great to help me get my boiling down pat. Last week had hard time getting pan to boil so now went serching on sight and added back wall and chimney, also rising fire 8 inches off ground turned front bottom blocks so square holes will be my draft and taking sheet metal to put up front. I also have a small fan to put on ground to help fire. Last week took about 6 hours to boil down 37 gallons of sap. Not good with 111 taps in now (37 gallons was from 35 taps).

[DonMcJr]

Welcome and the newer you are doesn't matter! As for the 6 hours for 37 gallons... That's pretty good on my Turkey fryer last year 40 gallons was more like 13 hours...:o But it was fun!

Where you at in Michigan? I might be able to help ya with gettin' and oil drum...

[shane hickey]

Boiling tomorrow we collected 22000 gallons today ro running now but its x&%@# cold out o stand out there to watch it.

[huntingken111]

I'm in middleville 20 minutes sw of grand rapids

[DonMcJr]

Kinda far...im by Port Huron. I have an oil drum in my basement that propally still has less than 5 gallons of fuel in it and is still where it was when I bought the house 3 years ago. I updated the furnace to propane. My neighbor who was nice enough to come over and show me how to do drywall and helped me too has 1st dibs cause he said he wanted it. I'll see him Friday and if he doesn't want it its yours if you can bring someone to help you get it out and not scratch my walls.

[Ausable]

Still another odd Winter though -- Got up to 34F and Sunny the other day and I tapped 25 trees - No sap from any of them. Have a couple of the Older Sugar Maples that talk a little with me and one said "You gotta be kidding?" as I tapped the spile in. So I says - "Down South - Your cousins are sharing their sap." To which he replies - "Not here Bub - were not ready - too cold." ------So - that night - it rained. So now - thanks to the several freeze and thaw cycles all the natural flowage is plugged up. Even had water in my Sugar Shack - glad I looked or I would have had sap storage barrels frozen in next to my evaporator and Arch. So - yesterday was clear the pails and barrels etc. away from the arch. So this am - back to Winter with 8F and Wind. Seems the Sugar Maple wasn't fibbing after all. I now have about 3 quarts of frozen sap - ready to boil. LOL ----Patience---- is also part of making maple syrup. -----Mike-----

[DonMcJr]

LOL Mike! I thought I was the only one who had a Sugar Maple talk to me...when I bought my house it was like out of the blue I looked at my Big Sugar Maple and it was saying- Tap me...maple syrup...and I had to look twice no 3 times to make sure an ex girlfriend wasnt hiding behind the tree...:lol:

Now look at me...up to 40 taps my 2nd year and no one in my family ever has done it.

[Ausable]

Don - As far as I know - I'm the first One in my Clan to make Maple Syrup too. Years ago - I transferred up to this area to operate Hydro Electric Dams for the Company I worked for. Into an area full of Backyarders - that make Maple Syrup. I was 45 when I tasted Maple Syrup for the first time and I was Hooked. A Friend - Gave us one of her old Batch Pans and a lot of information and got us started. Gee - that was almost 20 years ago. Now we have a Granddaughter and her Husband who have their own Rig and make it. Also a Son and a couple of Grandsons tap trees and haul sap up for me to boil from Bay City. So it is getting to be a Family thing. -----Mike-----

[Tweegs]

I have to wait on the grand kids (3, 1, and one on the way) to grow up some to know if I’ll be leaving a legacy.

My 3 kids, 26-32, are old enough to recognize and appreciate the amount work involved in sugaring, much to my detriment. With the youngest daughter off in the Navy and the middle daughter pregnant, that leaves my boy and a son-in-law. Both will gladly spend a day cutting wood, one likes to run the splitter, the other likes to play with the tractor, but neither want anything to do with a chainsaw, and both seem allergic to long hours in the shack and ice filled buckets.

I suppose that’s what I get for being a 1st gen and not discovering maple until I hit my mid-life crisis. It’s hard to hook the youth once they’ve already grown and gone and have commitments of their own. Harder still is it to turn them away from the ease of city life when they have no roots in a farming community.

