Red Roof Maples 2013

[Russell Lampron]

Started tapping on Tuesday the 12th and finished Wednesday. Still got the buckets to do but those will wait until next weekend at the earliest.

Had a busy day yesterday getting everything ready for the new season. We had our first boil last night and had 425 gallons of sap to start off the new season. We got the pans sweetened and was able to draw off a couple of gallons of light amber. It tastes good but I like the dark stuff myself. This stuff is kinda weak. Drank a few boiling sodas and had some friends stop by to celebrate the first boil. A good time was had by all and it was fun to be making syrup again.

The improvements that I made to my tubing and pumping systems are working out good. Increasing my pump line from 1" to 1 1/4" made a big difference in the time it takes to get the sap up the hill. Rerouting the old 1" pump line and turning it into a dry line is working good as well. I've got vacuum at the top of the hill when everything is still frozen down below now.

Looks like good temps for sap runs starting Friday!

[Leo]

Hi, what are "boiling sodas"?
Thanks,
Leo

[Brian]

Beer, yum. I think it was started by Parker Rowe.

[Brian]

Good luck Russ, make alot of it!!

[NH Maplemaker]

The term Boiling Soda was started by Russ! (RED ROOF MAPLE)

[Maplewalnut]

Good luck Russ. Hope you have a good season

[heus]

Nice to see you back on here Russ.

[TapME]

Nice to here from you Russ. Hope the sap runs 3%. Can't wait to come down and bring a boiling soda.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Russ,

How far and high for that 1 and 1/4" line?

thanks,

[Russell Lampron]

Hi, what are "boiling sodas"?
Thanks,
Leo

A boiling soda is a beer!


Beer, yum. I think it was started by Parker Rowe.

Close! Check my sig!


Nice to see you back on here Russ.

Did I see that you post on aboristsite? I hang out in the off topic forum most of the time.

[heus]

Russ I have posted on arboristsite but not for a very long time.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Hi Russ!

Go for it! Been following you for 5 years now. Can still see your tracks in the snow. But I ain't tapping until after Valentines Day.

Bruce

[Russell Lampron]

Hi Russ!

Go for it! Been following you for 5 years now. Can still see your tracks in the snow. But I ain't tapping until after Valentines Day.

Bruce

It's after Valentines Day Bruce! You tap yet?

[Hop Kiln Road]

No...No...Forget the hype. Valentines Day is the day you give her your heart. It ain't the date. Tapping in, Valentines Day, its all about the feeling. I got blowing snow and minus 20 windchill. I'm giving her my valentine later this week. Bruce

[Brian]

Crap, sorry Russ, Yes I knew it was one of you NH boys,I should have read your tag.

[Russell Lampron]

Crap, sorry Russ, Yes I knew it was one of you NH boys,I should have read your tag.

No apology needed Brian. Cheers!

[Russell Lampron]

You can now like Red Roof Maples on facebook!

[red maples]

hey alright !!! I will like yours!!! if you like mine!!! :) willow sugarhouse on facebook too!!!

[Russell Lampron]

hey alright !!! I will like yours!!! if you like mine!!! :) willow sugarhouse on facebook too!!!

I'll do that tonight if I'm not in the sugar house. Is that Willow Sugar House or Willow Creek Sugar House?

[Russell Lampron]

Not much happening here. Got about 150 gallons of sap yesterday and not sure if Richard even turned on the vacuum today. It was below freezing when I left for work as well as when I came home.

The new Red Roof Maples logo!

6921

[red maples]

I'll do that tonight if I'm not in the sugar house. Is that Willow Sugar House or Willow Creek Sugar House?

You got it already but yeah oooopssss!!! thats willow creek Sugarhouse......

Yeah not much going on anywhere and the 10 day doesn't look very good either. upper 30's just seem to go on and on!!!

[SSFLLC]

HI Russ, never went over 29 here. We got 175 gallons yesterday and sweetened the pans today.

[Russell Lampron]

You got it already but yeah oooopssss!!! thats willow creek Sugarhouse......

Yeah not much going on anywhere and the 10 day doesn't look very good either. upper 30's just seem to go on and on!!!

Don't know about down there but there have been times when I've gotten BIGSAP on days when the daytime high has only been 35*. One time that I remember the daytime high was 35 and we had a strong cold wind out of west. I didn't think that the sap would run that day but the tanks and buckets were full.

I think the 10 day looks good! The overnights don't look terribly cold so even with the moderate daytime highs the sap will still run.

[Russell Lampron]

HI Russ, never went over 29 here. We got 175 gallons yesterday and sweetened the pans today.

You got all of your taps in Keith?

I haven't tapped the buckets yet but my tubing is all tapped.

[SSFLLC]

All taped in but the gravity line next to the road. everything is tight pulling 28 at the releaser. Loggers are done no more pine trees blocking out the sun.

[Amber Gold]

I'm with Russ. So long as the forecast holds, we'll get runs every day next week. The night temp's aren't too cold.

[tuckermtn]

The temps look okay here, but I don't like the forecast for East and North East winds.

[red maples]

the 10 day for here changed since I posted that. it looks alot better, except possibly 12" of heavy wet snow....I like snow just not the back breaker kind!!! although today is wrong we have yet to break 28*...supposed to 35-36* sun is warm but the air aint.

[Russell Lampron]

Finally got enough sap to boil tonight. Pumped up 475 gallons last night. Richard will run it through the RO today and we will fire up the evaporator after dinner.

[red maples]

it ran pretty good here for the morning but into the afternoon it cooled off and slowed up. today its not running very good it did in the earrly morning. I think we need a good night of solid 20's and a nice calm sunny day of about 43-45* to really get a good run going!!!

[Russell Lampron]

What we really need is some sun. The temps have been fine but the clouds are keeping things slow.

[Dill]

I agree completely Russ. This time of year I'd rather have 34 and bright sun than 36 and clouds. For some reason my trees don't run without sun, but 10 miles down the road my parents trees are running full bore at 36 and socked in.

[Russell Lampron]

Boiled again for the 2nd time this season last night. Made 7 gallons of dark amber that taste like medium. I'm not surprised since it had been 11 days between boils. The evaporator was froze up for most of that time but the first couple of draw offs were real dark. It looked like light amber by the last draw off but I was out of sap. We will be boiling tomorrow night. Hopefully we will get some lighter syrup.

The sap is running good today. Nothing to do at work today so I took the day off and went out fixing vacuum leaks. Got the vacuum up from 21" to 24.5" so it was a productive day.

[Russell Lampron]

Good morning everyone. We had our 3rd boil of the season last night. Our biggest boil so far with 15 gallons made. It was late when we finished so we haven't graded and filtered it yet. It taste like medium and looks like it should grade as medium as well. It will be lightest syrup I have made since the season before last if it does.

