Central Wisconsin

[Diesel Pro]

I'm in central clark county but I tap near Merrill. I regularly see sap totes go by in season. One load went by today already which is surprising as it has not cooled off much as of late. Merrill was below freezing by 11pm last night and we are low land so probably cooler yet.

[Ridgeville]

How can you tell if the season is over? What are the signs?

I'm in Monroe County, cooked yesterday, finished today the syrup is great tasting darker than anything I've done this year. Next week it looks like cooler temps for 3 or 4 days will the sap flow again, will it be any good?

Thanks for the help! James

[Rhino]

You will know when it's over by the smell of the steam, and when you draw off the syrup it will be ropey meaning u can take a laddle/ spoon and dip it into the syrup in your draw off container, and when you lift it out it will still be connected like gooey cheese. The sap will also have a consistency like latex paint. With the cold snap coming what does it hurt to see if you are good to go yet? Oh but what i like to go by and it happens every year pretty much like clock work is those blasted( frogs) peepers peeping, then i know it's over for us.

[jvolkman]

So, is the syrup still usable when it gets like this?

[Diesel Pro]

Boy Monroe county I'd say you must be at or near the end?

In Clark County it seems to be winding down fast based on the yard tress that I see hanging.

Lincoln county I think we'll get another week and be boiling Easter weekend.

[bison1973]

Surprised at how much my vacuum is putting out... but getting concerned because sap seems to be really close to turning bad and syrup going stringy...

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[Dave Puhl]

For me the time to quit is the warm weather forecast. trees stop putting out, the sap turns cloudy smells sour and small black dots of mold are starting in the buckets..4-11 ..I still got bottling to do and got the evaporator cleaned up.

[Rhino]

I never really tried to use ropey syrup for my personal use ever. Many seasons ago we did make 2 barrels of ropey syrup when the previous season was bad just because the talk was that make whatever syrup you can, and i was able to sell those 2 barrels to a packer. He obviously tasted it and did a test to see how stringy it was. I have no idea what that would be used for to sweeten what? I doubt if anyone would buy ropey syrup now a days but i could be wrong?

[treemonkey]

Believe it or not. Went out in the woods this aft, bent over saplings, Snow everywhere, checked a few taps, all dripping, sap tasted clean and sweet. My woods has been cold all spring, buds small. I guess we'll see if there will be enough to make filling the evaporator worth while for a second wind. ???????

[syrupkid]

Diesel Pro, where near Merrill do you tap your trees?

[Diesel Pro]

We are on Devil Creek off of CTY Z.

Things really slowed down for us. I'm hoping to get a good flow for the coming weekend, but temps look very cold.

[bison1973]

They did run pretty good Wednesday afternoon on VAC especially. Cooking today... freeze tonight... Friday should be good... but that will be it. Should be done by Saturday or early Sunday at the latest.

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[Diesel Pro]

Froze up most of the week for us. From what I gather my better producers are starting to flow and should do well today. Cooking Saturday so we'll probably do final collection early afternoon and that's the end for us. I could push it off until Sunday, but with Easter dinner off site that just makes a mess.

I'd like to have another 360 or so gallons to process, but I'm guessing probably 1/2 that unless something really breaks loose.

[syrupkid]

Diesel Pro, I know the area well, we have heifers on farmingdale just south of z. I am off hwy e by the first big curve heading north.

[Diesel Pro]

After being froze up the majority of the week they started running Thursday and really ran nice on Friday. We collected 200 gallons Friday (weekly total) with pails overflowing. On Saturday we coked and did a final collection and pulled the pails around noon. Some were nearing full again already, but we had no desire to cook Sunday. We just processed the additional 60 or so gallons and packed up.

Season total I would guess to be 23-25 gallons depending how this last batch finishes.

sap from final batch seemed to be gaining sugar content as well...

[Dave Puhl]

3-3-15 Another season is here, hope all is well with everyone here. Just been getting tapping and tubing stuff ready. we have had little snow but cold temps this winter ..the local tv station reported that Feb was the 5th coldest on record in our area..the forecast is for warmer temps next week so I will put in some test taps first part of the week.Lets hope its a great season....

[Dave Puhl]

3-6 Called up to Roths and ordered a few things...they were tapping and getting ready to vacuum test. Its been cold and windy.. was down in the woods and the snow is like sugar.. out in the open its a lot harder with all the wind we had this winter. I am just waiting for warmer weather to start tapping...have to take the ice shack off this weekend also.... hoping for warm temps to thaw that out too..

[Dave Puhl]

3-6 pm... the weatherman says warm temps are coming...too warm...might have to hurry to get tapped...this sounds like 2012... we had a week of sap run then nothing...just like farming....Forgot to add.... I ordered from Roth Sugar Bush the 5th and it came by Speedy today the 6th...Great Service.....

[kraemerp]

Agreed..jumping straight to 50 isn't doing any of us any good.

[treemonkey]

Drilled 100 vac taps today, all dry shavings.

[Dave Puhl]

3-7..went out and tapped a few.. all dry for me ..but Paul tapped some and a few were dripping but not much he said... his trees are out on the flat and more in the open....the wind blew alot here today which didn't help ...will tap some tomorrow after I get the ice shack off the lake...

[Dave Puhl]

3-8.. Must of been over 50 degrees today..to hot..Had some help today so we got the ice shack off Castle Rock Lake... then got at tapping.. got 5 gravity runs out... sure was nice to have extra hands.. took a bunch of taps and buckets to Clyde... all dry..

[Dave Puhl]

3-9 ..Temps in the upper 50s..Tapped for the most part, always can put more in but Clyde wants to do that so I gave him more taps and buckets he's got the fever....as for the trees some are dry and some are dripping... will start getting set up for storage and get the 2x6 set up..

[Dave Puhl]

3-10..Again warm temps 60+. no sap running... guys calling wondering whats going on..we are all doing the same.. will have to wait..

[Dave Puhl]

3-11..Got a scare today setting up the 2x6...there was water coming out of the seams on the bottom of the syrup pan as we filled it to do the preseason cleaning ..could not believe what I was seeing, not a lot just dripping..it was dry this am the 12th..so all I can figure out is when I used the pressure washer on it last season I got water in them seams and I store the pans upside down that water was in there all year.. not good with the freezing and thawing but this winter we didn't have any of that so maybe I was real lucky..never had the water in there that I know wont let that happen again... so not much sap here.. all gravity lines are dry just a few buckets with a small amount in them...still very warm ,no wind and a lot of mud...

[Skyraptor]

Slow here as well with only a handful of trees dripping any sap. A number of people are saying the same and are worried it could be a bad season for collecting.

[Dave Puhl]

3-14..Warm and no frost here...My Daughter/Son-in-law brought in 20 gal from the trees they tapped. I got about 10 gal. all of the gravity lines dry to just a drip .some buckets are dry rinsed the buckets. Our Conservation Club has a Car Dunk with a car on the local lake and that is going through the ice .Seeing a lot of the spring /summer birds. cutting firewood for next year...

[ermine.trapper]

Frost this morning seemed to help. Taps are running today. 20 taps in box elders.

[Dave Puhl]

3-18..thought we would get a real hard freeze this am but 32 at the house this morn.. Janice and Vince brought over 50gal. so got enough to fill the 2x6 but then what....I have never seen a season like this.. The wind yesterday was tuff to work in...so went down in the valley and cut fire wood for next year...those that are getting sap your lucky..

[Dave Puhl]

3-18 pm...got a lot of fire wood cut today the dugway going down in the valley turned muddy so we had to quit. collected late in the day and now have enough to cook...the sap that we have has to be cooked anyways because how long its been... still some of the gravity lines are not running. seen my first blue bird of the year...

[Skyraptor]

Not much here either Dave. Yesterday morning the sap was all froze in the buckets or bags and there was not much in them. Did some firewood cutting as well.

[Dave Puhl]

3-19..cooked today for the first time this season... it took awhile to get everything together and up to temp.. syrup dark and full of sediment a little over 4gal.. no sap left to cook ..hope the next sap is better...

[treemonkey]

21 gallons of syrup so far. If it wasn't for vacuum things would be even slower. Patients,,, hoping it's still early.

[Dave Puhl]

3-23..winter returned. just 3 inches here but a lot more to the southwest of us.. trees been slowly dripping after the snow they picked up. collected late today ..22 degrees 3-24...will cook for the second time another storm coming snow/rain...

[T Hugo]

Sap is running yesterday and today in Hustler. 8 taps, and collected over 15 gallons of sap tonight. Boiled down what I has from last week. Got over 2 pints of syrup. Very dark, but very sweet.

[Dave Puhl]

3-24..started working around the 2x6 in the am.. cleaning and getting set up to cook. the south west wind was cold all day and it blew right on the door and the syrup pan cooling the fire every time I went to put wood in.. had smoke coming from the stack most of the day which meant that the gases were not burning all the way.. a few people stopped by... my neighbor Frank came over and spilt wood.. big help seeing I was alone today.. later on in the afternoon my son Bill got home from work and Frank and him went to collect they were gone along time.. when they came back they had a full tank in the truck ..sap was really running they said.. cooked till 8pm still had some sap left. a long day for little more than 5 gal..10 pm it started to snow covered the 2x6 and went to bed...

[Diesel Pro]

With all the talk of sap running I have my brother heading up to check things out today after work. I was thinking things would be dead, but it seems that plenty are seeing good runs. I had a decent run last week where many were still struggling so maybe it will surprise me?

Problem is everything looks like it will be frozen up tight on Thursday night thru Friday so I'll probably wait to do a second collection until Saturday afternoon and then cook on Sunday with a final collection near noon. Next week's weather looks to be very good for sap run.

[Dave Puhl]

3-26..Cold and windy.. just bottling today in the shack syrup dark and full of sediment. I normally get 2-2.5 gal through a orlon filter ..today only 1... went through all 5 of them and didn't get done.. gotta be a better way...some sap today..now have 5 hundred+ gal of sap.... will have to cook.. Sunny and 15 deg. this am the 27th..

[Diesel Pro]

I hated the filtering process. Now if it's a bit dirty I strain through a mesh coffee filter as it comes off the pan, but I use a filter press to get it clean w/o all the sticky hassle.

[Dave Puhl]

3-27..I use two cone pre filters on every draw and it fills them up also. I did find a press to use ,,never used one before might give it a try ..Cooked today a strong 8gal everything went well. a lot less foam to skim in the flue pan. wind out of the north made the steam and smoke swirl down in between the buildings..Cold out no sap run for me...

