Maine sugaring reports

[abbott]

Now that we're all tapped in, I figured I'd start a thread for Mainers to report how things are going. I find myself going to the NH forum to read updates from various operations. Maybe next year I'll start my own thread - but for this year we'll keep it more general. Let us know how it's going at your place!

Steve

[abbott]

Here in Sumner, the temps have dipped to 29* or lower every night, but it's been too cold during the day to run hard. Yesterday was the best run so far, with about .9 gallons sap per tap on my vacuum line. That brings the sap total to 1900 gallons on 720 taps. I started out making medium, but have just gotten into light (first time in a couple years for light.) Unfortunately, the syrup has been filtering hard the last couple days - I'm expecting it should get better soon.

[Maple Ridge]

Where I am in Turner it has been slow. I have 184 taps some tubing some buckets. I have been collecting about 150 gal a day except last night which we collected 50. Made 2.5 gal of light syrup. Sugar content low, only 1.5%. I am hoping for better sugar when the sun showes it's face again. I made an adjustment to the setup of my evaperators syrup pan which made a big differance in the boiling. That should make it go better.

[Revi]

Yesterday was huge! We got over a half a gallon per tap, which surprised us. We were boiling until 8pm. It looks like today might be huge too, but who knows? We have to make hay while the sun shines. It could be 80 again in a couple of weeks!

[western mainer]

It ran good yesterday, still not a full run here. We have a school group coming on Wednesday for 5 hours and will boil then.
Brian

[Rangdale]

Have 47 taps out in Durham but its been really slow, only about 3/4 gallon of finished product. The few trees on the edge running pretty well but havent gotten much out of the woods trees.

[Revi]

We tested yesterday and it was at 3%, so that makes boiling worthwhile. I hope it stays up there.

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

Greetings Sugar-makers,
Here in Exeter we hooked up the bulk tank to the mainline at 2:00 PM, started tapping the new orchard at 2:30. With 185 of 440 +/- tapped at 5:30, the tank had around 20 gals. with a steady stream still pouring in. I'm anxcious to see what the sugar content with this run is. Sounds and looks like we need to get the final touches done to the equipment so we can start boiling, with any luck from Mother Nature we might light the burners soon.

Best to all!!!

[abbott]

It looks like today might be huge too, but who knows?

Hmmm... I'm guessing that didn't pan out. Not a drip here. Try again tomorrow!

[gmcooper]

After fixing a leaking drain plug on one tank. The rest of the day went down hill. Barely anything running after 2 pm. Still have a couple hundred taps to go. Lots of limbs came down over the past week.

[tessiersfarm]

Our taps have been in about a week, nothing spectacular but we got a couple gallons per tap spread out over a few days late last week, I forget how much on which days. Enough to fill the evaporator and right about at making syrup, rest of the week looks good.

[dadsmaplesugarshack]

Things are looking good here picked up aroud a thousand gallons of sap so far saps been at 3% making light to med amber !

[MainelyMaple]

Finally finished tapping on sat. Both sat and sun trees started running hard in the morning then slowed by early afternoon, I think that had to do with only high 20's at night and no sun during the day. But collected 1000 gal throughout the weekend. Today was a bust, only about 200 gal.

[marktripp]

Well I collected early this morning after a couple days and had around 50 gallons from my 68 taps. I was pleasantly surprised with my higher elevation sets, I've come to expect only a few drops in the buckets when I look. Must of had a good day Saturday because almost all of them had a fair amount in them. The most being one that I have 3 going into one bucket and it had a full 5 gallons. I do not have a way to test my sap yet for sugar content but will soon I hope. All in all I have about 75+ gallons and have decided to wait till Wednesday to boil, hopefully by then I can have a bunch more. Temps look good the next couple of days according to the weather channel. (Well at least from the criteria I've been hearing)

[Sandy]

About 70 taps up, only got 26 gallons Sunday, Sat was better, close to 50 gallons. Total sap collected so far: 176 gallons. Boiled Sunday (sweetened pans) and yesterday (>1 gallon syrup). Trees on sunny hill and in wet areas doing best so far, not much yet from snowy woods bush. Hoping for better runs later this week with temps dropping at night and maybe seeing some sun.

[BRL]

Things are getting there. So far we have collected 231 gallons of sap and have finished 4 1/4 gallons of syrup.

[mike first timer]

Today it is running really good collected 150 gals at noon.It was still running really good should have another 150 gals now.

[abbott]

Today it is running really good collected 150 gals at noon.It was still running really good should have another 150 gals now.

How many taps are you working with, Mike?

Sap didn't start running for me until late morning - then not much until the sun came out this afternoon - but now it's running hard - 350 gallons in the tank and coming in at 80 gph or so.

[CPlace]

Things have been very slow along the coast. I boiled off 90 gallons last weekend and have collected 50 gallons this week. Im ready for the sap to start running full bore.

[maine guide]

got most trees tapped over the weekend not much sap running yet. i got my new evaporater almost done but its a battle. once I get is online i'll sniff out some more trees. Starting out like a good season but we all know how quickly that can change.

[marktripp]

Well I guess there is still a lot of learning for me to do. I was filled with disappointment when I grabbed that first bucket today and it was empty. According to the mercury it was about 41+ degrees here but must have been the cloud cover that killed it? I'm still learning and trying to figure out what makes for a good run. Funny today thought my higher elevation taps ran better. It's been the other way around. All in all I pulled in 14 gallons of 68 taps for a grand total of around 80+ gallons this season. First boil tomorrow!

[mike first timer]

Abbot i have about 200 on vacuum and then another 120 on buckets i just checked my vac taps at 8 and they were still running.

[gmcooper]

Today turned into a bust here for sap flow. Sap was running slow at 10 am but this afternoon almost nothing. Tapped a 16" sugarmaple that hadn't been tapped this year and not even a hint of sap.

[tessiersfarm]

Same here, was expecting a small run, basicly nothing. Weekend looks awsome though.

[MainelyMaple]

Around 600 gallons yesterday. I got to the Sugarhouse around 2 and for about 3 hours it was coming in at 50 gal an hour on vac. And when I left at 9:30 it was still coming in at a trickle. Roughly 1900 gal of sap so far and made 10 gal. Still haven't caught up on sap, left 800 in the tank last night. Once again the full time job is really effecting my time at the Sugarhouse. I plan to get caught up this afternoon.

[Maple Ridge]

I had a fair run yesterday. The one thing that has me comfused is that I have some trees that last year ran great, and so far this year not a drop. ??????? Taps are in good white wood. I see that I am not alone with this delama. I was thinking of moving the taps around the other side of the trees, but after reading some of the coments made here I might give them another chance.

[western mainer]

We must all remember this winter the trees froze real hard, I still have some trees that aren't running yet.
Brian

[abbott]

Had 800 gallons in the tank last night at 3 AM when I filled the vacuum pump, but not much after that. Without a good freeze only got 300 today. Still making Light Amber - I think the clouds and cool temps are helping me there. I've got a lot of black mainline - usually I make a lot of dark/ ex dark.

I would guess that a lot of north facing taps aren't doing much yet. In general, they run better late in the season - but I think you get more sap from south facing taps. Probably someone's done the research on that. I spread my taps around - no sense always tapping the south side and creating a lot of dead wood in one area.

[gmcooper]

I had a fair run yesterday. The one thing that has me comfused is that I have some trees that last year ran great, and so far this year not a drop. ??????? Taps are in good white wood. I see that I am not alone with this delama. I was thinking of moving the taps around the other side of the trees, but after reading some of the coments made here I might give them another chance.

Moving the taps to the other side of the trees requires a new hole which means you would be doubling your tap hole per tree. Not a good idea especially when the season has not hardly begun. Be patient the sap will flow.

[boondocker]

I put 107 in the main tank tonight, My trees still havent let loose but I have a feeling this weekend is going to but one to remember! Temps near 50 with sunny skies and high teens at night......better hang here we go!! Made 3 gallons last sunday of Light Aber. Things are looking good so far. Spoke with a friend of mine who owns a pretty good size operatnear me and they have already made 600 gallons of light amber and was pumping out 1 1/2 gallons ah min. while i was there. Its just not fair.........

[mike first timer]

Had a pretty good day yesterday made almost 4 gals of syrup yesterday.