Since I broke the tongue on the sap trailer I have been using my doodlebug and cordwood trailer for sap hauling duties. She likes it! I've got a couple of pics on my phone that I haven't had a chance to get onto my computer yet but my son posted one on facebook for me. He's got one of them smart phones. Mine is smart enough but I don't have the data plan.

I'm going to tap the bucket trees today and try to get as many things on my to do list done as I can. I probably will be boiling again Sunday evening.

[red maples]

Very jealous we have had no good freezes for about 5 days now and no good freezes in the 10 day forecast i hope that changes. My gravity lines are doing nothing and getting down75 gallons of sap per day on 355 vacuum. Need a really good freeze. Very strange weather pattern here

[Russell Lampron]

The freezes have been just about every night here. The temps have been just about perfect overnight too. Now if the sun would come out and stay out I would probably have to put my fast membrane back into my RO.

Got a little over a 1/2 gallon per tap here yesterday and the sun was blocked by clouds more than it wasn't. I got the buckets hung yesterday and only had a couple of taps on reds that weren't at least wet. Those were tapped about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. The sun had disappeared again and the sap flow had started to slow down from the other taps by then.

A pic of the doodlebug as a sap hauler.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg247/russhd1997/166774_402469479848220_1757699763_n.jpg

[bairdswift]

Love the sap hauler!! You take it on the road to pick up sap? Here in VT I think you could get away with it if you put a cation triangle on the back and kept the beers at the sugar house. Happy sappin!

[heus]

That thing is awesome!

[red maples]

hmmm thats a good question. no seat belt laws in NH. No helmet laws in NH. Don't need insurance in NH. If you know the Chief of police and most of the officers you'd be fine(I have gotten out of more speeding tickets ;) ). I think the only thing they could bust you on is the inspection. And its used for agriculture. So tech. speaking if it had some hazard lights of a reflective triangle or something then you should be all set!!! Live Free or die!!! its right on the license plate!!! :)

[Russell Lampron]

I can register it as a tractor and run it on the roads. I don't have to because other than on the closed town road that runs beside my property I don't use it off of my property. Off course it would have to be properly marked with the slow moving vehicle triangle and would need lights for operation after dark. I have a triangle here from when I did have it registered and it does have working lights.

I boiled again last night and have 350 gallons of sap in the woods. It doesn't look like it will run much today so I won't be boiling tonight. I could use the break though. I am getting burnt out already and the season has just started.

[Russell Lampron]

It looks like we will boiling again tonight. It was nice to have the night off last night. The sap didn't run yesterday and I didn't have to do anything after I got home from work. My regular job interferes with sugaring too much. I wish that I could take sugaring season off. It would make getting things done around the sugar house and in the woods a lot easier.

[red maples]

yes it does!!! :) but then you go and do something stupid like book a bunch of sugarhouse tours to take up your remaining time!!! 4 or 5 is my limit I think for next year!!! OK for sales but good for future sales and a good customer base!!!

[Amber Gold]

Russ, did your grade come up last night. We finally got back into a MA...barely. I wonder if it's just a dark year, or the new RO. Larry said he's making darker syrup than usual as well.

[Russell Lampron]

Closing in on 50 gallons of syrup for the year so far. Had a late night last night and made over 16 gallons of syrup. It is still running dark but I think that I may have picked up a grade.

I have thought about the energy grant but am still undecided about how much like a business I want to run this place.

[red maples]

hey Russ nice picture in the maple news. just saw it today. Do you get? I can save it for you if you like. Dark syrup here too trying everything but can't seem to get lighter cleaning the evap has helped it lighten up a bit but sap has low sugar for me not may good freezes at night for me!!!

[Russell Lampron]

hey Russ nice picture in the maple news. just saw it today. Do you get? I can save it for you if you like. Dark syrup here too trying everything but can't seem to get lighter cleaning the evap has helped it lighten up a bit but sap has low sugar for me not may good freezes at night for me!!!

I just subscribed to the maple news again but haven't received it yet. Yes, save it for me! I did an early first draw off on mine last night. It helped some to get that dark first draw off out early. I am still at dark amber but getting closer to the medium side of it.

[Russell Lampron]

The total for last nights boil is 17 gallons of dark amber. I think I only had one boil last season where I made that much syrup and it is still early. Hopefully I can have many more good boils like that before the season is over.

The temps weren't there for a good run today but I still got 425 gallons of sap. That's better than the combined total of 650 from Sunday and yesterday. Yesterday the temp was right for the buckets to run good but not today.

[Russell Lampron]

Gathered the buckets last evening and to our surprise we got 100 gallons out of them in the last 2 days. The sap shouldn't have run much because of the lack of sun and low temps but the trees liked it I guess. Boiled in the 425 gallons that came in Wednesday and still have 325 in the tank in the woods. Will get that pumped up as soon as the air temp is warm enough to send it without it freezing and blocking the pipe. It looks like we will be boiling again tonight to stay ahead of the upcoming monsoon.

[SSFLLC]

Day off Russ

[Russell Lampron]

Slow day at work. Richard is doing the stuff at home. 1 more week until I'm on vacation though.

[SSFLLC]

Alright i'll stop by then. Keith

[red maples]

and 2 weeks to maple weekend!!!

[Russell Lampron]

It's been a while since I have been able to post an update. The sap has been running good here and I have been making some quality product. I have only gathered the buckets which I tapped last weekend 3 times so far and have already passed last years total of sap collected by 25 gallons. I also passed the 1/2 way point of total syrup produced last season and then some. I am at 72 1/2 gallons now and made 130 last season. I have almost 400 gallons of sap in the woods too. I will be pumping that up as soon as it is warm enough. The sap freezes in the pipe on it's way up the hill if it is below freezing.

[Russell Lampron]

It was a busy weekend of syrup making here. We blew right past the 1/2 way point from last year and are well on our way to 100 gallons. We will be boiling again tonight for the fourth night in a row.

[Amber Gold]

Russ, how many holes did you drill this year?

[Russell Lampron]

Russ, how many holes did you drill this year?

Same as last year. 700 on vacuum and 100 buckets. Would like to add more but I have outgrown my RO. Adding on to the sugar house first and then when the funds are there upgrade the RO.

[Russell Lampron]

Made 12 more gallons last night. That's 6 1/2 shy of 100 for the season. It won't be too many boils until I pass last seasons 130. I don't think that I will make or beat the 275 that I made in the 2011 season though. It's still early enough to do it if the weather cooperates though. If I can make 200 anything else is gravy.

