Rolling the dice in Salisbury, 2007

[Parker]

COME ON BOXCARS-------
Started the repair on Hoit Road,,will be there with Peter today and Tuckermountian tommrow,,Brought the Tractor to Hill and plowed the roads out (snow is DEEP up there),,That tractor does EXCELLANT in the snow!!
Got an SP-22 from NH Maple 48 last night to replace the totaled pump on RTE.11
Really should be concentrating on logging BUT..........I have been thinning out a sugarbush (will be in 20 years if they dont build houses on it) and every time it warms up the trees I have cut start to run a littel,,,AAAGGGHHHHH!!!
Will wait on tapping till at least Fri. or Sat.
Need to get the tractor home and plow out rte.11, Hattans,,putney hill,,load tanks on trucks,,Need to put the tank out at hoit road (never did modify it with the drain like I wanted,,,)

[Parker]

Made serious progress with Peter today,,all the main lines are back up,, alot of the laterals are back up,,should be able to finish tommrow,,Drilled a red maple for an anchor today and it SPEWED sap (south face-no wind 1:30 pm)

[Parker]

Just Too warm not to tap some today,,Peter and Tuckermountian helped on Hoit road,,that is all together (except for a few small details) and tapped out,,went over to Putney Hill and tapped that also,,600 or so down,,1400 or so to go,,seeing it run a littel today got my blood pumping!!!
Tuckermountian dipped the taps on Hoit Road in Maple Vodka,,will see if that makes a diffrance?

[royalmaple]

Parker-

Did you turn your pump on? Curious if the releaser had enough to dump or just wet the lines?

[Parker]

Royal-
One of the "small details" I have to compleate is to set up the tank-pump-releaser at both spots,,there was very littel flow,,nothing comming out of the mainline,(they are set up for vacuum with the loops from the saddels to the connectors with hooks),,would have been more with vac. but I dout enough for the releaser to dump,,,I just have a lot of taps -things to do-and not much help-time,,and I am very impaciant ,,probably tapped early for onnce in my life :]

[royalmaple]

Yeah, I guess that would be a minor project for the system to work properly.

Kinda like the whole thing running full bore and dumping into a 5 gallon bucket, something just wouldn't be right.

:-)

Looks like we got another week here till she warms up.

[Parker]

I stopped at Hoyt road on the way home from work yesterday,,It was running out of the end of the mainline ,,12 ounces a minute,,,maple logs in my landing were running pretty well,,,,,,still a lot to do to get ready!!

[Parker]

Got to Hill around noon,,tapped-fixed stuff till 6pm,,my coldest orcard and it was starting to run even on the north side of some of the larger trees,,will be up there all day tommrow,,,sure is nice having the tractor up there ,,will try to post some pics,,

[Parker]

DRAGGIN it tonight,,STEEP ground up around Hill,,,all tapped out at Quimbys,,need to fix 2 spots in the main line--sure up the tank,,set up the releaser --start vacuum---Brian is comming at 2 to bring the tractor home (plow out Hattans-Rte.11-foultons) should be able to start tappin rte.11 tommrow,,WOW-IM BEAT..................

[Parker]

Must have been REAL BEAT,,did not wake up till 6:30 (wimpy)..........BACK AT IT,,"miles to tap befor I sleep"

[Parker]

Finally got all the details sorted out at Quimbys in Hill, started the pump and 10" vacuum????? had 3 spiles out,,2 laterals disconnected,,and 3 leaking t's,,some loose mainline entrances ,,and 3 hours later 17"!!!! Really wasent running that hard even with good vac,,,brought all the supplies home,,might try to tuugh it out at start in on RTE.11 tommrow,,,or might clean up in the sugarhouse,,mess with some pumps-releasers,,what does everyone use to lube there releasers? mine are sticky,,,,

[powerdub]

Slow down son, rest a second. You burn out now and you don't make the season. There is a lot of sap to run yet, you will get there. I would hate to see you get injured or sick before the season starts.

[Parker]

But Massive Marvin is thirsty........gotta get the old boy a drink,,,,,,

[markcasper]

Parker, Are using the leader adaptors again this spring. It seems last year when you finished you were not impressed with them?

[Parker]

I am not useing the adaptors this year,,they really did not seem to extend my season last year and they seemed to pop out of the taphole in certin bushes,,we tried dipping the spiles on Hoit road in vodka,,,we will see what diffrance that makes,,,spent yesterday (and probably a good portion of toady) moving snow.......still need to tap Rte 11 and hattans,,set up vacuum at hoitrd-putney hill-rte.11,,,might run up to Hill and turn on that pump if it really warms up.

[markcasper]

I am using the ones I used last year. I believe last year they probably didn't help a whole lot b/c in my area we had very stable runs and never had a big long warm up where the sap stalled for days. Thats when the bacteria starts to go rampant. My wife and I are basically going over each one and lightly scrubbing/brushing the inside and out of them. I then run them through the wash machine with hot water and some bleach. I then will boil them all for a few hours.
In all honesty, its probably a better deal to just by new ones, rather than invest the time needed to clean and sanitize them properly.

[Parker]

I would like to switch over to the LaPierre stubbies,,I think its the right idea and they probably would work under the right conditions,,I just dont like that type,(Leader's),,would like to try a few hundred next year,,mabey on Hoit road,,that all pretty old,,6? years
Got all plowed out (except the snow that just slid off the sugarhouse roof) tapped for 2 batt. packs on Rte.11,,,snow heavy-wet- knee deep,,Tuckermouintian must have been boiling today,,his evaporator was making it rain-snow downwind at Rte.11 bush,,,,,clean up the sugarhouse tonight,,,tappin tommrow,,will miss these first runs,, :(.....

[powerdub]

Keep the faith Parker, if the snow is knee deep to that ten foot indian, you won't get a good run for a while. I was in the bush today and managed to fix another two hundred. Just think, eight hundred to go, yipee. I am switching to Lapierre stubbies this year, I will let you know how it goes.