[Dave Puhl]

3-28..Started to cook about 10:30 am nice day cool but sunny..only had 4hrs to cook and wanted to get all the sap gone to get ready for the big run that might be coming Monday and Tuesday...syrup still dark and lots of sediment...4gal of syrup today.... and all but 50gal of sap left...Sunday will clean up and take a break from syruping..

[treemonkey]

Barometric pressure dropped from 30.35 to 25.5 here in the last 24 hrs. things were still froze up a 3PM this afternoon. just got in from a walk in the woods, bags and buckets are 3/4 full and 400 gal Vacuum storage tank is full. It's going to be a busy week.

[T Hugo]

Still running good here in Hustler. Friday was slow. But, other days I'm getting 12 - 15 gallon of sap a day, from 8 taps. Only tapped 2 big maples in my yard and 2 in my Mother's yard. Now, all of the neighbors are telling me I can tap their maples if I want to. I'm new at this. Just tapped mine in the yard last year. it was the 1st I have tried syruping. I boil in a couple of turkey fryers.

[Dave Puhl]

3-31..Cooked all day...was a foggy morn then a nice day to cook.. Clyde came by and split some wood...running low on dry wood.. just cant get over on how much sediment is in this years syrup...with the warm weather the sap has slowed down a lot...maybe the end is near.

[Dave Puhl]

4-1..Didnt get cooking till 11 because of other stuff.. Hot today and the wind was bad...out of sap about 3pm wanted to shut down any ways because of the high wind...I seen some embers come shooting out from under the ash pan as a big gust came through ..kept watering around the bottom of the evaporator to try to keep any embers down...I know two others that didn't cook for the fear of starting the woods on fire... Clyde pulled all his taps and I collected all the sap what he and I had about 130gal..wind died down and finished cooking .. Looks like this maybe my last cook of the season..

[Dave Puhl]

4-2..I pulled all taps today.. Nice day to clean so I spent most of the day washing ..it was time because some of the buckets were getting black spots in them.. Got the gravity lines to roll up yet...Looks like I will be 10 gal less than last year.. Too bad we had that hot weather for two weeks right when we tapped....got a lot of syrup to bottle but waiting for it to settle out ....wanting to try Bartz's filter press....still have the evaporator to clean but that can wait...

[Dave Puhl]

2-28...2016 season..the winter here has been mild... we had 4'' of rain in Dec. and some snow since then.. had enough ice on the area lakes to get the shacks out and drive the full size trucks out on the ice but took the shacks off last week cause of the warm weather coming......not much frost if any in the woods.yesterday was too warm for this time of year.50's.. with this warm temps the snow is going... forecast is 2 more warm days and then freeze up tight again..will wait to tap till end of next week

[Maple Man 85]

My thoughts exactly tapping Friday or Saturday. However that is an extended forecast it could change ten times before then :)

Maple Man 85

[Diesel Pro]

I took advantage of the warm weather Saturday and got my tapping done. Next weekend I can do a little wood clean up/skidding while the sap runs...

[Maple Man 85]

Diesel Pro where's your operation in the Merrill area? I wouldn't mind meeting some of the local producers.

[Diesel Pro]

Diesel Pro where's your operation in the Merrill area? I wouldn't mind meeting some of the local producers.

I'm on Devil creek off of hwy Z. I'm just a weekender that spends WAY too much money on equipment....

[Dave Puhl]

3-1..3-4'' of snow.cold and cloudy ...got down to zero. 3-2.. was sunny today but still cool. snow melting of the roof.... 3-3. still cloudy this am... 20 degrees warmer with more snow in the forecast.slowly getting stuff ready..nothing tapped here.still waiting to tap..a warm up is coming after the weekend.weatherman talking rain? will see..they haven't been to good with the forecast...

[Dave Puhl]

3-5...we had some snow last eve 2'' or so... Clyde called and wanted to tap..he had a test tree dripping ..so I took over taps and buckets..all drops...most trees were wet to dripping...we were not in a hurry and got out 30 taps or so ...weather forecast warm with no low temps...kinda like last year...it got hot and the trees just sat there...

[T Hugo]

Got 19 taps in. The sap ran really good since Sat. on some trees. Other trees, not so much. I got about 25 gallon since Sat. Concerned now with the warm night temperatures. And most trees I see are budding. Does this mean the end? I'd like to put more taps in. Fairly new to this.

[Dave Puhl]

3-6..with the help of my son Bill we got up all six gravity runs but not tapped..helped Clyde put out 15 or so more buckets all with drops most had two...the trees we tapped were dripping good...too warm... Robins and Redwing blackbirds are here....3-7 Clyde called and said most buckets were getting full...he came and helped me tap all the gravity lines..by late afternoon had to pump out the barrels that were on the gravity lines and Clyde's storage...just to hot today 65 or so....not good...

[Maple Man 85]

Collected and then boiled in the thunderstorm this morning a few hard maple still leaking slowly but the soft are not dripping at all. We need some cold nights or I fear this is going to be another one of those short seasons... :cry:

Maple Man 85

[T Hugo]

Everything has pretty much dried up since yesterday. Very little ran since I collected last night.

[Dave Puhl]

3-8..another hot day..add Killdeer to the list of summer birds here..got the 2x6 set up leveled and cleaned this am then after lunch went an collected..fired up the evaporator late afternoon all went good..no help today..my goal was just to get the pans sweet..started to shut down about 7pm... the daughter called and wanted fresh syrup over ice cream so I threw some more wood in and kept cooking just before 8pm they rolled in and with my2yr old granddaughter Misty we had the first syrup of the season on ice cream right off the evaporator..pulled off just over a gal of syrup...the syrup is real lite in color...trees are slowing down real fast..

[Diesel Pro]

Collected and then boiled in the thunderstorm this morning a few hard maple still leaking slowly but the soft are not dripping at all. We need some cold nights or I fear this is going to be another one of those short seasons... :cry:

Maple Man 85

Short isn't the word for it unless something miraculous with the weather occurs. The bulk of my pails only have 2-3" in them with a handful approaching 1/2 full. I'd be hard pressed to get 60 gallons would be my guess. Doesn't hardly pay to run the RO for that plus we'll probably end up in the finishing pan with water in the main. There's only one cold night on the 5 day forecast right now and that is Thursday. Looking past 7 days there is cold, but I think this is just using historical averages and will likely change as they get closer. It's a good thing I have lots of leftovers...

[Maple Man 85]

It is looking very much like the 2012 season. I just heard on B104.9 that the price of Maple Syrup is expected to rise due to the temperatures. So it's not just us other states are in the same boat we are...

[Dave Puhl]

3-9..add to the list of summer birds here..Sandhill cranes ,Bluebirds and Turkey Buzzard..went and collected what little sap I had.drained and cleaned syrup pan.last eve the float stuck/leaked and filled the syrup pan while it sat over night.made about 3.5gal syrup.. still light and not much sediment..all gravity lines dry...if weather don't change won't have enough syrup to fill orders...still hoping for regular weather to return..have some untapped trees back in on the north facing hill..will be all carry and bucket's

[Dave Puhl]

3-10..went and collected 50 gal or so of sap..lines and buckets are dry..cooked right down to the last 1/2 gal in the supply tank...so far just over 11 gal of syrup..warm and chance of rain late Sat eve through Wednesday...

[Dave Puhl]

3-11...got some frost here over night..checked Glenn's woods and they were running ,put out 16 more taps all hard maples.. tapped a soft/red and it was dry...3-12... collected just under 200 gal.. some of the bucket's I put out were full...cooked all the sap poor cooking day not much for wind and high humidity...very warm cooked in a tee shirt most of the time ..had one lone honey bee come around...boys collected late in the aft. and only got 6 gal...rainy forecast

[Dave Puhl]

3-15..Ides of March..cold rainy day here good for bottling out in the shack..still all taps are out and hoping for a cold spell..will have to clean up buckets and barrels after the rain..

[TomorrowRiverMapler]

A lot of the tress in Waupaca are not just budded heavily but I can see leaves already. I think this pending cold snap Thursday will only bring bitterness. I'm so depressed!

[Dave Puhl]

3-17..lots of rain here 3''...rivers are very high..went around and cleaned out barrels and buckets..waiting for the next run...no frost the next morn oh well weatherman wrong again..3-19 trees are slowly running this am.. cool daytime temps.. even the soft maples are dripping..

[Dave Puhl]

3-22..Collected all the sap ...Started cooking bout noon ended up with a strong 7 gal all hard maple sap...the syrup looked good.. might be the end... we will have a big storm the next few days......

[Dave Puhl]

3-28..the snow has been melting since the storm on the 24th.we had a good 7" here with allot more just north of here...its been a muddy mess since then. the hard maples ran real hard the 25th nice and clear but not much now...haven't taken any sap from the soft maples what was there was off color so today I pulled the four soft maple gravity lines and got them cleaned up and put away for the year..the hard maples are slowly coming to the end and the sap is not as clear..but the taste is ok will cook the 29th might be the last cook.

[T Hugo]

I still have some taps running. Been getting about 10 gallon per day from a dozen or so taps. The trees have budded. I have noticed the sap is a bit cloudier, but can't say the syrup is bitter. Some is darker with a more robust flavor, but I wouldn't call it bitter. With the cold moving in again, I'll leave taps thru the weekend and see what happens.

[Dave Puhl]

3-29 cooked for the last time today after collecting 9am start nice day to be outside towards late afternoon the humidity came up and it was a slow go for me ..short of 8 gal but the last two gal of syrup was dark..might of been the off colored sap that was thrown in towards the end... pulled the rest of the taps on the 30th and started to clean...

[Red-bellied Woodpecker]

First post here in a while. Have been having a over all good season so far here by Antigo. Some crazy looking weather this week with 30s for highs for the rest of the week and calling for highs in low 40s for the start of next week will make it intreasting end here to see how long the trees keep giving and how long will it be good sap. Will keep cooking as long as the syrup is coming out good. Will post later today when i get back up there on if it ran at all today or yesterday.

