Tapped in Lancaster County, Pa 2013

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Well, Cassell Farm Maple Syrup has begun tapping for the 2013 season. I put 40 in today! :cool: I do not know if it is because the temperature is 55 or if it because the pressure dropped from 30.80 to 30.05s in Elizabethtown, but the sap is running faster than I can get the drop lines into the buckets.

[Sandersyrup]

I put in a few as well. It was nice to see almost a gallon in my buckets when I got home from work.

[Dennis H.]

Way to go guys, it is about time you all start making some syrup!
Good Luck.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Tapping update: added 60 more yesterday and today. I bought a 500' roll of blue 30p tubing and I now have 33taps on tubing to a few five gallon buckets. Seems to work. Although not much sap is running today to really test the angle of the tubing. The pressure today was around 29.44r, 40 degress, windy enough to upset a few buckets. I expected a larger sap run due to the low pressure but I did not see it. We did have an inch of rain last night and the "bush is swampy!" :lol: Waiting for at least 50 gallons of sap to build up before I collect and pump it to the evaporator. Hopefully Saturday I will begin pumping and boiling. One more day of collecting sap, I think!

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Today's pressure is 30.44r, light snow flurries, frozen solid at 22. No sap or boiling today. Waiting for a thaw, maybe tuesday! The groundhog predicted an early spring. I will believe that when the 49ers win the Super Bowl! Go Ravens!

[KV Sappers]

Yea Cassell Maple Monk tell me about it. Frozen solid as a block of ice here also. Trees have not run since Thursday. Forecast looks like it will not be until Friday for a warmup in my area. Next Friday on looks real good for sap to start running again.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

27 degrees here going to 34 with a pressure of 30.45 and rising. With the higher pressure, I am guessing no sap will be running. Mixed bag of winter coming tonight into tomorrow. With that said, I think I need to gather what sap is in the buckets and bring it to the evaporator. Problem is, that the sap is still mostly ice. I cannot pump ice to the holding tanks, so I am going to have to transport it on the four wheeler. Maybe I'll put a large cooler on the back and put the sap ice blocks in there. I'll try and get a photo of this great idea! :lol:

[Etown Maple Syrup]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJL56ZpDhDA

[Sandersyrup]

I thought yesterday would be perfect for a run. Low of 17 high of 40 yet next to nothing in my buckets. Is it because air pressure was dropping?

the In other news, I collected 20 gallons of sap over the week an boiled it down to almost half a gallon of beautiful grade A light. My sugar is up 6x from last season. Not sure why or how to explain it. I tested my sap and its about 2.5 brix. Not bad for a bunch of misfit Norway maples and a couple reds.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Higher sugar content is good news. In the past, I have been averaging 55 gallons of red maple only sap to one gallon of syrup. This year I have not begun to boil but I did buy a sap hydrometer just to make note of the sugar content each time I collect a drum full. I have a bucket hanging on a tree in my yard and it ran last night and is dripping now. The lower the pressure on the outside of the tree, the more the sap runs, in my brief record keeping and experience. My understanding is, that is why vac works so well since it lowers the air pressure on outside of the tree.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Happy Valentine's Day: Finally, sap ran, monks collected. Temp was 44 here today, sunshine and the pressure was 29.95s. Was able to gather 75 gallons with 45 still in the woods to be pumped. I am boiling this weekend for the first time this season. Here's a short video on sap gathering at Cassell Farm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SjZcDdQ_ug

[Dennis H.]

Love the videos, Keep us posted.

[KV Sappers]

Way to go Maple Monk. Glad those trees of yours started to unfickle themselves. Looks like tomorrow is going to be another good sap day. Good luck and happy boiling!!!

[Etown Maple Syrup]

You can finally count my maple syrup in the PA total, please. More to come Sunday!! Oh, Mr. Hardy, here's another video, thanks for watching. I love maple syruping!:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K_XuSmpeNw&feature=youtu.be

[Dennis H.]

