Michigan March Tapping/Sap Flow

[DonMcJr]

3/4 is no problem! I have 8 gallons of sap on standby!

[DonMcJr]

Had to step outside to cool off...

7416

[DonMcJr]

Wow I just jumped up to 214 F...

[firetech]

All caught up for now 1600 gals thru the evaporator today got to luv the RO. All the barrels,buckets and tanks cleared. Bottled off 10 gals into various bottle sizes and 2 5gal bucket for later. Shipments for the week include Australia, Iowa, and Florida. Come on Monday bring me some more sap.

[DonMcJr]

Im all caught up too! Out of 80 gallons it looks like im gonna have another 2 gallons for a season total of 3 gallons 96 oz!
Shipments this week are my tummy and a bunch of locals tummys! LOL

[Tweegs]

Boy am I behind the power curve.
Birthday parties Friday night, didn’t get home until late.
Gathered 280 gallons yesterday morning, best run so far, spent the rest of the day cutting wood.

Heading out the door right now to light the fire.

[michiganfarmer]

the temps around Kingsley havent warmed up yet. A 35 degree day here and there. Sap content of .5 percent.

[shane hickey]

I boiled till 3:00 last night started hulk up at 8:00 this morning should be done by noon

[Butcher]

Still collecting from the last run, boiling away right now concentrating to 13% making about 30 gallons an hour should pass 1000 gallons of syrup today. I still have one bush that's not cooperating as I only got 2/3 of a gpt everything else was double that , most of the taps are on the north side of the trees not sure if that's the problem or if the trees are just junk its really starting to piss me off, if I owned them i'd probably wear out my chainsaw in there.

[shane hickey]

Still collecting from the last run, boiling away right now concentrating to 13% making about 30 gallons an hour should pass 1000 gallons of syrup today. I still have one bush that's not cooperating as I only got 2/3 of a gpt everything else was double that , most of the taps are on the north side of the trees not sure if that's the problem or if the trees are just junk its really starting to piss me off, if I owned them i'd probably wear out my chainsaw in there.

Sounds like we are off to a good start. I had the same problem last year with a woods but this year she finally cut loose.

[firetech]

BUtcher hows your flat tubing system working? We got ours started only 330 taps on vac but they are kicking but vs my gravity. Vac has given 1400 gals of sap tapped 3/8 all reds. Next year the rest for about 1000 on vac in that wood lot.

[Butcher]

Well firetech 2 of the woods I have setup are doing well, the other one with 2500 taps is the one that is lagging. And the vacuum at that site is always 25+ and disappointments me every time, this woods also shuts down while the others are still running well. Not sure why but it kicks me in the %&$# everytime it runs. So far I've only pulled 15000 gallons from there and tapped it feb 10th.

[DonMcJr]

Well my Buckets actually flowed yesterday and today a bit with all this sun and I probally could go collect 35 gallons-ish but I'm gonna wait til tomorrow evening and collect a lot more cause it should flow tomorrow...

[Tweegs]

Just finished up, pulled off 6.5 gallons.

Syrup really started to lighten up about mid-way through. I transport from the shack to the house in 5 gallon containers so I’m pretty sure that first 5 gal is going to grade out medium. If that last gallon + isn’t light, it’s going to be right on the cusp.

I like the medium best anyway, but mama wants candy.
Haven’t made any light this year.

[hfitch]

took down about 11ish gallons today to 2 quarts for the freezer, giving me about a gallon of "nearup". Already starting to get a darker grade. This boiled down sap is just about the same color as my finished syrup a week ago. This stuff has a nice aroma and taste to it already. Can't wait to try it. Fancy great and all but I like a stronger taste : ) Flow was next to nothing today and not looking real promising til Friday except maybe tomorrow.

[Too Tall]

I boiled down 20ish gallons of sap and produced just under 3/4 gallon of syrup today. That ice that forms in the buckets really is a poor man's RO. I love it.

[bakerrunner]

took down about 11ish gallons today to 2 quarts for the freezer, giving me about a gallon of "nearup". Already starting to get a darker grade. This boiled down sap is just about the same color as my finished syrup a week ago. This stuff has a nice aroma and taste to it already. Can't wait to try it. Fancy great and all but I like a stronger taste : ) Flow was next to nothing today and not looking real promising til Friday except maybe tomorrow.

What determines the lightness or darkness, is it just the sap or the way it is boiled? I notice the current batch I'm boiling seems to be darker.

I didn't check my trees today, but the one by the house is not very full, so things have slowed because of the weather, which is good. I need to get caught up on boiling. This weekend is going to rock judging from the weather.

[shane hickey]

What determines the lightness or darkness, is it just the sap or the way it is boiled? I notice the current batch I'm boiling seems to be darker.

I didn't check my trees today, but the one by the house is not very full, so things have slowed because of the weather, which is good. I need to get caught up on boiling. This weekend is going to rock judging from the weather.

Dark syrup comes from numerous things. The weather, how old the sap is how long your boiling it also how clean the pans and sap is.

[hfitch]

from what I gather on here, the time of year determines the syrup color. Light in the beginning and dark in the end. Unless of course, it's under or over cooked.

[DonMcJr]

I have the close to 2 gallons to finish in the fridge from last night yet... Then I am going to drain out what's in my Evap Pan and boil that down and clean the pan. It was really dark and foamy while boiling last night. So my Syrup total should hit 4+ Gallons when I get that done!

[shane hickey]

from what I gather on here, the time of year determines the syrup color. Light in the beginning and dark in the end. Unless of course, it's under or over cooked.

Yeah that would be another factor its just getting close to the end of the season.

[Woody_Woodruff]

Only pulled off 15 gal today, 2.7 brix. had the flatriver scout troop out today, fun in the sun. sent them home with the lil 3 oz bottles. filtering about 3 more galons of finsihed right now.