My grandkids, on the other hand, are a different story. The 3 year old won’t leave until he’s petted every cat, hugged every chicken, collected every egg, had a ride on the tractor, taken the gator for a spin, and at this time of year, smelled the aroma of the sugar house, had a sip of sap and a taste of syrup. He’s hooked, the others are sure to follow, and it’s my goal to hook them deep enough to one day take over the operation. We’ll see what happens once they become teenagers. :lol:

[DonMcJr]

You know, I grew up in the City and my Dad always did Outdoors stuff with me. Fishing, Hunting every year and camping with the Boy Scouts and the Family. Then I "Grew Up at 15" (LOL) and it was cars and girls and such until I found myself a steady job. I had to work afternoons and then the Fishing came back cause there's not much else to do at 2am when you get off work and all your buddies are sleeping cause they work Dayshift. I got so into fishing I would take off up North Camping almost every weekend I had off. Fast Forward through having 2 daughters then having to pay child support and dealing with that til I could afford a House once the Housing Market crashed 4 years ago.

Now I live on 7 acres, Hunt in my back yard, fish in my Pond, "Farm" my Food Plots for Deer, Have a Garden, Keep Bees for Honey and Make Maple Syrup...to name a few.

I'm willing to bet once the Children experience Life and City and all the craziness they will be back in the Country and wanting to make Maple Syrup just like you...:cool:

[sugar daddy 1]

So glad I am not tapped yet. Fresh holes run better.

[shane hickey]

Just finished boiling made a little over 600 gallons off to a good start a small interruption with the fire department other then that all went well

[Spolcik]

Shane they didn't think you had a meth lab going did they? Lol Hope it wasn't anything serious. Best of luck sound like your off to a good start.

[shane hickey]

No some person with a cell phone called it in they said there was alot of smoke (steam) coming out of the barn.
The department knew it was me and what i was doing but still had to come out because of call. Got to love cell phones.

[spud]

Of corse they knew it was you. They knew that by coming over to your place at boiling time they were certain to get a free taste of syrup.:lol: I sure hope you gave them some or the next time you really need their help they will not come.

Spud

[Spolcik]

No some person with a cell phone called it in they said there was alot of smoke (steam) coming out of the barn.
The department knew it was me and what i was doing but still had to come out because of call. Got to love cell phones.


Too Funny! Glad to hear it wasn't anything serious.

[firetech]

Boiled off my 1st batch of sap last nite. Drew off 4 gals of dark syrup(don't leave the tank heater in for 2 days) thought I turned it off but it was plugged into the wrong outlet. In any case it tastes just fine and the pans are sweet.

[DonMcJr]

Looks like Starting Tomorrow Down here near Port Huron the Temps are going to be above freezing all next week. So hopefully things get flowing! I have 12 more Bucket Taps to put in and it looks like Saturday is the day for that for me!

[Spartazoo]

I am tapping tomorrow down here by Kalamazoo. Next week's forecast looks really good.

[sugar daddy 1]

Next week temps not warm enough to run much. Still to soon to tap

[BoarsNest]

My trees are up by White Cloud, has anyone tapped up there? I've been on the fence all week about tapping this weekend. I think I'll just continue the prep and get ready for the following weekend. Even though it looks like it will be mid 30's I think my trees will still be pretty frozen.

[shane hickey]

Sugar daddy you cant always listen to foggles trust me its time to drill i would have lost over 25 thousand dollars i didn't it will run almost everyday next week but remember its pocket book thats not getting any bigger

[acerrubrum]

Jonnyp390, great video. Looks like the kids loved it.

[James Galloway]

I know alot of guys have tapped as early as late January but I have waited. rills will start turning tomorrow and finish by Sunday afternoon. I hope everyone has a great season!:)

[DonMcJr]

From what I've seen from Tapping Feb 8th 25 taps... 1-3 days of 35-39 F doesn't thaw the trees enough for a great flow on gravity only. Will 7 days of that weather do it? I'm gonna find out. For us newbies it's a learning curve and us experimenting might be a learning curve for the Long Time Producers. It's a win win situation!

May the Sap run full blow soon!

