Flowing in Grand Rapids

[Urban Hillbilly]

I put in some of my taps over a week ago and got a good run and then it all froze up. Collected tonight and was shy of a gallon a tap. Drilled a few this evening and it flowed like crazy. I have 50 taps in total and it looks like I should be knee deep in sap for the balance of the 10 day forecast.

The good news is I boiled last week on my new homemade gas fired 2x6 (two 2x3s) evaporator. I stepped it from a a dual turkey fryer with two 40 quart stock pots. The last season I boiled my cost for propane was $50/gallon of finished syrup, seriously. I had a HVAC company install a 1 1/2 inch valve directly off my gas meter and it feeds a million BTUs of burners beneath the pan (literally, not figuratively, though I don't run it full throttle). Boiled down a gallon and used about 700 cubic feet of natural gas at 75 cents/100. Much better and faster and I'm sure I can do better.

Moved into a new house in a higher end gated community (my sugarbush is my own yard and the school down the way) and I'm sure the neighbors are wondering about the new hillbilly on the street. I just hope they don't mistake the billowing steam for smoke and call the fire department.

Started by hanging 5 paint cans to have fun with the kids and made a quart. Shooting for 10 gallons of liquid gold this season. I now have a real scoop & skimmer, hydrometer & cup, new multiple barrel sap storage system, filter system, fancy syrup bottles with labels... What's happening? I wake up every morning and put on a suit a tie and go to an office. Tell me it stops. Please!

[BoarsNest]

This is my fourth year and I don't think this stops, it is something that just gets more addicting. My test red tree in my front gave me about 3-4 gal this week. Hopefully at my farm it did better this week. I think we have a big sap weekend coming. Good luck this season.

[huntingken111]

I was doing fine with 100 taps this year and boiling on a 2 x 4 pan this year then found this forum and boom wheels start turning bug got worse and built a fuel tank arch and now up to 135 taps and maybe put in another 20 or more taps this forum destroyed me. My wife is cutting my funds.

[kharvey]

Collected 115 gallons this afternoon with 85 taps out. Have been running 2.6% just a slight dip from last year. Looks like a really great weak ahead so different than last year. 2012 I finished collecting on Feb. 23rd and boiled my last batch on the 25th. Didn't start until Mon. March 4th this year.

[kharvey]

What are you hoping to stop, the suit and tie deal or Maple Sugar Hobby. Since it sounds like you're addicted guessing you'll have to continue with the suit and tie so you can afford your Maple Habit.
As soon as all those neighbors realize what the end product is - Good Luck - I've found one person who dislikes Maple Syrup, they don't like the Corn Sugar Crap either so the unlike doesn't really count.

[The Village Farmer]

This will be the first year I have had a hydrometer to test syrup. Now I want a sap hydrometer to see sugar content of my red maples and my one sugar. I can think of ten other things I want but already have three of them the wife doesn't know about.

The more I learn from this forum the more I tell myself I can make or do that! No it dose not stop and it sure makes going to work driving the brown truck in the winter something I look forward to cause I know I will be making syrup soon.

My favorite moment this year was with my six year old tapping and showing him the old tap scars on the maples I have tapped with his 5 older siblings over the years. I had surgery last year and didn't make any syrup. It is going to be fun seeing him learn about it. He still is very perplexed how you get syrup from a tree.

This is going to be a good year! Enjoy!