[DonMcJr]

3rd batch is done! 1 gallon 68 oz for a Season total of 3 Gallons and 36 oz and I still have 4 gallons of sweet in the pan that I am gonna boil down tomorrow so I can clean the pan cause it's getting too dirty for my liking!

WOW. I must have some low Sugar Content. Lets say I have enough in the pan to make my total and even 5 gallons...

That's 360 divided by 5 = 72 gallons boiled per gallon of Syrup! Yikes! Glad I ordered a Sap Hydrometer to test it now I am curious....

[Run Forest Run!]

Great picture Don. There's nothing more satisfying than lining up your haul for the day for a photoshoot. What you've got right there is a centrefold.

[michiganphil]

10 of my trees are massive sugar maples that are averaging 3.25% sugar and on good days filling 5gal buckets. I have 9 5gal buckets lined up in my driveway from just yesterday and I basically stopped collecting my Norways. They are running about 2.25 to 2.5%.

Outside of earlier this week, the run here has been pretty good for two+ weeks.

Spartazoo, I'm running just south of Schoolcraft. My buckets are on big roadside trees. They too have been running between 3.2% & 3.5% so far this season. A good run has been 2 gal/tap daily from them, the best runs last week were 3 gal/tap each day for a couple of days.

[michiganphil]

I have noticed that the buds have really started to swell on some of my trees over the last couple of days. Some of the neighbors reds and silvers look like they could blow any moment.
I'm not too concerned because of the cold forecast here through mid week.

Sap is still running clear and over 3%, but I wonder how long it will last? Through next week?
Anyone else notice swelling buds?

[Tweegs]

Not around here.
Even my silver are wrapped up tighter than a skeeter’s butt in a nose dive, and they’re the first to pop.
Two weeks, minimum, I think.

[David in MI]

Not around here.
Even my silver are wrapped up tighter than a skeeter’s butt in a nose dive, and they’re the first to pop.
Two weeks, minimum, I think.

LOL!

Boy, I sure hope so. Our trees have just begun to flow here. We've collected three times for a total of about 900 gallons, all around 2.1 brix. We got a really good run on Fri-Saturday but I expect things to cut loose a bit more this coming weekend, if the forecast is accurate.

[Cake O' Maple]

I don't know what triggered it, but we had a heckofa flow yesterday! It hasn't been getting very warm, but we had sun, so I checked one of the 3 places I tap, and most buckets were overflowing. I didn't have any more room to store, so gathered what I could and boiled til 1 a.m. Gathered more today, but still don't have it all! Yippee for the flow, boo for losing it in overflow. Time to go fill the pans again...

[Spartazoo]

Spartazoo, I'm running just south of Schoolcraft. My buckets are on big roadside trees. They too have been running between 3.2% & 3.5% so far this season. A good run has been 2 gal/tap daily from them, the best runs last week were 3 gal/tap each day for a couple of days.

I am just south of Vicksburg. The run this year has been really good. Good percentages and volume. I got sick yesterday so I am behind cooking. I think my body was saying enough is enough. Planning on taking either Wednesday or Thursday off work to get caught up because this weekend is it for me whether the trees are done or not. I have 200 gal of sap in inventory right now I need to get rid of.

[DonMcJr]

My 41 buckets had 22 gallons from Saturday and sunday. Collected it but shoulda waited til the next run...

[retubjb]

About the same thing here and this will be my only boil for the week. I have a 2x4 flat pan on a block arch so I can do the smaller boils and finish on the stove. I am gonna miss next week cause the we have a chance to go to Mexico for spring break this weekend. My dad says he will boil some next week, so I will have some finishing to do when we get home. (I hope.)

[DonMcJr]

Scottville...that up by Ludington right? I wanna go Steelhead Fishing!

Im boiling my sweet from my evaporator so I can clean it before the next run...I might actually be doing my biggest batch yet this year on a turkey fryer....lol!

Theres a lot more than I thought...

[jimmol]

Live south of Genesee in the township. 11 taps in 8 trees provided 30 gallons of sap. This week below freezing so don't expect too much. Maybe next week.

[shane hickey]

Doesnt look like much will happen here till this weekend

[DonMcJr]

Same here... Nothing will flow here til maybe Friday probally Saturday then all next week unless the weather changes!

[Woody_Woodruff]

We had frozen bags and not sap collected today or yesterday. I'm going to be at Barothy Lodge for a Murder Mysstery weekend, just minutres from Scottville. Problem is trying to find someone to collect on Sat. We'll make the rounds on Friday before we go and Sun afternoon. Too bad it wasn't last week. We spent last few days catching up. had a close call last night, went out to check and the pan was bubling tacky, it was so thick we had to mix sap back in to get it through the filter, but it's pretty light so it will be about 6 qts going to soft candy, gotta get some molds in GR before we start it.

[Zakssapshak]

I've been following this thread and viewing the site for about 5 weeks now, trying to see if there is a pattern to location and where sap is flowing or not. I tapped about 18 trees ranging from 1' to 3' with 22 taps on March first. They are a combination of silver and norway maples. Thus far I have only collected twice, the first 15 gallons, the second 10 gallons for a total of 25 gallons that I boiled down this past weekend. Most of it came from 3 trees, the rest giving up less than a couple quarts each over the past three weeks. Being in Middleville, I figured it just was not running here yet, but have now seen posts in my area, Vermontville, & GR that all seem to be running a lot more sap than I have seen. So my question - Is it common for groves or a forest to range drastically in sap production and more importantly, does it change much from year to year? I hate to think I just built my sugar shack in a woods that's a bust!

[not_for_sale]

Farmers always talk about who has the biggest potatoes. Just take everything you read here with a grain of salt. Often the biggest potato is the one you wish for.

[shane hickey]

Zack every woods runs different i have 13 bushes and none of them run the same but this year the sugar content seems higher then normal.
Wait for this weekend then you should definitely have some sap to boil down.

[DonMcJr]

Well all I can say is my reports are spot on and I have no reason to say my potatoes are bigger than anyone else's...LOL!