[mzstein]

I tapped about 75 on feb 3 rd and have gotten about 100 gal so far.
I tapped another 30 Monday and they were running as I tapped.
All froze up since Tuesday . Going to do first boil Sunday and hope
I can keep up with the runs after that - forecast looks good for
next week. I think it will be a good season as long as we don't get
a big , fast warm up - like last year .

[hfitch]

I've got 9 in so far and I'm going to put the other 11 in this Sunday. Plus, bonus, I scored 100 acres of mostly sugar maples for next year!! Hopefully all goes well this year and I'm as addicted to sugaring as you maple nuts : )

[user338]

Hello to all I am pretty new to the sugaring but I am sure addicted. Just wanted to say thanks to all I have collected alot of info from this site to build all of my equipment. I have in 200 taps on gravity this year with about 235 gallons collected so far and I will be doing my first boil on sunday. hope all goes well. thanks again for all of the great info

[DonMcJr]

Welcome user338 I'm not far from you if you need any help I'm pretty new too but I can try and help out!

[sugar daddy 1]

I have a few pails out for a week now they have a gal ish in them. the sap will be there when I tap didn't lose it

[Ed R]

I tapped on Feb 10th. I have 70 taps in all on red and siver maples on buckets. I've collected 250 gallons of sap. It's averaged between 1.25 and 1.5 for sugar content. So far my trees seem to be running better than last year just not as much sugar. I'm 5 miles north of the Ohio state line.

[sugar daddy 1]

Sugar daddy you cant always listen to foggles trust me its time to drill i would have lost over 25 thousand dollars i didn't it will run almost everyday next week but remember its pocket book thats not getting any bigger

Why would you drag the Fogles in to this , besides I've nailed it the last several yrs so now they call me. :-)

[user338]

wow thanks Don thats very thoughtful i will keep you posted . I am very excited to try my new set up.

[DonMcJr]

Just let the dog out and it feels warm outside...36 F tomorrow in a little bit I'm gonna go drill the holes in the side of the 12 Buckets for my last 12 taps that were putting in tomorrow so we hit 40 Taps! My neighbor has 2 HUGE Maples and he said come over and tap them too. So I may hit 46 Taps cause they are really big trees and he said kill them if you can cause he doesn't like them...but I wanna keep them alive! Haveta make another trip for buckets for them trees though...

[Ausable]

user338 - Looks like You are fairly well set up. LOL - So far - You have 235 more gallons of sap then I have - Hope that will change soon. The very best of luck on your first boil. Have Fun. -----Mike-----

[CBarnaby]

Looks like time get tapping around here if Accuweather is accurate. What do the experts think?

[Ausable]

Looks like time get tapping around here if Accuweather is accurate. What do the experts think?

Was just outside moving a little wet snow and have 35F -- a heat wave is upon us. Have to to a walk around on the 25 I have tapped and see if I'm getting any action. At least clean the snow off. I think we are getting near the time in my area. The Birds are feeding heavy at the feeders like they might be expecting something to move in - We will see. ----Mike----

[DonMcJr]

Tuesday Night I think there is another Storm that could hit us. I just made a Video of all the work I did on our House from August 28th til January Something... Once I post it here and on FB I'm gonna shower, then go tap the other 12 taps and see how the flow is here!

[DonMcJr]

Ok I am officially at 40 Taps! The Sap was running on all taps today. Even the Gravity Tube was streaming away! Tomorrow evening I am expecting enough to have the first 55 gallon container filled and starting to fil the 2nd!

[Run Forest Run!]

Ok I am officially at 40 Taps! The Sap was running on all taps today. Even the Gravity Tube was streaming away! Tomorrow evening I am expecting enough to have the first 55 gallon container filled and starting to fil the 2nd!

I am SO jealous.

[DonMcJr]

Not long now and you'll be getting swamped in Sap too Karen!

[Run Forest Run!]

Not long now and you'll be getting swamped in Sap too Karen!

Dare to dream Don. Dare to dream. I'm tired of looking at empty buckets.

[Spartazoo]

25 taps installed today and only 3 dripping. Still too cold here in Kalamazoo. It only got to 28 today on my thermometer. Tomorrow...

