Schenectady-Albany-Saratoga Counties

[Pdiamond]

Those are nice looking labels and the syrup looks mighty tasty

[MRFNY]

Here's a photo of the different styles we offer for sale. No quarts pictured because they are all spoken for and every place is sold out of empty jugs, so we had to do more pints than normal!

22326

[sugarman3]

In fulton county my bud swelled on last fri and sundays rain made them get bigger,done for season,son and myself can't stand the smell of boiling buddy sap,200 gallons less than last year,i called it the season from hell,if it could freeze ,it did,breakdowns were terrible this season ,along with moister in a 700 ft vacumn line 4 times,and the gathering trk,first the starter went in the middle of gathering,the a week later the altanater decided to quit working,ugh what a season

[Wanabe1972]

Very worst season ive ever had. Too **** cold till late Feb then a week of above normal warmth with no freeze. Then several days of freeze without a thaw then a week of high 60s and rain. Snow gone, frost gone and had about a week mud season. Yard trees are starting to bud and the sap is cloudy so i pulled the plug on them earlier this week. The trees in the woods are still in good shape no buds and the vacuum is running 24 7 and just a trickle of sap with out a freeze for 3 days. Its 24 right now and just looked at the forecast and not supposed to get above freezing today WTF. Last year i only made 40 gallons and this year will be lucky to finish with 25 unless we get another run. Well ill give it a couple more days and cleanup and spend the year licking my wounds as with retubing the woods and a new double diaphram pump for the filter press i wont even break even this year.

[Shaun]

Best sap flow off the season today...

[Shaun]

Shutting it down this morning after a 3.75GPT run since Easter Sunday thaw.

[crzypete]

My altitude (800ft) has given me a few more cold nights and my buds are still tight. Sap was flowing and I busted out a batch yesterday afternoon. The sugar ratio has definitely dropped and although I have more sap I think I am truly done. Made 3.5 quarts yesterday from 50 gallons of sap. Syrup is dark.

Pete

[Shaun]

We are about 1300 feet and there were still small snowbanks in the shade at 2000 feet on Saturday. With the snowpack we had this winter the season definitely did not go as I had planned.

[eseerup]

In ballston the reds budded a few weeks ago. The sugars still haven't Budded and are still producing but the sap spoils so fast it's no use.

[ADK_XJ]

As cold as it has been, the next week looks ideal for a sap run temperature wise...if it were later in February I'd feel ready to go but I'm guessing I won't tap until President's Day as it is.

We are running some short (25 tap~) 3/16s lines on natural gravity to try it out in anticipation of a big expansion over the next few years. Will hopefully go up to 200 taps this year, which is big for us now!

[crzypete]

ADK, my weather forecast- weather underground is less favorable for where I am- highs in the low 30's for a few days. I won't be tapping based on that, but I do have to say I've been hating Weather Underground lately, so I'm open to other sources? I still think I'll wait as it looks like it will plummet again by next weekend.

Isn't the beauty of tubing that you can tap without fear of short life cycle on those holes? Maybe put in your tubing run for this week? That shouldn't give any long term compromise.

I'm totally excited for the season! I will be matching my 42 taps from last year at minimum. Maybe more if the snow pack stays light and I can go further into my woods without too much trudging.

Pete

[MRFNY]

Looking at my notes from last year, the temps in Charlton, NY are following the same pattern in February so far. In 2021 we had a brief "warmup" in early Feb (2/4 and 2/5) then temps got quite cold again for a pretty long stretch. I didn't tap until 2/27 in 2021 and looking at the long ranger forecast on weather.com it might be at least two weeks before I'll be tapping. I'm at 640' of elevation, so it is always colder at my house than what I see on weather.com. Gotta be patient I suppose!

[MRFNY]

I think I'm going to tap on Sunday (2/13)

[sugarman3]

Unfortunately the wind snapped of a huge maple and it fell right down the mainline,relocated 300 ft of main line and redid all laterals,after 2 days working in woods,it's done,now time to start tapping,TOMORROW.

