STARTING TAPPING -in southern CT

[valleyman]

Put in 13 this morning and collected 16 gallons by 5 pm. Constant flow. Sure is nice compared to snowshoeing around like a couple of the past seasons. I talked with another hobby producer and they tapped in early January and have close to three gallons to date.

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[Agent914]

what is your sugar content on the SAP?

[valleyman]

I don't have a measuring devise for sap (yet). I tasted it and it seems "normal" Previous years I've tasted both sweeter and less sweet.

[valleyman]

Another amazing flow.
From overnight until 5pm today, my 9 taps in Norwalk gave me 20+ gallons! Because I only had four 5g water carboys with me I ended up dumping a gal or so. When I get home and collect from a few more, I'll have around 40 gallons in two days. I love my sugar maple trees!

[Johnmaubin]

I have been collecting sap regularly since mid January. Overall the percentage I have been getting is varying from two to three and a half percent.

[valleyman]

I have been collecting sap regularly since mid January. Overall the percentage I have been getting is varying from two to three and a half percent.

Thats a nice % average.

I only have taste to rely on (I know, pathetic) but I can tell that the sap I collected last night and this morning seemed a little less sweet than than it did a couple days ago. I'll be pleasantly surprised if the 42 gallons of sap from 13 taps in two days has a high %. That would be just to easy!

[scottdevine]

Checked all my sap in Oxford CT..I am at 2-3%..150 gallons and counting, first timer and loving it!

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[pyro]

Second year here. I'm holding out in Redding/Wilton only because I thought it was too early. The temperatures look ideal the next 2 weeks below freezing at night and high 30s during the day. Am I making a mistake?

[valleyman]

Hey Pyro,
Yea I thought I was waiting to but since Monday I got 60+ gallons from just a few trees. And I know I missed at least a week or two prior. So I would say get em tapped. The temps are heading downward for awhile end of month thru first couple weeks of March look to be stellar.

[pyro]

Considering I missed the warm week, and the next week is more typical temperatures - do I tap this weekend? I have only about 20 taps but can most likely only tap on a weekend.

[valleyman]

Busy day on Saturday. Started getting organized and by 11 had a boil going on my 4 pan block evaporator. I called it quits after 7pm. Boiled 75-80 down to 4 gallons. I'll finish off on propane soon. I had a great evap rate but I went thru a huge amount of wood. MT Scott from Oxford stopped by to keep me company for a while. Put him to work quick!

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[scottdevine]

Had a blast with you Greg! Awesome setup and great chatting. Look forward to doing it again...HOT peppers too!!


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[jamesd14]

Does anybody here in CT know where I can buy some plastic spiles, the ones you connect a hose to and run to a bucket. I need several more so I can tap some more once the cold spell is over, I have plenty of maples left to tap but only six taps left, I put in 34 taps between the last two Fridays when it was warm and got 150 gallons of sap so far, boiled 126 of it down so far, will boil the rest on Thursday after our warmer day tomorrow and I get a little more sap before the cold snap hits.

[Samuelvw1]

Where are u located I'm in Shelton and I have a big bag of them with a few hundred feet of 7/16p blue tubing

Sam
Samuelvw1@gmail.com

[jamesd14]

I am in ledyard south eastern end of CT about 7 minutes from foxwoods casino. Tomorrow I will look you up and maybe make a run out there this weekend if you would not mind getting rid of any of it. Thanks.
I will shoot you an email tomorrow thanks very much.

[jamesd14]

Looks like tomorrow will be the perfect time for me to tap my second round of maples. 34 taps now and hopefully another 30 tomorrow, looks like deep freeze is over, I hope.

[Helicopter Seeds]

yep, freezing until Tuesday, then good sap running weather for a week at least.

Sam and I spied a decent setup not far (2 miles) from us on water company land in Monroe. Looks like a vacuum system, but not done yet. I will be curious to see a bigger setup first hand without traveling far. Unless they truck the sap!

BTW, people talk about throwing away the ice. When it is zero F, the whole thing is frozen. Even ice floating on tap may have frozen sugars inside. I boiled some strained ice last weekend separately, got syrup, actually lighter in color than the rest I have.

[pyro]

Taping every bucket I have tomorrow! Can't wait till this miserable cold goes away. Next 10 day forecast looks perfect.

[scottdevine]

regarding tossing the ice, i just finished my storage tank before the freeze came in and finished off my last 60+ gallons of sap, and skimmed the ice with the anticipation of tossing it. instead, for whatever reason, i coillected it in a 5 gallon bucket and brought it inside. the following day we tested it with a refractometer and had reading of 1.4-1.8 Brix...i WILL NOT be tossing my ice this year.

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[jamesd14]

Got 21 gallons sap today on 46 taps.

[ScottyWelden]

leaderevaporator.com

[annabanana]

I have some decorative used bottles with screw lids, can I re-use them and dip them in wax to secure and seal them? Or should we just refrigerate it and use it as we need from the gallon bottle?

[valleyman]

I have some decorative used bottles with screw lids, can I re-use them and dip them in wax to secure and seal them? Or should we just refrigerate it and use it as we need from the gallon bottle?

Welcome AnnaBanana! You'll probably get more views and input if you can move this question to the bottling section on MT- To answer- IMO, it may be OK assuming your syrup is up to 185 F and is for personal use. But refrigeration is always a good thing. My concern is the used lid. I would tip 'er over so the hot syrup comes in contact to help sterilize the cap area for a while before sealing with wax. Again, I'm no expert. Good Luck with your maple sugaring adventure! Or should I say "sugaring addiction"