December Journal

[maple flats]

The time is getting close for things to get real busy. I won't work tubing in the woods until after gun season, but we start the day after, which is only about a week before Christmas. Then we have repairs and I'm changing a pump TF line from 1" to 1.5" for pumping from tank to road, all about 900'.

[Chicopee Sap Shack]

I ran conduit to the sugar house yesterday frost was about 2" at the house and 6+- at the sugar house. Good thing I got the excavator and the the trencher. This week tanks go in the head tanks go in the sugar house and next weekend power goes in. After that it's test boil time. I still don't have enough time to get everything done.

Scott


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[tuckermtn]

Holiday open house hours this weekend with good traffic through the door. Sold out of cream, so spent some time with a few friends over last night to make another batch.

need to get power to the arch and then set the pans and we will be ready to test fire.

RO room reno is getting closer - just need some insulated doors and pine shiplap and then that project is completed.

Still have some site work to do behind the sugarhouse to level out an area to put the overflow bulk tanks, but hopefully they can get that done before the frost gets too deep.

getting closer, but still lots of items on the too-do list..

[PerryFamily]

RO room is basically complete. Got the roofing on today, all insulated and sided. Now need to hook up the heat. It's a oil fired hot water heater which will supply hot water and heat for the radiant floor. Concentrate tank and permeate tanks are in place and just need to be plumbed. Still need to locate a raw sap tank, hopefully around 1500 gallon, would love to find a smoking deal on a stainless one but will probably have to settle for a poly or galvanized for this year .

[maple flats]

Steer clear of galvanized. Get SS or use food grade plastic while you look for SS.

[PerryFamily]

Flats I know where you are coming from for sure but if I can get one yr out of it I would be happy provided its in good shape and not rusty at all.

[wrushton]

Just finished putting the tin on the sides, up grading to solar in the camp

[heus]

I'm no where close to being ready!

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

ripping down all old main line starting tomorrow, get all new in hope by next week. At night im going to work on RO rack adding a 3rd tower. putting some new lights up in sugar house and main part of garage.

[whitetail farms]

tomorrow ill have the mainlines hung on my new 200 tap woods, but after im done hanging the main there I have to finish tubing up at my sugarhouse and get my vacuum set up and everything there to ready to go then ill get back to running lats in the new woods, gonna try to be ready and tap the woods at my sugarhouse for the jan. thaw. Still need to find a filter press and get a couple barrels, and ive been thinking about an automatic draw off cause its bound to get a little hectic this year when I open my doors to the public for some open houses.

[maple flats]

I finally made a good mainline tubing dispenser. Just in time, my help gets out of college Tuesday for Christmas a 4 week break. We have 900' of 1.5" transfer line to change from 1" and 2000-3000' of 1" new mains. (see mainline spooler thread) This will be far safer (my last one sent me to the ER to get my head glued back together) and easy to use. Have a second Syrup pan coming in early Jan, about 1/8 to simplify cleaning (I hope).
I sure need the new addition planned for next summer. Getting real crowded.

[Shawn]

ready to go here, snowing:cool: hard also

[maple flats]

We had about 5" of snow overnight, maybe 2" yesterday. With lots of wind we had some drifting in prone areas.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

I finally made a good mainline tubing dispenser.


wish i had one today, i was so mad all the snow melted where i was. just strung out 400 3/4" by hand rolling it out in 6" snow, beautiful out today

[jimsudz]

All I've been doing is plowing snow an shoveling snow last 4-5 days. Snowing hard right now, we got 10 " from 4pm-7pm. Shoveled out to shanty so I could get skid steer to it and grabed my RO so I can put in new motor. Made some drops today also.

[PARKER MAPLE]

Well been plowing for what seams to be like forever. We got around 18" here and I mean it's awesome. Anyways got deer season out of the way now so I can focus on sugaring. Lots of work to do in the woods do to wind damage. I did get my new wesfab 7" filter press so hoping to run it soon. Addition is almost done in sugar house. Going to put a temp wood stove in it for this winter. This will allow me to work out there doing my wiring and plumbing. Was shooting to get my RO built but doesn't looking like it will happen again this year. Oh well .. Next weekend going after two more bundles of slab wood for a back up.

