April 2014 flow report

[hfitch]

Figured I'd get it going since we are down to less than 2 hours left in March. Report your flows and let us know when you have starting getting the dreaded buddy sap...

[mantispid]

Just a hobbyist, but with about 85 taps I ended up with a little over 6 gallons of syrup. That's less than half of what I had by this time last year (and I have more taps this time)!

Will be tasting the sap regularly once it starts flowing again later this week to check for bud out.

[jblaker]

SugarShackJack here. My guys in the bush are reporting the trees are GUSHING today. Guess we will have a long couple of days of cooking and gathering. Told a friend we are up to our shoulders in mud and sap. I'm in southeast Mi. This is what we have been praying for.

[huntingken111]

Just went and checked my trees in the southwest (between grand rapids and Kalamazoo) and my trees are not dripping need the freeze tonight. Yesterday got 200 gallons but boy wind sure is blowing and its getting cold.

[Yellowdog64]

What will buddy sap taste like? This is our first year

[antler creek]

50miles west of albany n.y. got 750 gallons of 600 taps. 270 on gravity rest on buckets. kept 350 gallons ,sold the other 400.

[BUBSDAD]

No sap run here today. Collected 1-2 gallons from each tap Monday evening, but it came to dead stop today.

[austin357]

It was runnin good for me the last 2days but nothin today for me is that normal this is my first year so im not sure thought i would get a good run today guess i was wrong

[DonMcJr]

Nothing for me today either Austin... and I'm only about 12 miles from St. Clair... and it went down to 27 F last night too! Weird...I do have to say the last 3 years it was done by April 15th... But heck it just started my 1st boil was Saturday and I'm luck if I have 2 Gallons of Syrup and last year I made 13 Gallons!

[LawnMowerMan]

What will buddy sap taste like? This is our first year

we judge by taste (if its bitter its bad) and smell (stick your nose in close and it will smell like either flour or a bakery) you will know the smell its very distinct, plus its usually cloudy by that time.

[cpaq88]

1-2 gallons per tap hole per day since Friday in the Big Rapids area, with the exception of Tuesday. Never got below freezing Monday night. Sap is still crystal clear. Looks like we are in for an ice storm and some snow, maybe that will slow down the budding a bit.

[DonMcJr]

She's letting loose a bit already. My tube line is dripping pretty good already and I think it will get better once the tube thaws out more...

Here's a Chart I made with Temps, Barometric Pressure and the Orange lines were good flow days...today is looking to be a good flow day we shall see this evening!

9580

[austin357]

nothing again for me today im still holdin out hope for tomarrow but im really startin to think my season is over

[DonMcJr]

nothing again for me today im still holdin out hope for tomarrow but im really startin to think my season is over

What kind of maples do you have tapped and have they had flow at all this year?

[austin357]

don they are sugar maples and yes they have flowed on and off i have probly collected close to 40 gallons since mid march

[huntingken111]

Collected 75 gallons dripping real slow at 6 pm. I think tomorrow will be last day buds are huge but look all red no green showing. Not a good year for me this year had just over 250 taps and probably wont even make 25 gallons this year

[DonMcJr]

Well Austin it's 29.7 here now...should be a good day tomorrow!

[hfitch]

Boiling as we speak and sap is flowing really good today. My buds are still about the same size as they were a week ago. Checked sugar content this morning from yesterday's run and still going at 3.8%. Should be a good flow today I'm guessing!

[DonMcJr]

My Gravity tube line is rippin'!:cool: 10 galllons since this morning! Might be able to boil tonight! Woo Hoo!

Austin tell me your trees are dripping today please! If not what kinda taps did you use?

[austin357]

Yes don finally my trees are goin again woo hoo

[DonMcJr]

Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: cool:

[austin357]

It sure will be

[hfitch]

:cool: awesome!!!!!!!!

[DonMcJr]

Well yesterday's decent flow is followed by no flow today....the temp went down to 27 F. Last night but the Barometer stayed steady high...