But I'm in SE Michigan near Port Huron...

[not_for_sale]

Don,

I grew up on a farm in Germany. Hence the potato analogy. It's about ego. Sometimes reports are correct, and sometimes they are wishful thinking. Nothing mean. I can tell a few stories about farmers inflating their harvest totals.

Most don't even realize they do. ;-))

Joe

[DonMcJr]

I knew that Joe...I was just saying I collect all my sap in 5 gallon buckets and dump in in one storage container and the gravity line is in another container marked by 20 gallons so mine I k ow are exact and I cou t my bottles of syrup to gey my Syrup total. I can see how when youre larger than me you almost have to guess unliss you have an inline meter or something!

Some also do what you mentioned with the big potatoes too im sure...lmao!

[not_for_sale]

We had a farmer who would take his grain trailer through town, and then take a back roads from his farm and run through town again so that the bean counters would count him multiple times. With the bean counter I mean the old timers sitting around tallying how much grain each farmer got so they had something to talk about.

[BoarsNest]

I believe my total is pretty accurate. We tap trees in Hudsonville, GR and White Cloud. We have some really big sugars that run very good and we have a lot of Reds in the woods that hardly run at all. My test tree in my front yard has donated 8 gallons so far this year and normally over the course of the season I might get 3 to 4. I think where you tap on the tree, what type of crown it has and the type of season makes a big difference. This year we have one tree that we didn't tap because it's been a dry hole since we started a few years ago. Just my 2 cents for the short time I've done this.

[huntingken111]

I've been following this thread and viewing the site for about 5 weeks now, trying to see if there is a pattern to location and where sap is flowing or not. I tapped about 18 trees ranging from 1' to 3' with 22 taps on March first. They are a combination of silver and norway maples. Thus far I have only collected twice, the first 15 gallons, the second 10 gallons for a total of 25 gallons that I boiled down this past weekend. Most of it came from 3 trees, the rest giving up less than a couple quarts each over the past three weeks. Being in Middleville, I figured it just was not running here yet, but have now seen posts in my area, Vermontville, & GR that all seem to be running a lot more sap than I have seen. So my question - Is it common for groves or a forest to range drastically in sap production and more importantly, does it change much from year to year? I hate to think I just built my sugar shack in a woods that's a bust! I am from middleville too and not getting as much as I was hoping for eithe I am deep in woods with most but have talked to other people around here to and they too are saying its a wierd year need more constant weather not this cold for 4 or 5 days and then a couple of 35 days then big freeze with snow, this weekend and next week look good if weatherman can be right once

[michiganphil]

I like the potato analogy...
I can't tell you how many stories I've heard from guys that shot a 12 pt buck at 600 yds with their Remington 870 and a lead slug.

Some things that I've learned to carefully weigh as true:
-the number of deer a guys killed
-the number of women he's picked up
-the fuel mileage of his truck
-and his sap sugar content/syrup totals

[shane hickey]

Looks like the next run will be Saturday.

[lyford]

+1 on that michiganphil!;

[DonMcJr]

I hope it runs soon cause I have to pack up everything by April 7th for my darn arm Surgery! It's gonna KILL me if it's still flowing then!!!!!!!!

[DonMcJr]

Checked my Buckets today, well 3 of them and the sap was froze solid coming out of the tap at 4pm... Nothing in my tube line either although I need to go check the tube line cause the sun really came out a few hours before dark...

Also some of my reds are appearing to look like the buds are opening up...it BETTER not be over yet!

[huntingken111]

Checked my bags at 4:30 tonight slow drip but bag was still frozen

[DonMcJr]

Both my Buckets and my Gravity tube line are running a bit right now...just checked...

[Roy Coates]

30 taps on tubes to 5 gallon bucket maybe a total of 2 gallons collected. Some of the tubing was clear some was clogged with slush, cleared
them all out checking again tomorrow

[hfitch]

trees are finally dripping again here. Not much but collected 2 gallons. Tested sugar content on all the trees, it's gone up :) Low was 3.0 and high was 4.5 for an average of 3.86. Can't complain!!

[DonMcJr]

Awesome on the Sugar Levels! I just got a Sap Hydrometer so I can't wait to check mine!

[bakerrunner]

Collected 18 gallons this evening. It is flowing pretty good. I predict a great week. If only my boiling operation could keep up!

[hfitch]

it's nice having that refractometer. I'm hoping I'll be ble to see the sugar content drop before the sap gets buddy so I don't accidentally dump it in with good sap. I hope I can tell the difference in good and buddy sap when that time comes.

[Run Forest Run!]

it's nice having that refractometer. I'm hoping I'll be ble to see the sugar content drop before the sap gets buddy so I don't accidentally dump it in with good sap. I hope I can tell the difference in good and buddy sap when that time comes.

Heidi, do you know if the sugar content is low when the sap is buddy? It would just be my luck to find out the hard way that it isn't.

[hfitch]

I believe so and I also think the sap goes cloudy and discolored (please, correct me if I'm wrong). I also heard it smells like dirty socks when you boil it but I'd like to know what I have before I mix it in with good stuff in the pan!

[sugar daddy 1]

You'll know bad sap dis colored milky white. The sap will get cloudy "can't see the bottom of a pail" it will boil make dark syrup. Hard to boil takes more wood , gal per hr go down . Most of it is the bacteria in the sap.

[Roy Coates]

Sun
...............10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm

Temp (°F) 30° 32° 33° 34° 36° 37° 36° 35°
RealFeel® 27° 28° 28° 29° 30° 29° 27° 25°
Humidity 72% 69% 65% 61% 57% 55% 56% 57%

I am wondering if ill get much sap running today with the wind child temps never rising above freezing and the temps so close to the freezing point?

[shane hickey]

Wondering the same thing

[DonMcJr]

Well my tube line was running a bit yesterday but I went and checked an hour ago and nothing yet and it's 34 here....Blah I wanna boil!