[Red-bellied Woodpecker]

Did collect about 160gal of sap from just over 1200 taps yesterday so not much going on Sunday and yesterday. Did cook it down lastnight and syrup is getting a little darker but very good taste to it. Today and tomorrow with highs in near 40 hopefully will get enough to do some more cooking. Friday and Sat dont look good with only a high of 29 fri and 32 Sat but Sunday-Tue look real good. So for now sap on fellow sappers

[Red-bellied Woodpecker]

Well today started to look like it might get a nice little run or at least enough sap to cook late tonight and still some for tomorrow but nope mother nature again was up to some not so nice tricks. Day started sunny and lines took tell afternoon to thaw out but were just starting to run decent when the clouds and snow moved in. Temps dropped and lines froze back up. Did get another 160gal and cooking that off right now. Man start off the season with April weather and now at the end seems like March weather. Still holdong out hope for 1 or two more good runs here as the hard maple buds are still tight here.

[lastwoodsman]

Same over here on this side of the river. Picked up 80 yesterday and hope to have 300 or so by Friday. Looks good now up to next wed. Vacuum is the only place we are getting it now. No gravity going on although that could change. Sap a little cloudy but the syrup is excellent.

[Red-bellied Woodpecker]

About the same here landwoodsman. Looking like next Thur will be the last run of sap and will start pulling things then unless sap goes south before then.

Yesterday was a much better day with around 800 or so gal of sap. Not awsome but good and today is looking like it may just be as good. Sugar is averaging around 1.5% with some bags only getting .75 and some lines down to 1%. Sap cleared up real nice yesterday and still making a little darker syrup but great taste still. Will collect what runs today tomorrow afternoon and cook off tomorrow night and Sat. Also on Sat can put the kid im taking out for the youth turkey hunt to work helping clean out collection barreals on Sat before the last run this coming week. Good luck to all those going to the bitter end.

[Red-bellied Woodpecker]

Still going at it here by Antigo area. Cooked off what ran on Thur afternoon on Sat and the syrup got a bit lighter with a great taste still. Didnt do anything on Sat for sap flow but picked up near 1000gal yesterday. Syrup still taste great, no off smell from tge steam and sap is either clear or just a little touch of cloudiness so cook on we will. Should get a run today, tomorrow and maybe Wed. Will start pulling taps on Wed. All i have to say is its been a goofy year but by far our best year to date

[Red-bellied Woodpecker]

Just finished up here on our last cook due to almost being out of wood. Will finish the sweet tomorrow and collect and sell sap as well. Will have taps pulled out by Thur mourning. Was a great year and will dive right into working on improvements for next season. Also will be giving fall sapping a go this year.

[Maple Man 85]

Collecting and pulling tomorrow based on where we are at for the year I average a little better than 1/3 gal per tap on good old fashioned buckets:o. Can't wait to get tubing and high vac for next season!!! Breaking ground on the new sugar house sometime mid to late July!!!

[Dave Puhl]

2-13...what a crazy winter...here we had a bunch of rain this winter..starting with a wet fall..then a 1'' right around x-mas..then some in Jan..lost track on amounts but its wet..went out today and checked for frost...little to none on the north slope..some snow here but the forecast is hot weather....took off one ice shack today..will work on the other the next day or two...will hold off on tapping..calendar says mid Feb..but temps say mid March

[ScottP]

Went out this afternoon and put some taps in. By far the earliest I've ever put taps in but the weather is feeling right. Hope we are making the right decision and can start boiling on Sunday.

[Dave Puhl]

2-19...Still holding off on tapping....Son in law tapped a few and got some sap they tried to boil it over a fire last night..just for fun...neighbor tapped two yard trees last weekend they were running..he just uses the sap to drink and make tea with it..the lake and river in town is opening up but the big lake north on town still has 17'' of ice on it and some still driving trucks out as of the 18th..was a great day ice fishing...got sunburned.. way to hot!

[PloverTown]

Heard of several people tapping last weekend, and getting some running. But, past experience tells me not to chase these early warmups. End up getting a little bit, then you just muddle along until the normal run starts in mid-March like it always does. Winter making a comeback this weekend from the looks of it. I'll be tapping March 11th. Don't even have all my wood in yet!

[Dave Puhl]

2-23..Put out gravity lines but did not tap...so nice to walk in the woods with no snow...was working yesterday in a tee shirt...its still feb..took a soil sample in a field today also...surprised to see the soil not too wet...The soft/red maples are budding out....holding off on tapping...

[Trapper2]

Tapped 54 trees on 2-17-17, boiled into the night on the 18th. Sap only at 1% but I got a little over 1 1/2 gallons. Collected another 55 gallons on the 20th. Shawano County.

[Dave Puhl]

3-4..took a bad fall on my left shoulder on a spot of ice while doing chores last Monday..went in the next day for x-ray..not broke or dislocated...was thinking about not making syrup this season...been icing and taking meds and trying to take it easy...went out today and tapped the two gravity lines I put out last week ..most were dripping some... put out some buckets with drops..was a slow go ....not to warm today ..the wind made it feel cold out....

[1efddd]

I was out in the woods today also. You are right on the wind. Made it feel cold. Started up 38 taps on lunchbox vacuum to see if they would go. Sucked out a little but very little. While running I added another lateral of 16 more taps. Tomorrow looks better. Hope it goes soon. Trees are starting to bud some. That goofy 60's weather we had a couple weeks ago didn't help.

[motowbrowne]

Glad you didn't break anything Dave! I fell on the ice on the 13th of last month and it's really made the syrup season a struggle. I broke my ankle and have to be on crutches at least until the end of March. It's amazing how one minute everything is A-Okay, and the next minute everything is a lot different.

[Dave Puhl]

One thing I forgot to add that in the past years I tapped allot of reds..this season the reds here are budded real heavy so I am going after all hard maples...cutting back on the work load also...thanks all ..ya if I would of stepped two feet one side or another..oh well..we all take the good times for granted..its a bummer when you cant go 100%...

[Dave Puhl]

3-5...put out a few more taps on the gravity lines with help from the neighbor..then we tapped a several trees with buckets and drops ..not as warm as the weatherman said today....laid out a 5/16 line up to a new drop station that I am working on...will see how that works out..just on gravity...trees here are slowly dripping..rain in the forecast....

[Dave Puhl]

3-6..went out and collected for the first time this season..all hard maples on the north side of the ridge.. trees must of run all night..the new 6gal buckets are working good some were running over..the two barrels on the gravity lines were 3/4 full..the new dump station with gravity drain works ok but it alittle slow... need a bigger barrel to dump in or a bigger drain out line...a storm is coming with big wind...

[binski]

Since Sunday afternoon it has really been running in the Mosinee area. Still running this morning when I checked.

[Diesel Pro]

Merrill area: Started Sunday 4pm dripping into empty tank. As of noon today, 44 hrs later 60 taps on 3/16 and 275 gallon tote is about 1/2 full and still running strong. Trickle leak on tote valve did not help any plus it sounds like my one run has a bit of a minor air leak.

[Trapper2]

My Brotherinlaw went up to the Waupaca/ Shawano county line today to check on buckets to see if they blew off during the wind storm last night. Much to his surprise only 1 bucket of the 75 was on the ground All buckets but 7 were running over and still dripping 25 drips in a minute.. it will be a busy week with a 36 X 36 flat pan.

[jmayerl]

My Brotherinlaw went up to the Waupaca/ Shawano county line today to check on buckets to see if they blew off during the wind storm last night. Much to his surprise only 1 bucket of the 75 was on the ground All buckets but 7 were running over and still dripping 25 drips in a minute.. it will be a busy week with a 36 X 36 flat pan.
I own some land in the Pella swamp...... where does the brother in law tap?

[Trapper2]

I own property 20 miles straight west of you Jmayerl on the Shawano/ Waupaca/Marathon/ Portage corner. I pay property tax in 3 counties.. :( LOL

[binski]

3 trees blown down over 2 lines yesterday. One line snapped. After a little sawing and repair work everything was up and running. Still pulling in sap at 20" hg. Collected 650 gallons

[ScottP]

On just shy of 600 taps on 26" of vac we pulled in 2,600 gallons of sap between Sunday afternoon and 9 pm last night when we finally shut the pump down. Crazy run and now a few days to get caught back up but when everything is boiled off by tomorrow evening we should have roughly 120 gallons of syrup made so far this year. We have been at about 1.7 on the sap hydrometer and hoping that gets better but I dont think it will this year. Hopefully can get caught up on sleep this weekend.

[Dave Puhl]

3-7...1\2'' of rain the rain gauge from last night... with the high wind don't know if that was a good reading ..only one small tree on the lines today... collected and tapped a few more trees by the dump station...3-8..very windy out haven't been in the woods yet this am... last eve the trees slowed right down...don't have the 2x6 set up yet...wouldn't make a fire anyways with this wind...cold weather coming..might have to cook so the sap I have so far so it don't freeze up and bust something...maybe I should of waited to tap on my reg tapping date...

[Diesel Pro]

I haven't decided if I'll cook in the cold, sell what I have and wait for more, or just sit on it until next weekend. Looking at the weather I seriously doubt I'll try to cook. It's tough to run the RO outside in the cold like it's forecast to be.

[Dave Puhl]

3-8...its late afternoon and the wind keeps blowing hard ..being right on top of the ridge makes it bad ..only one of the big swing out barn doors broke loose for awhile and got slammed back in... some damage...did not collect..3-9..its calm out this am got warm for a few hours trees started to run..worked on plumbing up a 55gal barrel for the new dump station..put it to work when the wife and I collected this pm...going to hold off on cooking..haven't got the 2x6 set up yet...its gonna be cold for several days...will see how the stored sap in the bulk tank fares...

[binski]

I have all my storage tanks filled (need more) and I can only cook on weekends so I have to start it up Saturday morn. Need some storage room for next weeks warm weather run.

[Clem3]

How long can you keep sap not refrigerated? I have some that is just starting to get a little cloudy. When is it no good?

[Dave Puhl]

3-10..it was dang cold this am ..with the wind we were way below zero for wind chill...all day long it just seemed cold..did get the pans on the 2x6 with help..but am holding off till we get some warmer weather...the sap I gathered 3-6 was clear as a bell but now it had a cloudy tint to it...I would of thought with the cold the sap would stay clear...we will see how the syrup turns out..others are in the same boat..I for one won't be cooking out in the cold...

[Dave Puhl]

3-11..it was 9 degrees this am on the hill allot colder down in the valley...still holding the sap in the milk bulk tank is getting more cloudy but not froze yet....wind chill was tuff today..went shed hunting and found half of one small 6pt...snow is in the forecast...did dig the snowplow out of the frozen mud and got it on the truck with help from the neighbor...let it snow...