[Parker]

Got all the snow cleaned up around the sugarhouse,(its a bear when it slides off the roof then freezes),started cleaning up the huge mess inside,,rinsed out the headtank,,have 400 or so gal. in the top tank on the bank above the sugarhouse to run thru the system,,gotta get the vacuum cleaner down there,,just stepped ouside,,feels like it is right around freezing out,,will go to Hill and start big bertha (Massport senior) this AM,,,try to set up some vacuum at hoit and rte.11 today-finish tapping? tank to hoit?? tanks on trucks?

[Parker]

I have to remember that it is one heck of a lot colder in Hill (North side of Tucker mountian) than it is at my house,,waste of a trip driving up there,,,,I did turn the elec. on to the therm-pump and left,,,got the tank out on Hoit road-brought the vac. pumps to hoit road and rte.11, cleaned the tank out on putney road,,I am thinking no sap till this weekend???Might have time to get everything in order??? GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!!!!!!!

[Parker]

FINISHED TAPPING RTE.11 !!! just foultons (100) and Hattens (150) left,,looks like Ill go logging for the next day or 2 supposed to be COLD!!

[Pete33Vt]

LOL sorry to laugh Paker but you sound exactally like I do. Alot to do and its scatered all over the country. Got a few days of shop work to do sense its cold then its tapping time. Hoping to have my bush tapped out by Sunday. Boil water maybe Monday! Then tap out rented bush Tuesday. Then sit back and wait. Hopefully not for long. Good luck to you.

[Parker]

Pete-Yes, I tap stuff all over the place,,put on a lot of miles collecting,,I am always green with envey when I visit a place with 5000 taps on the mountian that run into the sugarhouse,,,,but,,like the county forester told me "we are not in vermont,,are we?",,,when I hit megabucks I am gonna pull up my tent stakes and find that mountianside and make it mine,,till then Ill be all over hells half acre tapping :]
Well I had good intentions of logging yesterday,,got there and MAN THAT WIND WAS HOWLING across the mountian top,,and a cold wind at that,,had to leave the heater hoses on the skidder for an hour befor it would start,,then the fuel started to jell up :)...changed the fuel filters,,added power service AND STILL the moter (detroit) was two stepping,,BA BA BA B B B BA BA BA B B B,,fuel was still jelling,,,,,,,well now its around ten,,I am coverd in fuel, and the wind is REALLY blowing now,,THE HECK WITH IT...
Got my littel sap car and went to Goodriches for some much needed supplies -250 mile round trip,,BUT it was nice and toasty in the car
Stopped at nhmaple 48 on the way home and got some tapping bits (thanks) Mabey Ill get some wood out today

[oldemaple]

Parker, I don't know if you're aware of it, but they have re-formulated the diesel fuel since last fall. It's really fouling up the off highway users of diesel fuel because of the gelling of the fuel.

[Parker]

Old maple- I have been running Irvings off road fuel, I was told that the new low sulfer diesel was not good for my engine so,,,,If I had know it was going to be that cold I would have cut it with a small ammount of kerosean the night befor,,,BUT,,,,
One of my neighbors had an emergencyyesterday morning and I helped over there till noon,,,went to concord after that and registerd my dumptrucks for sugaring-firewood season (ouch),,,,was in the woods and logging by 2,,,gotta love that,,,,will try to get going a littel earlier today,,,looks like great weather just around the corner,,will hold off on finshing tapping till it really warms up agine,,,,,

[Parker]

I must be getting OLD caus it sure felt COLD today,,,Heading to Vermont tommrow to get a tank and some grates,,looks like a long haul,,Salisbury NH to ShrewsberyVT to Troy VT, then home,Fellow said the grates were under 4 feet of snow,,and about 35 yards from the edge driveway,,wonder if well be able to find them??? Gonna have to caus I warped all mine last year,,,,,,

[mountainvan]

I got a metal detector if you want to borrow it. I lost my keys clearing the snow in feb., it came in handy.

[Parker]

Littel longer a haul than what I planned on,,left the house at 6:30 AM got back here at 7:05PM,,,456miles,,,Got a littel turned around on the trip which added some time + miles-BUT- I have a decent tank and a bunch of nice grates in the driveway,,There really was 4 feet of snow covering the grates,,glad it only knee deep around here......looks like Ill be busy the next few days,,GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!

[tuckermtn]

Parker- did you get much of a run today (saturday)? We hardly got anything....I would guess your vacuum made the difference today...

-tuckermtn

[Parker]

We had a cheerleading recital this morning (gotta have your priorites straight!),,, went up to Hill(I love the electric thermostat that starts the pump!) and no real flow at 2pm,,,did a bunch of stuff till 5:30 and went back up to Hill to get an extra vacuum regulator,,and it was running a littel,,I think the trees are still pretty frozen,,this rain we are getting tonight should help,Started to clean the sugarhouse this pm,,will pick up Peter in the AM and tie up a bunch of loose ends,,get vacuum at Hoit rd and Rte. 11,,start holding sap,,clean the sugarhouse,,mabey get to boil water and tap Hattens,,from the sugarhouse to my doorstep was 4 inches deep of mud,,can only mean one thing,,,HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

[3% Solution]

Hi Parker,
Didn't get much of a run over here either, 6 gallons.
I was telling the wife the same thing about the rain earlier, that combined with the temp holding between 38 to 40 here may trickle all night.
If it trickles all night might just 6.5 gallons!
Sooner or later it has to flow forth, I hope.
Did some cleaning myself today.
Stay dry.