Oh btw I have another video in my video thread in the Michigan section on using my sap hydrometer last night... sugar content is now at 3.25 % and that was a mix of all my 41 taps!:cool:

[ronluyk]

14O TAPS 1380 gallons of sap-42 gallons of pure maple syrup. 10days

[DonMcJr]

My tube line was flowing a trickle and buckets dripping a little...Trees need more warmth to thaw out, It will let loose tomorrow or Tuesday...be ready!

[Woody_Woodruff]

70 gals at 3.2 from thursday to sunday afternoon

[Tweegs]

Not much happening here. All the cold weather has put the frost back in the ground. Trivial runs Sat and Sun, maybe a cup per tap. Today should be a little better, but not much. Hoping for sunshine tomorrow, haven’t seen that in a week. Need some warmth.

Put up another cord and a half of wood over the weekend, fixed a couple of low spots in the tubing. Drained, cleaned and refilled the syrup pan. Not a lot of niter in there, but did it anyway. The flue pan can wait.

Should have cut more wood, a couple of big trees yet to drop if need be. My wife had commitments this weekend and wasn’t home. Would rather have a set of eyeballs on me when I do drop them, 911 on the speed dial. I’ve never been accused of being overly graceful. :lol:

[bakerrunner]

You'll know bad sap dis colored milky white. The sap will get cloudy "can't see the bottom of a pail" it will boil make dark syrup. Hard to boil takes more wood , gal per hr go down . Most of it is the bacteria in the sap.

This is good information!

I bottled 5 pints this weekend and boiled down another quart, and it is all very dark, still tasty, but dark like molasses. It was older sap from the beginning of the season. I also had a heck of a time getting the rest of the older sap in my collection tank to reach a boil and stay there, but the fresh sap I collected this weekend that I kept separate from the old stuff boiled fine!

I'm chucking out the remaining old sap, it's getting cloudy. I also cleaned my collection tank with bleach and water. My buckets are full this morning, but won't be able to collect until tonight. This week will be a very heavy run. I think I'll pull taps on Saturday.

[Ed R]

To all the new sugar makers out there, you can have crystal clear sap that has decent sugar in it and still have it be buddy. That won't happen this year for awhile, its just been to cold. If it warms up next week, and your still at it, the only way to know for sure is to do a test boil on your stove of some of the sap. You will be able to tell from the steam smell and the taste. I've boiled plenty of milky looking sap that has made perfectly good but darker syrup.

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks for the heads up Ed. I'm curious about something. If you've got a bucket of buddy sap, but it is CLEAR, will it taste funky right out of the bucket or only after you put some heat under it? I usually taste a drop of each bucket as I gather. Would it stand out at that point?

[Ed R]

You've got to heat it to know for sure. Smell the steam, cook it a ways then taste it you will be able to tell. Its been along time since Iv'e made buddy syrup, since you can no longer use paraformaldyhyde pills the tapholes usually dry up before the trees turn buddy.

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks Ed. Good to know.

[Ed R]

If its really far along you can taste it in the raw sap, but usually the change is subtle so you need to boil to bring it out.

[Run Forest Run!]

When I test my buckets each day I feel like a female maple sapping version of Yukon Cornelius as he taste-tests for gold.

7531

[DonMcJr]

Good News! Just Checked my Tube Line and It's Rippin! Steady Stream and the Tank level is up about 5 Gallons since yesterday from 15 taps!

[Tweegs]

Good to hear, Don. What’s your temp up there?
Won’t be able to get to mine until about 5.

[DonMcJr]

Temp was 40.9 F (got a new advanced weather station and installed it today;) ) and right now it's 38.7 F

My 15 tap tube line has gotten 10 gallons since 2:00pm! That's 10 gallons in 4 hours!!!!

Still streaming in too!!! Buckets aren't gonna be emptied until tomorrow around 3pm. 5 of my buckets are 2.5 gallons and weren't half full at 4pm and the rest are 5 gallon buckets ( 21 ) so I got a feeling I am gonna have to start being a boiling fool tomorrow NIGHT! YES!!!!:cool:

[Tweegs]

Picked up 110 gallons of liquid sap and an untold amount of ice. Kept the ice and tossed it in the main holding tank. Won’t be able to boil until Thursday, hoping the ice will keep things cool ‘til then.

I have an average producing tree that I use as a reference. Temp was 35 at 5 PM, overcast, winds from the NE at 20 mph, pressure at 29.78 and rising, max temp here today was 36. Reference tree was going at 1 drip per second.

Wanted to get the buckets emptied, I have high hopes for tomorrow.

[GramaCindy]

Temp was 40.9 F (got a new advanced weather station and installed it today;) ) and right now it's 38.7 F

My 15 tap tube line has gotten 10 gallons since 2:00pm! That's 10 gallons in 4 hours!!!!

Still streaming in too!!! Buckets aren't gonna be emptied until tomorrow around 3pm. 5 of my buckets are 2.5 gallons and weren't half full at 4pm and the rest are 5 gallon buckets ( 21 ) so I got a feeling I am gonna have to start being a boiling fool tomorrow NIGHT! YES!!!!:cool:

Hey Don, I have been looking at some weather stations. Want one that will actually work and not give me the --- for the outside temps whenever it feels like it. The pressure, temp and wind direction would be nice to have….maybe one that could be accessed by my iPhone too….any suggestions?

[Woody_Woodruff]

35 gal today at 2.6, sitting on 120 to start tomorrow.

[DonMcJr]

GramaCindy.... the one I got is SWEEEEETTTT! It has indoor/outdoor temp, Humidity, wind speed and direction and Barometric Pressure. It transmits to a Desktop Station and to you computer and if you use a program called Cumulus it will report to http://www.weatherunderground.com and you can check the weather at your house from anywhere. Not sure about Iphone and Droid apps yet that's the next thing I am gonna look for. It's an Ambient Weather WS-1090 and about $110 at Amazon.com. I'll post a link to my weatherunderground page tomorrow it takes a day to show up on there....