Order new snow shoes for this winter can't wait to try um out..
MR

[jmayerl]

Be careful when you let your wife advertise at work. Took more orders for gift boxes than I can fill without bottling or ordering more boxes. Guess that a good kind if problem to have.

[maple flats]

I'm in the same boat, but not because of my wife's advertising. I put an ad in another forum (not maple related) and the sales generated have been better than I'd expected. I've had to can every 3-4 weeks to have what I need to fill orders. I pack 40 gal at a time, in assorted sizes. I just filled a box with an assortment of grades and sizes to fill an order and I had to substitute 2 half pints for a pint or dark amber as part of the order. My average order lately seems to have various grades and sizes in one order. Been using plenty of large and medium USPS flat rate boxes the last 2 months. Bigger shipments seem to go FedEx.

[madmapler]

Just finished pine board siding the new(converted from a steel building)30'x36' sugarhouse and adding a cupola, 8x8 barn doors, 5 windows, new door, and Hot air wood furnace with ductwork. Still finishing the interior walls. Still have to run laterals for 500ish taps, Modify RO, replace sheetmetal on arch and install brick, build pumphouse, get more tanks, and get at least 1 deer in the freezer before its all over.(The curse of the doe permit !)

[adk1]

yup, hunting season is over now..time for alittle ice fishing but allot of sugarin prep!

[madmapler]

Muzzle loader opens today in Mass. and goes to the last day in December.

[maple flats]

In NY southern zone, Muzzle ends at sundown today. Going to re-register snowmobile today and clean finisher. Then I've got to can more med. and dark.

[spud]

I cut a few trees off mainlines yesterday. I had a mainline fitting break off a booster that I will need to fix. Good thing the fitting was not stainless or I would be in trouble. The kids will be putting all CV2s spouts on the drops during their Christmas vacation. This should help me tap a bit faster also. I plan to start tapping in 2-3 weeks. I hope everyone has a great season.

Spud

[farmall h]

24.6 below zero @ 7:45 am today. Trees were popping last night!

[adk1]

Really? We had 9 below

[PATheron]

Was going to start putting the cvs on my drops too this weekend but checked the weather and its warm here over the weekend then I think its going cold kind of for good then I think. Think instead Im just going to start tapping weekend after this one. Still have some stuff left to build but think Ill just work it in as I go. Not getting much done evenings as of late. Gets dark early and its cold and seems nicer to watch moonshiners that go out and do stuff in that cold.
Gonna have to dig deep and find my inner sugarmaker and get at it. Wanna see the monsoon sap too this spring like Ennismaple. Theron

[ennismaple]

Wanna see the monsoon sap too this spring like Ennismaple.

Amen Theron! We'll spot you a 1500 gallon (syrup) head start before we tap our woods in late February. We want to see our 3000 gallon RO feed tank full every day with more sitting in the woods waiting for room in the tank. I'm dreaming of 3% sap, re-ciculating to 12%+ and 4 hour boils to make 120+ gallons of syrup!

We're sticking with original CV's and stubbies though. We simply do not have the time to cut off all our spouts every season. I understand the math but for us its not worth the additional effort.

[PATheron]

Gotta do what you have time to do and pick and choose what you think gets you the most. Only possible to do so much. It would be a lot different if that's your whole job and could work at it regular days but most of us have fulltime jobs and it takes a long time to get it all done. I cant wait to see the sap run too. My new woods is almost all reds and Im really looking foreward to see how it does. Ill try to take some pics this year and post them. Theron

[farmall h]

ADK1..it was **** cold. Didn't get but 6 above all day.

[maple flats]

We were loading the ATV today to take it to my bigger bush when I noticed something hanging in behind 1 front wheel. Closer inspection revealed a brake caliper hanging on the cable(s). Tomorrow I've got to pull the wheel and see how it was supposed to be attached. I sure hope nothing big or time consuming to get is broken. This is a 2004 Polaris 4x4 HO. I'll need to get the rest of the info in the morning. I'm thinking it might be a couple of bolts but won't know til tomorrow morning. I guess it's better now than in 2 mos, during the season.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

picked up the 3/4" stainless fitting for RO towers, making all feed side 3/4" instead of 1/2" and going to order my 7" short bank press this week.

