yield and sugar levels to date

[milligkl]

My sugar level has been terrible 1-1.6% this year thus greatly impacting my yield. I have gone from 400 taps to 1,050 and I'm concerned that my yield for the year will barely top last year unfortunately. How is everyone else doing?

[Hunt4sap]

To get this percentage of sugar level, what is the method?

[milligkl]

using a sap hydrometer.

[Ekrueger]

Mine have been running lower than the last few years. This year I have been seeing from 1.8% up to 2.1%. I think the fence row trees and the ones in the open yard help to bring up the sugar content.

[johnallin]

I've got the same over here. Best so far has been 1.5 with some 1.2's in there. Boiled 160 gal off yesterday and it took forever to finally get some syrup. Frustrating when you keep firing and nothing moves. Sure hope it picks up soon or I'm going to be outta wood.

GPH rate is up, thanks to the new preheater, but man syrup is down for sure.

[Hunt4sap]

I have sap hydrometer, but how do you use it/ read it for sap?only thing ive done with it is use it for syrup...

[woodburner]

We are seeing lower sugar here for a second year. Last week we were at 1.75. This last run it went up to 2 . We had a good run yesterday and have just finished up today with a total of 80gal. So far this season. Hope the sugar stays at 2 sure is a waste of wood and time when it goes lower.

[woodburner]

I have sap hydrometer, but how do you use it/ read it for sap?only thing ive done with it is use it for syrup...
Sap and syrup hydrometers are different and measure different density liquids.

[clw]

I'm getting 2.5% to 3.25% in Vermilion. I tap all sugars and I have a sap hydrometer.

[CrossBroMaple]

Sugar content is low in my woods too, best I have recorded is 1.7%. I do have about 50/50 reds and sugars. Just got over 65 gallons canned up all dark amber.

[buckeye gold]

Mine ranged from 1.0 to 1.6 and averaged 1.4 on the season. I pulled taps yesterday so that is my final average.

[johnallin]

Boiled off another 120 gallons from yesterday's run. This was 1.6%, and I had syrup much sooner than Sunday's boil. I'm thinking we should see a run again today, then it's lights out til next week. No light syrup over here yet.

[heus]

Our sugar started at 2% and has fallen to as low as 1%. Yesterday it was at 1.5% Have made 144 gallons mostly all amber rich except for light on the first run. First dark robust of the season was last night's boil.

[christopherh]

Still only seeing 1.2 to 2.0. I'm over 50 gallons made. No light syrup.

[GeorgeQ]

It is interesting to me how some are getting dark syrup and some are getting light syrup. We just ran 10 1/2 gallons of syrup yesterday and we are still getting golden delicate syrup. All four of our runs look virtually the same. I'd imagine we will start seeing some darker syrup next week with the warmer weather. 13466

[RC Maple]

I started the season gathering 2% sap but not for long. Much of it seems to be running 1-1.5% with a 2% now and then. I will only know when the season is over and then I will back figure it. First 2 runs were golden delicate syrup and the stuff after that has been amber rich. May be the first year I average less than 2%.

[spud]

I had been running 1.3-1.5% right up till the last run. Now I am up to 2% and that's normal for me after a few runs. My average for the season is always around 1.7-1.8%. Last season I had a few runs go up to 2.3% but that is rare for my woods. If I was getting the 2.5+ like some of you get I would be jumping up and down. It's fun to see the high sugar some get. I wish everyone a great season.

Spud

[WoodButcher]

i have a healthy mix of 1.3-2.1% ... more of the former though. i just started producing medium amber, and have had some phenomenal light this year. no dark yet

im running low on wood too. this warm up for a week is going to be nasty, i hope the spile bacteria stays down and the buds keep sleeping.
Good time to drain and clean the back pan and collection tanks.

[Hunt4sap]

How will i know if spile bacteria gets to be a problem?
Im an hour straight south of chardon area.
My first year tapping my sugar maples, so any info is greatly appreciated...

[WoodButcher]

Really nothing you can do now.
you will know if your sap count drops as compared to years past... but that wont help you out since its your first year.
dont sweat it... let mother nature do its thing, and hope for another freeze after the week-long warmup so we can get rolling again.
i havent seen a season with a week-long warmup in a long time.

https://ohiomaple.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/tips-on-using-vacuum-and-maintaining-tap-hole-sanitation/

[Hunt4sap]

I was commenting on the "spile bacteria"
part of your post, and just wondered what you meant by it.

[WoodButcher]

that is what my last post was pointing out.

heres an exerpt:
http://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/keeping-tap-holes-clean

"Recent experiments at the Proctor Maple Research Center, a part of the University of Vermont, suggest that bacteria and fungi living in the tap hole, whose populations multiply rapidly in the warmer temperatures of April, are what is restricting sap flow. These organisms are gumming up the tap hole even before a tree mobilizes its own defense."

[maple marc]

Sap brix has been running about 2.2, which is typical for me. All sugar maples. Started with amber and most recent batch was dark.