[MRFNY]

Put in 40 taps on Saturday after getting a later start than planned. Will fnish up today! Some of the sugar maples were dripping a little bit.

[Trevor5]

I put in a main line on 2/12 and put in 2 laterals with 4 taps each on the 13th. I plan to add to the tap count this coming weekend and get my arch put together. This is a new location for me so I am curious how the trees will produce.

[MRFNY]

Collected about 50 gallons tonight. A lot of ice in the buckets so should be a good sugar content. WIll be boiling tomorrow and workin on getting the pan sugared!

[ADK_XJ]

Collected about 50 gallons tonight. A lot of ice in the buckets so should be a good sugar content. WIll be boiling tomorrow and workin on getting the pan sugared! Nice! We are tapping Sunday/Monday, weather looks perfect!

[crzypete]

Sunday/ Monday is my plan as well. I pulled out the evaporator today, but did not bother to level it. The wind was gusty and it was pretty cold. I've been walking about scouting trees and building a plan. Definitely time for a new personal best!

Pete

[MRFNY]

Is anyone else having issues uploading pictures into threads?

[Pdiamond]

it is currently down and is being worked on.

[MRFNY]

2/21/22 - Thought for sure I would get home from work and have a lot of sap to collect, not the case! Pretty disappointing considering the temps and the sun. Temps were low 20's this morning so might have taken a bit to warm up. Weekend was quite cold too. Hopefully tomorrow is a good run

[crzypete]

I tapped today. Total of 48, a new personal best. Most were dripping today, but not overly robust collection. I'm hoping for my first boil on Thursday. Debating whether to tap two more trees to hit 50.

Pete

[ADK_XJ]

2/21/22 - Thought for sure I would get home from work and have a lot of sap to collect, not the case! Pretty disappointing considering the temps and the sun. Temps were low 20's this morning so might have taken a bit to warm up. Weekend was quite cold too. Hopefully tomorrow is a good run That's too bad, things were definitely running here today (yesterday) but should be going strong tomorrow. My worry is for how long, we just don't have the ground freeze you'd expect in February.

[ADK_XJ]

I tapped today. Total of 48, a new personal best. Most were dripping today, but not overly robust collection. I'm hoping for my first boil on Thursday. Debating whether to tap two more trees to hit 50.

Pete Nice work, you should go for it!

[ADK_XJ]

Had the whole family out in the woods today - well, yesterday since I passed out hard at 8pm and just came to - and got every single tap we have in.

Did a 500 foot run of 3/16" through the steepest part of our bush down probably a 75' drop to a 100 gallon tank, which shocked me with just how labor intensive that was.

I can totally see the benefit of running lines ahead of time in winter. I can also see we are going to pull a TON of sap off those taps, even by the end of the day it was going strong!

[MRFNY]

That's too bad, things were definitely running here today (yesterday) but should be going strong tomorrow. My worry is for how long, we just don't have the ground freeze you'd expect in February.

Yeah not the end of the world. Hoping today will be good but sounds like quite a bit of rain. Not going to get a freeze tonight and then another fairly long cold spell coming up after this brief warmup.

[MRFNY]

Had the whole family out in the woods today - well, yesterday since I passed out hard at 8pm and just came to - and got every single tap we have in.

Did a 500 foot run of 3/16" through the steepest part of our bush down probably a 75' drop to a 100 gallon tank, which shocked me with just how labor intensive that was.

I can totally see the benefit of running lines ahead of time in winter. I can also see we are going to pull a TON of sap off those taps, even by the end of the day it was going strong!

Nice work! Best part is the family time. Good luck on the season!

[crzypete]

Glad to hear you guys are tapped as well. I half debated whether I should wait even longer. It does look cold after this little burst. But I have to start sometime and I do value the early syrup. Hoping to make some light this week!

We are in Galway- on the north part of Jockey street. Elevation is 800 feet. And that definitely affects us.