[U.P. Sapsucker]

It's hard to think about tapping when we have recieved 3 feet of snow in the last week with more on the way!
Love it in the UP.


Todd
mid UP

[MIMapler]

I keep waiting for a warming trend, and now (at least in SW Michigan) we're going to have a run of daily highs in the 36-37 degree range. It's above freezing (barely) but I don't have enough experience to know whether that's warm enough to really get the sap flowing. Are there any of you veteran tappers who can tell me whether or not it's "go time"? From what I see, there's no 40+ degree weather coming for over a week.

Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[shane hickey]

Mmapler get them.drilled and tapped

[TerryEspo]

I feel your pain UP Sapsucker.

I was snowmobiling under some of my lines earlier this year, not anymore, gotta go around them. Everything is scwered up here, too much snow, some of my buckets are burried too !! Time to dig out if sap runs soon.

Terry

[user587]

Sugar Daddy 1 - what say you? Tapping today, or wait?

[David in MI]

We gave much consideration to tapping yesterday (Ortonville) but most of our taps are on hills with a Northern Exposure and even the one with a Western exposure still had some ice in the line (from flushing it out after last season). If the ice in the line didn't melt and the ground is frozen really solid, I think we are going to wait a bit longer and most likely going to tap next Saturday, March 2.

[DonMcJr]

Sugar Daddy 1,

As you know I have been tapped for awhile now. I've only gotten about 45 Gallons of Sap on 15 Gravity Tube and 10 Buckets. I now have 40 Total Taps.

But what I would like to know is how does 100 years of Data tell you March 10th is gonna be the main flow? Cause I'm starting to agree with you as today my Tube lines didn't even thaw out and next weekend it's gonna drop below freezing again?

Also what in the 100 year data clued you in to tapping early last year? I am very curious...

[hfitch]

very little flow here het even though the therm. says 41. On a brighter note......just got a smoked pork butt all pulled that I had been resting for a 1/2 hour. Time to sit down for a meal of pulled pork sandwiches, homemade fries and coleslaw : )

[DonMcJr]

Yum! I just made venison meatloaf and french onion soup!

[shane hickey]

Vacuum pumps running pulled over 5000 gallons going to leave them run all night see what happens tomarrow

[MartinP]

30 of 100 in today, will see what the week brings

[user587]

Here in Lapeer I tapped 2 tests yesterday. They ran about 12 oz each yesterday, the night before was 30-32 degrees. Today (Sunday) - nothing, dry bags. Our local micro-climate and/or trees must be different than some of you who are getting sap today. Also we're all gravity, maybe someday we'll have vacuum/tubing. For now I'm waiting. Tomorrow might be a bit tempting, but it looks like a week of no sap after that - so I'm waiting but ready to tap immediately if/when a warm spell arrives.

[hfitch]

user587, you're only about 25 or 30 miles from me and I had the same thing today. Maybe 1 pint between 9 taps. I've been told to just have patients, so I'm trying. Have 11 more to put in but I'm going to hold off maybe 1 or 2 weeks, unless the sap really starts flowing this week.

[Forrest hunters]

Here in Rockford i put in 91 yesterday and the drill batteries were died. Was gonna do 9 more today but got greedy.and did 10. 101 all in and some were weeping today. 1 tree gave a quart today and was still dripping around 6pm. I will collect tomorrow and see how everything is going. Hope its not too much for a half pint with a brand new full pint pans from Jim at Smoky Lake Maple..

[Spartazoo]

Here in Rockford i put in 91 yesterday and the drill batteries were died. Was gonna do 9 more today but got greedy.and did 10. 101 all in and some were weeping today. 1 tree gave a quart today and was still dripping around 6pm. I will collect tomorrow and see how everything is going. Hope its not too much for a half pint with a brand new full pint pans from Jim at Smoky Lake Maple..

This pretty much describes my day. Things started weeping but slow. Had one 5 gallon bucket 1/4 full that's about it.

[BoarsNest]

Still waiting. Hauled the buckets up to the shack and marked some more trees. Glad its a slow start still more to get ready.
I'm really wondering how many sugar maples we've logged off over the last 40 years managing for deer.

