Brown sap?

[vermontpure]

When i collected the other day i had 2 buckets with brown colored sap in them. What would cause this? The tree's that those buckets are on are young, healthy trees. Their is absolutly no signs of rot or growths of any kind. Has anyone seen this before?

[Run Forest Run!]

If it snowed or rained you can sometimes get stained sap from when the water ran down the bark and then into the bucket.

[Michael Greer]

I have seen this too and have decided that it was from an overnight rain, running down the bark, and onto the tap. I suppose you could test this theory by checking the sugar content of the brown "sap". If it's dramatically lower than expected, I think it's rainwater.

[vermontpure]

thanks for the input. that thought had crossed my mind but i didnt figure it would turn that dark. we did have a very heavy rain that day and the 2 buckets in question have flat covers on them so water can run down the tap from the tree.

[Randy Brutkoski]

Or a squirell did a doodie in it.

[TreeTapper2]

If there is rain water in it you might want to check for sugar content. Either taste it or use a sap hydrometer.
No use burning fuel on rain water when your trying to make syrup.