Pete

[MRFNY]

Glad to hear you guys are tapped as well. I half debated whether I should wait even longer. It does look cold after this little burst. But I have to start sometime and I do value the early syrup. Hoping to make some light this week!

We are in Galway- on the north part of Jockey street. Elevation is 800 feet. And that definitely affects us.

Pete

I'm on Jockey as well, South of 67. 640 feet elevation

[crzypete]

I'm on Jockey as well, South of 67. 640 feet elevation

No way!!!

Pete

[MRFNY]

No way!!!

Pete

HAHA Yup! We'll have to try to check out operations this season!

[crzypete]

HAHA Yup! We'll have to try to check out operations this season!

Sounds like a plan!

Pete

[MRFNY]

Just collected 55 gallons of sap tonight. Considering yesterday wasn't very good and no sun today at all, I'll take it. Pan will be sugared after boil tomorrow night

[crzypete]

MRFNY, what are you boiling on? How many taps?

Pete

[MRFNY]

MRFNY, what are you boiling on? How many taps?

Pete

I have a Leader 2X4, wood fired. This year we put in 89 taps. I'm thinking i need to tap one more to make an even 90!


I'm watching a show called Restoration Road right now. It's a show where they tear down old barns and use the wood and timbers to build a new home in a different state. Tonight's show they tore down a barn in Galway and relocated it to Middletown Springs, VT. Pretty cool being so close!

[crzypete]

That is cool. Love Galway.

I decided not to wait until tomorrow and boiled today. My taps had slowed by this morning and we emptied buckets and made the first batch. I'm just finishing on the stove as I write, but its looking nice and light. Had 40-45 gallons of sap at the start. So hoping for a gallon plus.

ON edit: Made a gallon and poured the rest in a jelly jar. A good start to the season!

Pete

[MRFNY]

That is cool. Love Galway.

I decided not to wait until tomorrow and boiled today. My taps had slowed by this morning and we emptied buckets and made the first batch. I'm just finishing on the stove as I write, but its looking nice and light. Had 40-45 gallons of sap at the start. So hoping for a gallon plus.

ON edit: Made a gallon and poured the rest in a jelly jar. A good start to the season!

Pete

Nice job! Ended up boiling 60 gallons tonight since a few of our better sugar maples ran overnight I believe. The pan is sugared after tonight's boil and the next time we boil we will be drawing off! Tasted a sample tonight and boy it was delicious.

[sugarman3]

tapped last week,make about 30 gallons of syrup time i finsh what i drew of evaporator still got about 150 out of 3500 left to do,which will take a couple hrs to tap,surgar house and bush is in Ephratah

[MRFNY]

Pretty sure we got a freeze last night at my location so really hoping they run good today! It's been quite boring and uneventful with the recent cold spell.

[ADK_XJ]

Less than ideal run here yesterday, collected about 30 gallons from our mixture of buckets and tubing before the rain set in and it got too warm. It's currently a DELUGE outside at our place, may help the sap run when the temps right themselves but the woods are going to be MESSY.

[MRFNY]

Yeah wasn't a good run for me at all. Will end up dumping the buckets tonight and giving them a rinse. After that wind storm I assume I'll have to do some bucket/lid recon too

[crzypete]

I collected today as well. 40 gallons. More than I expected. It was not supposed to be that warm today, but it hit 38 and the trees were dripping. Looks like some good weather ahead. I'll probably cook this down on Thursday in anticipation of another batch this weekend.

Pete

[MRFNY]

Turned out to be a little surprised with what I was able to get from the buckets. One of my best sugar maples with two buckets were just about full and my five bucket tree were all 1/2 to 3/4 full.

[ADK_XJ]

Today was the day. It finally cut loose here and we pulled about 40 gallons off our 50 buckets and about 60 gallons off of our tubing taps currently up (about 30). Hoping it is more consistently productive from here on out but we will see!

[red/one]

Warm today, snow tomorrow and a good looking week coming up. We've only got 5 gallons of syrup so far, but we just topped our head tank with 180 gallons of sap so giddy up!