Dave

[Parker]

Got Peter in AM and we work at getting vaccum on Hoit rd and Rte.11,,staterd at Rte.11..got the tank all cleaned up, octopus of a releaser and lines into it in place,,reworked the Vac. line to the releaser from and new sp-22 and changed over the fuel line,,fired the rig up on 2nd pull looked at the vac gauge,,5"!!!! Yeah!!! Now here is a tech tip for those with vacuuum,,We have 6 lines running into the releaser,,all the lines have valves at the releaser,,by closeing off the lines 1 at a time we were able to determin that the leak was on the low booster line (of course the furthest away),,got our bag of goodies and too a walk,,the &^%$$#@ PVC booster had blown apart,,it is my 3rd year tapping on rte.11 and that is the 3rd time this has happend!!! At the addison county maple school Scott Wheeler told of his displeasure with the PVC booster and that he now builds them out of 1"mainline fittings,,SO we did the same,,,We did notice that the valves going into the releaser were all dripping sap,,if sap drips out vacuum will be lost!!! got back to the pump-releaser,rest of the system was holding at 18",oppend the 2 valves to the low booster and wad able to maintain 15",,we will replace the valves at the low booster today and see if that is where we are loosing the 3",,flow was a littel on the light side,,had about 100 gallons in the tank at 6:30 pm when I shut the pump off.
Went to Hill, cleaned the gym sock smelling ice out of the tank and washed,,started holding sap there,,light run,,
Went to hoit road,,set up sp-11 fired up pump and WOW!! 4" YIPPEE!! We found 7 end rings that had come apart (30-p that looks a littel tired) 9 taps that never got tapped-just hanging there,,2 connections on end stars that had come undone,,3 BAD squirl chews,,,got back to the releaser and we only had 9" ??? Noticed a loud sucking sound at the releaser,,after much examination found that the part that slides up and down when the unit dumps was leaking a lot tightend up the nut-bolt that holds them together and we had 18" BUT the unit would not dump properly caus nut-bolt too tight, could not find a happy medium,,Anyone have this happen befor??know a soultion?
Today we will try to button up Rte.11,,change out releaser on Hoit rd,,got to pick up tank I got in Vermont at TNT autobody and deploy,,,Lets hope for stronger runs AND GOOD LUCK

[markcasper]

parker, you think 5" is bad, I got you beat at 3.5". Two of my pvc boosters had completely twisted 180 degrees, looked like you put them together that way. Must have worked that way of the course of a warm summer.

Vacuum can be a bear and time consuming!

[Parker]

Getting Vacuum working can be VERY time consuming BUT what a diffrance it makes,,got Rte.11 pulling 18" and Hoit road pulling 18",,Hill I leave at 15" as big bertha (massport 500) draws too many amps over that..............had about 400 gallons at rte.11,, 350 on hoit road at 7pm,,,at noon time I had around 300 gallons in Hill,,washed evaporator-head tank out yesterday,,will boil toady,,have to collect with pick up as dumptruck is getting worked on,,,lots of trips,,,

[markcasper]

Parker, Good Luck to you today! I got one of my woods from 3.5 to 18.5, but it took all of 6 hours @ 275 taps. Needless to say, its probably the best investment of time out of all other activities. At some point you meat the "law of diminishing returns" in terms of searching for leaks.

I am running an sp-11 and plan on running it for probably another 36 hours, until tomorrow night. I have never had so much vacuum on it for this long of time. I guess we'll see if she blows up. I do have one extra spare om hand.

[Parker]

Collected 1100 gallons of 1.5% sap,,made 12 gallons of dark A,,, washed all the tanks out,,got too hot to run much yesterday at Hoit and Rte.11,(mabey 200 gallons between the 2 tanks at midnight),will go check Hill now,,no freeze last night,,Managed to put press together wrong last night and had to tear down,,reassembel at 10PM,,that cost me a good hour and probably some grade on syrup,,,

[Parker]

Collected 325 gallons from Hill in the AM,,got both Rte.11 and Hoit road sucking at 8AM,,got up to 65 deg..went to shut them off at 2pm but they were still getting a LITTEL sap so left them running all night,went to hill at 8pm and got another 200 gallons,worked around the sugarhouse getting ready to boil today,,will head out early to collect and probably shut the pumps off (if they are not pulling sap) no freeze last night,,,,,,,

[Parker]

Nothing running at all so I shut all the vacuum off,,collected another 900 gallons,,heading down to boil now,,looks like better weather comming,,,

[powerdub]

Keep it going Parker, you can't let the mighty marvin cool down. I am still leaning on Marty to get you those pics.

[Parker]

I would love to get those pics in the sugarhouse,,,made 27 gallons of FANTASTIC tasting dark-A today,,that evaporator is a joy to run,there is no substitute for DRY WOOD!!! got so I was drawing on every fire (5 mins.),might run tommrow??got my fingers crossed,,GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!!!

[Russell Lampron]

Parker,

Have you made anything lighter than dark amber? All I have made this year is dark amber. Maybe it is the NH sap. Thought I was the only one not making light amber.

Russ

[Parker]

Russ-only Dark amber here,,I think it has a lot to do with not washing my tubing last year,,,,,I have washed out all my tanks (truck-woods-sugarhouse) and plan on doing something? with the sap in my evaporator today,,then wash out the evaporator,,,I am thinking that will lighten it up a littel ???
Sold 25 gallons to Bascomes yesterday,,,the fellows that weighed it in and tasted it said that it was "real good tasting,,and I hate the taste of syrup",,I guess thats a complement,,,,,,
March 16 and its supposed to be cold all week,,,,getting late in the year to make much of a crop,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Good luck to all,,,,,well it looks like Ill be able to get a little more logging in,,the road agent ought to like that.

[Russell Lampron]

Parker,

The road agent posted my road this past week. The guy logging the neighbors land had to shut down. He was keeping the road to my tanks in the woods plowed.

I washed my tubing, tanks, buckets, evaporator and everything else so everything was clean to start the season. My syrup has been tasting very good as well. I need to keep as much of mine as I can for the upcoming maple weekend. Good luck with the logging and sugaring.

Russ

[gearpump]

I have made just over 20 gallons of real light stuff. I keged up 15 and bottled the other 5. This syrup was the made from the early runs in Feb. I think the last warm spell will make it hard to produce anything other then Med. and dark grades.

Marty

[Dave Y]

Russ ,
NH sap has nothing to do with it. I have made50 gal so far and it is all dark. I have not heard of anyone making light syrup that is boiling any large quanitys of sap I clean my pans and I still havent been able to get the grade up. I would like to make a little light to make some candy. But my customers all want dark or grade B. If it doesnt get too warm this next run the sap quality may be better.