[WoodButcher]

same here. just hit dark today.

[woodburner]

Not getting any sap up here, to cold. Looks like a long run coming out of this cold but I think that will be the end with 7or eight days without a freeze and highs in the 50s or higher. Hope the forecast changes or we will be filling pans by mid week.

[WoodButcher]

ya no kidding.
i was talking to a couple guys about this warm up and some are pulling this week. crazy year!
So far i am at 45% production compared to a .18-.25g per tap normal year... this week will be a good time to chase the sweet with 50 gallons of water, clean both pans, collection tanks, etc... and hope for the best by next weekend... :confused:

[johnallin]

Woodbutcher,
Not being judgmental...but just wondering why you would chase sweet now, and risk having to re-sweeten your pans (start all over again) if/when we get a run later on? I will clean collection and storage tanks, but not sure about wringing all the maple out of the arch. Just curious, thanks

Big and Grand kids all coming today..looks like we may get a run in before the warmup?

[WoodButcher]

Hey John.
ya, i thought about that. Re-sweetening the pans is no big deal for me. It only takes about 3-4hrs for me to start the gradient.

i just dont like the idea of having 25+ gallons of good sweet in my pans, fermenting in 60-70 degrees for 6+ days... while im waiting for a worthwhile 3-5 day run that might not happen in time. The forecasters have been wrong this year for sure, so who knows... i hope your right!
i just like the idea of making good syrup with whats in my pans now instead of letting it sit there.

[johnallin]

Sap was running hard up here today. Brought in 90 gallons between 4 and 5 tonight and some trees were dripping like crazy. My
3/16 tube did not do as well as the bags today for some reason, but will see what tomorrow brings. Also pulled of another gallon of nice amber syrup, so it's not over yet.

[WoodButcher]

Today's run was a given... it got cold the last couple nights.
ill be collecting it all tomorrow morning (itll run a bit overnight) and boiling it all tomorrow.
im keeping my taps in until the weekend to see what the weather looks like then...

[GeorgeQ]

Gathering my sap later this morning. My partner gathered his yesterday, with plans to gather again today. His trees have been producing a lot better than mine. Yesterday's sap showed 3% sugar on the sap hydrometer. Going to leave our taps in as long as we are bud-free.

[RC Maple]

I had a good run of over a gal/tap yesterday. I think though that my sugar level was closer to 1.5%. I would love to see some of that 3% sap here. Hoping there is a cool down in the forecast. Not sure how long I want to leave the buckets out there to ripen with these temperatures - I may bring them in for a rinse.

[ash10383]

first year for us but we had a good day yesterday...30 gal / 22 taps, about half of the taps are 6 week old so weren't giving much, several new taps gave 2+ gal in 24 hours....was still running at 7 last night so I'll see what is in the buckets this afternoon...we got about 4 gal syrup so far plus what we gathered today, I'l like to see another 10-15 gal of sap to get another full gal.... will it run any more after today?

[WoodButcher]

Pulled up to the sugarbush at 8am and lookey what i saw... collected 280 gallons on 200 taps. As suspected, it ran overnight.
Tubing and buckets were still dripping when collecting. Started to get a little snot at the bottom of the poly tank but sap was nice and clear. Sap was at 1.8%

here's for hoping we have a freeze within the week!

[johnallin]

Collected another 160 gallons this morning - that makes 250 since Monday afternoon. Still very clear, sugar is now 1.7 and the better sugars were still running as I was gathering.
I'll take it.

Maybe the trees are in "overdrive" so they can get all that sugar where it needs to be before the warm temps and bud breaking and leaf making has to begin.
We haven't had a good freeze since Saturday night and yet it's still just pouring out.

No complaints, considering we didn't even start boiling until March 12 last year - the past two days have been a gift as far as I'm concerned.

[woodburner]

Just got in from another long day boiling. Sap at 1.8. Making dark syrup. I was able to stay ahead of the run today so quality stayed good. Spring peepers tonight so for me the season is about over. Only made good syrup once in the last 40 after hearing the frogs here. We are up to 90gal and we tapped Feb.1st. It would have been a good year if the sugar had been better. If anyone stays at it post on how it goes and if any good syrup is made next week.

[christopherh]

Last couple of days were great!! Still a little more to be made off this run. My sugars were at 2.0 and the Reds on vac were 1.1. I'm going to hang in there. So far I'm at 85 gallons.

[GeorgeQ]

Gathered and boiled 1100 gallons yesterday. Boiled till after midnight and put 20+ gallons of syrup in the barrel. Still making some pretty light syrup, probably because we just pulled our worst 75 taps and tapped some more big sugar maples. 13680 I do know that I am worn out this morning!

[GeorgeQ]

Sorry for the sideways pics. Not sure how to fix that.

[WoodButcher]

Sorry for the sideways pics. Not sure how to fix that.

you find the pic on your desktop/laptop, right click the mouse, and then left click "rotate clockwise".
if you took it on your phone and uploaded to the site from there, you can click the "edit" button up top when viewing the pic on your phone, and can rotate from there.