[MRFNY]

Had a nice boil today and drew off around 4.5 gallons and put it into the finishing tank which will be canned on Sunday. Plan is to collect early tomorrow morning vefore the snow and boil, so possibly another draw off on Saturday

[MRFNY]

Boiled 65 gallons today and put another couple draw offs into the finisher. Going to bottle tomorrow!!

[ADK_XJ]

I am legitimately concerned that the season may be over after today, the 10 day forecast is not looking good and I've only had one or two decent runs since tapping in February.

If anyone has excess sap they're willing to sell, I am happy to come and pick it up because I'm worry my year is over after the run today...

[MRFNY]

Boiled 65 gallons today and put another couple draw offs into the finisher. Going to bottle tomorrow!!

10 day doesn't look good, but I always seem to be quite a bit colder than the forecast. Today a lot of my trees didn't open up and start running good until around 3 PM, but I expect to collect a decent amount on Tuesday. I also think we'll get a freeze tonight even though the forecast doesn't predict one.

Bottled 6 gallons today so if the season were to end soon it would be a big disappointment!

[ADK_XJ]

10 day doesn't look good, but I always seem to be quite a bit colder than the forecast. Today a lot of my trees didn't open up and start running good until around 3 PM, but I expect to collect a decent amount on Tuesday. I also think we'll get a freeze tonight even though the forecast doesn't predict one.

Bottled 6 gallons today so if the season were to end soon it would be a big disappointment!

Yeah, the report from my kids is that the buckets near the house didn't start to run until this afternoon and I just did a run out into the woods...1/3 to 1/2 full buckets at best but my tubing lines on 3/16 are absolutely ripping.

There are at least two nights this week where it could dip to freezing (forecasting 34 for each) so I won't give up all hope. My worry is the high daytime temps may knock everything out completely before it drops down again...

[MRFNY]

Yeah, the report from my kids is that the buckets near the house didn't start to run until this afternoon and I just did a run out into the woods...1/3 to 1/2 full buckets at best but my tubing lines on 3/16 are absolutely ripping.

There are at least two nights this week where it could dip to freezing (forecasting 34 for each) so I won't give up all hope. My worry is the high daytime temps may knock everything out completely before it drops down again...

Just took a walk around this morning. Some buckets are 1/2 to 3/4's full, others have maybe an inch in them. Some were still dripping too (very slowly). Looked like the temp was 30 when I woke up at 6 am. I have no idea what they will do today. I have a decent numbers of buckets on trees that are down a slope that always stays colder, so maybe they will reset and run today.

[MRFNY]

Collected 70 gallons today and boiled it. Did a couple draw offs but took forever to get to the first one. Forecast is not looking good, could be a bad year!

[ADK_XJ]

Collected about 100 gallons of sap last night, the best of the "season" if you can call it that...I fear that was the end, though. Nothing seems to be running since last night was in the upper 30s and today was quite warm.

I don't even see a freezing night in the next 10 days. Bummer.

[MRFNY]

Collected about 100 gallons of sap last night, the best of the "season" if you can call it that...I fear that was the end, though. Nothing seems to be running since last night was in the upper 30s and today was quite warm.

I don't even see a freezing night in the next 10 days. Bummer.

I got a whopping 40 gallons of sap yesterday and boiled it. Was able to get a small draw off. Things are not looking good going forward, it's looking like my first year with single digit finished syrup

[ADK_XJ]

Boiled all day today and just "chased" the syrup out with some remaining concentrate in the head tank...currently keeping a watchful eye on my "finishing pan" (aka my beer brewing kettle on a turkey fryer) in the garage. Not going to venture a guess as to what I've made yet because it's got a ways to go to hit 66 brix but feel like today was some consolation for what will likely be the end for me.

My tubing lines were running heavy despite it not having frozen the last two nights, that was running clear and smelled fine. Buckets had some run in the morning, too, but they were all filled with bugs by mid-day...not sure if that means it's gone buddy, or was just too warm to be out in the sun for long.