[maplehound]

I just came from my buddies place and he started the season off with his normal light syrup but hasn't made any light since. Looking at his smple bottles the second run went to a darker med. and the next run was a dark or even B today was a definet B. i am sure he is disapointed in that. He has already sold all his light and now he needs to buy some light to tint down the darker stuff. At this time last year we were done and he has just now made 1/2 as much as he did last year. Next week looks good though and he is cleaning his pans before he makes again.

[Parker]

Ill be cleaning my pans befor I boil agine,,I would also like to make some light candy,,I am going to try making some candy this morning with the syrup that I made thursday (Dark),,looks like no run here for some time then warming up to the 50's :),,would really like to make more than the 330 gallons I made last year!!!! BUT I dont have much say in the weather,,,certinally glad I have vacuum,,I was talking to 2 producers that have made almost nothing this year (they have no vacuum).............GOOD LUCK and lets hope for some full tanks

[Russell Lampron]

I have only collected a little over 1000 gallons of sap so far this year and most of that was from the vacuum. If I didn't have the vacuum I would probably be in the 300 to 400 gallon range.

Russ

[Parker]

Drained my pans the other night,,was very worried about splitting them with the cold temps,,will wash them befor I boil agine,,,started the pumps yesterday around 11AM,,very light run,,had my wife shut them off around 10PM,,will start them agine this AM and see what we get,,a least should have a littel ice to keep the comming runs cool,,,,,LETS HOPE FOR SOME GOOD WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[John Burton]

had a small run today,gathered 125 gal boiled it in had sap jumpin over the top of flue pan pretty good considering its about 14 inches above top of the flues made 3 gal probably med well see tommorow

[Parker]

I was amazed at how well the sap ran yesterday,,,,,close to the best run this year,,not much above freezing and the wind was howling,,,I had some leaks on hoit road (12"when I started the pump)so I closed the relif valve and went into the woods and fixed all the problems I could find,,keep checking the vac. in the woods,,got it up to 25"!!!! humped back out to the pump and opend the relif so it was pulling a steady 20",,,I figured as cold as it was and as hard as the wind was blowing the pump would be all right,,,it was not even that warm to the touch,,,,set Rte.11 at 20" also,,really seems to make a diffrance in how much sap you get,,,,GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

[Parker]

collected 1600 or so gallons yesterday,,Hill only ran 100 gallons (alot colder there) will boil toady

[Russell Lampron]

I was surprised at how much sap I got Tuesday too. It shouldn't have ran at all but turned out to be the best run of the season so far. I boiled in 325 gallons (in about 4 hours including start up) and then drove over to Royalmaples to help him boil in some sap. He started boiling at about 8:00 and I got there at 11:00. We emptied his 300 gallon bulk tank at 4 am.

Russ

[royalmaple]

Russ-

THat was the 400 gallon tank we emptied, 300 was the one we switched over to at the end.

Must have Jet lag.

[Russell Lampron]

Matt,

I thought we were emptying the Meuler tank and that that was the 300 gallon one. I was too busy running the evaporator and trying to keep my "boiling sodas" from freezing to see which one you were pumping out of.

Russ

[Parker]

Wow-you guys are hardcore,,I have a real hard time staying awake past 10 PM,,,,,,,Got started boiling at 10AM-pulley fell off blower at 3 PM :),,Steve gatherd 500 gallons,,I gathered 300,,so I have sap out there now,,gotta check pumps and hit it hard agine today,,made 16 gallons of medium,,very good,,buttery taste,,warmed up too much for a real good run,,,GOOD LUCK

[Parker]

Collected 1800 gallons yesterday,,I boiled from 9 to 6 wound up with 38 or so gallons,,might still be medium but is probably dark,,lost the buttery taste,,I have never seen as much niter as I got yesterday,,did not finish the syrup-filter it as I was boiling,(was drawing on almost every fire),,,so did that after I was done boiling,,got out of the sugarhouse at 9pm,,,dragging it this AM,,,HAs BEEN AWFUL WARM HERE!! Steve said snow is almost gone on Hoit road,,,,,,,,,GOOD LUCK

[saphead]

Parker,saw a gathering rig this morning that made me think of you running all over to gather. It's a big old Brockway 10 wheel flatbed w/a 3000 + - gal. milk tanker on the back w/no dents!

[Parker]

Sounds like a sweet rig!! I am amnazed at how well Steve keeps up with the Dodge Pickup and a 325 gallon tank,,,(of course we havent had any BIG runs),,havent even fired up the binder this year,,does have the tanks loaded and ready,,,,thought it would be a BIG run today,22 last nite-45 today,,,shows how much I know,,boiled the 600 gallons left over from yesterday and the 900? Steve hauled in today,,made 27 gallons of B,Will hit it hard tommrow,,,GOOD LUCK,,

[saphead]

I thought today would have been a big run but the valve turned off when the clouds came in ,weird season!Now it's raining and 35.

[hard maple]

I got a huge run today, I'm at 40 gal so far all light and medium.
Parker, you're making grade B already??? What happened to the light and medium??
Good luck

[Parker]

Very rare for me to make light,,sometimes I can make medium,,but when it gets into the 60's I have a hard time to keep it at dark,,even with the constant collecting-washing tanks out-filtering the sap 3 times,,I have some fairly long black mainlines that are in the sun in the afternoon=cloudy sap=dark syrup late in the year,,,,you have a lot of buckets?

[hard maple]

Parker
Just 200 buckets, no tubing

[Parker]

I did not Boil yesterday,,fixed some leaks on diffrent tubing runs and hauled sap,,will boil today,,,we got some snow night befor last so I thought it would be one hell of a run,,,not the case,,hoit road had 250 gallons (pump running all night),,Hill had 300 gallons (pump running all night,),rte.11 had 800 gallons with the pump running all night,,,I do have to say I have been most impressed with Rte.11 this year,,I think the increase in sugar% is due the the thinning we did 3 years ago and the increase in production is related to the thinning and pulling 22"???,,,,

[Parker]

I was REALLY hopeing I would make B today,,,had some cloudy sap that sat around yesterday,,as soon as I saw the bubbels in the syrup pan I knew,,,,,GRADE C,,,,,,,,,,I boiled from 9:30 till 6:30,,1.7 sugar content,,made 34 gallons,,,just a tad under B,,not a bad-end of the season taste,,just dark-kinda red in color,,,will dump the pans,,wash the tanks,,try agine,,,GOOD LUCK TO ALL.............