[Russell Lampron]

Well we did it! Made 8 gallons tonight to put us at 101 1/2 for the season so far. Had 500 gallons of sap to start with but sweetened that up to 16% and boiled it in. Lit the evaporator about 6:15, boiled, filtered and back in the house by 8:30. I like those kind of nights. This was the sixth night in a row and I can use the rest.

Kieth I was just reading on facebook that you boiled for 10 hours! Boy I don't miss those days. Boiling raw sap sucks!

[SSFLLC]

Ya you got that right Russ we are looking to pick one up next year as we will be adding another few hundred to are number of taps. Looks like were just about all caught up here. so if your around tomorrow afternoon i'll stop by.

[Russell Lampron]

Ya you got that right Russ we are looking to pick one up next year as we will be adding another few hundred to are number of taps. Looks like were just about all caught up here. so if your around tomorrow afternoon i'll stop by.

Have to work. On vacation next week though. We should be able to get together then.

Thought I was going to have tonight off. Got an unexpected frost. Richard pumped up 475 gals at 10:00. We'll be boiling again tonight.

[Russell Lampron]

So much for the night off. We ended up with 560 gallons of sap and boiled for the 7th night in a row tonight. We are now at 110 gallons of syrup, 20 shy of last years dismal total. I need to make 200 for a qt per tap so that is the goal. A goal that is tough to reach with red maples. Think I'll make it?

[CampHamp]

Tomorrow may stay cold for you, but after that you'll be busy every night for over a week... I bet you finish with 255 gal - get some more bottles!

[Hop Kiln Road]

Yup Russ, I think the weather is going to cooperate! Might take some heavy power though. Have you talked to the power people about a DC line and a converter substation?

[Russell Lampron]

It finally warmed up enough for me to be able to pump the sap in my woods tank up to the sugar house. It has been too cold for a sap run but I got 425 gallons since the last time that I boiled. When was that, it seems like such a long time ago. Anyhow if the sap is going to stop flowing I would rather it be because it is too cold. At least the trees aren't budding.

I have been having trouble making lighter grades of syrup here and determined that sweetening my sap too much is causing caramelizing in the flue pan. I took advantage of this recent cold spell to build an air injection system for my evaporator. The prices for copper pipe and tubing are ridiculous! I will be sweetening the pans today/tonight to get it dialed in. I hope that it works. I need some grade A and the future expansion of Red Roof Maples depends on being able to concentrate to the higher percentages.

[Amber Gold]

Russ, I wonder if we're having the same problem. We've been concentrating to 12-14% every boil this year, and have been barely able to make MA (when we were able to). Sap in the flue pan has gotten progressively darker, and I wonder if it's because of caramelization. I was thinking of adding air injection to increase evap. rate and keeping the flue pan cleaner...hadn't considered lightening the syrup grade. Keep us posted on how it works, and pics of the build.

[Russell Lampron]

Russ, I wonder if we're having the same problem. We've been concentrating to 12-14% every boil this year, and have been barely able to make MA (when we were able to). Sap in the flue pan has gotten progressively darker, and I wonder if it's because of caramelization. I was thinking of adding air injection to increase evap. rate and keeping the flue pan cleaner...hadn't considered lightening the syrup grade. Keep us posted on how it works, and pics of the build.

Yup that's what's going on. Do a search for bubbler and you can find the info on how it works. Howard Pearl doesn't concentrate to more than 12% because he is having the problem too. Air injection may not increase evap rate although 802 maple has seen that it does with wood fired evaporators. The injection blows cold air into the boiling sap cooling it down which in turn reduces caramelization and evap rate.

Hold on to your wallet when you go to buy the copper pipe, tubing and fittings to build one. I have close to $600 into mine. If I had the time to shop around I could have saved a little but $47 for a 10' piece of 1" copper pipe! Come on! That was at the local Ace hardware store. Lowes was even more expensive!

[Hop Kiln Road]

Interesting theory, Russ. However you guys are using a big percentage of red maple sap. I would think the easiest test would be to resweeten the just the flue pan with your midseason sap. I can't believe how dark my flue pan sap is, and the sap load Sunday was not clear and between 1 to 3 days old and the color change was barely perceptible, however the flavor was not as bold.

[red maples]

Although I don't have the RO "yet" but I am making very dark syrup too. Just curious did you notice that tap holes from last year many were not closed. they usually close with in a few months. I have a feeling the trees were stressed due to the early 80's then freeze and had to re bud causing them to use more sap and more sugar and nutrients than usual. In turn making the sap for this year very different compared to past years... just a theory.

I made very little dark and even had to put away a little for the competitions but not expecting much do you such a liight flavor for dark syrup... we'll see I guess.

Most people want the grade B anyway but candy making and cream making I am finding very difficult as there is too much invert sugars and getting large crystal and have to bring the syrup up to a few more degrees past where its supposed to be to get it to work. Have most problems with the cream just can't get it to go!!!!

I tap mostly reds too and my syrup is generally on the dark side but this year is exceptionally dark. I also noticed that the niter is VERY dark almost black and ALOT of it as well and I assume that maybe cooking and darkening the syrup too. I usually have to clean out the niter every 1000 gallons or so but this year its have been every 800gallons due to the large amount of black niter.

I like the Air injection idea it works with the steam aways so why not in the flue pan. yours is a raised flue though right? more difficult with a drop flue. I would need to use much smaller copper tubing to get into the bottoms of the flues to get it to work right I would asume.

Please keep us informed.

[Russell Lampron]

I have been having the caramelization color in my flue pan since I started recirculating my sap. I just didn't know what it was until Kieth from SSFLLC told me about Howard Pearl not going above 10% or 12% because he was making syrup in his flue pan. Don't know why it didn't click before.

Matt Roy aka Royalmaple made one of these air injection systems a couple of seasons ago. He watched his draw offs go from commercial to "B" to DA and then almost light as he made 20 gallons of syrup the first boil that he did with the air injector. I consulted with Dr Roy when I constructed my air injector the Bubblemaster 1.0!

[West Mountain Maple]

have you guys seen this, pretty amazing difference.
7449
Figure 4.7. Maple syrup produced in paired evaporators boiling sap from the same source on the same dates. The evaporator that produced the syrup on the top was the standard, control evaporator. The syrup on the bottom was produced in an identical evaporator equipped with air injection.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043452608006049

[PerryW]

wow, that's a big difference in color! I wonder what the taste difference is?

[Amber Gold]

I thought the syrup only lightened from injection in the syrup pan...flue pan injection had little impact on color...could be wrong.

Any good way to preheat the air before it enteres the flue pan?

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

[QUOTE=Amber Gold;216275]I thought the syrup only lightened from injection in the syrup pan...flue pan injection had little impact on color...could be wrong.