[Trapper2]

Boiled off the last 200 gallons on 3-10 and 3-11
in the cold. It actually wasn't to bad out of the wind. The new arch and pan worked great along with the roller conveyor
and the filtering improvements. Hope the rest of you have a great remainder of the season.
160321603316034

[Dave Puhl]

3-12.. got 3-4'' of snow late in the day and during the night... cold and breezy...3-13..plowed a few driveways, shoveled out around the 2x6..still haven't cooked yet sap holding at 32 deg. put tank heater in bulk tank over night. two nights in a row with single temps here...tree's been froze up since last Thursday..but warmer weather on the way

[markcasper]

I have not cooked yet either. I had close to 6000 gallons and have now got that down to about 1500 by ro'ing it. Everything I do seems to take 4 times as long this year. I was planning on cooking today, but last night the ro shut down because ice got in the feed line as it was running and still had 200 gallons of raw sap to run. So I gave up. Don't want to have stupid things like this happen and then run the evap. dry, so i have not been to excited about starting.

On your cloudy sap.....I watched mine cloud up too, not a whole lot we can do about it. It won't go bad, but the syrup will be a bit darker. Some of my sap is now 2 weeks old..

[Dave Puhl]

3-15... did get the 2x6 fired up today all went well...a friend came and split wood with the wood spliter that I had gotten up on blocks to save the back...lots of foam in the flue pan..got the pans sweeten up and 3gal of syrup in under 6hrs..the sap was alittle cloudy but tasted and smelled fine while cooking...it was 8 days in storage...you were right Mark thanks...

[Dave Puhl]

3-16 got fired up late in the morn a solo run so had to get the wood split and 2x6 cleaned up...all went well still lot of foam not sure if was from the sap sitting for 10days...ended up with a strong 7.5 gal for the two days ran out of sap had a near draw but had to open the doors on the cooked to cool off and idle down...checked trees... some were just starting to drip...after cool down... drained and rinsed it out along with the bulk tank..ready for next run...

[Dave Puhl]

3-18..trees are slowly coming around from the cold snap we had here...last time I collected was the 9th since then its been cold...3-19..went and collected late am..some of the buckets with two drops were half full. the gravity lines are just starting to go...went again in the evening some trees are doing good while others are slow...will cook in a few days.. by the end of the week weatherman says rain/snow coming

[Trapper2]

Thanks for keeping us posted Dave on what's going on. Even though I made my 10 gallons and pulled my taps, I enjoy following along to see how others are faring in the center of the state.
Good luck with the run this week.
Trapper

[Trapper2]

Also I'm curious as what % the sap is coming in at now. I was struggling to hit 2 % a month ago.

[markcasper]

2.1 to 2.4, low this year, but not the worst. this is what i had yesterday for tank averages.

[motowbrowne]

That's pretty much what I'm seeing also. Haven't seen anything below 2.

[Dave Puhl]

3-22..well the past two days have not been good for sap runs..I was hoping but it didn't happen..the other day put a gallon of vinegar in the sugar pan it was not that bad just a few spots here and there thought might as well seeing its just sitting there..so today it cleaned up and split alittle wood..trees dripping some but nothing great. going to cook Thursday cause four days of rain coming..it is looking like a bust for this season...will hang in there till it gets real warm

[ScottP]

Started the Vac pump at noon yesterday and had only pulled in 275 gallons by 4:30pm. Went out at 8am this morning and there was 900 gallons in the tank. Should run all day today and should have plenty to cook all weekend. We have about 160 plus gallons made so far this year which is still a little less than half of last years total. Hopefully we can get another couple good weeks and we should end up with a good total. Good luck.

[Dave Puhl]

3-23.. cooked today..went out and collected first got 50gal maybe..evaporation rate was real good at the start but by the afternoon it slowed way down for the most part all went well several people stopped by..late in the afternoon a thunder shower came in a little lightning and rain shut down..checked the trees and they were still running some..3-24 checked for sap..some of the buckets were half full collected and fired up..didn't think I would be cooking today...went to the outside wood stove and got a shovel full of hot coals to get going fast..got done about 3pm.. rain now...made the last draw by add some well water to the flue pan...this might be my last cook...

[PloverTown]

Pulled in 120 gallons on 25 trees since 3/16, NE of Rosholt. Good run of 75 gallons first weekend, shut off for a couple days earlier this week when it got cold, then picked up 45 gallons between Thurs and Fri. Looks like it'll be good for a while yet. Sugar content has been universally low: 1.7-1.8% on the sap hydrometer. Sap boiled like crazy last night in the pan - low atm pressure?

[Dave Puhl]

3-27...sure has been some crappy weather...we got a little over an inch of rain since Friday late afternoon..went out and pulled all taps before the black spots get going...I see I tapped back 3-5 ...some buckets had a little sap but most had bark water in from the rain.got the buckets and barrels washed up and put away left the gravity lines up and still have to rinse them so I am done cooking for this season..started to bottle this afternoon.. using the idea found here on the Maple Trader made a form to hold the cone filter..all new system with the filter holder on a small lp stove and preheating the syrup on a larger burner... still working the bugs out of it...allot of stuff in the syrup even tho it's been settling out all this time...

[Dave Puhl]

3-28...finally a sunny day.got the rest of the syrup bottled and the new filter system is doing allot better.I did realize that some of the older pre-filters that I have been reusing need to go..they were getting thin and letting too much sediment through....great weather for washing and air drying stuff..went and flushed out the gravity lines. most trees were dry but a few were wet..3-29..totally different weather today cool and rain coming again..rolled up the gravity lines and took down the stack on the 2x6.. still have to clean up the pans but that can wait..been a poor sap run year for me..haven't tallied up the syrup yet but it's gonna be the lowest since I got the 2x6 11 seasons ago...still got couple of gallons of dregs to settle out will use that to coat peanuts with...time to cut wood and go fishing

[PloverTown]

Collected 16 gallons Tues, nothing since. Won't have time to pull the taps until next week sometime, but all signs indicate it's about over. Would be nice to squeeze out one more batch if we could.

We only collected 50% of the volume we normally would in the same number of days. Weird year.

[treemonkey]

Watching the sap painfully slow run today. Will there be enough freeze tonite to recharge the trees? I think tomorrow will be the end. Overall harvested a normal amount but yes weird season. I hope weird does not become the norm. Ended up with 0.29 gal per tap.

[Trapper2]

If this pattern keeps up, it will be a joy to get around in the woods this year. Only 4" of snow on the ground Iola area. I will be adding to my buckets a first ever run with 3/16 tubing. Planning on a 20-25 tree line which will be bringing my tap count to 100. Just enough to get my feet wet this year on 3/16. Plover, we will have to get together during the season.
Trapper

[Blacksheep7]

Patiently waiting to start in Amherst. Will be starting our second year and will be doubling our taps up to 50. Last items showed up for the RO, so I will be putting that together hopefully this weekend. Have to drag the evaporator in the garage as well and make a couple of small changes to it as I through it together quickly one night last season. I will be watching closely to see when everyone else starts. Kind of hope it is not until the beginning of March as we have a family vacation planned.

Thank you,
Jason

[Maple Man 85]

1st 40 is all tubed up and ready to go. Started hand cutting the 2nd 40 Monday and moving equipment in today. We are still pushing hard on getting our tap count higher and will be working along side the loggers installing tubing. 1725317254

[markcasper]

1st 40 is all tubed up and ready to go. Started hand cutting the 2nd 40 Monday and moving equipment in today. We are still pushing hard on getting our tap count higher and will be working along side the loggers installing tubing. 1725317254

What kind of wood is being taken out? Prices on the wood if you don't mind me asking? You bought a Leader Vortex?

[Maple Man 85]

What kind of wood is being taken out? Prices on the wood if you don't mind me asking? You bought a Leader Vortex?

Oak, Ash, Basswood, dead trees and hollow maple. We are select cutting and not wiping out any particular species. As for pricing we locked into a contract when prices were higher 2 or 3 years ago but due to spring coming early last year only half our property was cut. I did buy a leader Vortex.

[Maple Man 85]

Oak, Ash, Basswood, dead trees and hollow maple. We are select cutting and not wiping out any particular species. As for pricing we locked into a contract when prices were higher 2 or 3 years ago but due to spring coming early last year only half our property was cut. I did buy a leader Vortex.

I took a couple pics of our woods before and after you can definitely tell it's thinner but the loggers are doing a great job making sure damage is kept to a minimum (it also helps when our woods is right next to our house so we have daily1732717328 interaction with the loggers).

[markcasper]

I took a couple pics of our woods before and after you can definitely tell it's thinner but the loggers are doing a great job making sure damage is kept to a minimum (it also helps when our woods is right next to our house so we have daily1732717328 interaction with the loggers).

Great pictures! Is your woods in the MFL? Good to hear wonderful news about a cutting job well done! I agree, need to be out there every day when the cut is going on.....let them know your watching.

[Maple Man 85]

Great pictures! Is your woods in the MFL? Good to hear wonderful news about a cutting job well done! I agree, need to be out there every day when the cut is going on.....let them know your watching.

No, it was in recreational for many years. When I purchased it to get the sugaring process started and to avoid heavy taxes on short term capital gains I filtered the timber harvest income through our business and used it to purchase equipment rather than take the cash. We are currently in the process of rezoning it to agriculture. The timber harvest process was a good experience for me, one of the things we did right was getting a forester involved. We walked the property many times so we had a clear understanding of each others expectations and then it was holding the lumber company, foresters and loggers accountable. If everyone knows the expectation there is very little wiggle room for extra wood to be removed and the job is done properly.

[Bgreisch]

Second year tapper here was wondering what people in North Central Wisconsin are thinking if they will be tapping this weekend, I see temps looking like mid 30's next week but nothing to warm to really get it flowing. I tap trees at our cabin NE of Merrill.

[SugarHill]

If your on vaccum tubing I'd say go for it, if your only using buckets/bags I give it a couple of weeks yet.

[Bgreisch]

I have buckets by the trees with tubing running from the tap to the buckets.

[S.S.S]

Buckets or bags I would wait, vacuum I would get them tapped.

[markcasper]

12"-18" solid frost in the the woods here, going to take 10 days of above freezing before it does anything significant.

[Blacksheep7]

Thinking about tapping this weekend, but have some reservations. Weather is starting to look good. We do have a family trip planned that will have us in Florida from March 7-13. Should I tap this weekend and hope to get enough to cook next weekend or wait until we get back? Looking for opinions? I am in Portage County and have about 50 taps on buckets.