[sjdoyon]

Went to closing this week on 31 acre lot for future sugar house site.

[adk1]

I finally got the metal roof on the newly built and already full saps he'd. Sick of the plastic tarp

[whitetail farms]

gotta hook up the vacuum and releaser, make 150 drops and fix up a couple lines so I can be ready to tap my woods for the January thaw,then I have to run all the laterals and make drops for the 200 tap woods down the road but I wont tap that one till feb......starting to run out of time

[lakeview maple]

Spent yesterday running mainline wire and flagging to add more taps. It was beautiful up on top of the mtn ,but it also was darn cold . I figured this one line should kick me a little over 600 total ,right were I want to be to start the year.Ill be back on Monday to put the mainline up and the long process of tying it in place ,the worst part of it .

[adk1]

gotta hook up the vacuum and releaser, make 150 drops and fix up a couple lines so I can be ready to tap my woods for the January thaw,then I have to run all the laterals and make drops for the 200 tap woods down the road but I wont tap that one till feb......starting to run out of timeman that seems like early for around us. I am an hour from you

[whitetail farms]

well im putting new drops and cv spouts to tap for the January thaw on my wood than my leased wood I wont tap till the normal season starts

[adk1]

How much do you make in the January thaw

[whitetail farms]

this is the first year im going to try it,i figure with a vacuum new drop lines and new clear check valve spouts it shouldn't hurt any.

[Gary R]

A few days ago we had high winds. I found my 14' sap ladder on the ground. The trees must have swayed and snapped the mainline wire. All fixed and finished running water in Sugar house. I need to get the stacks back up and clean the place up. Tapping time could come any week from here on out!

[Tweegs]

Much to do yet.

Got the water and electric run most of the way to the house. Borrowed the neighbors backhoe (beast of a thing), and got the trench dug over a month ago. 3 feet down was rock hard clay, needed to go 4 feet for the water. Don’t know if the clay was really that hard or if it was the rookie at the helm, but it was a slow go. 2.5 days to dig 400’ of trench and that with a machine certainly up to the task.

The big hiccup was trying to get under the driveway. 20’ of 2” PVC, a pressure washer and some Yankee ingenuity got a hole bored most of the way. Either a rock or more of that stubborn clay brought the process to a screeching halt. Been trying to blast through the roadblock with ½” pipe and a sledge hammer, but not making much progress. Temps are supposed to tick up above freezing again this weekend, I figure a Hail Mary and a heaping helping of profanity should get-r-done. I’ve less than a foot to go. Going to have to dig in from the other side, if only I knew exactly where the pipe was going to come out.

Wallowing in wet, sticky, heavy clay, keeping the trench drained of water and hand digging out the collapsed banks has proven a challenge. It was a choice I made to wait until late fall to begin this project so as not to have to deal with the summer heat and mosquitoes. In retrospect, I chose…poorly.

With the exception of a drip tray, the preheater is finished. Got the posts set to move the feed tank outside (and provide a home for the vacuum pump/releaser). The shack is all wired; the sub panel to feed the shack is installed. Just need to get under the driveway, tie in to the sub panel and backfill the last bit of trench either side of the drive. The Christmas booty yielded all of the necessary gadgets for an electric releaser and auto temp controlled vacuum pump on/off system.

The recent ice storm brought down a few trees (fortunately only 1 maple that was scheduled to be culled anyway…hollow) which brought down a couple of mains, so there’s that. Going to add about 500’ of dry line and need to re-brick the firebox.

Since my wife is now retired, she’ll be running the evaporator during the week. Messing with a usually frozen woods tank and transfer pump doesn’t interest her. The mere mention of it garnered “the look”. I’ll be adding a couple of sap ladders to bring it all right up to the shack. I deem my hide worth more than an inch or two of vacuum.:lol:

On vacation through the 6th. Been alternating days cutting wood and working on syrup stuff. Got enough wood cut for the house and about a quarter of that needed for syrup. Won’t be finished with everything prior to the 6th, but should have a good chunk of it knocked out.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

bought a accu cup, VT hydro and a feed pump for ro. Piped up my vessels today added my third tower. 3/4" in 1/2" out in parallel. tomorrow order my 7" short bank. Try to finish ro stand this weekend

[adk1]

I will b interested in hearing how I like the accucup for sure. What made u decide to go that route flats?