[shane hickey]

Well at least you didn't log them all off lol

[BoarsNest]

Thankful for that. Shane what size is your arch?

[shane hickey]

6 foot by 20 foot 1800 ro natural gas

[shane hickey]

I can process a little over 50 gallons an hour.

[BoarsNest]

I thought you had to kick it out when you gather 22,000 gallons. Thx have a great season!

[shane hickey]

Yeah it moves rite along. I need more capacity for sap rite now i can only store 36000 seems like alot but its less then 2 gallons per tap. I have a full crew this year so everything has been going smoothly good luck to you boarsnest and every else this year

[arics]

In Rockford I put in 36 taps at mid-day. All were weeping once the drill was pulled out. Already productive by 7pm. Looks like the temps will be oscillating around the freezing mark all week. With all the snow cover I am hoping for a longer season compared to last year. Game On!

[Tweegs]

Got some last minute things done over the weekend by getting an organizer made for the Gator, hooked up the auto draw-off, re-worked some 1” that I use to pump from the woods tank up to the holding tank, and got more wood cut for the house (was running low).

Tried to collect the buckets yesterday afternoon and at least fire the pig up, but the buckets were still frozen solid. Had 1 bucket that was full, maybe a quart of liquid sap in the bottom, the rest was a solid chunk of ice, same sap/ice ratio in every bucket. Didn’t get more than 10 gallons from 100 buckets, left the ice in them.

Should run today, hopefully 37 and sunny will both add to and melt off some of that ice.
Collect tonight, collect tomorrow, firing the rig Wednesday for sure.

Sounds like there could be a big snow hitting us starting tomorrow afternoon, 6” +, they say

[DonMcJr]

Im hoping my buckets get full from today til tomorrow evening. If I get enough im taking Tuesday night off and boiling. If not with the weather forecast it looks like I wont be boiling til march 8th or so which is not good for me. March 13 I go back to the surgeon and he's supposed to schedule my arm surgery...Mid April Doc...mid April!

[sugar daddy 1]

Im hoping my buckets get full from today til tomorrow evening. If I get enough im taking Tuesday night off and boiling. If not with the weather forecast it looks like I wont be boiling til march 8th or so which is not good for me. March 13 I go back to the surgeon and he's supposed to schedule my arm surgery...Mid April Doc...mid April!
Won't run much to day to cold of a start, with the snow coming low pressure won't help still waiting. I am preparing a post with some past data.for you hope it helps.

[shane hickey]

Sap gushing out of the trees today i got the ro running spending today collecting then tomorrow boiling

[DonMcJr]

Won't run much to day to cold of a start, with the snow coming low pressure won't help still waiting. I am preparing a post with some past data.for you hope it helps.

Thanks being in my 2nd year I'd love to see that!

[DonMcJr]

No flow in my Gravity Tube today... where is the "Mostly Sunny" they called for? :cry:

[hfitch]

Don, I'm north of Port Huron about 20 miles and the sun has been shining nicely this afternoon. Amazing what a few miles does in this great state of ours!

[shane hickey]

We have about 2 gallons per tap rite now ro been running all day ill keep the pumps running all night long

[sugar daddy 1]

We have about 2 gallons per tap rite now ro been running all day ill keep the pumps running all night long

Maybe 2 quarts not gallons you are a funny guy :-)

[hfitch]

just went out and collected from 7 taps (2 are bone dry yet). Got a little over a 1/2 gallon today. I'm waiting on your info too sugar daddy because I'm really questioning my decision to tap already. Glad I've been waiting on the other 11 I have yet : )

[Spolcik]

Not much for me either. About 8 gallons from 40 taps still running though.They were all dripping when I left. Brings me up to about 45 gallons so far. still not enough to boil. I think I learned a newbie lesson on tapping early. The taps I put in Saturday where about half a gallon each. The ones I tapped early ( Feb. 9th ) less than a quarter of a gallon. I think I would have caught up to where I am at by waiting for better weather. Fresh taps run better.