[sg5054]

Made 2 1/2 gallons last Saturday of med amber. Very tasty!. Put out some more taps during the week in anticipation of this weekend. Now have 90 out and just made a connection with a somewhat nearby farm (Whitefield) to process their sap. Hot ****! They tap and collect, I just need to move it down here and boil away.

[stephen wheeler]

It has really slowed down for us on the mid-coast as well. Collected a total of about 190 gallons so far. Finished just over 3 gallons of syrup and made some candy. We collected 32 gallons last friday and this week barely 10 gallons collected so far. We also noticed some trees that were very good in previous years are hardly producing anything so far this year. We have many heavily shaded trees. Hoping for some more good days - we should know soon. Good luck to all.

[abbott]

Didn't expect anything yesterday, but it warmed up enough to get 150 gallons out the vacuum line. Also went and picked up the sap from my gravity line for the first time - 130 gallons on 85 taps since Sat. Rather than boil that, I drained my front pans and cleaned them. Now i'm ready for a big weekend!

Speaking of sunshine, I've actually enjoyed the cloudy stretch. Sap flow has been decent and its coming into the tank cool so it doesn't grow bacteria so fast. I've got a lot of black mainline out there, so when the sun shines I have to keep right on top of the sap or i'm making commercial grade in a hurry.

[Ridge777]

2nd boil of year yesterday, got a little over a gallon. Trees have shut down the past 5 days. Looks good for the weekend thru next week.

Hopefully we will be swimming in it by then!!

[Revi]

We made it! We have been boiling all week, but now it can pile up, because we can boil all weekend. Whew. We made about a gallon of light amber, but it's going to be medium this weekend. C'est la vie.

[jstaples]

Well I hit 48 and my taps are flow'n!!! I have 80 taps out and a WF Mason 2x4....got an idea im going to be busy. Going to collect either tonight or tomorrow...everyone let me know how you did

[gmcooper]

Sap didn't start until around noon here but ran decent. picked up 800 gallons.

[marktripp]

47 gallons from 68 taps in 48hrs. Hope tomorrow the flood gates open!

[Notch Woodwork]

Still somewhat frozen here. Tapped on the 25th and have seen about 2 gals/tap thus far.

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

We are ready to light the fires!!! Here in Exeter, the sap was running out of the 250 gal. tote last night. Hopefully after today the 1000 gal. tank at the sugar-house will be busting at the seams. A few minor details to finish up at the sugar-house and I think we will be boiling by noon.

Cheers to all and let the games begin!!!!

Shawn

[RickinFarmington]

OK boys, we are off to the races with sap running hard here in Farmington. Boiled 6 hours last night. Lots of sugar sand though.

[Ryan August]

WHeres the run, 40+ taps, maybe 15 gal since thursday nite? currently 28 degrees so hopeing tommorow will be better

[maineboiler]

Good run of sap today in Oxford. Beautiful sunny day temps low 50's. 60 gallons mostly from 70 taps on Sugars and others on Reds. Brix was 2.7. Boiled 5 hrs with 4 gallons of near syrup ready for the finishing pan. Hoping for another good day tomorrow.

[milkjugsapper]

WHeres the run, 40+ taps, maybe 15 gal since thursday nite? currently 28 degrees so hopeing tommorow will be better

Same here - 12 gallons from 40+ taps since Fri AM. Weird - thought today would be big? Hope we have a better run tomorrow...

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

Collected 350 gals. Fri night and 200 gals. yesterday, we boiled for 3-1/2 hours till we didn't have anymore sap in the feed tank. The pans are sweet now, but I was sure we would see a draw on 550 gals. The sugar is 2% all day long, I would like to see it increase a little bit. I know that next year, there will be a RO sitting in the back room and another 2,500 taps in the woods. Today I am going to put out 150 + taps on buckets.

Best to all.

Shawn,

[TapME]

Ready to rock and roll here. Evap and shanty are ready and 150 in the trees sat. Another 150 today but will boil. Been a rough start with all that has happened this year but were ready now. Will check sugar% today. Hoping for 4% or better on my trees.

[sg5054]

i didn't get the run I was expecting either. Puzzling. Drained all buckets Friday nite, collected only 35 gallons yesterday. Boiled about 100 gallons yesterday. heading out to finish it now.
May the sap gods be with you.

[maine guide]

boiled almost two gallons of syrup on friday going to boil monday as well. sap run is starting to pick up but it still seems a little slow. I got my new improved barrel going and can boil way more than last year. lots of sugar sand here as well. Go get em boys!!

[gmcooper]

Yesterday was kind of puzzling. Temps were good with not much wind but sap flow really didn't happen. I know it was only down to about 30 on Friday night but the mud did freeze up solid. Rather disapointing only 350 gaollons. Hoping today goes better. This morning it was 22 here and up to 37 now.

[abbott]

730 gallons Friday, 650 Saturday. The stiff north breeze helped on fri. Have you never heard:

When the wind is in the north, sap runs forth.
When the wind is in the south, the sap runs drouth.
When the wind is in the west, the sap runs best.
And when the wind is in the east, the sap runs least.

That being said, I still expect a solid run today. Got to the 100 gal mark on syrup last night, and still making light amber. Incredible. Also, by the end of the day the filtering was going great. I put 3 draw-offs (about 4-5 gallons total) through one paper (with felt below) on my 12x20 canner. Probably could have done more, as the paper still looked clean.

Not looking forward to several warm nights. At least there is a cold spell coming late in the week.

[Kennebec]

Tapped on March 2nd. Record collection day for us here on Saturday. We have 101 taps out and we collected 185 gallons on Saturday. We have made about 4 gallons of amber to date.

[Revi]

We had a lot of sap this weekend. We couldn't keep up with it on Saturday, and we boiled it all off Sunday morning, and then I went back up and boiled for another 2 hours. We have been making some syrup too! I like it when the sap shows up when it is supposed to and we have time to boil it on the weekend! I really wouldn't mind if we have a little break for a couple of days, but then it has to start up again on Thursday and Friday!

[marktripp]

So I was rather disappointed today. 23hrs since last collection and only collected 13gallons off 62 taps. This is my first year so I really don't know what to expect but was looking for more than that!! Are my expectations too high? I didn't collect my smaller set of 17 so not sure how they performed. Last night was cold, down in the upper teens and it got well into the 40's today with sun and no wind. I'm using the smaller taps on just buckets with tubing. Am I on par???

[marktripp]

Duplicate message sorry.

[MainelyMaple]

Weather wise this weekend was Incredible. Sap wise this weekend was good not great. Both days the trees started hard by 9 in the morning but slowed by lunch and got worse in the afternoon. Still collected 1000 gal this weekend but not the 1+gal/tap I was hoping for. Up to 55 gal of syrup right now. Looking forward to the cold nights at the end of the week.

[JuniperHillSugar]

Boiling now, holding tanks full. Hoping for more tomorrow. Saturday & today we're not as good as I had hoped. Tonight I wish the flat 2x4 was a raised flue 2x6! Good luck to all Maine sugarmakers.

[abbott]

So I was rather disappointed today. 23hrs since last collection and only collected 13gallons off 62 taps. This is my first year so I really don't know what to expect but was looking for more than that!! Are my expectations too high? I didn't collect my smaller set of 17 so not sure how they performed. Last night was cold, down in the upper teens and it got well into the 40's today with sun and no wind. I'm using the smaller taps on just buckets with tubing. Am I on par???

Sounds like a lot of people were disappointed this weekend. Realistically, with just buckets/gravity lines you should have hoped for 1/2 sap/tap on each of the last three days. There are a lot of variables, however, and you'll learn what to expect from your trees over time. There's a lot of snow left and a good freeze in the ground so there should be good runs still to come.

So, where in western Maine are you?

[Round Mtn Mapler]

Doing good Downeast.
Tapped in around 400 so far this year.

2.1 sap sugar %

4 gallons bottled so far. 3.9 gallons given away to friends.

gathered 102 gallons yesterday and stayed up late boiling.

[maineboiler]

Finished off 2 gallons of light amber tonight. Filtered it before and after the finishing with a motorized filter press before and after the finishing but it still looked a little cloudy. Not sure why. Great tasting stuff but I was disappointed with the yield, started with 200+ gallons of sap and boiled 5 hours with a 2 X 6 evaporator. Maybe there is still a lot of concentrated sap in the sugar pan. Any thoughts ?