Actually it is just the opposite. I quit using the injectors in my syrup pan. Using just the ones in the flue pan. Sure make it easy to make light syrup. Sometimes I feel like I'm cheating:)

[red maples]

If you pre heat the air going into the flue pan air injection aren't you defeating the purpose of cooling the sap so it doesn't carmelize? that is a pretty amaing difference though. Keep us posted please!!!!

[Russell Lampron]

Just got in from my first boil with the Bubblemaster 1.0. The finished product is by far the lightest of the season. It looks to be medium and taste like medium too. I will recheck the grade in the daylight. The sap that I boiled tonight was what has been drizzling in since last Wednesday so some of it was close to a week old. The sap in the flue pan is still nice and clear and the amount of steam exiting the evaporator was quite impressive. The flue pan looked like it was at a full boil before it even came up to temperature. As the front pan sweetened I could see a nice color change from one side to the other as the gradient began to form. The bubbles didn't impede the flow as the density changed and the pan wasn't making syrup in the middle channels.

The initial result is as good as I could have hoped for but the real test will come with the next couple of boils. Can't wait until I have some fresh sap that I can squeeze the crap out of and see what I get then.

[Russell Lampron]

have you guys seen this, pretty amazing difference.
7449
Figure 4.7. Maple syrup produced in paired evaporators boiling sap from the same source on the same dates. The evaporator that produced the syrup on the top was the standard, control evaporator. The syrup on the bottom was produced in an identical evaporator equipped with air injection.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043452608006049

Mine looked like the ones on the right of the top row before I cleaned everything up and installed the air injector. Now it looks like the one on the far right on the bottom row.

[red maples]

WOW it made that much of a difference already!!! hmmmm something to this!!! maybe its something to look into. Flavor?? boiling rate?? does it add or subtract any from the boiling rate? As far as my consumers most like the Dark and grade B not many like the lighter grades. But it would be nice to have some for the people that do. Nice job Russ.

What is used for the air? an air compressor? and what to you have it set on? I would assume the pipe would get full of sap when its not running so it would have to be a pretty good shot of air to get all the sap out of all the lines in the pans the holes would be on the bottom of the pipes only? He's not gonna let out the secrets wants to patent the 1.0 :)

I found this pretty good.
http://andersonsmaplesyrup.com/files/GuidelinesAirInjectionMapleSyrupProduction.pdf

See what happens when we get gaps in boiling!!! we think too much!!!

[Russell Lampron]

WOW it made that much of a difference already!!! hmmmm something to this!!! maybe its something to look into. Flavor?? boiling rate?? does it add or subtract any from the boiling rate? As far as my consumers most like the Dark and grade B not many like the lighter grades. But it would be nice to have some for the people that do. Nice job Russ.

What is used for the air? an air compressor? and what to you have it set on? I would assume the pipe would get full of sap when its not running so it would have to be a pretty good shot of air to get all the sap out of all the lines in the pans the holes would be on the bottom of the pipes only? He's not gonna let out the secrets wants to patent the 1.0 :)

I found this pretty good.
http://andersonsmaplesyrup.com/files/GuidelinesAirInjectionMapleSyrupProduction.pdf

See what happens when we get gaps in boiling!!! we think too much!!!

The Bubblemaster 1.0 seems to have added to my evap rate. I had a lot more steam in the sugar house and didn't use as much wood as I normally would for that amount of sap. When the flue pan just started to steam I turned on the air and it immediately looked like it was at a full boil with tons of steam. It wasn't even close to being up to temp yet!

Bare in mind that I just sweetened the pans again last night. The syrup is usually lighter then anyways. The real test will be in the next couple of boils. Hopefully the sap in the flue pan stays as clean as it is now. If it does the system is doing what I want it to. If it doesn't future expansion plans will have to be changed and a bigger evaporator will have to be incorporated to make up for lower concentration percentages. As for flavor the syrup has been very mild tasting this season with the first run having practically no maple flavor. Last nights boil produced syrup with a mild medium flavor which pretty matches the lighter medium color.

I built my system similar to the one in the link that you posted. My manifolds are 1" copper pipe and I used 3/8" soft copper tubing for the air pipes, 1/2" wouldn't have fit in the flue pan.

I bought a 6 gallon shop vac to use as an air supply. It has more than enough air flow to operate the system. I have my control valves barely cracked.

[Amber Gold]

It's been a long time since I've boiled un-concentrated sap. Should the liquid in the flue pan have any color to it? Mine has a brown tinge to it. I'm hoping to have the time to clean the flue pan prior to maple weekend to get a fresh start to the second half of the season.

Flue pan injection, is the syrup being artificially lightened more than it should be, or just back up to the grade it tastes like?

I always thought the new evap's came with much longer syrup pan's these days (old standard was square syrup pans) because they were trying to maximize the sap's time in the syrup pan to develop color/flavor when boiling high concentrate...maybe it's actually to prevent caramelization of sugars in the flue pan??

Isn't the wet/dry vac noise awful inside the sugarhouse? Even if you put it outside the wall, it's going to be loud.

[Russell Lampron]

It's been a long time since I've boiled un-concentrated sap. Should the liquid in the flue pan have any color to it? Mine has a brown tinge to it. I'm hoping to have the time to clean the flue pan prior to maple weekend to get a fresh start to the second half of the season.

Flue pan injection, is the syrup being artificially lightened more than it should be, or just back up to the grade it tastes like?

I always thought the new evap's came with much longer syrup pan's these days (old standard was square syrup pans) because they were trying to maximize the sap's time in the syrup pan to develop color/flavor when boiling high concentrate...maybe it's actually to prevent caramelization of sugars in the flue pan??

Isn't the wet/dry vac noise awful inside the sugarhouse? Even if you put it outside the wall, it's going to be loud.

It's been even longer since I have boiled raw sap. If I remember correctly I never had dark sap in the flue pan until I started boiling highly concentrated sap. It just took me a while to figure out what was going on.

I don't think the syrup is being artificially lightened. I think the sap is being prevented from being allowed to sit at the bottom of the flues and overheat. The agitation and cooling by the air bubbles pushes the sap in the bottom of the flues up as well as the nitre.

I put the shop vac out on the tank platform and plumbed it in with PVC. It is loud but not as bad as having it inside. I have the RO, vacuum pump and blower running when I am boiling most of the time and the vacuum is just another noise.

[red maples]

I read a paper this morning that was about the air injection and it said there was less niter due to the rapid cooling/heating and more air surface and oxygenation of the sap as it boiled. and the constant agitation of the sap helps to keep the niter build up to a min. as well. the flavors are much lighter due the exposure to the greater air surface resulting more vanilla flavors and other flavors associated with lighter syrups, because it is not in contact with the pans as much.