Thank you,
Jason


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Wannabe]

Im a ways west of you on Hwy 10 but it's been a long COLD winter here and I'm thinking/guessing it's going to take a while for the trees/roots to thaw out, so I'd wait till you're back from Florida, but that's just my opinion.

[TomorrowRiverMapler]

I took the plunge and started tapping this afternoon. I put 67 taps in and had three runners with the rest being dry which was good as I have still have a lot of prep work to do.

[1efddd]

I put in 174 taps today all hooked to vacuum. Only about half of my trees dripped when drilled. The rest are bone dry. I fired up the vac pump but had a hole out on a line. Looked like a critter chew. Didn't have the stuff to fix it with me. I taped up the hole with electrical tape and ran the system for a while and there was definitely sap to be had. Not a very strong flow though. Ran everything on the ground to flush out cleaner from last spring. I'll make the repair tomorrow and run a while to see if it is worth it. Still a lot of frost in the floor of the woods. Water standing everywhere. Frost usually comes out quick on my land. I am in a low area and you can dig a hole about anywhere and hit water at 2-3'. I'm south of Stevens Point about 25 miles. Hancock area.
Let's hear from some others please!

[For_the_kids]

I tapped Saturday in central WI, near Wisconsin Rapids. We put in 70 taps on buckets. I checked them all today and most were bone dry yet with a few having a 1/2 gal or less in them. I think I got over excited about the warm weather but didn't give enough time for the ground to thaw out.

[markcasper]

I tapped 10 holes yesterday just to see what was happening. Every one was dry and this was on the south side of the hill next to a field and protected from the wind. Tubing fixing is all complete and now will be tapping regardless. I have 12-18" of frost in the soil at the woods and that was confirmed with a maul and a post! With that kind of frost and the current forecast, I'm not seeing much of any sap for 2 weeks, or more. We had virtually no snow cover "here" all winter until a month ago when we got dumped on, and then last week again. With no snow and the cold temps the frost has went deep. Heard reports of 3 feet of ice on the local lake which is unheard of from the guy that told me that.

[Maple Man 85]

1,100 in as of today some leaking... most not...ground still froze...

[S.S.S]

Everything on vacuum is tapped (1309) and vacuum been running steady since yesterday at 1:00pm. As of 9:00pm today have 1000 gallons of sap.

[Dave Puhl]

3-1..Hi all. I have not tapped,maybe we will have a normal year. I try to be tapped by 3-9 or so..had to cut a small boxelder the other day right next to the town road.... it is still dryas of 2-28. them things seem to run first.. 25'' of ice on the lake that I am fishing. no snow hear to speak of..will start to get stuff ready but the forecast is not good for sap runs

[motowbrowne]

I tapped 10 holes yesterday just to see what was happening. Every one was dry and this was on the south side of the hill next to a field and protected from the wind. Tubing fixing is all complete and now will be tapping regardless. I have 12-18" of frost in the soil at the woods and that was confirmed with a maul and a post! With that kind of frost and the current forecast, I'm not seeing much of any sap for 2 weeks, or more. We had virtually no snow cover "here" all winter until a month ago when we got dumped on, and then last week again. With no snow and the cold temps the frost has went deep. Heard reports of 3 feet of ice on the local lake which is unheard of from the guy that told me that.

Hey Mark, I'm glad to hear you're not getting bent out of shape with this warm weather. Sometimes during this first warm up I worry about missing a lot of sap. I haven't drilled any test holes yet. Planning on tapping Saturday morning, but maybe I'll take another look at the forecast that morning. Right now they're saying about 60 hours above freezing starting Saturday morning. Think there is a chance for a run? After that, the rest of the week looks too cold again. I'm kinda planning on tapping what's ready on Saturday and getting the bugs worked out. Maybe shoot some dammed squirrels. After that hopefully I can string a few more lines during the cold days. Wouldn't hurt to keep working on the wood pile either.

[markcasper]

Hey Mark, I'm glad to hear you're not getting bent out of shape with this warm weather. Sometimes during this first warm up I worry about missing a lot of sap. I haven't drilled any test holes yet. Planning on tapping Saturday morning, but maybe I'll take another look at the forecast that morning. Right now they're saying about 60 hours above freezing starting Saturday morning. Think there is a chance for a run? After that, the rest of the week looks too cold again. I'm kinda planning on tapping what's ready on Saturday and getting the bugs worked out. Maybe shoot some dammed squirrels. After that hopefully I can string a few more lines during the cold days. Wouldn't hurt to keep working on the wood pile either.

No not really, not worth killing yourself over. I am going to tap the woods that you were in today and tomorrow and see if I can get vacuum on it before the weekend is over. Looking towards Sunday to just wash tanks and pans etc...., then will tap the other woods next week when it will be colder. It no fun trying to wash equipment below freezing. The other day what I thought would be a 2 hour fix line job turned into 10 hours and working in the moonlight, oh well! I chuckle at all the cage tanks in pickups on my way to work yesterday.....I think they will all be disappointed their not going to get much this weekend like they think they are going to get. With over a foot to 1.5 feet of frost, I don't see much until at least mid March.

This year is not like the last 2 years for sure. The frost is a big deal and all the newbies have not learned that yet. Unfortunately, high frost years usually end up being poor years. More metabolism syrup in high frost years too.

[markcasper]

Everything on vacuum is tapped (1309) and vacuum been running steady since yesterday at 1:00pm. As of 9:00pm today have 1000 gallons of sap.

What is the sugar %?

[S.S.S]

What is the sugar %? 1.2% so far

[Dave Puhl]

3-2..Checked the woods I tap..it lays to the north..ground is all froze up tight allot of ice hear and there. we had a bunch of rain over the winter...talked to a few hobby guys and some tapped a week ago and they have had nothing so far...checked the boxelder that was cut and it was damp that's it.. after the next two days of nice weather it turns ugly here at least that is the forecast..still holding off on tapping

[binski]

Tapped today. Almost all holes were dripping. 3/16" line and pump running at 20". Sap is coming in pretty good.:D

[markcasper]

I was in disbelief Friday when I started tapping to find 80-90 percent were running. These were mostly all southern exposure, and this is protected from the wind out of the northwest, north, and east. At sundown Friday I pulled a couple out that I tapped first and they were at about 6 seconds per drip, so nothing huge there. Saturday and Sunday brought very little to no flow. I was royally pizzed to have to repair 30-35 laterals AGAIN, after they were fixed and made ready around January 20th of not long ago. I was unaware of this damage and all of my tubing tools were a mile away in the other woods. Already making contacts to get that problem resolved!

The snow is awful where it is. Like trying to drive in fresh poured cement. I have no snowmobile and getting the 1/2 mile to the woods turned into a 2 hour ordeal Friday with a stuck 4 wheeler. Had to walk home friday night. Would of took the tractor, but spent 3 1/2 hours chipping and unthawing ice under and around the machine shed door to get it out of the shed. The other tractor had a flat and the rest too small to get back there. Needless to say things didn't go my way, but did manage to get 450 tapped for the weekend. And the thought of those that tap 120 per hour continually crosses my mind staring up at that snow covered hill.

Hope all you folks that tapped this early on bags realize that you will be replacing practically every one of them by next weekend.

[Maple Man 85]

All tapped in late last night 1,700 gallon of sap between Saturday and Sunday with only 1 pump house functional and the other not quite operational wasn't bad at all... Pretty stoked I'm not carrying buckets anymore!

[Dave Puhl]

3-6. still not tapped here. we got 4-5'' of heavy wet snow..lots of strong wind.son in law had some yard trees tapped and had enough to try out his new flat pan with home made arch ..helped him bottle this eve very light color syrup..3-7. 15 degrees this am sunny..will try to get out ice fishing for a few days..the forecast is for lows in the teens the next few days...

[Diesel Pro]

Sounds like I need to make it a point to tap this Saturday.

I also may be looking for a buyer of sap who can pick up SW of Merrill depending on the flow this year.

[Wannabe]

Decisions, Decisions... Should I tap tomorrow (Clark County) or wait till next weekend? I only do about 100 bags. Mine are mostly all woods trees (80% reds) The neighbor tapped 15 or so (big) roadside trees last weekend and it doesn't look like some have ran at all, some look about 1/3 full. Geez, the decisions we have to make...

[jrako724]

Can't wait to tap this weekend. Was curious as to if anyone knows of anyone in or around Rudolph, WI buying sap? We'd like to tap a bit mroe but dont want to drive a ways to sell it and cant boil as much yet. We'd like to sell sap to buy a bigger cooker :). Thanks for all the help

[wilfredjr]

Held off till now (sunny 36° finally under two feet of snow) for first tap: 8 bags down by the lakeshore on 5 reds (2 ran) and 3 sugars (1 barely)

[Wannabe]

Put the bags out today. Most all were dripping some right away, some had a inch or so in the bottoms of the bags by the time I was done. If the forecast stays right, they should be running like mad by the end of the week here.

Good luck everyone!

[Diesel Pro]

I tapped almost all of mine today. Would have had them all but of all the stupid things I broke off my tapping bit in a tree. Had a little bit of flow, but nothing major. I'm not a rank novice, but my theory is that what little bit we are seeing so far is already in the tree and we need to wait fro the snow and frost to leave before we see anything decent.

[jmayerl]

I tapped almost all of mine today. Would have had them all but of all the stupid things I broke off my tapping bit in a tree. Had a little bit of flow, but nothing major. I'm not a rank novice, but my theory is that what little bit we are seeing so far is already in the tree and we need to wait fro the snow and frost to leave before we see anything decent.
Been there, done that.

[Wannabe]

Gathered 25ish gallons off the 96 taps/bags I put out yesterday. Most of the bigger trees must still be froze up, they didn't give much sap. Some of the smaller ones the bags were half full, some didn't have much. I think I'm ready for the (what looks like) end of the week run anyways.

[Diesel Pro]

Finished up Sunday with a standard drill bit and I actually think I like it better than the tapping bit. The tapping bit is nice because it pulls in and does not load up, but it tends to be too aggressive and draws in deeper than I like. The std bit needs some push, but more controllable.

So approx. 84 taps with most in on Saturday and not enough to cover the bottom of the tote. I'd venture to guess my tote will not fill for at least 2 weeks. Plenty of snow on the ground in the woods.

I did see a shack on 41st Street east of Wausau was cooking Sunday. Looks like they hang bags and a lot of them.

