When to tap

[woodsplumber]

How long will taps run using CV spouts and vacuum? Would I risk losing March runs if I tapped for the January thaw next year?

[unc23win]

I am wondering the same thing for next year. This year I tapped the second weekend in February and i heard of a few producers who had already made syrup. There are few reports on the check valve on the Proctor Maple Research Center maybe that will give you some information to base your decision on. Personally I am going to tap some early next year to do some testing on my own.

http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/

[spud]

How long will taps run using CV spouts and vacuum? Would I risk losing March runs if I tapped for the January thaw next year?

You could tap all your trees with the CV2s on January 1st and your hole's will still run strong till the end of April.

Spud

[sugartree310]

We started tapping February 1st and the holes are stiill running strong, on wednesday we started making a off flavor C syrup , but still collecting a lot of sap, the sugar content has gone back up after the freeze and we will make a little more we are using the CV2, my neighbor started tapping on January 1st , also using the cv2 . They quit on Tuesday after a great season for them. Their taps where still producing well , the only reason they quit was they did not want to make any of the nasty. I am totally sold on tapping early with the cv , I have been using them for 4 years now and this year we used the new clear CV2 , I have been doing this for a long time and I need to retrain my self all over now on when to tap, I was always the old school be ready for March 1st, the last two years we started tappin February 1st, but next year I will be tapping January 1st to catch all the warm spells that do happen every year!!

[Asthepotthickens]

How long will taps run using CV spouts and vacuum? Would I risk losing March runs if I tapped for the January thaw next year?

Some producers in Quebec go from early February to late April I start mid February to end of March

[unc23win]

You could tap all your trees with the CV2s on January 1st and your hole's will still run strong till the end of April.

Spud

Thats the answer I was looking for. Thanks again Spud