According to the paper it will work with concentrate as well as raw sap.

Also Josh the reason for the shorter flue pan is its not needed with RO the longer with the flue pan you can maximize your boil rate because of large amount of surface to boil on. With RO's you don't need it to boil that hard because of the 12-14% concentration you can get it up to recycling the sap. (doing my homework on RO's vs Evap styles and steamaways as of late!!!) because the flue pan can get so sweet your get the carmelization and heavier concentrated sap takes that much more energy to boil.

The way I see it if you need light syrup use the air if you need darker grades turn it off.

[Greyfox]

Hold on to your wallet when you go to buy the copper pipe, tubing and fittings to build one. I have close to $600 into mine. If I had the time to shop around I could have saved a little but $47 for a 10' piece of 1" copper pipe! Come on! That was at the local Ace hardware store. Lowes was even more expensive!

Hey Russ, that's great! Like most producers I've ran out of thing to spend money on in this hobby. What with the low cost of stainless steel pans and such, it good to see the there's FINALLY something to spend some more time and money on. All this easy money for such little work has been making me feel guilty, so now I can finally share the wealth. Hold on, someones at the door..... "Hello sheriff....what this, a warrant for my commitment, why?......insanity you say? " O.K guys, gotta go. My wife's invited a guest to come and see me.

Doc

[Russell Lampron]

Hey Russ, that's great! Like most producers I've ran out of thing to spend money on in this hobby. What with the low cost of stainless steel pans and such, it good to see the there's FINALLY something to spend some more time and money on. All this easy money for such little work has been making me feel guilty, so now I can finally share the wealth. Hold on, someones at the door..... "Hello sheriff....what this, a warrant for my commitment, why?......insanity you say? " O.K guys, gotta go. My wife's invited a guest to come and see me.

Doc

I see in your signature that you have gone from 35 taps to 16! What's up with that Doc? You're supposed to add taps every year, not subtract them!

[Russell Lampron]

I read a paper this morning that was about the air injection and it said there was less niter due to the rapid cooling/heating and more air surface and oxygenation of the sap as it boiled. and the constant agitation of the sap helps to keep the niter build up to a min. as well. the flavors are much lighter due the exposure to the greater air surface resulting more vanilla flavors and other flavors associated with lighter syrups, because it is not in contact with the pans as much.

According to the paper it will work with concentrate as well as raw sap.

Also Josh the reason for the shorter flue pan is its not needed with RO the longer with the flue pan you can maximize your boil rate because of large amount of surface to boil on. With RO's you don't need it to boil that hard because of the 12-14% concentration you can get it up to recycling the sap. (doing my homework on RO's vs Evap styles and steamaways as of late!!!) because the flue pan can get so sweet your get the carmelization and heavier concentrated sap takes that much more energy to boil.

The way I see it if you need light syrup use the air if you need darker grades turn it off.

One of the articles that I read stated that there is just as much nitre but that like the syrup it is much lighter in color. The agitation keeps it from settling on the bottom of the pans and burning.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

That was my understanding. Seems I remember a presentation on research from procter about that

[Greyfox]

I see in your signature that you have gone from 35 taps to 16! What's up with that Doc? You're supposed to add taps every year, not subtract them!

Yeah, it's been a steep learning curve for me. In 2011 I tapped a few, got going fairly well, tapped some more, and then BAM, a full blown wave of sap hit that I didn't have the evaporator to process. Last year I was trying to tap anything that would give me a drop of sap, and made a quarter of what I did in the previous year. This year seems to be a happy medium; we're about half way through the season, I've pulled about 4 GPT, and my half-arsed evaporator has been able to keep up. Next year I'm planning (hoping) to have a 2x6 so I can tap 50 to 75 trees. Good luck to you on your side of the ridge. I'll probably run into you some time at Sunnyside.

Doc.

[Russell Lampron]

Yeah, it's been a steep learning curve for me. In 2011 I tapped a few, got going fairly well, tapped some more, and then BAM, a full blown wave of sap hit that I didn't have the evaporator to process. Last year I was trying to tap anything that would give me a drop of sap, and made a quarter of what I did in the previous year. This year seems to be a happy medium; we're about half way through the season, I've pulled about 4 GPT, and my half-arsed evaporator has been able to keep up. Next year I'm planning (hoping) to have a 2x6 so I can tap 50 to 75 trees. Good luck to you on your side of the ridge. I'll probably run into you some time at Sunnyside.

Doc.

I'm on Pleasant St Ext off of 129 if you want to stop by sometime. I'll show you my set up. I've got everything that the big guys have here, just on a smaller scale. It's open house weekend if you can get over here this weekend.

[Russell Lampron]

We pumped out the woods tank Tuesday and from then until last evening we got 200 gallons of sap. It takes a long time for things to get flowing when the overnight temps dip into the single digits. It didn't get as cold last night. It's 20* with sun and clouds with scattered flurries and a high of 38* in the forecast today. I hope that I can get another 200 plus so that I can boil for a little while Saturday. It's open house weekend and enough sap to boil for 3 hours would be nice.

Speaking of open house weekend if any of you want to stop by please do. There will be samples of vanilla ice cream with syrup on it and we can shoot the bull for a while. If I'm not too busy in the sugar house I may even be able to take you for a little tour of the woods. The address is 7064 Pleasant St Ext in Loudon NH for your GPS and it is only 4 miles up Rt 129 from Rt 106.

[Greyfox]

Russ, thanks for the invite. I'm working half a day tomorrow at the real job so I'll try to swing by on the way home tomorrow afternoon. Hope to see you then.

Doc

[Russell Lampron]

Good luck to all NH sugar houses that are participating in the open house weekend!

[Russell Lampron]

Wow! What a first day. The turnout was great and the sales were fantastic too. We sold $2 less on the first day than we did for the whole weekend last year. One more package of fudge sold tomorrow will equal all of last years sales. We also tied last seasons syrup production today. Just got done making more maple nuts for tomorrow. Sold out of cashews and pecans today. I also canned while I was boiling today and am still running low on some sizes of grade B for tomorrow.

The Bubblemaster 1.0 continues to impress! Started out a little dark and some yellowing in the flue pan because I hadn't boiled since Tuesday. Within a couple of draw offs the flue pan was clear again and the front pan continued to get lighter. At the end of the boil the syrup coming out of the draw off was almost clear. The bubbles near the draw off had hardly any color at all. I don't like the light syrup myself but the yuppies do and I get more for it if I have to sell it bulk.