[Parker]

Just dumped the syrup pan,,could not believe all the niter,,like a 1/4",,,sap looked better this AM,,Steve picked up 1975 gallons 1.6%,,made 25 gallons of nice B,,,my ratio never works out right?? Was just about to fire the evaporator up and Viki Smith (the state AG instector) showed up,,checked some syrup,, liked it,dare I say loved it,,Learned somthing during her vist,,she said the only commercial syrup in the state of NH is off flovored,,,or ropey,,B in NH can be black as used moter oil as long as it tastes good,,,,,

[powerdub]

That is a fuzzy area in VT also. If it is dark and tastes like fancy then its fancy. I never understood as taste is so subjective.

[markcasper]

I don't understand the grade c thing? I thought that grade "c" went out a long time ago. Since Wisconsin does not require syrup to be graded, anything darker than a dark is considered commercial or grade b. Whether it tastes good or not so good, its either "good" commercial or "poor" commercial.

I never knew that ropey syrup had a market? It doesn't here, the sap can stink and be awful, but if its ropey, it goes right down in the ground as I got stuck with that one time. It ended up getting mixed into some calf feed, pretty expensive molasses!

[maplehound]

Richard Maple in Ohio sells some of its C grade to tobacco companys. I guess it adds flavor. Also some of the c grade with just a slight off taste is sold to comaponies like Log cabin, Aunt Jemmima and so for. They like to be able put pure maple syrup in there ingreint list, just not too much.

[Russell Lampron]

Wow Parker that is good news. I thought if it was darker than the B sample it was C even if it tasted good. I haven't made any C yet, except for the batch that got burned, the last 10 gallons or so just went up to B.

Russ

[Parker]

Went to Goodriches yesterday and sold 90 gallons,,They are nice people to deal with and they pay more than Bascomes,,grade seems to be better,,,,never would have thought it would run at all with no freeze last 2 nights, although it was in the 40's during the day,,got a phone call from Steve as I was comming back into N.H.saying "you better take the dump truck and collect when you get back",,,,talk about some YELLOW sap,,,,stuff looks just like apple juice,,,dosent smell bad,,,gonna try to boil it,,then clean the evaporator,,
Got down to 29 here this AM,,not supposed to get TOO hot,,will wash woods tanks, releasers this AM and try to boil up a bacth,,,think Ill get out a barrel for this stuff,,,GOOD LUCK TOO ALL

[mapleman3]

Yep it's starting to turn yellow and cloudy here too, only collected 20 gallons in buckets... I'll check it on the way home today but don't think I'll collect until tomorrow(getting a few cold nights) it was a waste of over an hour driving around yesterday. looks like I'll be cleaning things up this weekend.... I dont know how I can make C grade if there's no sap. I have never gone into bud sap yet... never anything to boil.

[Parker]

Just cant seem to get that sap cleaned up,,keep washing the tanks,releasers,But it seems like it is comming out of the lines cloudy,(probably washing the line last year would have been a good idea),Made 21 gallons day befor yesterday by midnight,,about 10 gallons yesterday by 5pm when I hit my limit (Totaly beat),,had to shut the rig down with 1000 gallons left to go,,making commercial anyway so I dont think it will hurt the grade,,,back at it this am,,,not much of a run yesterday as it is too warm,,not cold enough at night,,weather forcast looks good but never seems to materiealize,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Russell Lampron]

The same thing is happening over here Parker. The sap is cloudy right out of the tree and not getting very much. The temps are doing the same thing too. They predict 23 degrees and we get 30 degrees for a low. Not cold enough to recharge the trees.

Russ

[markcasper]

Parker, don't feel bad, I have the same problem. I was watching the releaser jar fill up yesterday. One time it would be crystal clear, and 5 minutes later it was cloudy, then clear again, very strange. Its frustrating b/c its only been in the 40's here the last 3 days and cloudy, perfect weather for keeping the sap. Problem is.....those 80 degree days earlier in the week did it in. Theres nothing short of flushing each and every line in order to bring it back.

Theres been lots of bacterial crap in the bottom of the tanks every day, even though they are rinsed and/or scrubbed after each emptying.

I'm getting lots of sap, so the holes at least are giving.

[nhmaple48]

Parker, washed woods tanks Thurs., had nice clear sap down here Fri.,but Dorchester was cloudy cause that G.D.air line broke another T.Went from B to almost Med. last nite.Froze good last nite,IT AIN'T OVER YET!!!!!

[Homestead Maple]

The temps look good for next week. My sap was a lot clearer yesterday also. The grade is holding up.

[chris]

Parker,
I only saw clear sap once this season back around 3/4. It has been cloudy wth a yellow tint ever since.
Chris

[Parker]

Steve picked up another 550,,boiled all I had,,wound up with around 35 from yesterday and today,,as I was throwing wood into the evaporator I started thinking about how much I had made this spring and how much I have burned,,,there is another ratio that dosent work out,,made 230? and burned around 16 cords???
Weather liar said some decent weather comming,,still have 14 cords under the woodshed roof,,another 15 outside,,green-yellow sap has me a littel concerned,,BUT,,I just started seeing the Miller mothes last night,,havent herd a singel peeper,,and usually about 4-5 days befor the season is over ill have a couple of HUGE purpel and yellow salimanders come trolling thru the sugarhouse as I am boiling,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I would really like to hit 450 gallons,,,gotta aim high right??? GOOD LUCK

[powerdub]

I used to figure five cord per hundred gallons of syrup. given the year this year and the low sugar I think you are right on par. Don't give up yet my friend. This is not unusual. Lighter days are coming (unless the leaves are out in your area) I am optimistic that the season is backward and we will finish in light stuff. What do you think. Will the mighty marvin agree?