[gmcooper]

Finished off 2 gallons of light amber tonight. Filtered it before and after the finishing with a motorized filter press before and after the finishing but it still looked a little cloudy. Not sure why. Great tasting stuff but I was disappointed with the yield, started with 200+ gallons of sap and boiled 5 hours with a 2 X 6 evaporator. Maybe there is still a lot of concentrated sap in the sugar pan. Any thoughts ?

Sounds like with your filter press something was not quite right. Did you have all the plates and frames facing the correct direction(the bars on top should all line up on the same side). Did a paper blowout? or did you use enough filter aid.
There should be a fair amount of sugar in the pans. Next time when you boil your first draw off should come a lot sooner than on the first boil.

[marktripp]

Sounds like a lot of people were disappointed this weekend. Realistically, with just buckets/gravity lines you should have hoped for 1/2 sap/tap on each of the last three days. There are a lot of variables, however, and you'll learn what to expect from your trees over time. There's a lot of snow left and a good freeze in the ground so there should be good runs still to come.

So, where in western Maine are you?

I'm in Rumford Point and my taps are in Hanover and Rumford Center

[Maple Ridge]

I thought I was the only one with a disapointed sap run last weekend. Thursday I boild off all I had. Friday I took advantage of the no sap to boil and cleaned everything. Yesterday I polished off all the sap I had again. I am sure when the snow goes more in the woods the trees will give up more. I have some trees giving up alot and some not so much. Made 6 Gal last weekend bringing my total for the season to 8.5 gal.

[abbott]

I'm in Rumford Point and my taps are in Hanover and Rumford Center

I'm guessing you've got a pretty good snow pack there and the trees just aren't ready to give up a lot of sap yet, especially if they're on a north facing slope. Don't know why Maple Ridge in Turner didn't do better.

I thought I might get more sap than I did, but I've had solid runs each of the last three days. About 3/4 gallon of sap/tap yesterday (on vacuum). Down to 30* last night, so I should get some sap today, though probably not a great run.

[marktripp]

I'm guessing you've got a pretty good snow pack there and the trees just aren't ready to give up a lot of sap yet, especially if they're on a north facing slope. Don't know why Maple Ridge in Turner didn't do better.

I thought I might get more sap than I did, but I've had solid runs each of the last three days. About 3/4 gallon of sap/tap yesterday (on vacuum). Down to 30* last night, so I should get some sap today, though probably not a great run.

Yes we do have good snow pack. I didn't realize that effected sap flow. As I stated this is my first year, I'm finding out lots of things effect the flow!! Guess ill hang tight, I hear a lot if people saying the season is still young. If I don't reach my goal this year ill just tap more next year. :-)

[Maple Ridge]

I went on line and searched the reason why the sap flow may be low at this time. I found this artical and it make alot of sence.
http://www.massmaple.org/sap.php.
I knew the basic reason like alot of us do, but this cleared up a few things also.

[maineboiler]

Thanks, I think the next batch will be more productive, there is a lot of syrupy stuff in the sugar pan.
I am new to the use of a filter press. How often should you change the papers ? If you filter the syrup as it is drawn off and after finishing do you need to add filter aid twice ? Thanks for the help

The sap seems to have slowed a little in Oxford, maybe after the coming cold stretch it will pick up again

[Revi]

We didn't get much sap today, which was good because we had a chance to boil off all the sap we got after I quit boiling yesterday. We are going to get a break for a couple of days since it's not going below freezing until Wednesday or Thursday night. We boiled all weekend and today I boiled for a couple of hours and John boiled off the rest of it, so we're good for a little while now.

[gmcooper]

Thanks, I think the next batch will be more productive, there is a lot of syrupy stuff in the sugar pan.
I am new to the use of a filter press. How often should you change the papers ? If you filter the syrup as it is drawn off and after finishing do you need to add filter aid twice ? Thanks for the help

The sap seems to have slowed a little in Oxford, maybe after the coming cold stretch it will pick up again

With a filter press you have to start with new papers each day. You also need to mix in filter aid with the first syrup to coat the papers well. The papers job is to catch the filter aid. If the filter press cools down too much between batches it will be very dificult to filter any syrup. Syrup should be very hot, straight off the evaporator.

Mark

[mike first timer]

Well after yesterdays boil i am up to 20 gals of syrup so far.Been a big difference from last year.

[maineboiler]

Thanks for the advice. We'll see how the next boil goes--

Paul

[miner1]

Bring on the cold my taps are not bearing much sap. Last two days have not yielded a quart per tap. How about everyone else?

[FordHeritageFarm]

I collected today after letting, my last pick up being Monday, and collected 27.5 gallons(good portion of it brownish rain water I reckon) from 186 taps. So we are caught up now and I'll boil that stuff off in the morning and ready pan for better runs at the end of the week.

[abbott]

I collected today after letting, my last pick up being Monday, and collected 27.5 gallons(good portion of it brownish rain water I reckon) from 186 taps. So we are caught up now and I'll boil that stuff off in the morning and ready pan for better runs at the end of the week.

Ok, so I just read that you passed your inspection. Now I learn that you're boiling brownish rainwater in your hay wagon. I'm starting to get worried. :o :lol:

[abbott]

Bring on the cold my taps are not bearing much sap. Last two days have not yielded a quart per tap. How about everyone else?

My gravity lines have quit. My vacuum line was pumping out 2% sap at 35 gallons an hour today. That's faster than it ran yesterday and the sun never even came out.

[Revi]

We have gravity and we got practically nothing the past 2 days. If it gets cold tonight we may get a little. We'll see. I think we may be getting some cold nights, but let's see if they are warm enough during the day to make the sap flow again. I hope so.

[Maple Ridge]

Looks like we are all having the same issue with little or no sap. I plan on running what I have left and pushing it with water if I have to. That way I can clean the evaperator and tanks to get ready for the next big run which I think is coming. The last time I collected all my buckets had about the same amount in them for the first time this year. Earlier some had alot and some nothing. I think the trees are ready and just need some good weather during the days.

[mike first timer]

boiled another 240 gals of sap last night.If it wasn't for my vacuum i would not have the amount of syrup i have.This is my first year with vacuum .

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

Boiled off 950 gals. so far since last Sunday. All the lines are dry and the tanks are empty, so meanwhile we're putting out as many buckets as we can to make up for lost time!!! Until the flow starts we'll just wait, keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting!!!!! At least we can keep looking for new orchards to tap during the dry spell.

Best luck to all!

Shawn

[boondocker]

I just checked the extended forcast for central maine and it is looking perfect for the next two to three weeks but im not sure if it will last that long. ..............Thoughts???

[abbott]

I just checked the extended forcast for central maine and it is looking perfect for the next two to three weeks but im not sure if it will last that long. ..............Thoughts???

No reason not to expect it to last that long. 2011 season went over a week into April. Last year was an anomaly.

So, in spite of the high being only 35, I got over 500 gallons out my vacuum line. The temp in the woods was reading 30* at the end of the day and it was still coming in hard for a while. Over 7000 gallons of sap now - roughly 3/4 of last year's total. Wouldn't bother me a bit if things stayed frozen tomorrow and I could catch up with the sap and clean the whole evaporator. I'm into extra dark syrup, but it should lighten up with the return of the cold.

[Revi]

I think it's a pretty normal season, and we haven't had one of those for a while. We have been getting a lot of sap, for us. Boiling will start up again tomorrow and Saturday. I think I have hit upon a formula that works. I boil from 4-6 pm most days and get home for a normal meal and bedtime. I am able to knock the amount of sap down enough to be able to boil on the weekend when we have time to do it. It doesn't always work and we have spent some nights boiling, but it's a way to make it work.

[gmcooper]

We were barely froze this morning and I didn't I'd get much sap flow but ended up with about 800 gallons today with 700 on the vacuum.

[bees1st]

We had a good freeze night before last. 27 degrees at 6 AM. At 9:30 it was 36 and just a trickle coming in . Turned on the vac , and it started coming in at 75 gallons an hour for the first hour. Then it scaled back to 50 gallons/ hr. Normal run elsewhere at my gravity areas. Still all medium amber.

[Revi]

Last night was a hard freeze here, and I have no idea what's happening today. I'll go up to the sugarhouse after work today and see. It doesn't look to be too much above freezing now, but it might run because it is so sunny. We'll see. Anyway we'll boil all day tomorrow and some on Sunday.