As of 9pm my total on my tube line was 15 gallons! 15 Taps...15 Gallons in 7 hours!!!!! WOWSA!

It is still flowing but slowing down...temp is at 34.9 and Barometer has risen from 29.02 at 6pm to 29.12 at 10:15pm....

Made this Video of the flow and me check my (Brag) 3.25% Sugar Content!!!!


http://youtu.be/3oEynAwKUus

[sugarmangraham]

Collected about 30 gallons yesterday(hadnt collected in about 5 days, threw out a bunch of ice), and about 40 more gallons today. I have enough storage for 200 gallons just not enough time to boil down that much so it looks like I will be boiling mid week to stay ahead of the game.

[Sengelaub Farms]

We boiled about 4 hours tonight. Cleaned out the holding tank about 250 gals of sap. pulled off about 8 gal.

[bakerrunner]

When I test my buckets each day I feel like a female maple sapping version of Yukon Cornelius as he taste-tests for gold.

7531

That's hilarious! I love it!

[DonMcJr]

11:15pm, Tube line STILL flowing and I am at 20 Gallons for the day! 20 Gallons, 15 taps in 8 hours and 15 minutes! Wow!

Temp is staying Steady around 34 F and Barometer Steady at 29.14...

[DonMcJr]

1:15am and it's STILL flowing! Almost 25 gallons now since 2pm yesterday!

[DonMcJr]

Looks like it's not gonna get below freezing til Tuesday Night. As of 2:45am my tube line was still flowing. Hope there's enough to keep it flowing until tomorrow night's freeze...

[DonMcJr]

Ran all night, 30 gallons in my tube line since 2pm yesterday! Robins singing when I let my dog out just now...Going back to sleep so I can empty buckets later.

[Tweegs]

Froze here last night, 30 degrees at 6 AM.
Checked a couple of buckets on the way out the door this morning. Nothing flowing, but about a gallon on the reference tree. Ran into the night.

Here’s hoping for a good run today.

[hfitch]

even my trees that seem slower than everyone else's are kicking it!! Collected last night at 5. Collected at noon today and almost all jugs were over flowing (gallon jugs, but still, that's good for me). Will probably have to collect again tonight and then I HAVE TO boil tomorrow because my (5) 5 gallon pails are all full and have no more room to store. According to Accuweather, by the 7th and 8th or 8th and 9th, it's supposed to be in the sixties so I'll take what I can get now because the buds are starting to swell on my trees, 60's will probably finish the year for me.

Running at 3.88 average sugar content today. 1 tap on a smaller tree is dry and probably done. Tap has been in for 6 weeks now.

[Run Forest Run!]

go Heidi!!

[tberryer]

I put my three taps in a sugar and silver maple two weeks ago. I've collected about 22 gallons! I'm thrilled with what I'm getting besides last week's lull. The sugar maple is about 3.25% and the silver about 2.75% giving an average slightly over 3%. Yeehaa!! This refractometer is so much fun. Expecting a great week before the weather warms up this weekend. I've learned much from this group since I've been hanging around the last few weeks. I'm not getting a whole lot from the Walnut tree I tapped. I think I'll reduce it and ferment it as a beverage and tell you what it tastes like. I just don't think I'm going to get enough to make syrup, but it has been fun trying.

[Roy Coates]

Today
41 °F
Snow Showers
50% chance of precipitation
Tonight
27 °F
Snow Showers
40% chance of precipitation
Tomorrow
39 | 27 °F
Mostly Cloudy
Thursday
45 | 27 °F
Mostly Cloudy
Friday
43 | 28 °F
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
54 | 36 °F
Mostly Cloudy

[DonMcJr]

I'm awake now...LOL Midnights really messes ya up... Well I got about 12 more gallons in my tube line since 7am. Were gonna go empty buckets in a little bit so I'll update how the buckets did.

Anyone close to me here's a link to my new weather station...weather right from my house! http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KMICOLUM2

[DonMcJr]

Ok we got a little over 90 Gallons in the 26 buckets and I now have 2 55 gallon tanks full to the rim and the 40 Gallon is half full. So I have around 140 gallons of sap to start boiling after my bee club meeting cause I only have 20 gallons of storage left and it's still flowing great here!

[hfitch]

going to be a busy day here tomorrow with my 2 steamer pans and block arch. Got about 25 gallons to boil down. Doesn't sound like much, but with this setup, it is. Looking forward to making some purchases over the summer to become more efficient!! Taking a break this weekend, got my dad coming to collect for me every day. Headed up to Oscoda for our annual Easter weekend steelhead trip!! Hopefully when we come home, I'll be smoking steelhead and boiling sap :)

[DonMcJr]

Headed up to Oscoda for our annual Easter weekend steelhead trip!! Hopefully when we come home, I'll be smoking steelhead and boiling sap :)

I wanna go!!!

[hfitch]

I LOVE steelheading!!! This year is going to suck though because we got rid of our big water trolling boat last fall (too many problems and not enough time) so I might have to buy fish!!! Yikes......did I just say that?!?!

[Tweegs]

Just picked up 225 gallons. Silvers were a real disappointment, only 8 gallons from 30 taps. Getting wet back there or it’s still frosted up (which is hard to swallow).

37 at 5PM, 42 for a high, mostly cloudy, pressure at 30.03 and steady, winds W at 10. Reference tree was 2 drips/sec. Still coming in good at the woods tank.

Supposed to freeze here again tonight, back to the low 40’s for tomorrow.
Hoping for at least a repeat of today.

[Woody_Woodruff]

60 gal at 3.0

[Too Tall]

Wow. Today was a good day. 15 gallons on 12 taps. Looking forward to boiling this Saturday.

[Roy Coates]

I got about40 gallons on 32 taps

[JBIV]

76 gallons on 70 taps today. It feels good to have some sap in the tank again.

