Got Sap?

[mountainvan]

Put out 800 taps the 4th and 5th. Vacuum pump has been going since he 4th. RO tank is full,600 gals, and there should be another 600 by 4 am. So I'll have my first boil of 2007 tomorrow.

[Russell Lampron]

Good luck Van,

Sounds like you are getting a good start to the season.

Russ

[HanginAround]

LOL, we haven't even had winter yet... people won't tap till the end of Feb or early March here.

[royalmaple]

Van-

You gonna do the old 5/16 - 7/16 conversion later on? Or you think the holes will stay producing?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

That's a 10% crop already in 24+ hours. Good start to the season.

[super sappy]

I taped a tree on thursday around noon, by 4:30. I had 1+ gal of 2.3% Poured it into the old coffee cup and drank it . If I had more time I would have tapped more but I ll wait until spring. It was felt good to drive the new kubota with the sugar stuff in the bucket across the yard and tap a tree. It was the best money I have ever spent and should have done it years ago.Sappy

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sappy,

What Kubota did you get?? I love mine! :D

[super sappy]

Massey Jack hooked me up with a brand new L3400 with loader. At 37 years of age this is the first thing that I have ever purchased brand new.Being 1/2 scottish it was not easy to spend the money but lately I have been doing more work and less fixin and its kind of nice. The old case went back to the inlaws. SS

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sappy,

Sounds just like mine. I got my L3400 with FEL last Dec and 13 months later, it only has 24 hours.! :D

[mountainvan]

just turned off the vacuum, little flow after on for a day and a half straight. Ended up with 1,500gals of sap and made a bit of light amber. Not sure how much till I bottle it. Going to finish tapping the big bush tomorrow.

[blackstrapking]

Boy it seems the Kubota is quite popular, although it makes me somewhat sad. I work for John Deere; live, eat, breathe, sleep, bleed GREEN. I've always felt we had a terrific compact tractor line, but it appears lots of folks have the "orange" ones, and are quite content with them.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Blackstrap,

I would have rather had green, but couldn't see paying the extra 2 or 3 grand for the green paint. Orange is the best selling under 50 hp/compact tractor in the US and I think by a lot! :?

[Fred Henderson]

Brandon, What only 24 hours, it will think that you don't like her. I have an 03, L3830 and I got over 550 on it. I finish mow 4 acres and get out fire wood plus plow my 1000" drive way also.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Fred,

About the only thing I use her for it hauling in wood and gathering sap. I had no desire to buy a tractor and always used my dad's 55 hp 4x4 JD as I had all of my equipment set up in his building for years and he helped all the time and then he decided to move and sell. I got a desire to get one real quick after using my uncles 65hp JD for the next year of sap gathering around his hay feeding schedule. I hate to borrow things anyways but couldn't swing one right then as I was getting ready to build the sugarhouse. I have about 200 tons of dirt to move around the sugarhouse this summer and I need to grade everything down and plant better grass. I am going to invest in a 5' box blade for a ballast and to help with the grading.

I would like to get about 40 or 50 years out of her, so just taking it easy on her.

[hard maple]

wow! 1500 gals of sap. where are you located van?

[mapleman3]

No sap here because No tap here.. yet.. glad too cuz I still have a pickup tank to get from CT. and things still to clean and a barn floor to finish for the scout pancake breakfast.... so no sap yet please.

[hard maple]

hey mapleman I've been checking your website for any new sugarhouse pics :lol: see you next saturday.

[mapleman3]

Thanks but no new yet I have had some emailed to me but I have been busy... Sorry exuse though. I'll get crackin on it soon.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

It's been about 2 years right mapleman3? :o

Maybe it's in the mail :lol:

[mountainvan]

Got the ro tankfull again and the vacuum's still humming away. So over 2000 gals of sap from 800 taps this run. I think I like vacuum. h m I'm in the Catskill mountains of New York. I am going to hold off on my other taps till Feb., unless it's good weather for sapping. Royal, I used iso. alcohol as a spile sanitizer last year and it worked great. If I have to I'll ream the same 19/64 holes out in march. This year I only went in about 3/4" so if I ream I can go in another 1/2" of fresh wood. Used the fast tapping bit this year instead of the irwin. 500 taps with my 19.2 volt drill with two batteries.

[hard maple]

kevin
I heard the inmates were tapping birch trees and cooking up some tasty birch beer :o The oaks and basswoods were simply a decoy!

