DoubleBrookMaple
03-19-2015, 09:53 AM
This year I upgraded from my first attempt at tubing last year with 1/2 mainline. I installed 1100' 3/4 in mainline earlier in season, and added my 3500' of laterals in deep snow on snowshoes. I got all tapped with 260 taps for the first run with my new home built vacuum system that worked flawlessly at 25 in. Reading on the site, many dump first run on new tubing, but I wanted to try boiling anyway, on my expanded 2x4, now 2x6. AT least I could do a test run. I hated to dump 325 gallons of sap as well. That is more than I gathered my whole first year in 2013
I boiled for 11 hours finishing after midnight (it took 5-6 hours to get my first draw off!), and filtered, and bottled a measly 2 1/2 gallons of dark! Flavor did not seem right, but I was overly determined to complete my task.
Lessons learned.
1. New tubing, 1 % sap, first run, and over exuberance all contributed to my demise. The syrup later tasted was inferior in flavor, and I have used it in my cereal some, but would not consider giving it away. In top of this all I used a tremendous amount of wood to get little syrup. I will never do this again, as in hindsight I wish I had saved my own energy, and the energy I could have saved in that wood.
I had another small run of 140 gallons of 2% that I boiled off (this time it was 2 1/2 hrs to first draw off) and got more syrup and all is good!
I boiled for 11 hours finishing after midnight (it took 5-6 hours to get my first draw off!), and filtered, and bottled a measly 2 1/2 gallons of dark! Flavor did not seem right, but I was overly determined to complete my task.
Lessons learned.
1. New tubing, 1 % sap, first run, and over exuberance all contributed to my demise. The syrup later tasted was inferior in flavor, and I have used it in my cereal some, but would not consider giving it away. In top of this all I used a tremendous amount of wood to get little syrup. I will never do this again, as in hindsight I wish I had saved my own energy, and the energy I could have saved in that wood.
I had another small run of 140 gallons of 2% that I boiled off (this time it was 2 1/2 hrs to first draw off) and got more syrup and all is good!