[sap seeker]

Last night was a hard freeze here, and I have no idea what's happening today. I'll go up to the sugarhouse after work today and see. It doesn't look to be too much above freezing now, but it might run because it is so sunny. We'll see. Anyway we'll boil all day tomorrow and some on Sunday.

I'm just a little south of you and still froze up tight as of 1pm.:cry:

[MainelyMaple]

I really shouldn't be complaining about cold after last year and all, I understand things could be a lot worse. However, With that being said this sucks! I wanna make some more syrup in a bad way. Things are frozen up pretty good in my north facing bush. It was trickling in on vac but that's it. I ran 350 through the evap this afternoon from the last two days but for the first time all season I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs wishing for more sap. Guess ill clean the evap and get more firewood in the shed tomorrow. These next few days don't look good at all. If it gets above freezing its only for a couple hours in the afternoon. It's gonna take more than that to get them going again.

[maineboiler]

Just checked the taps here in Oxford. A lot of buckets came down with the wind yesterday. Most are frozen , but the sun already thawed the southern taps and the sap is flowing. I expect a good run today. I have collected only 60 gallons from 130 taps over the past 3 days so I am looking forward to a good run. Hope to boil on Sunday. We'll see........

[maineboiler]

My next finishing and bottling went better with the filter press, but I still have an annoying amount of niter and cloudiness in the final product. I wonder if I should cycle the syrup through the press more often. I bottle the syrup at 180 --195 F to cut down on niter formation. What's the best way to get rid of niter or sugar sand ? It seems like the best thing to do is to let it settle in the container and then " decant" the syrup We'll see how the next batch goes

[abbott]

My next finishing and bottling went better with the filter press, but I still have an annoying amount of niter and cloudiness in the final product. I wonder if I should cycle the syrup through the press more often. I bottle the syrup at 180 --195 F to cut down on niter formation. What's the best way to get rid of niter or sugar sand ? It seems like the best thing to do is to let it settle in the container and then " decant" the syrup We'll see how the next batch goes

This should probably be in a new thread under filtering, but I have good success with just a flat 12x20 filter rack in the top of my bottling unit. I'm making about 2 gallons of syrup an hour and I can keep up with it. When I get enough in the canner I heat it to 185* and fill a 5 gallon jug or some retail containers. Maybe a bit of cloudiness sometimes, but quite clear on the whole.

[Revi]

We boiled from 8am until around 2 today, but we really got done at around 12:30. We were finishing up some syrup and eating pizza until 2pm. It was a fun day, but there isn't much happening on the sap front. And tomorrow looks too cold for any sap also. Monday may the the next chance for some sap. We are into a cold spell, but it looks like the middle of next week it could pick up again. Just in time for the maple weekend!

[marktripp]

According to the extended forecast in my area it's looking good right up till the end of the month! Another week of single and teens at night and mid 30's during the day. The week after 20's at night and high 40's during the day. Few off days thrown in but all in all looks good. Now only if its correct???

[Revi]

We'll see what happens. It's wierd not to have any more sap to boil on the weekend, but it sounds like we may have a bunch next week.

[maineboiler]

High hopes for a good run on Saturday were dashed. Maybe next week. A lot different than last year, but better

[MainelyMaple]

Still no sap. Not enough to boil anyway. Started pulling a little in w/ vac yesterday afternoon but that only amounted to 50 gal or so before the temps dipped back below freezing. They want to run, and I think once they get a chance to actually thaw things will be fast and furious again (at least I hope). Honestly this freeze could not have come at a better time. A much needed break to get other chores around the s.h. done before next weekend. I got the evap all cleaned, replenished the wood supply, and finally was able to pick up the s.h. a bit. Place was a disaster, we've been in full production mode since we drilled. Hope everyone else is enjoying this "break". It won't last long.

[abbott]

I'm with MainelyMaple on this one. But i'll be getting impatient after 2-3 more days with no sap.

[CPlace]

Is anyone concerned that if this cold spell doesnt break soon the less likely we will have freezing nights?

[Rangdale]

The extended forecast down our way doesn't look good. After this weekend it looks like temps will be staying above freezing at night and it doesnt look to great before then either. And we are already seeing some trees starting to bud which really sucks!

[Maple Ridge]

It,s hard to say anymore what to expect from the weather. If the weather changes too quick I will be done. I am looking for another run coming up soon. Right now all I have in my buckets are all day sap suckers. Looks like all I need to do is put a stick in the bucket let it freeze and pull out a all day sap sucker.

[abbott]

I'm not worried yet. Long range forecast here looks good. With a deep frost this year its hard to imagine it warming up too fast.

Once again, i'm fine with more snow. Lets keep the ground cold as long as possible.

[boondocker]

I just hope i get a run before sunday, my main tank is dry and the head tanks are the same way......in a sap drought!

[Lukie]

finished what i had in the pan and total so far 6 gallons and every thing empty wait for more sap

[Revi]

I'm so glad it's finally spring. I think it's more springlike out there already. My back is aching from shovelling last winter's snow, but from now on it's going to be balmy. It's going to be above freezing for the first time in a week tomorrow. Maybe the sap will run.

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

It will be a couple days before things thaw out in my case! Maybe the sun will have enough heat in it to free up the lines today and tomorrow.

[JuniperHillSugar]

We have now passed our 2012 production level of 16 gallons. So we'll hope that the season continues for a while.

[sg5054]

I hope it warms up abit real soon. My sap tank is still frozen.

[Rrwws]

I took the afternoon off from work to go out an collect, I would hope by then my lines and the sap in the buckets is unthawed!! Boiling this weekend hopefully

[sg5054]

I will go out and try to collect after work. At the very least I'll dig out the buckets. I'm going to bust up the ice in the tank and hope that helps. I want to boil this weekend. Wish I had a way to warm the tank a little but it's on the north side of the shack 1/2 buried in a snow bank to help keep it cool....

****ed if you do... ****ed if you don't..

[Revi]

It may unlock today, but it's still below freezing in the shade at noon. We hope to have a couple of boils this weekend, but we will need sap for that. We're going to put on a show anyway, but it may not be that great unless it starts to thaw soon. I am going up to check after supper, because if it's going to run it will do it late.

[Maple Ridge]

when I got home last night to my suprise it ran some (Buckets only). The tubing was just dripping a little. The sap was clear. I realy think the trees want to run, but they need some warmth. I hope to boil this weekend also.

[gmcooper]

just got in from checking vacuum pumps. One is running quite well the other still not doing much but I'm quite sure there is still ice in the lines in the shady spots. Temp is hovering around 40.

On another topic has anyone been getting request for syrup prices from Roger Williams? May be a scam. He was asking for some syrup in 4, 5 and 55 liter containers. ??

[Run Forest Run!]

On another topic has anyone been getting request for syrup prices from Roger Williams? May be a scam. He was asking for some syrup in 4, 5 and 55 liter containers. ??

Roger Williams Univeristy in Rhode Island has a partnership with Bon Appétit Dining Services, and they buy local food from producers as part of their sustainability efforts and their Farm-to-Fork initiative. I think they look for producers within in a 150 mile radius of their university. Perhaps that is the reason you were contacted? If so, that could be really good!

[buxtonboiler]

I went out and put in about 15 more taps today. The trees I drilled were running great. The others were doing pretty good too. fingers are crossed for more sap.

[Revi]

The sap was running for the first time in a week today! I collected some buckets and it was about 3%, so that's sweet!

[abbott]

Well, I spent a couple hours yesterday heating water and trying to thaw out the ball valve & elbow on the bottom of my tank. Had it partly thawed when I left, so I left my bucket of hot water next to the valve, covered with a tarp, covered in snow. Worked great - all thawed this morning.

Next problem: I had drained the evaporator and had it all in 5 gallon jugs... all the flue pan sap was mostly ice. I left them in the sun for a while, then when I started to boil I used fresh sap in the flue pan and put a rack on top of the flue pan to thaw the old stuff, which I just fed through the front pan. Worked pretty good. I got the old stuff cleaned up, then ran the evap normally for a while.

Ok run today. Kept picking up the pace all day - still wasn't slowing down yet at 6 pm. I expect it's done now, should amount to 250+ gallons. I kinda figure this was a thaw-out day. Now that the trees are ready to go, they should run better if we get upper 30's again the next couple of days.