The forecast has shifted a bit and it looks like we could get a couple freezing nights in a row but it was 70 degrees today, hard to imagine it bouncing back 100%....

[MRFNY]

Scrubbed and rinsed all 90 buckets today, hoping for one last run this week

[ADK_XJ]

Looking at the forecast for the next three days and early next week, I decided to run so more tubing lines today - it was a beautiful day in the woods - and double my tap count on 3/16th to try to capture the last of the late run(s) here.

I already pulled my buckets but I'm tempted to sanitize and re-tap the holes for my old 7/16 metal spouts to see if those will yield anything more as well. I'm currently at just about half what I made last year...would love to close the gap.

[MRFNY]

Trees are dripping pretty good already today!

[DrTimPerkins]

I already pulled my buckets but I'm tempted to sanitize and re-tap the holes for my old 7/16 metal spouts to see if those will yield anything more as well.

The extra sap yield you get will depend on the weather after you ream the hole. One thing you certainly will get is an internal wound about 2.5 times the size of the original wound....which is why retapping/reaming/bumping is NOT recommended.

[eseerup]

We've been getting about .75 gallon of sap a tap last week without the freezes and the sugar is low. Hopefully this week is better.
A few reds are swelling but we definitely have a week more.

[ADK_XJ]

The extra sap yield you get will depend on the weather after you ream the hole. One thing you certainly will get is an internal wound about 2.5 times the size of the original wound....which is why retapping/reaming/bumping is NOT recommended.

Oh, interesting...that is good to know. I figured it probably wasn't ideal but had read recently in Maple News of a guy in NH who does it as a "season extender."

Given our sugar bush is our own 30 acres of forest I will probably NOT take that approach for the future.

[MRFNY]

Only collected 40 gallons today around 5:30 PM, trees were still dripping though. Boiled the 40 and got a decent draw off. Hoping tomorrow is a little better after two consecutive freezes at night.

[MRFNY]

Another 50 gallons today and another decent draw off. Chipping away and hoping to at least match last year total. Very interesting to see how the trees are reacting to the season!

[crzypete]

I collected this evening. Have not made the rounds since the weekend and many buckets were full and some overflowing. Collected a solid 75 gallons from my 48 taps. I need to restock my wood supplies and boil away. We've beaten the weather forecast the last couple of nights- getting some solid frosts and I'm hopeful that has reset the sugar a bit, I was 50:1 on my last boil and that is not normal for me.

Pete

[ADK_XJ]

Holy smokes, this is what I've been holding out for - sap was running strong by mid-day yesterday after I re-hung my (freshly sanitized) buckets and power-washed our collection tank for the 3/16 tubing laterals.

We went out to the woods in the early evening tonight and EVERY SINGLE BUCKET was full or overflowing (have barely had a full bucket yet this season) and we had 100 gallons in the tubing tanks, each line was still running steadily.

I only managed to gather the buckets with some "help" from my kids and hoping I'll capture the entire run by early AM from the collection tank off the tubing. It's going to be a bit sloppy out there with all the rain we're supposed to get tonight...

[red/one]

Hey everyone, just south of most of you. We pulled some taps early this week and have about half to go. It slowed way down and the reds are popping. We did have 2 55 gallon barrels on their side connected together sitting on a rickidy stand, fall over. It had about 80 gallons of sap in it. Lost it all. Other tanks were running ok after the cold came back but we reached our goal of ~20 gallons and said we've had enough. Did not use much wood either, ran the RO more. I do a lessons learned at the end of every season and this year was (1) no plastic valves, (2) build stronger tank holders, (3) enclose head tank so it doesn't freeze, (4) make a vacuum filter set up, cone filters are a pain... I'm sure there will be more as we continue clean up. :) Hope ya'll end strong!