[sugar daddy 1]

Collected 850 gal. Yesterday from 700 ish taps on the road 3.25% . over 600 gal of syrup made.

[Lethalbowman]

Collected 40 gallons from my 40 taps between Sunday & Monday. I dumped approx. 20 gallons from containers on trees that were in full sun for a couple days and the sap was turning yellow. I already had 30 gallons waiting to be be boiled down Sunday morning as I was out of town Saturday. Ended up boiling 40 gallons down to 5 gallons on the block arch and am bringing it down to just over 1 gallon on the propane fish fryer before finishing it up on the stove in the house. I have 30 gallons packed in snow in the backyard and hope to gather another 10-20 that I will boil down starting Friday. It's getting warm here in the TC area. Only 1 or 2 evenings expected to be below zero in the next week so it will probably come to an end soon. I should finish up with 3+ gallons for the year.

[Tweegs]

Rough past few days.

Finished up the sap Friday evening, cleaned and sanitized tanks.

Sap ran good Saturday, 300 gallons in the tank by days end. Let the pump run overnight.
Planned on boiling Sunday, lit the fire 7 AM, 350 in the tank. Was just ready to put the big stuff on the fire and really get her stoked when we get a call, Father in law having a health scare. Put the fire out, run half way across the state, wait for the tests, find out it is nothing. In fact, he’s in pretty good health for a man of 90, but we worry. Come home, gather buckets, cut wood. 425 in the tank, let the pump run.

Monday, my wife is going to run the evap, I have “must attend” meetings at work. Lunch time, my step son, who works at the same place I do, finds me in the parking lot scarfing a sandwich, tells me the shack is on fire. First thought is if the wife is OK, but she must be because the only reason sonny-boy would know the shack was on fire is if she called him looking for me.

I call her, no, the shack isn’t on fire, but she scorched the pan. “Must attend” meetings having been attended, I leave work for the day. Drain, scrub dollar size scorch, clean, reassemble…8 PM, 500 in the tank. Let the pump run overnight again.

Take yesterday off. Get up at normal time, grab some coffee, walk to the shack. Pump doesn’t sound right upon approach…broken belt. Blessing in disguise, tank is full to the brim at 550 gallons.

Not enough wood to last 300 gallons, let alone 550 plus buckets. Light fire 5:30 AM. Wife relieves me at 8 AM, I go for new pump belt. Get home, fix pump, grab chainsaw, find trees to cut/split.

Finally turned the lights out in the shack at 11 PM last night…not a stick of wood left, about 30 gallons in the tank.

Started making medium, turned dark by afternoon, into grade B by evening and just short of commercial when we shut down. Sap coming in was at 1.4%, turned the pump off.

With what came in on vacuum during the day (not much) and the buckets, we processed something a little over 600 gallons, made just over 6 gallons syrup, around 2 gallons each of medium, dark, B.

[MidMichMaple]

Wow!!! I am overwhelmed just reading that. I think you just convinced me to keep my operation very small. :o:o

[Lethalbowman]

9619 I finished off this 80 oz. batch this morning before heading off to work. I would call this Med/Dark Amber as compared to my previous batches. I have now completed close to 2 gallons far this season. I plan to start what will most likely be my last batch of the season Friday morning. With the forecast being as it is I think the sap runs will be coming to a screeching halt very soon. It did get down into the 20's here last night and we had good frost so I hope to gather a bit more sap tonight.

[Tweegs]

Sticking it out.

Finished off some really cloudy sap yesterday (1.9%), still came out medium…I’ve no answer for that.

Pulled taps on the silvers as they are flowering, buds on the sugars are still wrapped up tight.

Cleaned everything up with hopes that this coming 3 day cold spell will equal another boil or two, we’re way behind last year’s numbers.
Worst case, I've got a head start on end-of-season clean up.

Probably pull the buckets this weekend but keep the vacuum on right up to the last minute.