[user587]

We have about 2 gallons per tap rite now ro been running all day ill keep the pumps running all night long

Wow - I'm major envious. I have 2 test taps 2 days old, today one gave about 4 oz (yes, less than 1/20th of a gallon) and the other bag is empty - nothing at all. Here in Lapeer, it got down to 10 degrees from about 6-8:00am at the airport, about 1 mile from my test taps. It remained cloudy until 4:00, then reached 37 degrees max. - so much for the big sap day I thought I might be missing. Not enough for these trees, need more of a warming spell.

I did see on the weather maps that south of a line from approx. Detroit to GR there may have been sun all day (?) which would make a difference of course - but I sure wish our trees ran like yours.

I'm still not tapped, feeling glad about it - as best I can tell anyway. I could have tapped a couple weeks ago on that nice warm Saturday, but I have the feeling I'd have some quart-sized ice chunks in the bags and 2 week old taps. Looks like it could be 7-10 days or more, will keep an eagle eye on the forecasts, drill in hand. :)

[konwinski]

With four kids and a wife under my roof, in the height of flu season. If vomit was maple sap, I'd be boiling away! :(

[bakerrunner]

Scott,
I can completely relate. I'm a half hour north of Bay City and I tapped a dozen trees yesterday (Sunday, Feb 24) and I collected about 3/4 of a gallon this evening, all from the big guy up near the house. The 10 or so trees in the woods out back are bone dry. All my taps face south. They are calling for a cold snap next week, so it'll shut down for a bit. Then hoping for normal temps the week after. Last year I had 4 pints in jars already by this time! But this will give me time to build the evaporator that I want to make.

[shane hickey]

Maybe 2 quarts not gallons you are a funny guy :-)



No sir 9000 taps in one woods and i got over 20000 gallons out of it today plus another 17000 gallons from my other 7 bushes ro still running boiling first thing tomarrow

[shane hickey]

Sunny all day here most of the snow gone except in the woods. high of 41 today high vacuum does makes a difference buckets had about 1/2 to 3/4 a gallon.

[DonMcJr]

Well my Gravity Tube did run a bit today, not much though. Shined a flashlight in the container and there's a hole in the ice where it was dripping today. When I checked my buckets earlier the ones I checked (2.5 Gallons) were 1/4 full. Unless something major happens flow wise tomorrow I am gonna leave it in the buckets to weigh them down during the incoming storm.

[shane hickey]

Good idea don i was also was going to do that. A low of 31 here tomarrow night and a high of 34

[sugar daddy 1]

Sunny all day here most of the snow gone except in the woods. high of 41 today high vacuum does makes a difference buckets had about 1/2 to 3/4 a gallon.

So when I talked to your neighbors to today they said they weren't getting the same results...

[shane hickey]

Thats funny because my big woulds is in your area (williamston)

[shane hickey]

Sugar daddy your more then welcome to come on out don and rick fogle will be here to having some problems with the ro

[shane hickey]

We can show how the big boys make syrup

[DonMcJr]

Just remember we all make syrup cause we enjoy it and there's no need for competition or agruments. :cool:

[sugar daddy 1]

We can show how the big boys make syrup you go BOY I'll do it the right way. If you have so much sap you should go take care of it. he he

[DonMcJr]

I'm curious how tomorrow is going to pan out. Supposed to get up to 36 Degrees by 11pm with a big snowstorm... Interesting for sure!

[sugar daddy 1]

Thats funny because my big woulds is in your area (williamston)

That's why I said no way it ran 2 gal per tap , you go funny guy let's keep the Fogles out of it they are busy guys

[sugar daddy 1]

Well my Gravity Tube did run a bit today, not much though. Shined a flashlight in the container and there's a hole in the ice where it was dripping today. When I checked my buckets earlier the ones I checked (2.5 Gallons) were 1/4 full. Unless something major happens flow wise tomorrow I am gonna leave it in the buckets to weigh them down during the incoming storm. low pressure not good for sap flow

[DonMcJr]

Ok thanks sugar daddy. More to add to my learning curve!