[ADK_XJ]

Hey everyone, just south of most of you. We pulled some taps early this week and have about half to go. It slowed way down and the reds are popping. We did have 2 55 gallon barrels on their side connected together sitting on a rickidy stand, fall over. It had about 80 gallons of sap in it. Lost it all. Other tanks were running ok after the cold came back but we reached our goal of ~20 gallons and said we've had enough. Did not use much wood either, ran the RO more. I do a lessons learned at the end of every season and this year was (1) no plastic valves, (2) build stronger tank holders, (3) enclose head tank so it doesn't freeze, (4) make a vacuum filter set up, cone filters are a pain... I'm sure there will be more as we continue clean up. :) Hope ya'll end strong!

Oh man, that is a bummer. I always worry about stuff like that since I have little ones running around distracting me. I have ratchet-strapped my collection tank (a 100 gallon vertical poly tank) to a tree for that very reason.

20 gallons is our goal, too, but we won't hit it this year. Things have really picked up again but it's going to be short-lived and won't make up for the crappy runs earlier in the season. Still, I'm appreciative for what we got!

[ADK_XJ]

I am wondering if this polar vortex induced cold snap coming our way may further extend the season...can't hurt and our sugar maples are still producing clear sap, especially from the tubing lines. The reds have all popped buds and I pulled any buckets on red.

[MRFNY]

I am wondering if this polar vortex induced cold snap coming our way may further extend the season...can't hurt and our sugar maples are still producing clear sap, especially from the tubing lines. The reds have all popped buds and I pulled any buckets on red.

So strange, collected some today and saw clearer sap from reds than sugars!

[MRFNY]

Bottled 7 gallons today putting the total at 12.5 gallons for the year so far. Would like to at least match last year's total of 15 but not so sure...

[ADK_XJ]

Bottled 7 gallons today putting the total at 12.5 gallons for the year so far. Would like to at least match last year's total of 15 but not so sure...

You might just get the chance if you've got all sugar maples and after this weather hits us early this week...

[crzypete]

I boiled today. Sugar ratio was definitely down. Made 5.5 quarts from 75 gallons of sap. That's a lot of boiling for pretty low yield. I am definitely hoping the cold snap helps the sugar content next week. I think I have one more boil in me for the season.

I am currently sitting at 7 gallons for the season. Not great, but plenty to keep us in syrup for the next year and a good amount to give away to friends and family.

Pete

[ADK_XJ]

I boiled today. Sugar ratio was definitely down. Made 5.5 quarts from 75 gallons of sap. That's a lot of boiling for pretty low yield. I am definitely hoping the cold snap helps the sugar content next week. I think I have one more boil in me for the season.

I am currently sitting at 7 gallons for the season. Not great, but plenty to keep us in syrup for the next year and a good amount to give away to friends and family.

Pete Nice, that's plenty of syrup for family and friend purposes - that's what we do, too. Where are you located in Saratoga area? I see you have an oil tank evaporator, nice work with that...could probably get some pointers from you as mine is not ideal in its current state.

[MRFNY]

You might just get the chance if you've got all sugar maples and after this weather hits us early this week...

I have a decent amount of sugars and they are all good size so we will see how it goes. Pretty close to being ready to call it quits though, time to move onto the spring chore list!

[crzypete]

ADK, I'm just up the street from MRFNY in East Galway- although our schedules keep bumping us apart that we can't seem to meet. Would love to host you to see the OTE, I am definitely a fan!

Pete

[MRFNY]

ADK, I'm just up the street from MRFNY in East Galway- although our schedules keep bumping us apart that we can't seem to meet. Would love to host you to see the OTE, I am definitely a fan!

Pete

Pete - I am off all week, not sure when/if I will be boiling but if you want to stop by even when I'm not boiling give me a shout!

[crzypete]

Oh cool, I'll send you a DM. I should be able to sneak off tomorrow if that works?

Pete

[MRFNY]

Oh cool, I'll send you a DM. I should be able to sneak off tomorrow if that works?

Pete

Cool, just replied!

[crzypete]

I had a great visit with MRFNY yesterday. Really great set-up! Definitely like watching the next level of insanity descend upon me....... Thanks for the tour!