I hope the next couple "mostly cloudy" are like this one!

[abbott]

The sap was running for the first time in a week today! I collected some buckets and it was about 3%, so that's sweet!

My sap only tested at 2.1% - I was hoping for better. Maybe tomorrow.

[Webbs Mills]

Here's the update from Webbs Mills Village, Casco Maine:

I set my first taps of the season 1 month ago up until about 2 weeks ago...(40 taps total.)
Most of the sugar maples I tap are on a steep south facing slope, so they were running like snot today.
I've been dumping the ice and like the results, remaining sap is noticeably sweeter than ice free sap.
I wonder if any of my taps will dry up after over a month...guess I'll see over the next week.
I will definitely unplug before 4/1. Anybody out there noticing any late-season sap yet?
I boil about 50-65 gallons of sap at a time. We yielded 3 gallons Light Amber, 1 gallon Extra Dark Amber so far.

[sg5054]

Well, I spent a couple hours yesterday heating water and trying to thaw out the ball valve & elbow on the bottom of my tank. Had it partly thawed when I left, so I left my bucket of hot water next to the valve, covered with a tarp, covered in snow. Worked great - all thawed this morning.

Next problem: I had drained the evaporator and had it all in 5 gallon jugs... all the flue pan sap was mostly ice. I left them in the sun for a while, then when I started to boil I used fresh sap in the flue pan and put a rack on top of the flue pan to thaw the old stuff, which I just fed through the front pan. Worked pretty good. I got the old stuff cleaned up, then ran the evap normally for a while.

Ok run today. Kept picking up the pace all day - still wasn't slowing down yet at 6 pm. I expect it's done now, should amount to 250+ gallons. I kinda figure this was a thaw-out day. Now that the trees are ready to go, they should run better if we get upper 30's again the next couple of days.

I hope the next couple "mostly cloudy" are like this one!

I feel your pain abbott. I collected 50 gallons from my buckets last night and then bailed 1/2 a blue barrels worth of ice out of my sap tank. Had to beat on the tank with a deadblow hammer to free it up. The suction line was still frozen so that is tonight's project. Some of the ice was an inch or 2 thick.

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

Haven't lit a fire since last Sat! Things are starting to move the last couple of days though!

[Rrwws]

I've been pretty frustrated with my sap run this year but today with the warmer weather I tapped a few more trees and when I drilled , the sap poured out. Feeling a little better today about the run. I only have about 20 trees tapped with about 40 to 50 taps but hoping for at least a gallon of syrup by the end of the season. What's the opinion on how much more time for the run this year in Maine??

[Webbs Mills]

3-22-2013 update
Ran really well today and yesterday, the best it has run all season.
I'm pleasantly surprised that the syrup is still coming out really light.

[Notch Woodwork]

Hoping folks on here can post gallons per taps on here. Saying you got a 500 gallon run yesterday doesn't help anyone. So far this year I have gotten 5 gallons per tap, all reds. Making light to medium on my boils. Still wating for the big run...

[sg5054]

I have 100 taps out. Collected another 40 gallons last night. I need to start boiling. I have around 150 gallons in the tank. I have to work till noon today. :evil: I need my boiling fix!!

[JuniperHillSugar]

Collected 100 gal from about 130 of my 170 taps. Red maples are about done.

[maineboiler]

Good sap run yesterday in Oxford. 50 gallons of clear sap from 60 taps on Sugar Maples. Haven't checked the Reds yet ( about 70 taps ). I would like to boil today if I can clear the ice out of the sap tank and evaporator. I should have over 200 gallons of sap by the end of today.
Syrup so far has been light amber and tastes great. Looking forward to a busy and productive Maple Sugar Sunday

[Revi]

We got some sap today, which is good, because we hadn't boiled for a week. It is running in right now, and hopefully we'll have enough for tomorrow's show!

[fshrchik]

This year we have gotten about 4 gallons per tap. This season has been stop and go with no big "go" yet for us. This next week looks good, though... We make only for ourselves and for trade with friends. We have made 2.5 gallons of DARK syrup this year. We like the flavor of the dark over the light. We boil over wood fire outside and then finish it inside on the gas stove. We're hoping for more this year as I hope to use it instead of sugar, etc when baking/cooking.

[bees1st]

At this snap shot in time ,I'm at 8.5 gallons of sap per tap.

[Rrwws]

Awesome sap runs today and yesterday. My trees havent put alot of sap out this year, 25 gallons yesterday and today, 38 gallons total so far. I have 14 trees tapped with around 35 taps old and new, buckets and tubing. I was very happy to see 25 Gal. I have a few questions for people. Should I plug the tap holes with a wooden dowel or stick at the end of the year. I read somewhere this is good for the trees. 2nd question, what determines the syrup color. Last year my syrup was light and this year very dark. I like the dark better but didnt know what is causing the difference. This forum is great, I really learned alot his year, my second year. And last question, should I tap new trees next year and let my currently tapped trees heal or does that matter?? Happy Syruping people!!

[Revi]

Don't bother plugging the holes, and tap the same trees next year, but move the place you tap by at least a hands width.
We got a lot of sap today. It was hard to keep up with it today.

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

Collected 300 gals. Fri. 275 gals. yesterday. With 575 gals. in the tank, that gave us a little to boil today. Started at 10:30 and by 2:00 we had to shut down to collect what ran today. Fired back up at 3:00 with another 300 gals. to evap. Total bottled today 17 Gals. of Med. Amber, beautiful stuff!!! Total syrup as to date, 9 gals. LIght Amber, 17 gals. Med Amber. Hope to see big runs this week!!

Best,

Shawn

[abbott]

Solid run here today. Over 500 gallons when I left the sap house, but should freeze soon. Just about 12 gallons sap per tap on the vacuum line to date. Looking to be in the 16-20 gpt range by the end.

[MainelyMaple]

Well the trees really turned on today. Had just shy of 700 gal when I left the Sugarhouse at 6:30, and still coming in pretty strong. The week looks good. Really good.

[CPlace]

Sap has been running great along the coast. For my small bucket operation I have collected more sap in the past three days than I have the entire season. I'm also benefitting from a few of fellow sugarmakers who are giving me their excess sap because they cannot keep up! I hope this run keeps up for a few more days.

[boondocker]

Well im back to a one man operation..... My dads back finally let go, to many motorcycle accidents and old football injurys. I collected 320 gal. on sat. and another 300 plus last night and the pipe lines where a steady stream still going in at 7:00. All my buckets over flowed yesterday and i have people calling me left and right saying they have to much sap and cant keep up and want to drop it off here......lol BRING OT OVER!!!!!! what a year so far not bad at all!!!

[Atgreene]

Huge crowds for Maine Maple Sunday, sap is running about 3.2 to 3.4%. Looking good right through the week if the south wind will stay away.

[JuniperHillSugar]

Great run. I think we're gonna need a bigger boat, aaah I mean evaporator.

[sg5054]

yeah, it is coming fast and furious. 40 gallons last friday, 40 saturday 60 sunday, 40 yesterday and I suspect at least 40 tonight. Going to be some late nights this week. Trying to boil to near finished and stock piling it to go back to later. I have 200 gallons of sap to do as of today.

[BRL]

Great run. I think we're gonna need a bigger boat, aaah I mean evaporator.

I know what you mean. We have boiled down over 1200 gals on a 22"x39" flat pan. Good thing my dad is retired now. He's like a one-legged man in an *** kicking contest! Busy! We should pass the 20 gal mark today or tomorrow. New evap for next year!

[Revi]

We boiled until 9pm last night, and are going to boil again today. This could be the run of the season! Lotsa sap. We got about 250 gallons yesterday and probably have about 250 more today!

[JuniperHillSugar]

I've got 500 degree gasses going up the pipe, so I'm looking to improve the preheater for 2014'. Good luck on the long boils.

[mike first timer]

I just collected today and got probably 270 gals looks like i will be busy.Hopefully this will put me at the 40 gals of syrup.Best year for me so far.

[Ridge777]

Not sure what happened today, but my trees shut down and ran less than a 1/3 gallon each tap. Had good runs this weekend and boiled off about 90 gallons. Got 100 gallons in the tank for tomorrows boil. I hope the temps drop back tonight.