Good luck to all of the sugar houses with open houses tomorrow. I am looking forward to another great turn out here.

[Russell Lampron]

Looks like it is time to turn the vacuum pump on! Looking forward to a good sap run today and a good turn out for day 2 of Maple Weekend.

Later Bye!

[Greyfox]

Good luck today Russ. Looks like the weather may cooperate a bit today so hopefully you'll have enough for a full day of boiling. Thanks for the tour yesterday. You've got a nice set-up; well thought out and efficient. Hope the day is a profitable one for you and the family. Thanks again.

Doc

[Russell Lampron]

Good luck today Russ. Looks like the weather may cooperate a bit today so hopefully you'll have enough for a full day of boiling. Thanks for the tour yesterday. You've got a nice set-up; well thought out and efficient. Hope the day is a profitable one for you and the family. Thanks again.

Doc

Thanks for stopping by yesterday Doc. Wish I had had the time to take you for a tour of the woods. We had another great turn out and set a new record for sales. We actually got a pretty good sap run today too. Not a record breaker but the best one in the last week and a half.

[Russell Lampron]

We boiled in 750 gallons of sap last night and there was 175 gals in the woods tank when I shut the pump off at 10pm. With the Bubblemaster we are making some light colored and great tasting medium amber. After drawing off dark, darker darkest the first part of the season it is hard to believe the difference in color. Had my first order for light syrup last night and was happy to be able to fill it. I still get more request for B though and have orders for more of that to fill. I have plenty of that in stock just need to jug some up.

[red maples]

yes I have standing orders too. I have several emails and phone calls. for syrup and honey although honey is completely sold out until mid June or so whe the bees get up and running again.

[Russell Lampron]

The sap ran pretty good here today. I got 525 gallons out of the woods tank and it was still coming in pretty good at 6:30 when I was done pumping. There wasn't enough in the buckets to gather. Guess it didn't freeze hard enough last night for them to run good. We'll run that sap through the RO tomorrow and boil tomorrow night. The color has been staying in the light to light medium amber range since I have been using the Bubblemaster. I can't wait to see what we will get tomorrow night.

[SSFLLC]

Ran good over here to Russ 220 gals. not to bad. Looks like the up grades will happen for you.

[Russell Lampron]

Ran good over here to Russ 220 gals. not to bad. Looks like the up grades will happen for you.

We've already set aside the funds for the addition to the sugar house. My wife also says that we need to build her a shelter like a little farm stand to sell out of on maple weekend. She didn't like the cold wind blowing everything all over the place this past weekend. Can't say as I blame her.

[Amber Gold]

The wind was nasty at my place on Saturday. My mom covers the tables for us, and she's also requested a shelter of some sort for next season. We'll see what I come up with.

[nymapleguy607]

Hey Russ, What are you using for an air supply on the Bubblemaster?

[Russell Lampron]

Hey Russ, What are you using for an air supply on the Bubblemaster?

I bought a new 6 gallon shop vac so that I have a filtered air source. It is outside the sugar house to cut down on noise.

[Russell Lampron]

I thought last night was going to be a relatively easy one. I only had 50 gallons of concentrate to boil and before that all I needed to do was gather the buckets and pump out the woods tank. When I first started gathering the buckets I thought that I wasn't going to get much sap out of them only getting 10 gallons out of the first 14 buckets, all small trees. The big trees made up for it though and I got the 2nd biggest run of the season out of them. Naturally it took longer to gather them than first anticipated. Next, just as it was getting dark I headed down to the woods tank. The ice gave way under the tractor and there I sat hung up on the rear axle and the come along and chains were up at the house. Got the tractor unstuck and the tank pumped out. Got the tractor stuck once more on the way back up to tha sugar house. Winched it out with the come along once again and finally made it up to the sugar house. By the time the tank was emptied and the tractor put away it was after 9:00 and we were finally lighting the evaporator. We boiled in some of the sap that we gathered yesterday too and made another 10 1/2 gallons for a season total of 156 gallons. It was 12:45 by the time I got into the house and we still need to heat up last nights syrup and filter it before we can boil tonight. Now I sit here at work with nothing to do waiting for something to come in.

Things should go easier tonight, the buckets weren't running this morning so we won't have to gather them tonight.

[Amber Gold]

That's quite the eventful night. We'll get enough to boil today, but I'm not expecting anything great for a run.

With the shop vac. outside, how noisy is it? What grade are you pulling now?

[Russell Lampron]

That's quite the eventful night. We'll get enough to boil today, but I'm not expecting anything great for a run.

With the shop vac. outside, how noisy is it? What grade are you pulling now?

We save about 300 gallons last night for today and the vacuum brought in 150 gallons more overnight. I'm not sure how much we will get today. It was still coming in slow this morning.

We can hear the shop vac in the background but the RO is louder. Once the RO shuts down we flush the sugar then wait to do the wash cycle when we shut down for the night to cut down on the noise.

The last couple of draws last night started to darken a little. I think it may be dark amber now, it sure tastes like it. We didn't run it through the filter last night to check the grade but will tonight before we boil. The first draws were lighter and we may still be able to get medium out of it. It is all mixed together.

[red maples]

I am defenity interested in this air injection too. does the lighter syrup you made taste like lighter syrup of does it have a more darker taste to it. on a retail front most of my customers want my Gr B. but it good to offer the lighter stuff too. especially med. and dark. and have light for candy. well you know that stuff. but anyhow I might try it for next year. I know its another investment but if I can even a little more med and dark and a little less gr B I would be happy.

[PerryW]

The last thing I need this year is lighter syrup. Much of my 77 gallons is so light it really doesn't look like syrup.

[Russell Lampron]

I boiled again last night and the color is at dark amber now. The sap has been cloudy with not much sugar in it and the color may be the best that I can get because of that. The Flue pan seems to be staying pretty clean compared to what it was before. The syrup is filtering harder now too. I have to break down and clean the press after 10 gallons where i could run more than that through before.

With the Bubblemaster the flavor tends to match the color. As the syrup has darkened the flavor has changed as well. The Medium and Dark that I have made lately tastes better than the B and NH fancy that I was making before. That had the dark color but not the strong flavor.

I boiled again last night and am now at 176 1/2 gals. The second best total from the last 5 seasons. It looks like the sap is gonna run good today. It is 23 here this morning and it was below freezing when I came in last night at 10:00.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

The more scale on the front pan and buildup, the darker the syrup is going to be. With the bubblemaster, I would guess Russ it keeping the front pan clean and thus the reason he is making all the light syrup. I made about 90% light and medium this year and probably 60% was light and the steamaway helped a lot with it as it is pretty easy to clean compared to the syrup pan and it gets out a lot of the junk so the flue pan stays really clean and doesn't get any scale or junk at all in it hardly which helps and it gets out a little of the scale so there is less scale in the syrup pan. I try to clean my pans every couple thousand gallon of sap and if the syrup has went to medium, it usually goes back to light after cleaning. This is not a guarantee as if you have bad sap, you won't might light syrup but you will probably make at least a grade lighter. I had cleaned my pans before last boil and boiled cloudy sap yesterday with sweetening the pans and still will probably be medium syrup.