[S.S.S]

Finished up Sunday with a standard drill bit and I actually think I like it better than the tapping bit. The tapping bit is nice because it pulls in and does not load up, but it tends to be too aggressive and draws in deeper than I like. The std bit needs some push, but more controllable.

So approx. 84 taps with most in on Saturday and not enough to cover the bottom of the tote. I'd venture to guess my tote will not fill for at least 2 weeks. Plenty of snow on the ground in the woods.

I did see a shack on 41st Street east of Wausau was cooking Sunday. Looks like they hang bags and a lot of them.Standard bit don't make a clean cut whole like a tapping bit. Don't recommend it. Take a piece of 5/16" line and slip it over bit to your desired length so your bit bottoms out between 1 1/2"- 2" deep

[Sap Hound]

Things really let loose yesterday, emptied bags yesterday around 11:00 a.m. still had ice to contend with in them, checked them this morning and most were close to full, 86 gal. of 38 bags. Shurflo ran good too. Be boiling tomorrow for sure.

[Diesel Pro]

Standard bit don't make a clean cut whole like a tapping bit. Don't recommend it. Take a piece of 5/16" line and slip it over bit to your desired length so your bit bottoms out between 1 1/2"- 2" deep

Thanks for the heads up. Hoping I can find one locally w/o having to order or drive out of the way. I see Fleet has supplies, but no tapping bits...

[Maple Man 85]

Thanks for the heads up. Hoping I can find one locally w/o having to order or drive out of the way. I see Fleet has supplies, but no tapping bits...
Either Maple Hollow or Midwest Maple Supply are you're best chances at finding the correct bit in this area.

[Dave Puhl]

3-13..cold and windy here.Just started to get 5/16 gravity lines laid out along with buckets and barrels.some reports of yard trees giving some sap.going to replace all the taps this season will work on that for now.. forecast in the teens tonight...all the trees that I will tap this season is on the north side still some snow and ice..

[Dave Puhl]

3-14..windy but in the woods the sunshine felt good..after replacing all the taps on the lines started on the drops on buckets...I tapped for a test bucket and to my surprise it was dripping some so I started to tap the gravity lines got them done.. put out 20 buckets most with double taps..Paul who had just bought a new 18x60 called and said he burnt the draw off side..went down and took a look was not too bad..came back and put out a few more buckets...all but a few were dripping

[Blacksheep7]

Got around to tapping on Wednesday morning in Amherst. We only tap 57 and had them done by 10:00 am. There were no trees dripping right away, but by the time we collected at 6:00 some had run over a 1 gallon jug. Ended up with around 20 gallons total. Collected today around 5:00 and had about another 20 gallons with the high temp being 36. Hopefully tomorrow it will really let loose. Hoping to have enough to boil on Sunday and if a really good run, maybe test out the new homemade RO.

Good luck to everyone the next couple of days.

Jason

[Trapper2]

[QUOTE=Blacksheep7;350322]Got around to tapping on Wednesday morning in Amherst. We only tap 57 and had them done by 10:00 am. There were no trees dripping right away, but by the time we collected at 6:00 some had run over a 1 gallon jug. Ended up with around 20 gallons total. Collected today around 5:00 and had about another 20 gallons with the high temp being 36. Hopefully tomorrow it will really let loose. Hoping to have enough to boil on Sunday and if a really good run, maybe test out the new homemade RO.

Good luck to everyone the next couple of days.
Thanks Black Sheep,

Good to here that they ran a bit yesterday, I'm just to the North of you just east of Galloway. I tapped Saturday 70. Collected on Wednesday afternoon and had 8o gallons. I will be going to empty buckets at 1:oo today and start boiling. Great to get reports from that area as I live by Fond Du Lac.

[Wannabe]

Well I got a whopping 90ish gallons in a weeks time from the 96 taps(bags) I put out last Saturday. I will get started boiling it in the morning. It stayed plenty cool at night to keep a layer of ice in the tank to keep the sap looking good. At least it won't be a marathon first boil I guess.

Some of the trees haven't given a drop of sap yet. I guess I tapped a week or two early here in Clark county but a guy just never knows:confused:.

[Dave Puhl]

3-16..cold and windy 20deg. this am the trees I have tapped were well froze up past 1pm and then just dripped late in the afternoon ...while Paul down on the flat and trees to to south were pouring out..went down and helped him cook in the late afternoon syrup nice and light color..I should be able to collect today ...maybe..

[wilfredjr]

All action from trial trees right onshore; pretty frozen until yesterday: overnight low 24 here, had been teens; highs mid thirties.
After one week the 3 big reds have produced 6 of 8 gallons; nice 3.3% though.
50' upslope, 1 sugar maple tapped has yet to wet the bag.
All face SE

[Dave Puhl]

3-17..A very nice day...seeing I was not getting sap I went down to Paul's and helped him..he was just firing up for the first time that day..she was just starting to get going and asked if I could watch her for a while..he was gone less than a minute..with this being a brand new rig I was giving it a good look over and I noticed there was no sap coming over the float value to the sugar pan to my surprise the value was off..could of been bad...when he came back I told him and he said he had shut it off last night when he shut down...some more help got there and went out and collected 120 plus old style buckets and metal taps..all on flat ground..his trees were just pouring it out...lot to carry...I went home thinking mine were running.. not really ..got my evap. set up and ready with some help to set the pans on..3-18..Went out and checked trees froze some during the night...warming up fast ..another nice day..I guess with the very cold winter and not much to any snow my trees are just froze up on the north side ..I am stuck waiting them out..time to trim apple trees clean out nest boxes ..allot of the summer birds are back and moving through..

[Diesel Pro]

Things just started to wake up decent this weekend but of course now shut right back down. I had probably 20 gallons from 80+ taps for the past week and probably got again as much from Saturday's run. Sunday we left at 4pm which is when it just gets to peak flow. I had one line pulling 21" on Sunday. One I had monkeyed with so it needed to recover. Another had a partial blockage it that I had to cut out so hopefully it start to preform.

My bush with the 3/16" seems to like the warm nights so they can keep flowing all night and through the following day. At present they just get going mid afternoon then peter out when the sun sets and it cools off.

[Trapper2]

Report for 3-17 and 3-18. Tigerton area. Very slow 80 taps netted 40 gallons from Wednesday to Saturday. I went back on Sunday morning to collect before I went home but the bottom of the buckets were barely covered. It must have shut down early on Saturday. Well I ended up cooking down 1 pint short of 3 gallons of the lightest colored syrup that I ever produced. 1820918210

[Trapper2]

3-22 Report
Neighbor called last night, said my buckets are 1/3 full and bags are 1/2 full. South facing hillside.

[Mr Sugar Maple]

Your pictures are of some great looking syrup, mine over by Viroqua Wi was also very light last weekend. Sap tested at 2.5% Keep sappin

[Run Forest Run!]

Trapper2, that is beautiful looking syrup. It was very interesting reading about your use of milk to clean your syrup. I think I'll give it a try to experiment with something new.

[Dave Puhl]

3-22. been dry and cold.. in the am 20 deg or less..trees are starting to open up.. did collect less than a hundred gal.have yet to fire up to cook.called Roth's to check on an order and they said sap slow coming in for them but was picking up.

[Trapper2]

Trapper2, that is beautiful looking syrup. It was very interesting reading about your use of milk to clean your syrup. I think I'll give it a try to experiment with something new.

Thank you Karen,
I swear if you try the milk thing you will never go back. It is absolutely great when doing small batches. Remember to skim all the stuff off of the top before you pour into your filter setup.
P.S. I found another kettle, I put an ad out on facebook again and someone saw it right away $50 for the complete setup. I gave him a $10 tip.

[Dave Puhl]

3-23..worked on getting ready to cook today ..still cold and windy..went out and collected 75gal or so ..Paul called and he said I could have some of his sap if I help collect..all old style taps and buckets..brought home a full tank of 200 gal..3-24..I cook out side on the 2x6..dang cold east wind the only direction that I am not out of the wind..9am -2pm got the pans sweet and 2.5 gal.the 2x6 struggled with the wind,temp and humidity..got back home 11pm and stuff was getting froze up ..drained both pans and supply tank..

[Dave Puhl]

3-25..lower 20s this am..rinsed out flue pan and syrup pan... put vinegar in syrup pan and split some wood while that soaked some scrubbed out what I could and got cooking around 11:30 am..lot nicer day than yesterday..about 2:30 I heard a loud thud coming off the 2x6..broke the front on the upper right corner..you could stick a pencil in the crack with room to spare..just kept cooking..ran out of sap 6pm...a strong 6gal day.. did not collect.. just drained and put stuff away so it didn't freeze up tonight..

[Trapper2]

3-24.. Cooked down the previous 5 days sap, nothing really running on the buckets today, Sap is right at 3%, great feeling. Finished bottling at 9:00 pm. Looks like a really good week coming.

1831118312183131831418315

[Diesel Pro]

Starting the 3rd week since tapping. I have a whopping 80 or so gallons of sap from the entire period on 80 taps more or less. Sap in the collection tank is mostly frozen which can be a blessing for keeping and a curse for getting thawed and pumped out...

Should get some today and through tonight hopefully.

[Dave Puhl]

3-28..Bottled today all went good syrup clean and clear ...a high of 55 deg. and not much sap flow..not sure what is going on with the low sap yield..

[Haynes Forest Products]

Door county has been perfect the last week with temps and freeze ups. Processed 4400 gallons yesterday. It was a long day by myself. A few misshape but all in all I slept well after 18 hr day. Couldn't have done it without my CDL remote sensing. Just the tank level indicated was a life saver. Driving to the bush 14 miles round trip 10 times a day just to MAKE SURE was killing me.

[Dave Puhl]

3-30..been cool here.the trees I have tapped started to run late am then it clouded up and the run just died some trees are still not putting much out..collected and then cooked..all went well with the cracked front on the 2x6 several people stopped by for a chat.... made just short of 6gal a little darker but the sap was not as clear as my last cook...hoping I will still make syrup in the weeks to come after this cold spell..forecast is cold and rain then real cold

[Trapper2]

4-2-18
I cooked and bottled another 3 gallon batch on Saturday. Sugar content was down to 2.7 but I'm extremely happy with that. I'm planning on emptying bags and buckets of ice this
coming weekend and cooking down the blocks of ice that surely will be there. Syrup finished just a shade darker than the previous week. Sap is still amazingly clear.