[Parker]

Scott- you might be right?? I just went to accuweather for this area and they are predicting some good sugaring weather,,,Ill know its about over when I see the salimanders,,,they are pretty accurate,,,might just go tap the 300 I have not done yet,,mabey take a play from mountianvans playbook and retap the 800 I did with a 19/64's bit,,,,,,cold you say? I like it,,and of course Mighty Marvin is happy as long as the feast of wood and sap continues!!!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Either way, with the smaller crop this year it appears, the prices will be higher on all grades.

[Parker]

Brandon- Good point,,too bad I have to sell the syrup as soon as I make it to pay bills :),,,,,,,,,Did it ever run yesterday,,I had to pick up the kids at gramies,run some erands but was back in the area by1:30 and the tank on RTE.11 was about 3 inches from running over,,stuff looks like mountian dew, BUT I will boil it,,,I gathered 925 gallons between Hill and rte.11 just so the tanks would not run over,I drained the evaporator,,put pre heater water in it to soak overnight,rinse this am, looks like I will be busy today,,, GOOD LUCK

[Russell Lampron]

Parker I hope that Mountain Dew looking sap makes good syrup for you. I have had some really bad looking stuff this year that all has produced syrup with excellent flavor. I have been selling a lot of what would have been commercial because of the color by giving people a taste. The usual expression is "Wow you made This!" and they have been buying it in 1/2 gallons and qts as fast as I can can it up.

I was hoping like Scott said that this was going to be one of those years where we make the light syrup at the end. After the way this season has gone I am an expert at making Dark syrup. Good luck.

Russ

[Parker]

Wound up with 2500 or so gallons of sap,,,(1.4%),,,,):,,,,,,gave it hell,,evaporator was hosed out,,tanks were clean,,should have lightened up,,right???? Did last year.....BUT NO,,,,DARK DARK RED SYRUP,,,but with a real good taste,,,no joke the stuff is SUPER DARK,,but tastes really good????go figure,,,got the battery packs charging,,gonna go out with a bang,,,,Oh yeah,,that 2500 gallons made 28 gallons of syrup,,burned over 3 cords,,boiled from 11AM to 9:30PM,,,Steve shut off all the pumps,,will wash tanks and releasers when I get sick of tapping tommrow,,,,"its a great life if you dont weaken"
GOOD LUCK

[325abn]

"tapping tommrow"

Your joking right?

[royalmaple]

Parker-

I'm thinking the same thing, maybe 1 more hour worth of drilling and I can add like 50-75 taps onto vacuum. I already got the lines run. So full court press, Can't hurt.

[Parker]

I am going to ream Hoit road which I tapped early with 19/64 and tap hattans which I have not done yet,,mabey ream putney-which has run 300 gallons all year (no vac) compared to over 2000 gallons last year with vac...weather looks like sugaring season next 15 days,,to wet to log,,gotta do something,,starting to get low on wood in the woodshed,,have a lot out in the rain BUT that stuff burns poorly...............

[Russell Lampron]

Parker,

You need an RO machine bad. 3 cords of wood for 28 gallons of syrup. I made close to 60 gallons this season and used about 1 cord of wood. Matt The RO Pirate needs one too. His low sugar content sap really chews up the wood.

The taps I have that are not on vacuum did poorly this year as well. The taps on vacuum saved my season.

Russ

[Parker]

Been tapping and gathering last 2 days will boil tommrow,,,,the stuff I tapped today was running gang busters,,,back at it

[325abn]

Did it frezze up your way last night? What was the sugar content of your sap today?

[Parker]

Wound up dumping the 1000 gallons of sap I had in the bulk tank,,,stunk and had stuff floating in it,,getting one of the better runs this year as I type,,went down to sunnyside for pan acid,,everything washed out this AM,,will head to sugarhouse now and boil some acid,,clean pans,,sap looks more clear but not like early in season,,see what happens??

[Parker]

Did not relize how nasty evap. was till I cleaned it,,looks like a new one now (almost),,,,shut off pumps,,have a lot of sap for tommrow,,looks alot cleared,,wish I brought refractometer with me,,looks like good weather next few days,,,,,GOOD LUCK

[Russell Lampron]

Parker I wish I had known you were going to dump 1000 gallons of sap. You could have brought over here on your way to Sunnyside. I don't care how nasty it is, at this point the commercial it would have made would pay for some of the expansion I am thinking of for next year.

I hope you make some better syrup with the recent sap runs. I was talking to chipa and Larry Moore yesterday. Larry was having one of the best sap runs of the year. I had my vacuum on with mediocre results but my buckets seemed to be running good and the sap looked good too.

Russ

[Parker]

Russ,,should have put out the word I guess,,,,just got done collecting,,1.2% sap on hoit road,,1.1% sap(but a lot of it) on rte.11 2.1% in hill,,did not check Hattans,,off to light it up.............

[Parker]

Got 12 gallons,,still commercial and starting to get "that smell" when boiling,,was hoping to gain a grade or 2 by washing everything,,,not putting that nasty 1.1% stuff through the rig,,,should have boiled it,,then cleaned the pans,,,,live and learn,,looks like good weather for a bit,,will give it hell.........

[Russell Lampron]

Parker,

How much syrup have you made so far? I am about 20 gallons shy of what I made last year. I have sap out there so I am going to close the gap a little more.

Good luck, that Commercial is bringing pretty good money these days.

Russ

[Parker]

Russ I am not sure,,have to check,,think I am around 280 gallons?? would like to hit 300 tonight,,last year I made 330 gallons,,want 400 this year,,and ill keep after them till I get it...........................or till the buds blow,,,anyone heard of a corrilation between pulling over 18" of vacuum and getting sap with low sugar content?? fellow mentioned it yesterday,,,had not herd that theroy befor,,might try cutting vac back to 18" and see if it helps???

[markcasper]

Parker, Do you think the sugar% has something to do with the soil? When I toured New England several years ago it seemed to me that the soil was very shallow, rocky and in some places non-exsistent. You needed to get into the dairy areas of northwestern Vermont and areas of NYS before the soil was better, richer, thicker, you call it.

I have heard of syrup makers up in north central Wisconsin always having lower sugar contents. Here again, the soil is just not as thick as where I live. Its often gravely and pretty thin up there causing tree growth to take alot longer too. I have always figured that where the soil is good enough for agricultural crops to be grown extensively, then that ground with maples would really be superior. Just my thoughts.