[sugarmangraham]

I didnt get a chance to collect til it was dark tonight so I only collected from 35 of my taps and brought in about 35 gallons. About 105 gallons stored up right now and will start boiling tomorrow after work.

[DonMcJr]

Any of yiou on Dryden rd with a sign and a bucket on a tree out front?

Just started my 5th boil of the season and have 130 gallons to boil down!

JUST A HEADS UPS.... it was supposed to go below freezing tonight and so far it didn't and my gravity line has been streaming in and still is so its flowing all night so far...ill post when/if it stops.

[shane hickey]

Looks like were back to the ole routine just finished boiling heading to the woods to refill the pumps

[DonMcJr]

Yep last time I checked it was 33.7 F and my gravity line is still streaming for 5 seconds and stopping for 10 seconds....over and over...slowing down but didnt stop!

[DonMcJr]

Its still running but a bit slower...temp has dropped to 30 F...hope thats enough to induce a sap flood again today!

[Pweideman]

46 gallons yesterday on 39 trees. Is that good, great or average? Today should be as good if not better.

[huntingken111]

155 gallons on 148 taps had 155 pulled 7 taps because they were not maples like I thought boiled 60 gallons already, I will make sure this summer I go out and mark every maple I find even if I don't tap all of them

[huntingken111]

Wife said it sounds like I made 60 gallons of syrup but really boiled 60 gal of sap. Tommorrow morning starting up new arch and old cinder block arch with steam pans so I can keep up. Just took home 55 skids to use on cinder block arch.

[5 Oaks]

i have 8 buckets and 10 bags out. I got 60 gallons yesterday. Thinking by the looks of it I am in for 40 more before the weekend. Gonna put the new pan, and my wife's patients, to the test this weekend.

[DonMcJr]

16 hours into my 5th boil. Gravity tube line is streaming like crazy! !

30 more gallons to boil then cool down then goodnight!

[mantispid]

Had to buy more storage containers... suspect I'll have to boil down ~300 gallons this weekend on an 8gph evaporator... this is going to be one long weekend...

[Cindee]

Don,,
Can you do a video of the Gravity tube line system you have? My husband would like to see what you have going on.

My trees are finally starting to run, got 10 gals yesterday and so today being warmer and sunny hoping for more.

[DonMcJr]

The 1st video on this link is the gravity tube install. .. theres other videos that show my storage containers. Next time ill have them far away from the evaporator so they dont get heated .

Video thread http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?19332-My-2013-Sugaring-Videos

[Tweegs]

Wow! Nice run!

Picked up 345 gallons tonight.

Going to get a good night’s sleep and start boiling at first light. I’m sitting on 680 gallons of sap for a 3 day total, which brings my season total to 1,480 gallons. The woods are still running strong.

Supposed to freeze again tonight, followed by a good day again tomorrow.
Buds are starting to swell, but I think there is still a good week to 10 days yet, maybe more.

[fishman]

65 gallons today. Looks like it's finally starting in da UP eh! Boiled down about 80 gallons and it was probably the clearest I've ever pulled off the pan. I'll finish tomorrow and maybe have to boil again. Still have about 40 gallons left plus I'm expecting another 50 -70 gallons tomorrow.

[huntingken111]

Hey don awesome video on tubing my dumb questions are these did you wrap blue line around the tree and how did you fasten them then also how did you figure out your drop for main line didn't look like much but still worked well.

[Pweideman]

Boiling all day. Collected 45 gallons yesterday and 65 today. Had 26 in storage. Boiling till I can't stay awake. This is a full time job. Picking up 5 more 58 gallon barrels for storage. Thank you Valasic pickles.
Some of my silver maples are running at 2.75% sugar. That's pretty encouraging.

Paul

[firetech]

Ran 1100 gals of sap last nite. Boiled off 1025 gals of sap today. Then we get another 850 gals after I'm cleaned up. I went to shut down the vac pump and there's another 350gals. Guess where I'm having breakfast??? The boys are gathering at 1pm to collect everything again. So there will be another 1000gals for tomorrow nite but who's complaining.

[Woody_Woodruff]

110 gal day. sitting on 160. just shut er down,

[sugarmangraham]

Collected 80 gallons today. Still have 55 gallons in one storage tank and ran another 50 into the pan tonight.

[Butcher]

Still boiling, just 6000 gallons left, then do it again tomarrow.

[bakerrunner]

Collected 20 gallons today from 46-ish taps. The trees in the open are running full out. I have over 50 gallons in holding. About to shut down my boiling operation for the night. I actually sold 20 gallons of raw sap to a couple fellow home brewers for beer. I will be off work Friday to boil more and then again on Saturday.

[DonMcJr]

Hey don awesome video on tubing my dumb questions are these did you wrap blue line around the tree and how did you fasten them then also how did you figure out your drop for main line didn't look like much but still worked well.

There Y's that have the Y that goes around the tree not connected to the flow on the end trees but has flow through the middle. There's fasteners that the tube sits in and you put a screw in them for some of the runs and I support it on the dead Ash trees too. The main line I just eyeballed it to make sure it was flowing downhill.

Ran all night I think 20 gallons since 6pm last night on my 15 tap tube line.

Didn't get below freezing tonight 34.5 is the lowest it got. I hope the end isn't here I want it to go all next week!

[Sengelaub Farms]

Sap just keeps coming.. Still have about 300 in the storage tank. It's gonna be a great weekend by the looks of the forecast!

[Roy Coates]

another 45 gallons here, we got down to 30 in Clarkston.

[DonMcJr]

A day and a half soak for 26 buckets yielded me 55 Gallons of sap! My Gravity tube 15 tap gave me 25 gallons from 6pm last night til noon today!

So I'm sitting on 55 gallon tank FULL...the 40 gallon tank half full and the other 55 Gallon is empty but the tube line is filling it steadily.