You have some nice light syrup indeed! i pulled off about 7 gallons of DA yesterday.

[RC Maple]

Got almost another gal/tap yesterday with many of those trees still running. It looked like sap was at least 1.5%. Boiled til 11:00 last night and will be able to start earlier today. I am one day behind on boiling - yesterdays sap will be boiled today. If the trees slow down I may be able to get caught up.

[GeorgeQ]

Thanks for the Pic tip Jeremy. My trees have all but shut down today. Season might have just ended for us in NE Ohio. Doesn't look like any cold weather in sight. May have to refocus on Walleye fishing.

[mapleguy]

Yea I hear ya. !200 gallons yesterday had to dump 600 which was from my tubing setting in that **** poly tank. Gravity tubing system just doesn't work in summer temps. Anyway the other 600 from 350 buckets boiled down to a lighter dark if that makes sense. Disconnected tanks lat nite, will focus on buckets for rest of the season. This morning what was in buckets for the most part spoiled. Long range for mid to late nxt. week looks promising but if things work out probably the end.

[heus]

O.5% sap yesterday!

[WoodButcher]

O.5% sap yesterday!

.5? yikes... not sure if thats even worth boiling!
send it over my way and ill make a nice 7% Belgian Maple Wit out of it!

[johnallin]

90 gallons Monday, 160 on Tuesday and another 140 today. All nice clear sap at 1.6-1.7% which is good for us. Three good boils this week and now it's time to wait and see what happens next week. The tube system worked great and the hot water pouring out of the preheater is amazing - the place has never been so clean. I've got so much, I've been pouring it over the concrete floor to keep the dust down! Pics of syrup from Monday and Tuesday and one of the tank with 100 gallons from last night.13687

[ash10383]

in Seneca Co I swatted mosquitos checking the buckets this afternoon and half were really cloudy and some maybe just a touch so I pulled the buckets but left the taps

[GeorgeQ]

Well, we managed to gather another 300 gallons of sap. Boiling it off right now.

[WoodButcher]

Get it while you can boys! Last call!
...playing this in the sugarhouse right now.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH1biQdyiQI

[christopherh]

300 gallons today, sap still trickling in on vac. I'll see what we have in the morning.

[Butcher]

heard peepers tonight, basically over, soft maples are getting green on top, 1500 gal syrup on 9000 taps, about half crop, all dark hard filtering, tough season for sure, all the signs are here for the end.

[heus]

Brought in about 900 gallons since last night. Still only .5 percent. Still making good tasting dark. Steam smells good, too.

[GeorgeQ]

Get it while you can boys! Last call!
...playing this in the sugarhouse right now.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH1biQdyiQI

Lol. No way. I saw what the video was and closed that window ASAP. Every time that **** commercial comes on, that tune gets stuck in my head for days...

Drew another 8 gallons last night. Trying to figure out how to get the rest of the sweet out of our pans today. Probably going to end up with about 60 gallons for the year. Not the 100 gallons we wanted, but it's a heck of a lot more than the 12 gallons we did on our hobby pan last year.

[woodburner]

Finished the last batch late yesterday. Pulled the taps and had a lot of build up in the lines , worst I have ever had. Need to wash asap. Ended up with 99 1/2 gal. Four batches of light , four batches of medium , 2 batches dark. Crazy weather from one year to the next, tapped last year end of Feb and we were in the middle of the season. This year tapped Feb.1 and all done. Quality of early runs was great this year, better than last year. Sugar averaged low all season, best was 2 , worst 1.75.

[WoodButcher]

Crazy weather from one year to the next, tapped last year end of Feb and we were in the middle of the season. This year tapped Feb.1 and all done. Quality of early runs was great this year, better than last year. Sugar averaged low all season, best was 2 , worst 1.75.


I hear ya there... last year was 90% dark from the get go... this year i had 2 batches of light, 3 medium, and 2 dark. started 2-19 this year (missed the early run) and last year the taps went in 3-7... crazy short year but hey, syrup variety this year was way better than last!

[johnallin]

Just saw the Chardon forecast for 3-18 to 3-19. Low 30 high 46 with sunshine, then a chance of snow Sat night. This is not the same as 2012, I think we'll be boiling again in a week.

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Forecast.aspx?location=USOH0172

update: This is Accuweather...it's even better look at the week of March 21.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/chardon-oh/44024/daily-weather-forecast/335053?day=11

[RC Maple]

Back to the title of the thread... The final numbers are in!

% sugar in sap.. 1.98%
gal sap/gal syrup.. 43.5
gal syrup/tap.. 0.32

It sure seemed like the sugar % was lower according to my hydrometer. Some of those days though were 60+ degrees and the sap was warmer than the usual temp. Maybe the hydrometer floats a little differently when the sap is 20 degrees warmer than what it is calibrated for. I haven't been under 2% before but was never more than 2.21% either.

[christopherh]

It was pretty low the entire season. I saw 2.1 to 1.1.