[jvolkman]

The ultimate syrup sin this weekend. Boiled 16 hours on Thu, 5 hours Friday, all morning Saturday. Went through over 300 gallons of sap and had almost 10 gallons near finished in the pan. Got sidetracked for 30 minutes and it happened....boil over, lots of smoke and burned the whole batch. Now my pan is soaking in vinegar in hopes of salvaging it. A real heartbreaker. Would have been my record year :(

[G263]

My heart goes out to you jvolkman ! I almost had that happen 2 weeks ago. That is a bad thing to have happen. I hope you save the pan and good luck with whats left of the season.

[Haynes Forest Products]

JVolkman the sport of sugar making is fraught with one near disaster after another. I can say that I have been there done that. I believe that we need to install a dead men switch like they do on trains so if you don't push the button every 2 minuets the rig shuts down. Good luck getting backj on track.

[Radnagel]

Don't feel bad the wife's uncle had a boil over on our rig this year he was only 3ft away he got carried away in the story he was telling and the next thing he knew it was foaming over the pan. We call the remnants that is all burnt to the front of the rig as patina. He was never a big fan of using defoamer. He is now 63 years old and still learning.

[jvolkman]

It's of some comfort that it has happened to many others, albeit I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Maybe this cold weather will give me another shot. 5 gallons of vinegar later, I believe the pan will survive with some elbow grease. I'm 57 and just started this hobby/obsession about 5 years ago.

[Diesel Pro]

The ultimate syrup sin this weekend. Boiled 16 hours on Thu, 5 hours Friday, all morning Saturday. Went through over 300 gallons of sap and had almost 10 gallons near finished in the pan. Got sidetracked for 30 minutes and it happened....boil over, lots of smoke and burned the whole batch. Now my pan is soaking in vinegar in hopes of salvaging it. A real heartbreaker. Would have been my record year :(

I had issues last season as well and ended up with extra late season sap that I put in the pan, covered, and left sit for most of the summer. The crap came up in sheet chunks and the pan is like new.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Well its decision time. Do I stick it out till the end of NEXT week and hope that the real season is still coming or go home and terrorize my family. I have been getting some things done around here that I don't have the time to do when I'm in the heat of the battle. Will it really get back on track like the weather men are predicting.

[jmayerl]

Well its decision time. Do I stick it out till the end of NEXT week and hope that the real season is still coming or go home and terrorize my family. I have been getting some things done around here that I don't have the time to do when I'm in the heat of the battle. Will it really get back on track like the weather men are predicting.
It's going to really get going with a foot of fresh snow on the ground. You head home and I'll come take all you sap the next 3 weeks.

[markcasper]

It's going to really get going with a foot of fresh snow on the ground. You head home and I'll come take all you sap the next 3 weeks.

My prediction is that things will go south real fast after this cold snap. After seeing what happened in 2013 and 14, I can say that around the 16th of April my syrup developed a metabolic aftertaste, despite the cool and delayed start to the season. The frost in the ground has not really did anything in terms of leaving and this in my opinion has been the culprit in trees not running well. My north side I may have gotten 3 gallons of sap per tap to date. Thanks to my south sides which is the majority, I am not doing to bad, but still only at about 1/2 a crop as normal at best. the odds of going right to summertime temps are much greater now than a month ago.

[Wannabe]

Well its decision time. Do I stick it out till the end of NEXT week and hope that the real season is still coming or go home and terrorize my family. I have been getting some things done around here that I don't have the time to do when I'm in the heat of the battle. Will it really get back on track like the weather men are predicting.

Not sure if you were really looking for any opinions, but,,,

If you've made enough syrup to make you happy, run home to your family.. Family is precious, those trees will be there next year..

[Dave Puhl]

4-5..well guy's I am still tapped here....going back on this thread I can see we should have some good sap from the tree's on those north sides that never got going yet..got 5'' of snow here..my snowplowing driveway record book showed I never plowed in April in the ten years I have recorded...still have orders to fill I rinsed out some collection barrels and buckets the last few days more to do..some trees with the sun on them had a little sap dripping but only a few then it got cold as the sun went down... 17 deg. this am

[Run Forest Run!]

Thank you Karen,
I swear if you try the milk thing you will never go back. It is absolutely great when doing small batches. Remember to skim all the stuff off of the top before you pour into your filter setup.
P.S. I found another kettle, I put an ad out on facebook again and someone saw it right away $50 for the complete setup. I gave him a $10 tip.

Hey Trapper2! I tried your method of adding milk (I used cream) to my syrup and then filtering. OMG it's great! I've done two batches this way and I am enjoying reading the newspaper through my syrup. *wink* Thanks for the suggestion.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Well I'm all in for the next week. I'm all set up the shack only gets better as the days go on so its worth staying. I have gotten a lot done around the place with the down time so its been good. Have a plan for modifications that will speed up cleaning. I want to move a tank out of the shack for cold storage of my concentrate.

[GramaCindy]

Im FINALLY hoping to get actually started in the coming weeks. I was able to get out and tap my sap lines on Thursday and the rest this morning with a good crust on top of the snow. MAN what a spring. One can only hope that it won't warm up to not freezing at night too quickly.

[Dave Puhl]

4-5 continued..went out to dump and rinse buckets..some trees were dripping some the 5\16 line was going good..no wind and good sunshine..4-6 forecast is for cold lows tonight..sap pump froze.. had drained it but must of been some in the bottom ..hot water got it going ..cleaned bulk tank..went out and collected so everything was not a frozen chunk or bust something..trees that had full sun had good amount..some nothing...less than 50gal collected...4-7 15 deg.this am did put a heat lamp in the shack last night 27 deg in the am...didn't get above freezing today..but the sun made some spots of mud..took everything out of the shack that can freeze up and put it in the house...it will warm up...just have to be ready...

[Dave Puhl]

4-8..didn't get as cold as the forecast.upper teens this am..in the sun feels good and the trees dripped alittle.. sap still tastes good..but it clouded up and they quit..I had retapped one tree just to see if it made a difference.and tapped a new tree.. not much to tell mostly because of the cold...will see...4-9 not real warm but some trees ran I think cause of the heat from the sun.. the one 5\16 gravity line ran ok did not collect anything yet

[Bgreisch]

Saturday 4/7 I checked my buckets on 17 taps and had collected about 8 gallons, tapped a couple new trees and 3 of the 5 were running right away one tree I had about 1.5 to 2" of sap in it after a couple hours, was surprised but I did tap the south face of the tree and the sun was warm. Did not notice anything running on the older taps so I hope they will still produce when it warms up more as it was only about 30 degrees for a high Saturday afternoon.
Bryan

[Dave Puhl]

4-10 ..just when you think we would get a nice sunny day it clouds up..collected in the evening about 100+ gal..not a whole lot but some anyways...4-11.. trees were running around 8:30 am..collected a dab over 40 gal..got 2x6 fired up by 10 am all went good.. out of sap by 2pm ..let it cool down and collected thought I would have a bunch ..kinda sad 25 gal only the trees slowed way down..55 deg. made for a nice day to cook...fired back up and made one more draw..had to take a shovel and take the fire out..no sap...6 gal and a quart..the syrup is still light..rain coming..

[Dave Puhl]

4-12..Took today to filter and bottle.the first batch went through the orlon filter just fine that had time to settle out...the second batch was a lot slower to get done...drained and clean up the 2x6 took down the stack..lots of wind and rain coming..a nice day ...went out and emptied all the buckets got 20-25 gal and dumped that into the barrels that the 5\16 gravity lines are on.. the rain water cant get in them..not much for sap flow..

[Dave Puhl]

4-17..Just 6-7'' of snow here along with over 2.5'' of rain from last Thursday- Monday.some ice only one limb down on the gravity lines.. sun came out some and it settled a bunch..gravity lines are dripping and some buckets also..took a rag and warm water and cleaned all the buckets in the woods as good as I could..more snow coming the next day and half after that nice weather..ready for one more run..will see if that happens

[Trapper2]

My neighbor collected for me before the big storm hit. 300-400 gallons stored in a 48" snowbank a 1/2 mile from the road, but I cant get to it because of 4-5 foot drifts. I hope it keeps until next weekend. We will see. Its in the shade, and it also has 3 feet of snow on top of the tank also. Its been a challenge this year. Tigerton area.

[Wannabe]

Sap has ran the best it has all year the last two days for me here in Clark county. And these open taps and bags are going on 5 weeks. Never made it close to 40 degrees either day.

And yes this last snow SUCKS.

[Trapper2]

April 19th
My brotherinlaw snow shoed in the 1/2 mile and is cooking.
30" snow. Said trees are running like crazy. On Saturday the taps will have been in for 6 weeks and are still going strong.

[Dave Puhl]

4-19. After 7'' of snow and plowing driveways I went and checked if the sap was running just before noon. one of the barrels on the gravity lines was running over a first for this season..some of the buckets with drops were full and some only half..sun is very warm and melting the snow..warm weather is here...maybe one more cook left to do

[Run Forest Run!]

April 19th
My brotherinlaw snow shoed in the 1/2 mile and is cooking.
30" snow. Said trees are running like crazy. On Saturday the taps will have been in for 6 weeks and are still going strong.

Trapper2, I continue to be impressed by your filtering method. I've tried it three times now and can't believe how quickly the syrup clears!

[Trapper2]

Trapper2, I continue to be impressed by your filtering method. I've tried it three times now and can't believe how quickly the syrup clears!
That's great to hear Karen!!! Thanks for the feedback. I will be doing 1 last 10 gallon final boil on Sunday.

[Dave Puhl]

4-21..trees didn't run much over night..collected and started cooking by 9:30 used the sweet that was from the last time I cooked all tasted fine..a few helpers stopped by during the day... weather was good for a day outside. all the sap was in the bulk tank near the 2x6.. syrup was nice and light for a number of gallons then it turned dark as the day wore on made a tad over 11 gal.forecast is for warmer weather. this is the end of cooking for me..

[TerryF]

Read here about using milk for cleaning syrup but can't find the procedure. I have high sugar content and lots of niter and could use some instruction on this. Went back 25 pages . Tnx for any help.
Terry

[Run Forest Run!]