Still have to get a cord of wood before I can boil again...busy...busy...busy.

[DonMcJr]

A day and a half soak for 26 buckets yielded me 55 Gallons of sap! My Gravity tube 15 tap gave me 25 gallons from 6pm last night til noon today!

So I'm sitting on 55 gallon tank FULL...the 40 gallon tank half full and the other 55 Gallon is empty but the tube line is filling it steadily.

Still have to get a cord of wood before I can boil again...busy...busy...busy.

[mantispid]

I'm getting nervous.. I'll have ten 30-gallon bins full of sap. I'm hoping the first 60 gallons of sap collected and stored from Tuesday will remain good for a Saturday boil...

[Ausable]

Finally - Did my first boil of the season - Only had 60 gallons of sap to boil but it tested about 4 1/2% sugar - had a lot of ice I had pitched and I had been sitting on some of the sap for quite awhile. So I drew off 2 quarts of syrup and my pans are sweet and I'm out of sap. Drip - drip - drip --well mostly. Always feel better when I get the first boil done. Still waiting for a good sap run. -------Mike-----

[huntingken111]

Now the trees won't stop finally. This morning collected 190 gallons from 148 sap bags boil boil. I started up last years block setup and 3 steam pans and running new oil tank with 2 by 4 divided pan. The skids I picked up and am cutting up sure do burn hot under steam pans. Buddy called few minutes ago and said my bags are at least half full again. Good thing I took tomorrow off.

[Tweegs]

Boiled off just shy of 500 gallons in 14 hours. Ran out of wood. Still had 190 in the main tank.
My wife came out and ran the evaporator while I gathered another 300 gallons of sap. So 490 in the main tank waiting for tomorrow.

Plan is to get a little later start in the morning, scavenge enough wood from the house pile to run a few hours and let the wife run the evaporator while I cut more wood. Chain saws at o-dawn-thirty might tick off the neighbors.

Sap going in the float box was 2.8% this morning. Averaged 35 GPH on the evaporator. Drew off 14 gallons of syrup.

Season totals: 1780 gallons sap collected, 30 gallons syrup made so far.

[fishman]

Got 65 gallons off 75 taps. Have 120 gallons on hand and looking at another 70+ tomorrow.Wife said she might be able to boil some tomorrow as she has the day off. Gonna be a long night tomorrow.

[sugarmangraham]

We got about another 50 gallons of sap tonight. Luckily we ran another 50 gallons into the pans tonight so I am still about 135 behind. Hopefully we can get caught up before the weekend is over.

[DonMcJr]

I really hope it goes below freezing tonight currently 36.5 F ... Some of my Reds are about to pop buds...Sap slowed down to a trickle in my tube line...

[firetech]

Picked up 1300+ gals of sap today 850 left over from yesterday 10 hour boil . 500 gals for the am boil
Made 45 gals of med amber and 5more gals in the canner to bottle off in the am. Love my RO, don't leave home with out it

[Butcher]

Boiling away, made 2barrels since around 9 pm, gonna go all night, have 8 thousands to burn thru as of right now probably 15000 in buckets waiting to be picked up, I love doing this but man am I tired and as far as I can see I wont sleep for the next 3 days, the sap just keeps coming, even if it don't freeze this weekend those giant sugar maples will still run for a couple days, gotta pay the bills.

[Butcher]

Also making the lightest syrup I've ever seen, but tons of sugar sand, the syrup looks like piss after drinking a dozen beers,almost.

[DonMcJr]

not looking good for a freeze here... temp is up to 37.2!

[Tweegs]

Froze here last night, 25 degrees right now. Sunny and 50 today.

What I pulled off yesterday was also some of the lightest I’ve ever made, looks like first run sap, but I’ve had worse when it comes to sugar sand this late in the game.

Got the gang rounded up to come cut wood Saturday, just need to make it through today. The wife and I are going to have to tag team the evaporator. I’ve got to cut wood, she needs to bottle up yesterday’s production so we have capacity for today’s syrup. May have to send her to Sugarbush to pick up more gallon jugs.

Going to be a rough day.

[DonMcJr]

I guess according to my weather station it dipped down to 30.6 F here from 3am to 6am... My tube line is starting again and its already 45.1 F outside!

[DonMcJr]

High of 56 today and dipped down to 37 F as of right now. Tube line slowed down looks like a good freeze tonight!

Finishing 3 gallons and bottling tonight and the Boil 1st thing in the morning!

[fishman]

boiled 120 gallons today (or the wife did depending on who you ask) and made 3 gallons and a quart. Nice and lite syrup. Only had time to pick up 20 buckets but had 30 gallons of sap. A couple taps gave over a gallon in 3 hours. Have to start boiling at 6 tomorrow morning and pick up the rest. Looks like a busy day. Got up to 45 today and it was 14 last night. It's still 41 and the taps are still dripping about 1 drop every 3 seconds at 9 pm.

[huntingken111]

There Y's that have the Y that goes around the tree not connected to the flow on the end trees but has flow through the middle. There's fasteners that the tube sits in and you put a screw in them for some of the runs and I support it on the dead Ash trees too. The main line I just eyeballed it to make sure it was flowing downhill.

Ran all night I think 20 gallons since 6pm last night on my 15 tap tube line.

Didn't get below freezing tonight 34.5 is the lowest it got. I hope the end isn't here I want it to go all next week!

Thanks Don I just need to remember this next year so I can do it right

[DonMcJr]

Well just finished batch #5 and it was 1 gallon, 110 oz for a YTD total of 7 Gallons, 50 oz. Pic's in another thread. wasn't Syrup til 221 F with the NEW Hydrometer...

Dipped down to 25.9 F right now the trees are gonna bleed tomorrow while I'm boiling Batch #6!

[Tweegs]

Can’t…Keep…up!