[sugar daddy 1]

Here are some tapping dates for ya to ponder 2-18-12, 3-3-11, 3-1-10, 3-3-09, 3-8-08, 3-9-07, 3-12-06, 2-28-04, 3-5-03
2-17-02, 2-14-99 earliest , 3-9-96, 3-5-85, 3-18-82 latest 3-5-80, 3-2-78, 2-27-76 so still lots of time to make some liquid gold.

[Butcher]

My woods ran a quart to half a gallon yesterday per tap. Really didn't get thawed till around noon and froze up around dark and that was at 25 to 26 inches of vac. Alot of my trees got tapped on the north side this year, 2 gal a tap in 6 hours would have been nice. Guess my trees suck.

[sugar daddy 1]

My woods ran a quart to half a gallon yesterday per tap. Really didn't get thawed till around noon and froze up around dark and that was at 25 to 26 inches of vac. Alot of my trees got tapped on the north side this year, 2 gal a tap in 6 hours would have been nice. Guess my trees suck.
Your trees are fine , that's all the run was a low of 17 is to cold to get a good run.

[Tweegs]

Picked up about 150 gallons of sap last night. I figure about 1/3 gallon per tap and the rest was ice melt. Running a little faster than 1 drip per second.

Boiling tomorrow, got a little over 200 gallons in the tank, plus whatever happens today.

[Butcher]

I know my trees are fine. I was joking, but I would need at least 24 hours of uninterupted flow to get 2 gal per tap. Hard to believe someone got that in a few hours but I guess anything is possible. But your right low of 17 is slow to get things moving.

[michiganphil]

Hi all. I have been on the forum for quite a while, but have never posted. I run a very small hobby operation south west of kalamazoo, and produce about 13 gal of syrup a year. While this is not how I envisioned my first post, I am getting tired of seeing sugardaddy push people around this thread.

sugardaddy...this thread was started to keep people up to date with sap flow around the state, so I'm gonna say if you don't have anything to report (you're not tapped) stay out. The rest of us who are tapped are getting sap, and you can't deny it.

When you say it wouldn't run yesterday because it didn't warm up fast enough in the morning...I got sap. When you say it was too cold last night...I get sap. When you say sap doesn't flow in low pressure conditions...I have had some of my biggest runs just before and during low pressure periods. Sap flow is predictably unpredictable so be ready for a big run even if you're not expecting it.

For the rest of you guys, I had about a gallon per tap in the buckets yesterday. I, like Don, decided to leave it in the bucket to help hold them down in the wind tonight. Good luck to you all, and happy sugaring!

[DonMcJr]

I'm not sure what's going on between Sugar Daddy and Shane Hickey but whatever it is it needs to stop. Period. I'm not blaming anyone or pointing any fingers. This is a place for discussing our fun hobby/job of Maple Sugaring and please keep it that way.

Sugar Daddy has 100 year of data from his family on Sugaring and Shane has a big operation and I'm not sure how long he's been in it. But everyone has something good to add and we all appreciate it. So from now on if it's negative or bashing I'm going to delete it. Lets keep this fun everyone.

Now...I checked my 25 Buckets in the woods just now and I have about 30 gallons which brings me to a total around 60 gallons. Hopefully I get a bit more the next few days and I can start boiling this weekend!

[Ed R]

We tapped the family farm bush this past weekend but left 300 in reserve to tap latter, they are in the coldest section of our woods. So, 1200-1250 in. Little bit of sap on the south sides. Probably will be enough to be a pita prior to freeze up but we had everyone available this weekend and not the next two so we went for it. Its late enough now at our latitude not to hurt production on the backside of the year.

[TerryEspo]

Well said DonMc JR.

Sometimes meaning gets lots through typing, it not the same as talking in person. This forum is useful and full of great advice, lets try to see only the good in what we read and bite our lip if we see something that we personally would not have typed.

I watch this post cause I,m connected to Michigan so when folks close to me tap, I know I,m close to tapping !!

Three cheers for Maple Trader,,hip hip....


Terry

[DonMcJr]

Of course this "Big" storm is a fluff again.. Shoulda know when they play it up it's always a fluff.

My Tube line didn't flow today don't know about the buckets cause I don't feel like going out in mostly rain for a walk!

