March Journal

[jimsudz]

Well it's March 1st so i'll start a journal. It was a little warmer today 36* so I tapped my trees on tubing. Almost got my RO rebuild done this morning while it warmed up.Plan on hanging buckets on Friday.Finished the RO closet yesterday so it should be a little quieter in the shanty. Going out to finish putting the evaporator after dinner. Almost ready!!

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

all tapped out one saddle to install and few more taps as i look around the woods. Saw a squatch today moving away from me when I was getting to last tree, really need him instead i used a ladder to get my tap in.
few tweeks to RO and will be ready for the flood gates to open

[adk1]

Spent march 1 ice fishing. No sap weather here today at all. -3 this morning and a high of 25 or so today. Sun felt good though. Already had one boil last weekend. Not a drop of sap since.

[sjdoyon]

Should be all tapped out tomorrow. Have some repairs to do for a few days. Looks like another cold week up here in NEK. Next two weeks not that favorable. Looks like April will be a busy month.

[PACMAN]

I got 300 in last weekend and the boys and I went up yesterday and put the evaporator together.Also broght up the new filter press and all the suplies to the sugar house.We are going to wait till next friday to finish tapping.Still waiting on the new canner from Leader,they said this week they would have it done.With 5 foot of snow in the bush and this cold weather I will be making syrup in june,lol.Trying for 600 on gravity this year.Well,good luck everyone.

[ennismaple]

The only sap running around here is off the end of your nose!

We should get the rest of our taps in this coming weekend - and then we wait.

[Yellzee]

I was thinking of tapping this coming weekend... but now might hold off if the weather forecast stays the same. Tempted to do it just so they are in... I am really looking for a warm day to reflush the lines and make sure no t connections are plugged in laterals... every year I seem to find 1 or 2 of these near the end of the year that are plugged. Really wish I had a tubing installation tool!!

The season may start late but I bet it wont finish that late...

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

moving building to field today wire up meter socket, panel and set vac pump and releaser this weekend. Redo some plumbing on RO

[maple2]

Finished tapping, yesterday. about 4400. Setting up 2 pumps and 4 releasors,today. maybe have sap for the weekend?

[WESTMAPLES]

im ready with my 340 plus on vac, hoping the weathers turns for the better, and stays with us for awhile. can`t wait to get this season underway, last year this time I remember walking thru sloppy mud, not this year still frozen solid. hope everyones just about ready "the switch is about to get flipped on" good luck to all

[Maple Ridge]

Ok now I am a little confused by this artical. I thought I read and wast told that sap is stored in the roots af the tree. Not according to this artical. http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2014/03/02/traditional-harvesting-maple-sugar-from-forests-may-give-way-tree-farms/hrgPfMmb9ahtjM17FEeqqK/igraphic.html

[SmellsLikeSyrupNH]

Thanks for sharing!!

[sjdoyon]

-25 this morning....still very cold here. Need to get the sap lifter installed this weekend.

[maple flats]

Very surprising, no entries in this month's journal since 3/6! Here goes, It looks like I'll finally get enough sap to start up this week. This is the latest I've ever had my first boil. However my extended forecast (yea, I know, there rarely get tomorrow right) shows good syrup weather for the next 30 days. I hope that proves true. Starting this late could lead to a rather short season. However, the frost is still deep in the ground as of today.
Here's to hoping everyone gets a great season, it's almost GO! time.

[nymapleguy607]

We had our 2nd boil yesterday. Took off about 2-1/2 gallons of dark syrup. Getting the hang using the filter press, it is definitly one of those things that makes you wonder why you waited. I had the vacuum running yesterday, and some time after gathering sap the releaser stuck open and managed to let sap travel up over the hill and into the pump. Never thought that would happen, so the pump it in the garage draining out. I for one have had enough of these bitter cold days, just makes things a pain.

[maple flats]

Don't you have a moisture trap? If not, make one. My first ones were made of 4" PVC with a racquet ball inside and a drain on the bottom. The vac. pulled in a few inches down from the top and out the top. At the top I had a 1.25" piece then right back to the 2". This 1.25 was to catch the ball and block the flow. Then I had to drain it every day. In total it was about 4' tall, my second one I made 5' tall, same design. This summer I'm making one from 6" PVC because a few times the 4" got quite full and it will be able to drain by itself everytime I either run out of gas or shut the pump down. I did however have it fail once because it could not self drain. The vac. ran 1 day and when the pump ran out of gas, I didn't get back to drain soon enough and the contents froze in an extended freeze. When the sap ran next, I opened the drain, got almost nothing and started the pump. Apparently the ball was trapped in ice and could not plug the vac. flow. The next day I had to remove the pump and trap, to take home, thaw and drain. Both worked well after that but I lost a day with no vacuum, just gravity while I was thawing them..

[cpmaple]

Boiled for the first time in the 2014 season this morning from yesterday's run. All went well and very happy with the new to me pans. Not to much foam either got floats dialed in now waiting on more sap looking like weds or thurs I should get some more to boil.
.

[nymapleguy607]

I had a trap of sorts. I didnt put a ball in my pipe, the thing that got me was my pump is almost 600' from the releaser and an easy 100' in elevation change. I guess the lesson is never assume.