[abbott]

Not sure what happened today, but my trees shut down and ran less than a 1/3 gallon each tap. Had good runs this weekend and boiled off about 90 gallons. Got 100 gallons in the tank for tomorrows boil. I hope the temps drop back tonight.

The nighttime lows probably weren't cold enough. We need a good freeze again.

Monday was a great run, Tuesday was a good run, today was an ok, vacuum induced run. With no freeze tonight I don't expect much tomorrow. Sap has been 2.5 brix the last few days, quite happy with that. Just shy of 250 gallons syrup now, which was my 2011 total. Of course I've got 200+ more taps than 2011.

[miner1]

I pulled my taps yesterday. Weather looks warm for the next week. Sap buckets are getting coated with slime. Averaged about 13 gals of sap per tap this year, tapped the last week of Feb.

[Revi]

It was 35 degrees at 6am, so I don't think we got any sap today. Yesterday no sap either, and we'll see if it freezes tonight. I'd like to have some to boil this Saturday, when I have time to boil it. Sometimes nature doesn't conform to my schedule.

[maine guide]

Rockport sap flow has shut right down I've made 6 gallons and have a boil going on Saturday. I think that will be it. Still, for me I've got plenty. I would have gotten another 2 gallons or so but for a change I'm swamped at work which is great but it does cut down on my boiling time. Ive been really happy with my setup this year but I'd like to have a bigger firebox and a foolproof filtering system.

[maineboiler]

The sap is flowing slow in Oxford. Maybe one more run for the season if the nights cool down. I've got 150 gallons to boil this weekend. Finished 6 gallons of medium amber last night. The sap still looks clear but the finished product is darker. Can't beat the taste though

[gmcooper]

Not much of a flow today but looks like mid 20's tonight and 50 tomorrow. Could be the best run of the year if the forecast is right.

[bees1st]

GMC, I love your optimism ! only got down to 35 here last night.

[RickinFarmington]

35 here in Farmington at 5:00. No sap for us today. Hoping the weather folks get it right tonight. My beer/syrup ratio is way out of wack!!

[abbott]

Definitely no freeze here, but the vacuum line is still running good! 540 gallons over the last 24 hrs. The gravity taps haven't amounted to anything over the last couple days.

Right now the forecast is hopeful for early next week. Don't go and pull those taps yet!

[Revi]

It was about 32 here, and maybe lower up on the hill where we sugar. We'll see if if runs today. I hope so, because we have Saturday to boil. It may run tomorrow, and the next day because they are calling for lower lows tonight and tomorrow nights.

[BRL]

We will be pulling taps tomorrow. We will finish with right around 21 gallons. Get everything cleaned up, build new sugar shack, buy new evaporator, scout new areas and get ready for next year!

[Revi]

We are close to the end also, but we'll give it one more week. Today was not thrilling, and neither was yesterday. We may have just enough to boil a little and pour off tomorrow. It sounds like next week will be good though.

[abbott]

We will be pulling taps tomorrow. We will finish with right around 21 gallons. Get everything cleaned up, build new sugar shack, buy new evaporator, scout new areas and get ready for next year!

No! No!

Just get everything cleaned up tomorrow and ready for the week ahead. You'll need a bit more syrup to fund that new evaporator!

[gmcooper]

Just got back in from boiling here tonight. I do not know where the weather forecast I heard last night(Thursday) came from but it was on 99.9 fm. They really missed it as we were just 32 this morning. Vacuum ran ok and that was about it here. Not looking very cold for Saturday morning here.

I just don't get some of you guys that think the season is done after a couple slow days???? Trees have made a little progress towards budding but still have a long way to go. Forcast is not projected to be season ending warm for a couple weeks.

[bees1st]

Just looked. The long range weather guessers are saying the rest of the week looks good in my neck of the woods. My blower motor quit yesterday, and I'm out of wood. Any one want to buy sap ?

[RickinFarmington]

35 degrees here in Farmington this morning again. Looks like another no sap day for me. The guessers keep promising freezing nights, but...

[bees1st]

I don't know I had 32.5 early, but the ground was somewhat frozen. May be colder in the tree tops. Might run here today.

[crashmjsapman]

I would be interested were are you from? How many taps? Micheal Niles

[JuniperHillSugar]

We are keeping the taps in for a while yet, the temps look good. The red maples are being pulled and we'll collect from the sugar maples. It's hard to set a record if we give up too soon. We will scrounge for wood if we need to. Right now we have made 25 gallons on 2+ cords of spruce. We've been using wood from 1 huge old Norway spruce for two years, she'll be gone soon.

[abbott]

Well, this is where the vacuum helps. Third night in a row with no freeze and I still have 400 gallons of sap so far today. Sugar is down to 2.1 (it was 2.5 sunday) but that's still not bad considering. About three cord of wood left before I have to dip into next year's pile (which was still trees two months ago.) Started making Commercial grade today.

I think we'll finally get that freeze tonight. The air feels dry, the sky is clear, it's Easter eve....

[RickinFarmington]

Happy to report a good freeze last night here in Farmington. Should set the gears in motion for a good sap run today. This may well be the real start of the season for a lot of us.

[twitch]

was happy to see a 22 on the thermometer this morning hope everyone has a nice easter flow today

[maineboiler]

Happy to hear there was a good freeze last night. We'll see what the sap does with the sun today. No more than 10 gallons of sap yesterday in Oxford. I like the optimism, guess I will keep the taps in a little longer

[Revi]

We got practically nothing yesterday depite a light freeze down in the valley. The buckets at the bottom of our hill were running, but we got nothing out of the tubing. I have a theory that it froze at the bottom of the hill a little, but the trees up top were out of the freezing air, and that's why there was no run yesterday. We got some today, so we'll be boiling tomorrow.

[Webbs Mills]

...Tapped in on 2/20. The few trees I tap wake up real fast as they face steeply south and not deep in the woods. I could've tapped as early as 2/12 because I'm sure they were running with highs 38-45 that week..


Pulled 40 taps on 3/30. Cloudy sap in most of the buckets. Snow disappeared from around the trees several days earlier. Not interested in late season sap/syrup. I got five weeks of nice high quality sap from these trees and I'm thankful!
7 1/2 gallons yield: 1gal XD, 1 1/2gal D, 1gal M, 4gal L. :cool:

[West Sumner Sugar]

We were going to shut down this weekend but will the sap still running good we are gonna go all out and finish up next weekend. About 50 gallons on the books so far this year.

[abbott]

We were going to shut down this weekend but will the sap still running good we are gonna go all out and finish up next weekend. About 50 gallons on the books so far this year.

Welcome to the trader! Definitely keep those taps in a little longer! Where are you guys at anyway? I didn't know there was such a large operation in West Sumner. I'm on the East Sumner side of Sumner Hill.

Steve

[Ridge777]

Finished off 2 gallons on Thursday and 1.5 gallons on Saturday. Thursday's stuff was pretty dark, but Saturday's not so bad. My trees in the open are done but in the woods they may still have a little life with some help from Mother Nature. Most bud's are swollen but not popped yet. I am hoping for one more boil on Wednesday. I have 20 gallons of sap on ice and if I can get another 20 I will fire up the rig one more time. I am at around 10 gallons finished this year. Not that great with the stuff I had in, but about all I could handle by myself. I think I tapped a little early and my taps slowed because of it.... Live and learn!!!

[gmcooper]

Sunday was a decent day for us. Wished we got a bit more sap (well a lot more) but with the south wind we had most of the day I'll take what I can get. Did some checking around while pumping sap. I found a couple pussy willows just starting to open. They are in a sunny location. The reds in the same location have swelled just a bit but those in the woods haven't changed much over the past couple weeks.

[RickinFarmington]

Finally got a good sap run here in Farmington. Put 120 gallons in the tank yesterday. Will boil that off today, with high hopes of a good sap runs after today. Might be a great finish to the season.

[Revi]

We pulled about 10 buckets on Saturday. Not because they stopped running, but because they are across a stream and the melting ice and mud means I break through up to my ankles into icy mud water. We still have about 300 taps on the tubing, so we'll keep going until next weekend. We got some sap yesterday, so we'll be boiling tonight!

[abbott]

Even with the freeze my gravity lines haven't done much the last couple days. The vacuum line is still going strong, but the sugar is down to 1.9 now.