Ran as long as we could last night, out of syrup storage. My wife is bottling right now, has to put up 2 more gallons before she’ll empty a 5 gallon syrup tote and I can get started again. She’s off to Sugarbush for another order of bottles directly after. We are at around 42 gallons syrup made, 350 gallons of sap waiting to be processed in the main tank.

Froze last night, 25 degrees now. Red sky this morning, 55 and sunny today, rain tonight. If my theory holds true, brace yourselves. High pressure right now, good temps with sunshine, falling barometer ahead of the rain…could trigger an exceptional run that will go long into the night.

Honestly, at this point, there is a part of me that wishes to be proven wrong. :lol:

[twofer]

Tweegs, I was where you are at a couple nights ago. Almost wishing it was completely over but I finally figured out a good process for our new RO and the fun is back. We were able to make 15 gallons of syrup in two hours of boiling last night. **** near had to camp out on the draw off.

If father frost has any more in him I say bring it on big boy. :)

[David in MI]

My trees seemed to be lagging behind many others posting in this thread but this week ours have finally let loose. We collected 520 gallons on Tuesday and 680 on Thursday. I'm fairly confident we'll have another great run today.

Happy Easter, everyone!

[BoarsNest]

The guys boiled 800 gallons last night should finish another 16 gal of syrup. Glad I have good help when I can't be there.

[maple man-iac]

Bought my first sap ever from another producer that was getting behind on boiling. The load was 750 gallons of 2.6. Made a date out of the run with the girlfriend. We stopped at Tsc for some shopping, the drug store for tp and the chicken place to get dinner to eat back at the shack. What a blast it was she is truly a maple princess. 400 gallons of syrup made so far from 1100 taps. 7589

[bakerrunner]

Collected 48 gallons today and then promptly pulled our taps! Unfortunately I have to get on with some other obligations in life, my wife is heading to Vegas for work on Wednesday and I have to work next weekend.

2013 Maple Stats:
Around 46 taps.
Collected 243 gallons (discarded 10 gallons, sold 20, net 213 gallons)
Processed and bottled 295 oz (2.3 gallons).
Need to process about 60 gallons.
My efficiency is about 60 to 1, which seems off, since my average sugar in my sap was about 2.7%. All-in-all I'm happy with my season. We made just over a gallon last year and this year we will finish with about 3 gallons. Not bad at all. We learned a lot too.

Good luck to everyone still collecting.

[DonMcJr]

Bought my first sap ever from another producer that was getting behind on boiling. The load was 750 gallons of 2.6. Made a date out of the run with the girlfriend. We stopped at Tsc for some shopping, the drug store for tp and the chicken place to get dinner to eat back at the shack. What a blast it was she is truly a maple princess. 400 gallons of syrup made so far from 1100 taps. 7589

Are you the one that was at woods n water weekend?

[maple man-iac]

Is the truck recognizable Don? I was one of the maple producers at the show.

[maple man-iac]

I'm out of sap to boil. Haven't had much sleep for days now. I can't bring myself to leave the shack so early. 460 gallons so far.

[David in MI]

Is the truck recognizable Don? I was one of the maple producers at the show.

I noticed your truck last year when heading South on M-53 towards I-69. Pretty sweet *pun intended* way to haul sap!!

[whalems]

Boiled 1030 gallons yesterday made about 34 gallons. and I am up to about 130 gallons on the season. Vac was on all night so hopefully another full tank!

[Tweegs]

Had 400 gallons in the tank when we started yesterday, boiled until 11 PM, drew off about 8.5 gallons.

Near tragedy yesterday when the hydraulic hose on the log splitter blew, and only an hour’s worth of wood split. A mad dash to TSC for hose and fluid ensued, but traffic, both on the road and in the store, made it impossible to get back in time. Was amazed to see one of the boys had actually shown up on time and was swinging an axe, was further amazed that he still had all of his toes. Problem averted.

One boy on the evap, the other on the splitter and my wife and daughter bottling left me to cut wood. And so it went for the rest of the day.

Going through way too much wood. With vacuum all but assured for next year, a preheater is definitely in the works, maybe a blower, and I’m really giving thought to a small RO.

[Jonnyp390]

Had a great run last week and put another 60-80 gallons through my little barrel evaporator in the last 4 days. But, I think all the signs are pointing to the end of the line for me down here in Dearborn. My yard trees are all but shut down, and the pint or so of sap they are producing each day is getting off color and cloudy. Buds are starting to fall on my driveway. Warm weather has the neighborhood kids running around and they have knocked off a few of my jugs. I think I am going to pull my taps tomorrow and be happy with a great season. I told my wife that my goal for the season was 2 gallons of syrup. So far I have made 4.25 gallons and with last night boil and what I have to boil tonight, I hope to clear 5 gallons. Good luck to everyone else, hope you get another good run and end your season exhausted and smiling like me:)

[GratiotCoMiMaple]

My trees seemed to be lagging behind many others posting in this thread but this week ours have finally let loose. We collected 520 gallons on Tuesday and 680 on Thursday. I'm fairly confident we'll have another great run today.

Happy Easter, everyone!

I am with you. 280 taps with only 1200 gallons collected. This week has been the best of course but not crazy. Maybe it ran well last night.

Happy Easter,
Kurt

[maple man-iac]

The truck works out real well for me no that I have the larger singles on it. The original duels made the truck practically useless. It was a two person job to pull it into the woods with a large 4x4 tractor and pull it back out after it was loaded. Now I can go anywhere anything else of simular weight can navigate. I don't have much luck of finding someone to drive the rig because of the difficulty getting in and out and lack of space behind the steering wheel and pedals. Updated chassis with larger cab or build a tanker trailer with floating axles to pull behind the 4x4 tractor for next year.

[DonMcJr]

Well my gravity line got about 20 gallons since 4am last night. Just started boiling at 12:30am and gonna boil til my 130 gallons are gone! The gravity tube stopped so I shohl be able to catch up all in holding and then dump the 26 buckets and goto bed sometime around 11am tomorrow!