[HanginAround]

Man, Parker, you're going to be busy moving all those trees :rolleyes: :p

I hear you guys talk about yield per tap and sugar content all the time... I would say around here, yield is only 1/2 to 1/3 of what you guys talk about. I would say soil has a lot to do with it, thin and rocky for the most part.

[saphead]

Parker, They did studies up @ Proctor," of vac. didn't affect sugar %.

[Parker]

Well the sugar was around 2.2 for a while,,now rte.11 is still PUMPING sap out ,,but down to 1% today(600 gallons),,hill still at 2%(250 gallons, about 8 deg colder in Hill) Hoit road 1.5% (200 gallons),,hattans,,2.5% (40 gallons, tapped it couple of days ago, 150 taps) Putney,,mabey 10 gallons last 3 days!!! no vac. there,,,,,,pretty cold here today will boil tommrow, not tonight,,,I would like to know why every time I get a broken line in Hill it is ALWAYS up in Porqupine hollw,,and ALWAYS the furthest,,steepest laterl line,,,MAN it is a hump out there,,,,,,when Glen Goodrich and I walked out there he said "I would not tap these trees,,too steep and too far out of the way,,this is where all your problems will be if you tap it" guess that is why he is the expert,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Russell Lampron]

Parker I have not heard that about the inches of vacuum and sugar content. The big boys always pull as many inches possible. They say that for every 2" of vacuum more that you have you double the amount of sap that you get.

Russ

[Parker]

Yes I have heard about the increase in volume,,but the big boys have big R.O's,,,Gonna keep pulling as much as I can,,Natures R.O might be working for me today as there should be a bunch of ice in the tanks,,should be boiling by 1 if no more damaged lines,,that heavy snow was tough on some of the systems.......

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I know very little about vaccum but I would think if you were pulling high vaccum and there was a lot of moisture in the soil, you would be pulling up a lot of the water out of the soil and reducing the sugar content.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Sap differences from Vac. vs. Non-Vacuum were different by .1 in the information i have read... Not to even a worry.

I'll give you a referal to this research paper/so it will save my time typing.

Your looking for Northeaster Forest experiment Station research note= NE-213 will give you comparrisons of vacuum level up to 15" and I'll keep you in suspense about a study that was done on 20" of vacuum.

Actually that study produced less sap at 20" over the 15". Not sure why as you would think it would be the other way? Thinking it was like 2% less wolume of sap at 20" vs the 15".

The other study for the 15 Vs 20" was done at uihlien Maple in Lake Placid-Can't think off the top of my head what paper it was but believe i have it??

[Parker]

Will have to look up the papers when I have a minute,,Just got everthing collected,(did not go up to hill as it is usually 8-10 deg. colder up there),the more I learn the less I know,,sap running O.K. here with a temp of 33 and a stiff wind out of the north??? sugar content back up to 1.6?? sap looks pretty clear compared to what I have been getting,,,time to light it up,,,,,:)

[Parker]

Got 18 gallons of commercial with a "robust" maple flavor,,sounds like it might run the next few days,,,I have around 5? cords left under the roof,,,,I have been trying to burn some less than primo stuff once in a while,,,just to see how it will work,,,,Marvin will have nothing to do with it,,,,,really should have coverd the extra 15 cords after the tarp blew off for the 5th time,,,,,,,,,will figure something out if it comes to it,,,,,,
When I was fixing tubing in Hill yesterday I came across some damage in lateral lines I did nit recognize,,,look like someone took a razor blade and went along the line,(about 1"-2" long),some spots were thru but most were not all the way thru?? Weird,,,also found a spot where something bit a 1" mainline and one of its teeth went thru (round hole about 1/16" ??) think it must have been bigfoot,,the line is 5 feet off the ground,,,,,,,,

[Parker]

Saps is running to beat the band and comming back up in sugar content,,rte.11 was up to 1.7 yesterday and 1.9 today,,made 36 gallons today with the last 10 being a solid B,,,the prevoius 2 bacthes thru the press would plug up the press on the last jug being filtered (my relief valve opens at 40 psi),,,the last 10 thru the pressure did not rise above 15 psi?? and did not have that red color??? Hattans (the 150 NICE trees I tapped this past weekend has run 800 gallons of 2.7% :),,,putney hill is all done,,,Hill has not been doing much (but the sap I get is around 2%)
NEED TO FIND SOME DRY WOOD!!!!!!
Thinking Ill trey to tweek the blower and run thru some greener wood,,,
GOOD LUCK

[Parker]

Made 34 gallons ,,back to commercial with a definant chocolet taste to it,,,but I will keep boiling as long as it keeps running,,been mixing the dry wood with the wetter stuff,,definatly takes longer (I got spoiled with good wood),,,Ran pretty darn well here today,,Steve picked up 1550 gallons by 3 PM,,I am sure there is a bunch out there for tommrow,,should run some tommrow with the storm comming,,,covered up the pile of wood outside and brought a bunch inside,,still dont have a deinant count but I think I am up to 335 gallons,,,mostly commercial,,made some real nice syrup last year,,have tried to keep everything clean,,,definatly hurts the grade to let sap sit overnight,,and the temps have been warmer this year,,,GOOD LUCK TO THOSE STILL AT IT!!!!!!!!!!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Parker,

Move a bunch of the wood under cover and hook up a great big fan to blow on it for a couple of days. Will make a world of difference.

[Russell Lampron]

Brandon,

Have you seen Parkers wood pile? He would need an awful big fan!

Russ

[tuckermtn]

Ditto to what Russ said- I was guessing Parker might be able to borrow the engine from Frank Bakers float plane...might just do the trick...

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

He sent me some pics of it. I was referring to moving 3 or 4 cords under cover every couple of days. Not going to fix the problem, but one of those big 48" round fans that sit on the ground sure would dry it out a lot.