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

I will b interested in hearing how I like the accucup for sure. What made u decide to go that route flats?
all of my bulk syrup in the blue 5 gal jugs has a little mold on top. so I bought the accu cup just to make sure everything is supposed to be where it is when bulking. haven't had any mold on canned syrup in retail jugs just the 5 gal plastic. I had a friend doing the bulking last year while another guy and myself were running the rig, hope this will help him this year.

[adk1]

Gotcha good idea flats

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

8279828082818282
got the three towers hooked together and into RO chassis. Going to work on mounting the pumps and the rest of stuff

[maple flats]

Falling behind. I had planned to be in the woods the last 2 days, but things changed. Friday mom (age 92) was having dizzy spells every time she stood up so I had to take here to the doctor's. He added 2 prescriptions he thought would help and sent her home. Then I spent several hours tending to her as she still lives at home, and alone. Then yesterday, I sat with mom from 9:00 am until 7:30 pm, at which time my sister took over. I have today off until 7:30 this evening (my sister and brother cover) when I go to be with her over night, my daughter goes for 2 hrs and then I cover again until about 2 PM when my sister takes over. If the situation doesn't change this may be a real tough maple season.
Yesterday I did have 2 of my grandsons cutting downed trees and limbs off the lines and seeing what we need to do in repairs. I was planning to change a 900' transfer line (from tank to road) from 1" to 1.5" for faster pumping and was also going to add about 2000' more in mains to pick up more taps. Now I'm not sure how things will work out. Mom has to come first!
Your prayers will be appreciated, thanks.

[noreast maple]

Prayers and best wishes for you dave, good luck and Happy New Year to you and your mom.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Falling behind. I had planned to be in the woods the last 2 days, but things changed. Friday mom (age 92) was having dizzy spells every time she stood up so I had to take here to the doctor's. He added 2 prescriptions he thought would help and sent her home. Then I spent several hours tending to her as she still lives at home, and alone. Then yesterday, I sat with mom from 9:00 am until 7:30 pm, at which time my sister took over. I have today off until 7:30 this evening (my sister and brother cover) when I go to be with her over night, my daughter goes for 2 hrs and then I cover again until about 2 PM when my sister takes over. If the situation doesn't change this may be a real tough maple season.
Yesterday I did have 2 of my grandsons cutting downed trees and limbs off the lines and seeing what we need to do in repairs. I was planning to change a 900' transfer line (from tank to road) from 1" to 1.5" for faster pumping and was also going to add about 2000' more in mains to pick up more taps. Now I'm not sure how things will work out. Mom has to come first!
Your prayers will be appreciated, thanks.
should we still stop Friday?

[madmapler]

Then I spent several hours tending to her as she still lives at home, and alone. Then yesterday, I sat with mom from 9:00 am until 7:30 pm, at which time my sister took over. I have today off until 7:30 this evening (my sister and brother cover) when I go to be with her over night, my daughter goes for 2 hrs and then I cover again until about 2 PM when my sister takes over. If the situation doesn't change this may be a real tough maple season.
Yesterday I did have 2 of my grandsons cutting downed trees and limbs off the lines .

Sounds like you have a tight family Dave. Thats getting rare these days. I hope your Mom pulls out of it. Lots of people sick with the flu right now. I hope for your sake also that longevity runs in your family.

[Clarkfield Farms]

Dave, you know I'm available to help with whatever I can. Just let me know what/when/where. I've got a nice new (last summer/fall) Dolmar chainsaw, too. :) I'm just not too sure about my dually getting in to your sugarhouse, though! :D

Our prayers are with you and your family, as always.

[Clarkfield Farms]

P.S. - Dave, it's probably best to call or text my cell phone since I'm not generally on here much these days.