So far: 18 gpt on vacuum, 7.5 gpt gravity. 305 gallons syrup made, with more in the system. We'll see what the week brings!

[West Sumner Sugar]

Welcome to the trader! Definitely keep those taps in a little longer! Where are you guys at anyway? I didn't know there was such a large operation in West Sumner. I'm on the East Sumner side of Sumner Hill.

Steve
We are on the Morrill Farm Road all the way in past the farm. We are just a bunch of friends who love to make syrup.

[abbott]

We are on the Morrill Farm Road all the way in past the farm. We are just a bunch of friends who love to make syrup.

Awesome. If you get enough sap to boil again would you shoot me an email or give me a call (388-2394). I'd love to come check it out.

Steve

[abbott]

I had ten taps on red maples this year. The buds still looked fine, but it seemed like a good time to pull them before they swelled.

Still getting sap on vacuum, but i'm hoping these cold nights will bring the sugar content back up for the final push.

[maineboiler]

A decent haul of sap Monday ( 35 gallons). Boiled that night and finished off 6 gallons from what I boiled previously. Still looks like light amber, a little cloudy but tastes good. I am hoping for one more big run Thurs and Fri. and a final boil. I expect to find a lot of buckets lying around because of the wind.
Next week might be good too but I am running out of time

[Peeper]

So far... 8 1/2 gallons. Would have been 10 if I hadn't burned the first batch & recently dumped 15 gallons of sap by accidental overflow of the heating pan. May have more if the sap runs tomorrow like it did today. Dark stuff now, but good for making maple fudge.

[sap seeker]

Crazy late day run here today, not a drop at lunch but from then until 6pm somebody flipped the switch, 10 gal. from 12 taps of crystal clear goodness, even though a high of 35 and blowing about 30. Weird.:cool:

[Mike's Sugar Shack]

I did my last boil today probably got another 41/2 gals of syrup.That should put at a total of 50 gals or so for the year.

[gmcooper]

In from boiling. Made another 10-12 gallons. Sap was still coming in nicely at 7 pm. Thursday looks like a really good day? Low of 23 and high temp 48 with much less wind.

[bees1st]

GMC, I see that you have caught on ! You end your weather statements with a question mark.

[Revi]

We were still frozen up yesterday, but today could be good.

[sap seeker]

We were still frozen up yesterday, but today could be good.

I'm 20 miles south of you and the faucet is officially wide open today, wow.:cool:

[MainelyMaple]

I didn't think my trees had it left in them. Impressive run today, comparable to the run on maple Sunday which was strong. I've collected 1400 gal the last 3 days (with half of it from today). And it looks as though ill get sap fri-sun if the forecast holds

[marktripp]

Well I haven't collected or checked since Monday around noon. Very windy and cold Tuesday and Wednesday so I figured they wouldn't run. And of course I'm on shift today so I won't get out to check until around noon tomorrow. Fearing I may have some overflown buckets 😩 but on the bright side if they are all overflown ill have hundreds of gallons to boil!!

[boondocker]

Between what i collected last night and again tonight plus what is still in the woods im at 530 gal. and should run decent tomorrow again to. I should be at the 80 gal. mark by sunday if not 100.

[PerryW]

Sounds like it ran as good in Maine today as it did in northern NH. Best run of the season so far for me!

[Revi]

We didn't get much today for some reason. I have no idea why the maples on our hill are on strike. I checked the main lines, but there was nothing wrong. I may be surprised when I visit tomorrow, but today at around 5 there wasn't much. It makes it easier to untap on Saturday. We have been tapped since the 23rd of February, so maybe they are done. It's been 6 weeks now.

[bees1st]

Yesterday and the day before were the biggest runs of the season. Slowed down a bit last nite even on vacuum. Only 35 here now.

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

This is the first season we had any lines up, so it was a big learning curve for us. We have 1,500 ft of 3/4" main-line and that ties into 500ft of 1" with 5,000 ft of 5/16" lats in this one orchard. With all the troubles everyone has been having about sap runs, I figured we were doing ok with what we had. There was one thing I couldn't figure out though, the lines were full and just a trickle going into the tank, I would tighten, give more pitch, shake the lines and still no movement of the sap. I'm thinking, where is the natural gravity everyone is talking about, with a 8% grade on all lines, that stuff should have been running like a hose. My father did a little experiment with one line by placing a tee in the end line drop to see what would happen. The line emptied and the sap was hauling towards the main-line, so we continued to follow suit on a few more. I know this goes against all ethics, but his idea is working. Before leaving the orchard we pumped another 30 gals. into the truck. After today I think we'll have enough to fire up again.

Best for the rest of the season.

Shawn

[Ridge777]

Decent runs here in Lisbon the past few days around 1 to 1.5 gallons per tap. Pulled most of my taps and moved some to my trees in the woods to get my last 90 gallons to boil. I am sure it will be a dark batch and slow to filter, but worth the extra effort to get every last drop. I will pull everything on Sunday as my Reds are just about done. I am surprised they lasted this long.

[Revi]

I have decided that it's a good thing that our maples have slowed down. It's time to move on to another enterprise. We're pulling on Saturday, and if the trees were running like mad I would feel like the season isn't over and we're missing all that sap, etc. The trees were running like mad a couple of weeks ago, but they are done now.

[sg5054]

I'll be done this weekend. I did get 100 gallons yesterday though. Very surprised. I'm going to pull them all on Saturday. Other projects to get started on. Had a heck of a good time and learned a lot.

[mapleack]

This is the first season we had any lines up, so it was a big learning curve for us. We have 1,500 ft of 3/4" main-line and that ties into 500ft of 1" with 5,000 ft of 5/16" lats in this one orchard. With all the troubles everyone has been having about sap runs, I figured we were doing ok with what we had. There was one thing I couldn't figure out though, the lines were full and just a trickle going into the tank, I would tighten, give more pitch, shake the lines and still no movement of the sap. I'm thinking, where is the natural gravity everyone is talking about, with a 8% grade on all lines, that stuff should have been running like a hose. My father did a little experiment with one line by placing a tee in the end line drop to see what would happen. The line emptied and the sap was hauling towards the main-line, so we continued to follow suit on a few more. I know this goes against all ethics, but his idea is working. Before leaving the orchard we pumped another 30 gals. into the truck. After today I think we'll have enough to fire up again.

Best for the rest of the season.

Shawn
Just FYI you're hurting yourself if you vent lateral lines. All it does is provide instant gratification and lower sap production. So long as your laterals have good steady grade they will run fine, it's completly normal to see a long section of lateral full of sap. Close them up and watch the tank at the end of the day, not a 30 second glance at a lateral line. Good luck!

[abbott]

Over 1100 gallons of sap yesterday and would have been more if I didn't let the pump run out of gas (on purpose) overnight. Single day (sunrise to sunrise) record for me. Didn't even start the pump today, though about 150 gallons came in on anyway. Ran out of wood. Ran out of containers. Ran out of energy. Besides, my extremely dark syrup has tasted a little off the last couple days. I think that's enough excuses to quit.

[RickinFarmington]

Here in Farmington the sap is running like crazy and looks to continue for several days to come. This is a year end bonanza I was hoping for. Light on sugar and very dark, but I'll take it.

[abbott]

Well after a good night's sleep... I just can't stand to give up yet. I plan to clean tanks and drain and clean the evaporator today. Meanwhile I'll move some more wood closer to the saphouse. If the sap runs i'll run the vacuum pump. After evaluating the sap i'll make the final call on whether or not to boil it.

[maineboiler]

The run is beginning to slow in Oxford, I collected 40 gallons yesterday. Lots of wind today so I am not sure what will happen. I plan to do a final boil early next week. Considering I started collecting around Feb. 20, it's been a great season. I would like to improve on my yield, but that will come with experience, I guess. I expect about 20 gallons of syrup. It's been hectic at times, a lot of my sap collecting was done at night with a head lamp but what a thrill to see and smell the final product as it boils down. I am looking forward to next year

[PerryW]

There was one thing I couldn't figure out though, the lines were full and just a trickle going into the tank, I would tighten, give more pitch, shake the lines and still no movement of the sap.
Your system is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Columns of sap will often collect at the bottom of the lateral (where it enters the mainline). These columns of sap are creating the gravity vacuum by pulling the sap above it down hill. You should be able to verify this by loosening any of the upper taps slightly and hear a hissing sound. As soon as you vent the line, this effect is eliminated.