[Parker]

I did get some under cover befor we got this last round of rain and snow,,and I did cover the bulk of the pile covered back up,,will definatly be better than doing nothing,,I like the fan idea,,just not sure where to find one,,I really wish I could get a wood rack next to the evaporator when I was boiling,,it is usually around 80-90 inside while marvin is boiling,,,,
Kids had the day off from school and mom had to work so I just collected yesterday,,will boil the 1100 gallons I picked up today,,,littel too cold here for much of a run yesterday,,next 3 look better,,,we shall see........

[New Hope Mapleman]

I have no place for all the wood either. You should try my trick! I bought a skid steer and palletized all my firewood. I park it in rows up on blocks and wrap it with boat shrink-wrap (white) which also makes a great tank covering material. Last year I used 65 face cord (one per pallet).
Saves alot of time for me because I can put the wood right on the pallet in the woods and I'm done stacking it. Then the machine does the rest. I have a large wheeled plate in the sugarhouse and we set the pallet right on that and spin her right in front.
Works great for me.

[Parker]

I like that idea,,I built some racks last summer (5) they work well but the wood still needs to be covered,,,,,much slower boil today,,made 25 gallons commercial,,,,,,,,Ran to beat the band first thing today then slowed right down,,,,taking what I can get,,,,Papelbon is still the man,,,,"the futcher is uncertin and the end is always near"

[hard maple]

Parker
Are you gonna boil tomorrow???Or sunday,
maybe we'll stop in.

[Parker]

I am thinking I will boil sunday,,dont think Ill have enough sap tommrow to spark up Marvin,,plus I gotta go sell some syrup in cabot tommrow,,give me a call tommrow night and Ill let you know 934-7251

[Parker]

collected 650 gallons out of Hill this Am then Hard Mapel and Tom showed up,,collected another 500 and started to boil,,pretty embaressing with the wet wood,,you guys have to come back next year when I have good wood aging,,boil was going so slow I stopped when I got the bulk tank on the hill empty (still 600 or so in the sugarhouse tank),,will gather whatever has run and hit it hard tommrow,,,Thanks for stopping by

[hard maple]

Parker
nice set up you have going there. With dry wood you'll have to post an add for a full time "fire tender" Huckin that 4 foot wood is a job in itself!!!
thanks for the tank, if I don't use it for gathering, i'll use it at the bottom of a 125+/- tap stand

[Parker]

Went to a locaol sawmill and got 3 bundels (1/2 cord?) of dry hardwood edgings,,should make this last boil go a littel faster,,have around 1200 gallons on hand,,,,,just about ready to call it quits with no freezing nights in sight

[brookledge]

Parker
I think I mentioned this along time ago but if I didn't go to some tractor equipment dealers and see if they have any of the metal frames that compact tractors are delivered in. I got a few that are around 44"X 6-7'.
You can put alot of wood on them and move with fork lift.
Keith

[royalmaple]

Parker-

I like how you have edited your signature to show the current inventory of wood, too bad the system doesn't leave the old posts with the old wood inventory numbers.

[HanginAround]

I like the chicken inventory! LOL

We'll know when he gets hungry, the chickens start disappearing...

[markcasper]

sINCE YOU BROUGHT UP THE FIREWOOD THING.............I have some wood stored in an old corn crib. Its been cut and in there for two years and still some of it was sizzling this spring. Whats up with this?? Plenty of air movement, anything bigger than 6 inches was split. It basically was mixture of evrything..elm, popple, red oak, hard maple and hickory, a little cherry too.

[MaplePancakeMan]

traditionally elm and poplar hold moisture longer than most woods. From my experiences, last year i had wood that was cut but not split under an awning for 8 years, i split it right before the season about 4 months or so and still some sizzled most pieces were 12".

[John Burton]

its been my experiance that poplar is like birch you have to open it up or get the bark off it now having done that its not that bad i call it poof soot done hot fast no coals left

[Parker]

I have to say after this year I am pretty happy burning 4' split pine,,gotta put the wood right to the rig but can crank right along with it and it drys quickly,feel kinda guilty putting good hardwood in the rig when I can sell it for firewood,BUT a mix is nice also,,,,,DRY IS THE BIG THING,,,,
started the pumps today (Rte.11 pump will only run full choke,,tried ripping carb apart-cleaning,,but not too hard this late in the season) sap was running a littel,,I still have 1200 gallons to boil,,will collect befor I fire up,,hope to be going by 11,,,probably last boil of season if weatherman is right,,,,,,,

[mountainvan]

Parker, I did what Maple flats said about dry gas, isopropyl alcohol, and the q-tip thing. My honda pump works great again. Saved me $$$$. Plus I put it in the bad gas, my 5.5 honda is running my vacuum on that gas now.

[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

I have to put dry gas in me generator occasionally, BUT it makes it come right back to life.

[Parker]

Trying to boil with those stickings was a bear,,they are very dry and would be just about gone by the time you got the door closed,,hard to handel more than one at a time as they got crossed up,,and kept plugging the construction mesh at the stack base,,,also it was around 12 befor I got started and about 65 deg. out,,it was soon 100 deg. inside,,I made around 16 gallons then quit,,still have about 1200 gallons that I will boil this morning,,,,,when I finished boiling yesterday I took a ride around to the vaccum pumps and looked in the tanks,,,I said I would boil anything BUT I am not going to boil the white mung that was in the tanks!!! Too darn hot (67 here yesterday),,,so that is it,,I am breaking my stick off,,will finish what I have got on hand,,brought the releasers home last night,,will start pulling taps ect..washing things..........GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE STILL GOING!!! Is there anyone still going?

[mountainvan]

I am. Going to collect this morning, cut an ro filter in half and put in a 10" filter canister to filter the sap into the truck. It's 28 here now so sap should flow today!!

[chipa]

Parker,

Larry Moore just up the road from me is still going; he will boil

tonight. He brought in 1200 gallons off 2000 taps yesterday off the last setup

he is still running. I sure today will be the last collection day.

[markcasper]

Parker, The white "mung" is good for the heart and soul though?????

[Parker]

Good for the heart and soul? Mabey I should try to boil it,,,,,,,,I boiled up what I had,,now my big finisher is full,,(took a bunch of light stuff out of my syrup pan after the last draw) will cook it all down,,have to re filter 3 jugs that have DE in them (blown papre earlier in the season) THen start cleanup!