[Russell Lampron]

The more scale on the front pan and buildup, the darker the syrup is going to be. With the bubblemaster, I would guess Russ it keeping the front pan clean and thus the reason he is making all the light syrup. I made about 90% light and medium this year and probably 60% was light and the steamaway helped a lot with it as it is pretty easy to clean compared to the syrup pan and it gets out a lot of the junk so the flue pan stays really clean and doesn't get any scale or junk at all in it hardly which helps and it gets out a little of the scale so there is less scale in the syrup pan. I try to clean my pans every couple thousand gallon of sap and if the syrup has went to medium, it usually goes back to light after cleaning. This is not a guarantee as if you have bad sap, you won't might light syrup but you will probably make at least a grade lighter. I had cleaned my pans before last boil and boiled cloudy sap yesterday with sweetening the pans and still will probably be medium syrup.

Brandon it sounds like you are liking the Steamaway. How sweet is the sap when it goes into the front pan? Mine is as high as 26% sometimes. When I'm boiling 18% concentrate I am drawing off 7 gallons of syrup in an hour. That's a lot of fun on a 2x6!

When boiling highly concentrated sap like I do the nitre build up in the flue pan is what causes the darker syrup. The front pan has stayed pretty clean. I could still see the stainless through the syrup and when I swapped pans there was more mud build up in the float boxes than anywhere else.

[Amber Gold]

Russ, post-season please send me pics of the Bubblemaster 1.0. I think this will be a good addition to my evap. to lighten the grade back up to where it should be. Since we have a lot of taps on a 2.5x8, I don't see myself concentrating less to keep sap from caramelizing in the flue pan. I'm also not interested in burning more wood than we are this year...somewhere around 8 chord. Did you notice an evaporization rate increase w/ the Bubblemaster? What about swapping out the squirrel cage blower for the underfire air with a high pressure blower and directing some of that flow into the bubblemaster. It'd beat having to listen to a vacuum cleaner running, and would the high pressure blower work better for underfire air??

[Russell Lampron]

Josh do you think that you could make a field trip up to check it out in person? I've got some pics on my phone that I can send to you as picture messages. I'll do that as soon as I have a free minute. So far I am very impressed at the difference that the Bubblemaster 1.0 has made. I boiled again last night for the 8th or 9th time since I installed it and I am still making grade A syrup. It has changed to dark amber now and there is some discoloration in the flue pan but not as bad as before. As a comparison the second boil of the season was grade B and it stayed that way until St Patrick's weekend. The Bubblemaster 1.0 was added and the first boil was on 03/19. The last 3rd of my crop is all grade A from light to dark.

I dont know about swapping out my blower. It is pretty big and moves a lot of air. I am thinking of building a duct into it and then seeing if it will have enough pressure to blow the bubbles up through the sap in the flue pan. If it works it will be the birth of the Bubblemaster 2.0!

[Amber Gold]

Got your pics and I can see why it cost so much...lotta copper. I didn't realize you put it in both pans. I'm sure I can make a trip to Loudon this summer. I'll probably wait until mid-Feb. before I remember to build it. You've gotten impressive results.

[Russell Lampron]

Got your pics and I can see why it cost so much...lotta copper. I didn't realize you put it in both pans. I'm sure I can make a trip to Loudon this summer. I'll probably wait until mid-Feb. before I remember to build it. You've gotten impressive results.

Yeah the price of copper is rediculous. The compression fittings that I soldered into the manifolds were almost $6 each at Lowes. I probably could have saved some money if I had the time to shop around but being the middle of sugaring season I just had to spend the money and get it done.

[Russell Lampron]

Just heated up 3 5 gallons containers and transferred them into a 15.5 gallon keg. It's that time in the season when syrup storage containers are getting scarce. A problem I don't mind having!

[PerryW]

Russ, I just canned up 40 gallons of my syrup into jugs this morning for the same reason. Stayed below freezing all day and looks like sugar weather coming up. My trees have all been tapped less than 5 weeks so I'm hoping to break 100 gallons on the next boil.

[PerryW]

Just heated up 3 5 gallons containers and transferred them into a 15.5 gallon keg. It's that time in the season when syrup storage containers are getting scarce. A problem I don't mind having!

RUss, does all your syrup go into bulk containers at above 180 deg F?

I'm still trying to decide whether I should change my system because I've had an occasional fermented 5 gal drum over the years. I filter directly from the evaporator thru 24x36 flat filters and directly into 5 gal drums. I make every attempt to fill a drum completely with hot syrup and pack it chuck full (by tipping it) and sealing it, BUT, i'm sure it is less than 180 deg. most of the time when I screw the cap on. If the drum is not completely filled in a single session, it is labeled COLD and gets used up first. My syrup is stored in the basement which remains cool until these cold drums get used up.

My dilema is this: I have an aversion to heating and reheating syrup as I'm afraid it would affect taste. Syrup also just seems better right off the filter/canner sitting next to my evaporator! Not sure if this is true, or is people could actually taste a difference??? Any comments?

Also, what do you guys use to heat your syrup up? I have an electric stove in my canning room (in the basement of my house). I guess I would need to install some sort of propane stove to heat up my 12" x 20" filter canner?

[Russell Lampron]

I heat my syrup to 195* or higher and run it from my filter press into the drums. When I run it into my canner from the press it is usually still above 180*. If I don't have enough to completely fill a 5 gallon container I run it into the canner and jug it up in consumer size jugs. I have a 16"x16" canner with a propane burner under it for reheating to can and a finisher that I made out of a 3 burner Weber grill that I use to heat it for filtering. I had Bill Mason build me a pan for the finisher. It holds 22 gallons of syrup.

I used to have a 5 gallon jug or 2 go bad from not packing them hot enough. I haven't lost any since I started using the filter press. That includes last summer when it was hotter than normal for most of the summer. I store my syrup in my sugar house.

I agree that syrup taste best when it just comes out of the press but it still taste good when reheated to jug it up. I am more afraid of the syrup getting darker from reheating than losing flavor.

[PerryW]

I am more afraid of the syrup getting darker from reheating than losing flavor.

Thanks for the info Russ. I have the opposite problem this year (so far). Got lots of Dark Amber orders but mostly all Fancy so far.