Read here about using milk for cleaning syrup but can't find the procedure. I have high sugar content and lots of niter and could use some instruction on this. Went back 25 pages . Tnx for any help.
Terry

Hi Terry. The subject came up in several threads recently. I've tried it three times now and am very pleased with the results. Here are the links to the threads for you:

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?32495-Tell-me-YOUR-filtering-process&p=350958#post350958

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?3851-milk-to-clean-syrup/page2

[Trapper2]

4-23. Cooked down 240 gallons this past weekend of stored sap that was 2 feet under a snow bank. Trees were running like crazy yet on Saturday. Sugar content varied from 2.3-2.6 per tree. Syrup is definitely getting darker. My highest production year ever. I'm over 15 gallons for the season and have another 200 gallons to cook. Taps are pulled.
Terry, If you have any further questions about the filtering using milk you can pm me or comment on the milk thread and I will try to help you through it. 18592185931859418595

[TerryF]

Tnx for the threads on milk cleaning. I have used eggs a few times but the milk sounds very interesting. Will give it a try but does anyone have a set time for adding. I use a hydrometer and pull it off at 30 brix from 2x4 flat pan, then finish off on a gas stove and filter again. I'm seeing here most do the milk thing maybe around 25 or so on the scale. Terry

[Run Forest Run!]

Trapper2, what an incredible harvest for you this year! Your syrup looks fantastic! I have another 5 quarts or so finishing off on the stove today and the cream is ready to finish it off to perfection. Thanks again for your advice.

[Trapper2]

Tnx for the threads on milk cleaning. I have used eggs a few times but the milk sounds very interesting. Will give it a try but does anyone have a set time for adding. I use a hydrometer and pull it off at 30 brix from 2x4 flat pan, then finish off on a gas stove and filter again. I'm seeing here most do the milk thing maybe around 25 or so on the scale. Terry
Terry I bring my syrup up to density and then add the milk, which will take it back down again so then you basically need to boil the milk back off again and bring up to finished density. Skim off the crud and filter.
Good luck..

[Trapper2]

Trapper2, what an incredible harvest for you this year! Your syrup looks fantastic! I have another 5 quarts or so finishing off on the stove today and the cream is ready to finish it off to perfection. Thanks again for your advice.

Your welcome Karen. This is just my small contribution compared to your dozens and dozens. You are the one we need to thank for all your encouragement and advice.

[TerryF]

Poured off a batch today, 3 gallons and filtered it off the pan with new papers inserts and orlon filter and it was not a good time. It was the worst, slowest filtering ever. I always do this when hydro hits 30. I didn't use the milk b/cuz we didn't any whole milk on hand. I will definitely use it on the next batch. After I finished on LP stove it filtered fairly well and turned out clear.
On another note my season in NW Marinette has been the worst ever, started tapped 3-17, 65 of them, 5 1/2 gallons canned. They just aren't running. Cold nites around zero for over 2 wks and heavy snowfall just about killed sap suckin here. Thanks for the info on milk it may be big saver.

[Trapper2]

4-25-18 Final cook down last night, I ended the season with 18.5 Gallons off of 70 taps and buckets. Just over a quart per tap. Is that about normal for buckets and bags? I was tapped in for 5.5 weeks. I probably could have left the taps in for another 3 days and cracked the 20 gallon mark.

[jmayerl]

Trapper2- I would call that a very avg year for our area. We had about 850 bags and 60 on tubing, finished just over 8 week season with .65-.7 gallons per tap(final tally in a week or so)......most ever in 10 years of doing this.

[Trapper2]

Trapper2- I would call that a very avg year for our area. We had about 850 bags and 60 on tubing, finished just over 8 week season with .65-.7 gallons per tap......most every in 10 years of doing this.

That's ALOT of bags!!!!!!!

[regor0]

That's ALOT of bags!!!!!!!That is a lot of bags!
Depends on your location, I am about 200 miles north east of jmayerl, I would be doing cartwheels for that kind of production on vacuum.

[ScottP]

Officially done for the year. 570 taps on vacuum and 200 bags. We ended with 356 gallons of syrup. Sugar content in the sap was good all year consistently staying around 2.5-2.7. I would say I ended with a fairly average crop which is better than most of the guys I have talked to. Now just to get cleaned up and put away for next year.

[Trapper2]

I finished off my last batch April 23rd.

[Sap Hound]

Put in 80 taps on tubing today, only a few started dripping right away. Going to hold off until Monday to place sap sacks, with as windy as they’re predicting. Should have around 140 in total. Let the good times BOIL!!🙂

[mathis mapler]

just finished putting together my new 2x8 raised flue evaporator. today putting in another 150 on tubing put in 100 on tubing saturday. going to hopefully have about 500 going to do my bags tuesday and wendsday



2014-2015 20-40 taps
2016 2x3 flat pan 100 taps
2017 2.5x5 flat pan 180 taps
2018 330 taps 40 gal syrup
2019 new 2x8 evaporator

[Dave Puhl]

3-15. Just started to get ready, snow banks next to road 3-5' did some shoveling to set barrels up for the gravity lines. where the barrels sit there was no frost but had allot of cover..got very warm too quick yesterday lots of flooding

[Dave Puhl]

3-16. Got two 5/16 gravity lines strung out and tapped. most trees were dripping. allot of work walking up and down the hill in the snow.. in the am could walk on top for a while..shoveled out three spots on the road ditch where I needed to get in, what a job..extended one line and was going to put a new line in but ran short on tubing..the guys up north must be really working hard with the great amounts of snow there..an inch or two of frost in the woods in spots where I dug..dry and good weather coming.

[Tommoore30]

Dave, it sure makes me feel better reading what you go thru - it's not just me. Shoveling and busting ice with a 17 lb pike just to get room to unload and move stuff. Any sane person back in town would ask, "what are you doing,..?" I was exhausted before I even got to tapping this weekend. All worth it!
Tom in Vernon County

[Trapper2]

Hung 90 bags and buckets just south of Wittenberg Saturday mid day. I set Covert cellular trail cameras on 2 of them to monitor from home. I couldn't believe how good the sap level shows up at night. I may have to make a run up on Tuesday to empty. Planning on cooking on Thursday. All are dripping well.1973919740

[Dave Puhl]

3-17. Tom. yes allot of work with the snow banks and snow amount in the woods going to be awhile for it to melt all of mine is on the north side.lines were running slowly. warm in the sun but cool in the wind. one line had allot of bubbles in it.walked the line. a tree near the top was the problem only one tap in it as I stood there wondering what to do I could hear some bubbling/gurgling. I put a ear up to the tree and it was coming from a frost crack on the back side. as soon I cut the drop line the noise quit. the natural vac. was pulling air from the tree into the line.. took out the tee and put in a union. I have tapped this tree a number of years..shoveled out another path through the road ditch for one tree always a good for allot of sap. waiting for more tubing...Trapper2 great idea using the trail camera.

[Trapper2]

Thanks Dave. We have about 12" snow in the woods yet. Sunday morning was a joy at 7:00 am when I checked everything over. I dont think I broke through once with just boots on. Saturday afternoon I had snow shoes on for the entire time.

[Trapper2]

19762 Camera says, Scott, go empty buckets and bags.19763 Night pictures are easier to see the sap.

[Dave Puhl]

3-19..got down to 25 or so during the last few nights.. still a bunch of snow in the woods and any where it is shaded... trees are running but not real hard... worked on cutting a big dead elm this am for firewood while the mud was still firm...worked on the new lines as much as I could... washed out bulk tank and transfer tank.. new tubing showed up real late in the day so I should get everything tapped and going by late tomorrow...only have two trees on buckets to carry a short ways..hoping the 5/16 lines will get me enough sap.

[Trapper2]

Emptied 90 buckets that were hanging since Saturday afternoon, on Monday afternoon. 190 gallons tested at 3.3. WOOOHOOO!!!

[Diesel Pro]

Tapped my 3/16 lines near Merrill on Sunday. I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the taps were already running. I expected things to be very slow. By the time I finished the second line the first was flowing and so on which is outstanding for me. I have somewhere around 90-100 taps in and as of this morning looks like I have about 75 gallons more or less. Not running like crazy, but my tress tend to be a bit behind the curve. Shortest and lowest line showed 25" with the middle 2 at 18" and the top line my gauge is not in place at present. I did not get a chance to walk and check for air leaks.

[Dave Puhl]

3-20.No freeze here this am. trees are slowing way down. used up all but 20' of the new 5/16 tubing took way more than I thought. only put out two more buckets. they were real close to the collecting barrel. tapping went well with just a few drips coming out. got done just before noon..still a bunch of snow here on the north side.heard the first Bluebird sing. Not a good sap day cool and a breeze. late in afternoon light rain/snow not much...collected for the first time. 2 cycle transfer pump acting up but got it all in the bulk tank at home..first time in 20yrs of making syrup I am relying on tubing to bring in the sap...will see how that pans out.

[Trapper2]

1978919789 After a good run this past weekend the nights are warm in Waupaca county and the production went way down. This bag was emptied Tuesday at 2:00 pm. I will empty again this afternoon and start cooking tonight.

[Dave Puhl]

3-22..the weather here is no good for sap runs for me. last few morning is just a light frost..so not enough to collect.worked on getting ready to cook.go the woodspliter up on large blocks so it is easy on the back,shack set,Clyde came over and we set the pans on the arch.worked on transfer pump. it turned out the screen in the muffler was plugged.punched a hole it it and it ran fine..

[Trapper2]

3/25,
Southern Shawano, Boiled Thursday night into Saturday. 5 Gallons and 1 pint finished off. It got cold enough on Friday night for a good 1 1/2-2 gallon per tap run on Saturday.
Had a lot of Friends and Family stop to visit. I put them to work on the splitter and got close to 3 full cords split. 1/2 done. They probably wont return.
1983019831

[Dave Puhl]

3-23..some cool weather this am .trees put on a small run. collected.. got the 2x6 fired up for the first cook about 12:30.beautiful day to cook. took forever for the first draw.it seemed like it anyway..a few helpers today some split the dead elm in the wood pile that helped allot..everything went well just shy of 3.5gal.. 3-24.. got everything drained and rinsed out .put some vinegar in the syrup pan to break up the niter.chance of rain today..some cool nights coming...

[Dave Puhl]

3-26. Mud was froze this am..cut wood for next year... fields were getting muddy by 10am..trees ran good today. collected this late afternoon.split wood for cooking tomorrow..going to be a long day.

[Trapper2]

1985619857

3-27 I'm glad I'm tapping 100 miles north of my house in Fond Du Lac.

[Dave Puhl]

3-27 ..a windy day ..a day to watch where and what your fire is doing..watered down around the cooker..all went well..did not collect..fired up and cooked most of the day..an honest 7.5gal today..sap was getting a little cloudy.. just in a few days ..but not bad at all ..got all cooked that was in the bulk tank..warm weather coming ...with a cold snap..