Also, you want sap to be flowing in your laterals, not air. A vented line will not handle as many taps because air is being pulled into the linem reducing the available room for sap.

One other problem is, when the sap starts running, and the line is still frozen below, sap can be pushed out of the vents and on to the ground. In an unvented system, pressure will actually develop and help push the ice (or a clog) out.

[GotSap?]

I'm gonna pull my taps and call it a season tomorrow. I pulled in over 300 gallons Thurs and Friday on 120 taps to bring my season total to 1200 gallons. My little 2x3 evaporator has earned it's keep this year! Time to start cleaning and planning for next year.

[Revi]

We pulled all of ours today. We might have missed a little today, but it's time to pack it in. Most of the trees were done. It was a sweet season, but it's all over now! (all over but the crying, as I have to clean the evap in a couple of weeks)

[MainelyMaple]

Ran the last 800 through the evap today. Didn't really get much sap today . Virtually nothing on gravity and maybe 100 on vac. I remain optimistic about tomorrow. I expect a solid run and although the stuff I'm making now is unbelievably dark it really doesn't have any off flavor. After tomorrow i think that will be the end of it. Will probably pull taps/ clean throughout the week and next weekend.

[twitch]

Thinking today may be the end of the 2013 sugaring season I boiled everything I had last night and will boil some more if it runs today and the sap looks ok making dark syrup but it has a nice flavor have had a great season and have made more syrup then any year past. Maple sunday went very well and i can't wait till next year. I hope everyone else had a great season.

[Ridge777]

Well it is finally over for me this season. Boiled my last sap this weekend and finished about 2 gallons. Dark but tasty! Right around 12 gallons finished this year. I came to realize this weekend it is not alot of fun standing outside boiling for 12 hours with 30 mph wind gusts. Looking to get a real evaporator and set up a sugar house for next season. What a addicting hobby this is!!! Now it is time to share the wealth and give some sweet to family and friends. A great year for sure.

[abbott]

Well, the sap was actually running quite well out my mainline this morning (without the vacuum pump on) but it was cloudy. Maybe if it had been a poor season I would be hanging on for every last drop. I didn't boil what came in over the weekend - just didn't seem worth it.

So here's the recap:
Vacuum (720 taps) - ~20 gal sap/tap, only counting what I boiled.
Gravity (85 taps) - ~9 g/tap, but never boiled the last of it even though it was good sap

340+ gallons of syrup produced - ~90 light, 30 med, 90 dark, 60 ex dk, 70 commercial

about 44.5 gallons sap to a gallon of syrup, but I was really dragging that number down at the end of the season.

15 cord of mixed hardwood burned - roughly 23 gallons syrup/cord.

Next year's goal: make as much syrup as I did this year. No big expansion planned, just a few more taps and some improvements to my setup.

[donka]

Calling it a season in Raymond. Finished a batch yesterday that I could throw a guinness label on and pass of as beer. Had a great season, finished with 9 gallons off 36 taps and got my filtering dialed in this year. See you all next season.

[Lukie]

done for the year total for the year 17 gallons best year yet in my new sugar shack

[Revi]

We finished up on Sunday, and it's weird having so much time every afternoon. I usually check the buckets and as recently as last week we were boiling every afternoon and evening. Now that's over. Time to move on to other things I have to do. Like go to the transfer station this afternoon!

[sg5054]

Pulled most of the taps last night and will do the rest tonight. Dumped everything in the buckets, not that it was that much anyway. Got about 25 gallons of sap still and a full pan to boil tonight. About 20 gallons of near syrup to finish as well. My son and I had a great time and made some memories. Lots to reflect on over the summer and improvements to be made. I'll kind of miss hanging out in the shack.

I hear ya revi. It is weird.

[boondocker]

Started pulling taps last night. pulled all of my buckets and collected everthing i had and ended up with another 200+ gallons of sap, so im finishing that off as i type this. We had a great season, quite long compared to years past but all and all had a great season. Should finish up around 100 gallons of syrup. This new CDL evaporator is awesome, going to add a blower just to make it a bit quicker but so happy i chose this modle. It avaraged about 65-70 gph. on natural draft, but my sugar house is in a feild so there is always a breeze and i think that helped with the draft and inhanced it a bit. Looking forward to next year and maine maple suday. We had a blast this year once we fingured out the evaporator and got in boiling the way it should. Thank you to all the traders that answered my questions i had this year. All new equipment has a learning curve.

[gmcooper]

We are still going here. Have 400+ to pick up in the morning and vacuum was still going. Slower than last week but still clear sap coming in. Spring peepers were out starting last night. I do not remember the sap flowing more than a week after peepers were out. Hoping to sqeak out an other 25 gallons syrup this week.

[western mainer]

All done here, not because of buds or bad sap just no cold in the forecast. We will be adding vacuum and more taps this coming year. Also will be adding on to the sugar house 14X20.
Brian

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

Done here in Exeter as well! Still getting good sap in the woods but sugar is 1/2%. We will polish off the sweet in the evap. and call it a season. Total 28 gal. light amber, 109 gals. med. Sales are picking up. Best to all.

[marktripp]

All done here, not because of buds or bad sap just no cold in the forecast. We will be adding vacuum and more taps this coming year. Also will be adding on to the sugar house 14X20.
Brian

I'm little farther north of you and one of my bushes is elevated with very awkward weather patterns. I collected 70 gallons from 56 taps yesterday and didn't get a chance to make it up today but I'm thinking I have more sap waiting. Only 1 tree out of the bunch budding. I'm not far away and am planning a sugar shack for next year maybe I should swing by sometime for some "do's and dont's" for my design.

[Revi]

We ended up with around 28 gallons also, which is a typical year for us. It was a great season, and now it's time to do some other things.

[maineboiler]

We did our last boil last night for 5 gallons of medium amber. Overall it was a good year, my second year in and the first one was a real learning experience ( burnt a pan). This year we collected 1200 gallons of sap and looks like we will end up with 25 gallons of syrup. Yea, I have got to work on my yield but the syrup was good quality ( my assessment). I have learned a lot about boiling without burning, filtering and finishing. I am not there yet; still looking for that perfect color and clarity.
Lots of cleaning to do now. Looking forward to next year. Thanks for the advise for those who answered my questions

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

Is anyone planning to attend an open-house this year in VT or NH ??

[Flat47]

We thought we were all done last weekend and started cleaning up. Not so fast...this week's sap run was ok and looks like we'll make some more syrup this wekend. Just wish I hadn't drained the evaporator. We'll have to sweeten the pans again.

[gmcooper]

Finally going to pull the plug today. 800 gallons sap from last 2 days just brought home but nothing running at all today. Sugar was down to 1-1.1% but sap was really clean and clear. No odor or color. Not sure on the totals but believe we will end up about 20-25 gallons below our goal. I'm sure we will now get a few more good sap days with the pumps off. At least I didn't have to scoop out any frogs from the sap tanks!

Finished boiling last of the sap. 10+ gallons of just barely extra dark with a good flavor.

[maineboiler]

When is the open house in Vermont ?

[marktripp]

Well I officially pulled the plug today. Collected 15 gallons of good sap but its just not worth firing up the pan to shut right back down and propane is a little too pricy to just use my finishing pan. First season was a success in my opinion. Learned a lot both good and bad, still lots more to learn.
Season totals are:
5 gallons Fancy
4.625 gallons Medium
3.5 gallons Dark
Looking forward to a sugar shack next season and more taps with a better collection system/method. I handled sap way too much and spilled too much as well. I will be making my way around to a few different sugar houses for design do's and dont's. All in all I had a great time!! Now I'm gonna plug a couple of birch just to give it a try.

[abbott]

Is anyone planning to attend an open-house this year in VT or NH ??

I plan on going to Bascoms for a mess of stuff during the sale, but probably not during open house.

[gmcooper]

We usually go on Friday's to Bascoms for the open house.

[aeautodetailing]

Pulling taps starting tomorrow. The runs are over here. NOT a good sap year but better than none! About 4.5 gallons this year.

[TheMapleMoose]

Still getting steady runs in central Aroostook county. As of last night we have made 220 gallons. No light this year but some really nice medium batches. Probably 50/50 medium /dark. Great flavor all season so far. Looks like at least another week (we hope). Shooting for 280-300 gals.