I should consider getting a propane burner for my filter canner. I have two of the 12" x 20" units (one with a dial thermometer and a filter rack). I reheat the syrup in one, standardize the syrup and open the valve and filter it into the other one. I have to do all my canning when I'm not boiling because it's too hectic boiling and canning at the same time. Plus, my sugarhouse is more of a shack than a house (LOL) and I worry about sawdust blowing around and into the jugs.

[Russell Lampron]

Thanks for the info Russ. I have the opposite problem this year (so far). Got lots of Dark Amber orders but mostly all Fancy so far.

I should consider getting a propane burner for my filter canner. I have two of the 12" x 20" units (one with a dial thermometer and a filter rack). I reheat the syrup in one, standardize the syrup and open the valve and filter it into the other one. I have to do all my canning when I'm not boiling because it's too hectic boiling and canning at the same time. Plus, my sugarhouse is more of a shack than a house (LOL) and I worry about sawdust blowing around and into the jugs.

I don't can while I am boiling either. Too much ash and dust blowing around. I draw all of my syrup off into my finisher then correct the density and heat it to filtering temperature. Then I run it through the filter press and fill either bulk containers or the canner.

[Russell Lampron]

I just got done pumping 550 gallons of sap up to the sugar house. We will be boiling tomorrow night. I'm at 184 gallons of syrup produced so far. The sap I pumped up tonight should get me over 190 gals. which puts me real close to the 200 gals. that I set as the goal for the season.

[red maples]

I fell short of mine...really wanted to hit that Quart per tap. missed it by 15 gallons!!! Oh well just the red sox there's always next year!!! :)

[Russell Lampron]

I fell short of mine...really wanted to hit that Quart per tap. missed it by 15 gallons!!! Oh well just the red sox there's always next year!!! :)

If I take my buckets out of the tap count and discount the syrup made out of the sap that I got from them I would already be there and a little more. I should be real close after tonight and it looks like I will be boiling again tomorrow night too.

[Russell Lampron]

It looks like if the sap in the woods tank is no good that I am going to be at or near 205 gallons for the season or just over the .25gpt I was shooting for. I just got in from making another 4 1/2 gallons to put me at 195 for the season. As sweet as the concentrate has been the last 3 boils I should be able to get 10 gallons more when I finish what is in the evaporator.

Other than a couple of cold spells and then a warm one where the sap didn't run the runs were pretty consistent. Most of the time I had 500 to 600 gallons of sap to boil. I see that some of my neighbors have called it a season and pulled their taps. I am still going here but not for much longer. I will taste the sap in the woods tank to determine if I am going to boil it or dump it. The sap I boiled tonight had a slightly sour taste to it but not bitter and the syrup taste good. I think it is grade B now but will know better tomorrow when I can look at tit in the daylight.

Making syrup wasn't too much fun when all I was making was NH fancy that didn't have the NH fancy flavor. That all changed when I built the Bubblemaster 1.0! If tonight's syrup turns out to be grade B and I think that it will, it will be the first B that I have made since the Bubblemaster 1.0 was installed.

[red maples]

hey you need to send me a photo of the bubblemaster 1.0 I have a plan in my head but need to see one!!! do you have any idea what CFM is need to for that? I am going to look into a squirrel cage blower so its not as noisy as the vac. I will just have to set up some sort of filter system on it. you can pick them up pretty cheap if they are strong enough that is. Cell phone is 686-0222 or you send it to my email bradrice@comcast.net both are easy. but email I can see bigger on the computer! whatever.

[Russell Lampron]

It is always a sad time when it is time to call it a season. The front bearing on my vacuum pump motor failed and I had to unplug it today. I finished what I had in my front pan and the total is now 198.5 gallons. It is still dark amber too. I pumped 400 gallons of sap up tonight and will be boiling tomorrow night. I'm not sure if it will make good syrup. I'll find out tomorrow.

Brad I'll get some Bubblemaster 1.0 pics posted. I have to send them from my phone to my email and the signal strength isn't strong enough here.

[PerryW]

Sounds like a pretty good year for you Russ. Looks like this week may be the last for me but I'm gonna hang on as long as possible to make some Grade B.

[Russell Lampron]

Sounds like a pretty good year for you Russ. Looks like this week may be the last for me but I'm gonna hang on as long as possible to make some Grade B.

It was a good season here this year. It's the second best of the last 5 and maybe ever. I can't seem to find my records from prior years and the memory only seems to work for a couple of specific ones. The very first, 2000, when I had 28 taps on gravity tubing and boiled on my gas grill. I made 3 1/2 gallons and my former son in law made 2 gallons from those taps. We dumped as much sap as we boiled that year. The first with my evaporator which was 2001 when I made 57 gallons on 305 taps. About 200 of those were gravity tubing and the rest were buckets. Then 2005 which was the worst season where I had a few more taps on buckets and added 200 more on vacuum. That was the first year with my RO machine too. It was so cold that I didn't start tapping until March 13th and the season was all done on the 30th. I only made 45 gallons of syrup that year.

If your forecast is anything like mine last night was the last freeze in the 10 day forecast. I wish you good luck with the rest of your season.

[PerryW]

Thanks Russ, I'm sitting at 115 gallons and it's froze up tight. All I need is 6 more gallons I will have the best year since 2000! (made 136 gal that year).

I write my records right on the sugarhouse wall so I don't lose then. I just put the current season- total for each day that I make syrup so now i have 24 years of records for essentially the same trees.

[red maples]

I will be looking for an sp22 for next year!!! my little bb2 is running high vac but just isn't moving enough air with that much tubing and is taking too long to catchup after the releaser dumps.

[Russell Lampron]

I am now at 203.5 gallons of syrup for the season after the last boil last night. After I finish what is in the evaporator I should be around 213 gallons total that's a little more than .25gpt. Not much for some guys out there but very good to me considering that most of my trees are red maples and most of those on north facing slopes. As usual there are plans in the works to improve on that number next season.

For those that follow this thread and are interested in it I started a thread with pics of the Bubblemaster 1.0. Your questions and comments are welcomed.

[PerryW]

Wow that's great Russ. I though you were done at 198.5 and not going to make your goal of 200!

Still cranking up here with 131 gal and low-grade Medium Amber, the best year since 2000!

The neighbor gave me 250 gallons of 1.2% to boil tomorrow and should have another 100 or more of my own sap to boil in the AM. If the weather would cooperate, i think there would be more season for me. My taps are only 5.5 weeks old and the ground seems frozen still. Poplars aren't fuzzy yet and ice on all the ponds. Forecast seems imported with nothing over mid fifties and a possible freeze friday & Saturday nites.