I think it is the music.
It makes me smile and tap my foot to the beat every time I watch one of your videos.

[Run Forest Run!]

Loved the video Maple Monk. It got me wondering about something that perhaps you can answer for me.

This is only my second year, and the sap isn't yet flowing here in my part of Ontario. Last year I used a single stainless pan over a turkey fryer to make my syrup. This year I have TWO new and larger stainless steam trays and TWO turkey fryers. I notice that you are dipping from one pan and adding it to the next, more concentrated batch. Should I be doing the same thing with my two pans or just cooking each one all the way to syrup?

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Forest Run, If you add raw cold sap to an already boiling pan, you will kill the boil. I would use one pan for sap preheat, moving over to one for finishing pan. That works for me. Obviously that is how I do it but with 5 pans total so I favor this method. Thanks for asking and good luck!

[Run Forest Run!]

Forest Run, If you add raw cold sap to an already boiling pan, you will kill the boil. I would use one pan for sap preheat, moving over to one for finishing pan. That works for me. Obviously that is how I do it but with 5 pans total so I favor this method. Thanks for asking and good luck!

Last year I pre-heated my sap on the stove and in an spare electric kettle before adding it to my pan to help keep the boil going. Would there be any advantage to only adding preheated sap to one of the trays and then taking sap from that tray and adding it to the second tray from time to time? (Never adding plain old hot sap to the second tray?) That probably sounds pretty confusing.... Or just add hot sap to both trays and finish in both trays at the same time?

[Etown Maple Syrup]

ok, I think I understand... if adding already preheated sap to two pans and doing that overall reduces your boil time to finished syrup, then finish in both pans (increasing square footage of boil and finishing faster therefore getting lighter sweeter syrup)! How's that for a reply? Also, there is no right answer. Do what works for you, I do!

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks Maple Monk Ross. I'll finish in both pans at the same time. As you can see from my signature picture, I was getting some really nice light fancy syrup last year. Even at the very end of the season it was medium at the most. I suppose quick boiling helps out in that regard. Have a great season.

[Sandersyrup]

Frozen. Last week 4-7 gallons a day. This week 5 gal total.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Temps headed up to 35 today but the pressure is 30.36f I do not expect a sap run today. I will head out to the bush for possible gathering after lunch. I had ice in the buckets yesterday. I will be boiling saturday with what is already in the holding tanks. Sunday through thursday looks like Big Sap Warning around here! Have fun!

[Sandersyrup]

Drip... Drip... Drip. :)

[Sandersyrup]

Drip... Drip... Drip..

:)

[Etown Maple Syrup]

We have collected Sunday and Tuesday and tanked 152 gallons of clear sap, but only at 1.5%. We made more syrup and videos to enjoy. 53 today as we boiled away. More to collect Friday for the weekend boilfest! Having fun yet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIYeRiw4TLs:D

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Wow, the sap just keeps flowing. I can not find the time to boil it all. AND the sap is only testing at 1.3% so do the math, 66 gallons to make one. I need to rent an Mobile RO!! Who's got one? Today we tanked 152 gallons easily. All that for two gallons of finished syrup. I did finish 4 pints today that I boiled on Wednesday. That is what I call batch six. I have to reset the evaporator each time by removing ash and getting the soot off the bottom of the pans for better heat trasnfer. It's a boiling weekend!

[Dennis H.]

You are doing and awesome job down there.
How many gal of sap have you gone thru so far?
What was the sugar content of the sap before this batch?

[Etown Maple Syrup]

This is suppose to be fun, but I am beat tonight after that long 1.3% sugar weekend of boiling. Dennis, my sugar content was 1.5 with a few at 1.7 prior to this tanked 152 of sap. Last year I was doing 50 to 1 and I am adding the extra 16 gallons to get a gallon which adds two hours of boiling. I would like to increase the boil rate with a new rig, but the tax refund is already spent for this year. I keep finding more negatives with wood and I am considering the gas/propane evaporator set up. I saw one on the mapleguys. I am using a turkey fryer to finish and I like the fact that I can turn it off and on when my schedule permits. Have you connected with anyone that has bought one? Thanks

[psparr]

I got to the cabin on Friday to find a decent run finally. Started at 9 pm. Finished my last drop of sap at 7am.