[shane hickey]

Try this again this times i ll say it in a different way.
I made many gallons of syrup l have couple hours left.

[Ed R]

Shane Did you get your ro problem taken care of. Thats alot of sap to run thru even with a 6x20. What other enhancements do you have?

[shane hickey]

I have 2 faculties the other has a 2400 gallon ro and a 5x16 with a steam away

[Ed R]

I figured you had to have something else to be able to process that much sap.

[sugar daddy 1]

Just call like I see it , my email was full this morning of private msgs most find it funny you know who got all that sap. So I'll stop. So if anyone wants some REAL info private msg me. Here's on last thought all the moisture we got today will make us all some great sap in 7 to 10 days.
Good luck all

[sugar daddy 1]

I know my trees are fine. I was joking, but I would need at least 24 hours of uninterupted flow to get 2 gal per tap. Hard to believe someone got that in a few hours but I guess anything is possible. But your right low of 17 is slow to get things moving..
So you are picking up what am putting down :-)

[DonMcJr]

It's pretty nasty wet snow out there now just had to clean of my Satillite Dishes to get internet and TV and I had to walk my Maple Syrup Tube Lines with a wisk broom cause it was icing up on the tube line and pulling it down.

This moisture will for sure help the sap flow I just hope it doesn't flood my creek and make it so I can't get to 19 of my bucket taps!

Sugar Daddy 1, I appreciate you sharing you're Family's 100 years of Sugaring knowledge. I am not fortunate to have that being the 1st in my Family and only 2 years green. Maybe start another thread about that. Cause I have to say one thing...2-3 weeks ago you said the main sap flow won't be til March 10th ish and with this weekends cool down I think that was pretty close. So all that info is good info...

Shane you for sure are one of the lucky ones... I've been tapped with 10 Buckets and 15 Gravity Tubes since Feb 8th and only have about 40 gallons, granted I'm 40-50 miles NE of you and kinda in a creek bottom area. I wonder how much elevation has to do with it all.

[Tweegs]

Got less than 2” of snow here, a far cry from the 6+ they called for.
Checked a couple of buckets on the way up the drive last night, wasn’t much going on.

Took the day off to get the first boil in, have 3, maybe 4 hours of shack time on tap (pardon the pun). No hurry to get out there, not even enough snow to plow. Think I’ll get some coffee in me, read the funny papers, shovel the walks, gather what sap I can and get the fire lit some time before noon.

[not_for_sale]

There is all this mystery around when the sap will flow and its predictability. Frankly, I think luck has nothing to do with it.

Economic ingenuity is what made this country great. It's what made me want to come here.

A little bit of brain power, some economic pressure, knowledge and experience will do to Maple what it has done to dairy. Move the average cow (tree) from 2 gallons of sap per day to 7 gallons of sap within a generation.

[fishman]

The way things are going in the UP it might be April before we tap. We've got between 2.5 to 4' of snow on the ground and that's after it settled some the last few days with the heat wave we just experienced (33-34 degrees for two days:-|). I want to get tapping and start making syrup so I've got some sap envy going.

[sugar daddy 1]

I would like to start another thread. But in a few more days won't have much time for it. Picked up 700 taps last night. Once I start boiling I live in the sugar house, we have a full kitchen in there. We say you know its sugar season when you have more food in the sugar house than in the house. Don if you have time you can come to the farm and get some first hand knowledge. Meet some guys that I've helped get started in the sugar biz.

[Jonnyp390]

I think I am in the same boat as you tweegs. I had a snow day today so I will fire up today around noon and boil for a couple hours. I have a little over 20 gallons of sap in the fridge that I have collected from 18 taps over the last 4-5 days. Looks like they dropped a bit through the night, so I should get another couple gallons by boiling time.

[DonMcJr]

Here's Today's Flow Report near Port Huron, Michigan!

Had to put more pitch into my copper Distrubution Manifold after see what I saw in this video...


http://youtu.be/zNM1I8bNKwo

[The Village Farmer]

It snowed another 8 inches last night. Can anyone tell me anything positive about the snow and making syrup. All I know is it makes my day driving the brown truck more interesting.