[hard maple]

van
do you have a total on the syrup? what was the sugar content of your sap.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Oh- There was a few empty boil soda(As russ would call em') bottles out back of the sugarhouse/think some are still there?? Then inside there is the wall of Fame where they signed thier names with the year they were there beside it and some were repetitive seasons for them. :lol: :lol: :lol: Must have like sugaring that much to get back in for the season? :lol:

[mountainvan]

sugar % was 1.6. same as last year. Hopefully the roadside trees I sprayed will have a higher %. Can't say on syrup yet. Canners full and filter tank has a bit, so I'd guess 20. I'll finish boiling tomorrow and can it up.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

What is iso alcohol, rubbing alcohol??

[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

Yes. Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol)

[mountainvan]

finished today with 18 gals bottled and a couple more in the filter tank. Excellent flavor this year. Looks to be sapflow evreyday but wednesday, which is fine because I have to go find out my biopsy results. Go OSU!!

[Daren]

Hey Blackstrap....not all are orange....I have a Blue one and I love it. Didn't like the exposed link arms that look like big stump grabbers on the orange ones. The Green and Blue tractors have them protected by putting them behind and slightly above the axle.

[mountainvan]

Another weekend, another sap run. 24 here last night and 50 now, sap is flowing quite well. Changed the oil in the vacuum pump and got it sucking them trees. I have 16" at the pump and 15" everywhere else, including the top of the mountain. Should be boiling tomorrow and sunday, then cold again. That will give me a chance to rest.

[blackstrapking]

Daren,

Blue's ok too, I always like a little variety. Take good care of her.

Jason

[MASSEY JACK]

Variety is good too. Just remember... all the compacts from the 4 big companies come from Japan. Daren, none of them are log skidders and their is a lot of vulnerable linkages and filters underneath that are much more likely to be a problem than the hitch linkage. If you are going to work in the woods it is a good idea to get a winch so you can keep the tractor on the skid roads and out of harms way.

[Fred Henderson]

Boy it seems the Kubota is quite popular, although it makes me somewhat sad. I work for John Deere; live, eat, breathe, sleep, bleed GREEN. I've always felt we had a terrific compact tractor line, but it appears lots of folks have the "orange" ones, and are quite content with them.

The JD is a good machine but the orange has the under 50 HP compact in the US. Blue is also a very well built machine.

[Fred Henderson]

Variety is good too. Just remember... all the compacts from the 4 big companies come from Japan. Daren, none of them are log skidders and their is a lot of vulnerable linkages and filters underneath that are much more likely to be a problem than the hitch linkage. If you are going to work in the woods it is a good idea to get a winch so you can keep the tractor on the skid roads and out of harms way. If you had seen what I was winching and pulling this morning you might change your mind. A 20 Hickory.

[mountainvan]

I don't have a tractor, but did get 1000 gals of sap today and made around 20 gals of syrup. Should have more tomorrow, still 40 and the vac. is going. I figured I've paid for the vacuum system with the syrup I've made so far.

[Pete33Vt]

GO VAN !!!!! Glad to hear someone is making syrup. Still a little early for here. We are going into a deep frezze so I have time to get my wood all put up. Still alot to do but its getting there.

Good Luck to all
Pete

[blackstrapking]

We have some customers that sure think that there compact is a log skidder. When they smash hoods, side panels, rip wiring harnesses apart with limbs, smash out lights, bend drivlines....ect. I have always been amazed how the majority of people don't get real upset, even after "repeat injuries," Just get it fixed. It's a shame to see, but it certainly is a part of what puts food on my table.

[maple flats]

Wow, just 24 hrs. I gat another Ford compact (my second) last Oct and already have added 28 hrs. This has a loader and the old one doesn't. New is a 79 4x4 25 HP old is a 81 4x4 20 HP.

[mountainvan]

ro tank is full again and sap is filling the tanks in the woods. Let the vac. run out of gas last night, thought it would get to freezing, it did'nt. Sap was not running till I started the vac, should have 1000 gals to boil tomorrow.

[Parker]

Van how many gallons of syrup are you up to now?

[Daren]

I got the farmi winch along with the tractor as well as a box scraper and front end loader. Not as useful without the implements. I also picked up a york rake used to help with final grade and cleaning up the food plots. :P

[Al]

Hi Daren, hear it's going well at the hospital. You didn't need a york rake just drag Ole Schuller around. :lol: He'll smooth out the rough spots. Starting to get the feeling here in Pumpkin Village.
Take care!!

[mountainvan]

Collected anaother 1000 gals today and and made 15 gals of med.. That gives me about 50 gals so far. Hope no one gets their sugarbushes hit with ice. It' s 50 here right now. Supposed to be 0 tomorrow night.

[mountainvan]

Got my tanks cleaned today before the big freeze. Ready for round two and tapping the rest of my trees.

[Parker]

When are you planning on tapping the rest of your trees?

[mountainvan]

I'll tap the rest when the weather warms up again.