My sap storage barrels have a spigot on the bottom (first time using them) and they were freezing shut between use. So I got worried the spigot might burst and I'd lose my sap. Hence the all nighter. I believe I had about 150 gal sap and ended up with just shy of 3 gal.

[Dennis H.]

psparr, I know what you are talking about lines freezing up on you. I had to buy a 6' heat tape for the line that goes from the sap tank to the evap head tank. In the time between filling the head tank it would start to freeze up on the really cold evenings.


Maple Monk, I don't know anyone that has one. They look like a really nice setup though.
You might want to look into getting a set of pans made up to fit the base of your evap. If you got a drop flue or a raised flue pan that would really increase your thru put.
There's a few around that will do custom size pans. There's also Jim S of Smokey Lake Maple out in Wis. He does some excellant SS work. He is the on who made my hood and pre-heater. He makes a really cool 1/2 pint size pan that has drop flues. He claims it will do between 15-20 gph.http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=208&title=smoky-lake26quot-3bfull-pint-26quot-3b-high-output-replacement-pan&cat=9

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Dennis, I contacted Smokey, they are out of the stock items I inquired about. I will ask again. I wanted to update readers on sap and syrup production here at Cassell Farm. I ran out of wood last weekend, as you know. I was waiting until Thursday last to go and check the sap that was in the buckets. If it was over 1.5% I was going to order some wood in. Well, after that Nostorm that we did not get (mostly rain), I finally got out there to test the sap in the buckets and see what is flowing. Well, nothing is flowing and there might be 60 gallons out in the woods to collect, but most of it is at 1%. Some is yellow, ick, with moths, ickier! I am going to dump it later this week as I clean up from 2013 Maple Syrup Season. 1% sux. However, I had 80 gallons of 1.3% already tanked when I ran out of wood. So I tanked that into my truck and brought everything home and I am boiling down on a few borrowed turkey fryers,beer and the internet. I just can't stop! I should yeild one more gallon out of this! One More Gallon! One More Gallon!
Having fun yet?

[Dennis H.]

Sorry to hear that your season is coming to an end.
Part of me wants it to end, I'm getting tired, but part of me wants this to go on and on to see how this season will end.
I've had the taps in since Jan 14 and the sap just keeps flowing! Now today when I collected it was getting cloudy, 1st of the season. So I do think the end is near.

[Sandersyrup]

Season is over here in Strasburg. It was an amazing one. Last year I got about 2 pints. This year, I knew i would get more and was hoping for at least 1/2 gal but my trees offered just a few oz shy of 2 gallons of Light, amber, and dark to select from! So here is to tapping at the right time!

See ya next year folks!

[Dennis H.]

When did you tap this year?

[Sandersyrup]

We tapped late January.

[Dennis H.]

So it sounds like you had a good year, glad to hear that.
This year was a little different than the last few. I think the guys up north were getting a little worried that the seaosn wouldn't get here at all and then there was us down in the southern part of the state and we were making syrup in Jan again.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Nice job Sandersyrup!! Every year it gets better! I already circled Feb 1st for tapping target date 2014!

[KV Sappers]

If the past 2 years are any signs of our winters, you might want to think about a Jan. circle date. See you all next year.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Kv, the last two years I tapped in Jan. ,but the sap just froze in the bucket until Feb. I used a pencil on my circled date so I can change it! I pulled all taps today and gathered all equipment for washing and storage. I forgot how much work that is going to be! Finished with 41 pints. I made some maple fudge last night for a maplely snack. Nothing like fresh Maple Fudge! Talk to you next season. I am headed out to Somerset and Meyersdale for the Pa Maple Festival this weekend and to visit family at Brantview Farms in Berlin. They are in the middle of their syrup season.