Pete

[MRFNY]

I had a great visit with MRFNY yesterday. Really great set-up! Definitely like watching the next level of insanity descend upon me....... Thanks for the tour!

Pete

Great meeting you Pete and thank you for the kind words. Looking forward to seeing your set up as well!

[MRFNY]

Still chugging along. collected 52 gallons yesterday around 3:30 and trees were still dripping pretty good. Boiled it and got a nice draw off. Flavor is still excellent!

[MRFNY]

Just took a walk and checked some buckets, they must have run all night. Should get 1 gpt today

[crzypete]

It's still going here. Collected almost 60 gallons from my 42 taps last night and am cooking today! Batch 7 for me

Pete

[crzypete]

Made another 5+ quarts today. I'm happy. It feels like I may be done for the year. just under 8.5 gallons for the year from 48 taps, but I'm rounding up and calling it 8.5.

Pete

[MRFNY]

Made another 5+ quarts today. I'm happy. It feels like I may be done for the year. just under 8.5 gallons for the year from 48 taps, but I'm rounding up and calling it 8.5.

Pete

Nice job Pete! Will most likely be my last boil today, should end up with 16-18 gallons once we bottle the last batch. I'll take it since it was looking like a single digit year for a while!

Now the dreaded clean up process

[MRFNY]

Collected 45 gallons today and boiled a total 70 gallons (some left from yesterday). Two draw offs and season is done. Will bottle next weekend and should finish the year with 17-18 gallons. TIRED!

[nutsy]

We have 100 gals. of FREE SAP today if anyone is interested, Western Fulton County, Town of Oppenheim. Ran out of wood, hate when that happens.

[sugarman3]

nutsy ,were you located,i am in ephratah on mud road,glad to take it off your hands even pay ya the going price if you can delivery

[MRFNY]

Last bottling of the season today. Bottled 5 gallons to finish the season with just shy of 18 gallons, so calling it 18 gallons! Not bad after how it was looking for a while there

[crzypete]

That's a nice season MRFNY! I believe you are quite close to a quart per tree? I was off from that and we are so close, so odd all the micro climates. I have been slowly getting everything cleaned and put away. It's been a stop and go process where the buckets were finally dry today and I stacked them. I ran the evaporator with vinegar in my pan today too. I already miss sugar season. The trees look naked without their buckets.

Pete

[MRFNY]

That's a nice season MRFNY! I believe you are quite close to a quart per tree? I was off from that and we are so close, so odd all the micro climates. I have been slowly getting everything cleaned and put away. It's been a stop and go process where the buckets were finally dry today and I stacked them. I ran the evaporator with vinegar in my pan today too. I already miss sugar season. The trees look naked without their buckets.

Pete

Thank you! Yeah right about a quart per tree. I'm doing the same with the clean-up process. Buckets, lids and taps are done. Evaporator and collection/storage tanks will be taken care of this weekend.

I drive by a wooded lot on my way to work every morning, buckets still hanging from the trees. Sure hope the owners pull the taps soon!

[ADK_XJ]

Hello, all - what are folks thinking about the season ahead? I put a new set of lines in and ran all the way to the base of our woods for collection this year so I am entertaining tapping a bit earlier than my usual President's Day weekend to see if i collect any early runs.

Hoping for a good year but worried about the weather...it's early yet.

[MRFNY]

Hey ADK! I'm a little worried about the season as well, but like you said it is still early. Extended forecast looks fairly warm, hopefully mother nature cooperates this year.

Made one improvement to the sugar house this summer. Replaced the old galvanized roof jack and pipe on the roof with all new stainless steel. Stack is 100% stainless inside and out now. I might add one more 3' section on the roof though.

[eseerup]

Pre Season update.
We're gearing up for the season. Added 150ft to driveway and installed culvert to make a horseshoe driveway for maple weekend parking. Ditched the shurflow and 3/16 replaced with 5/16 and mainline, overall added 1000ft of main Adding another 100+ taps. In the process of upgrading the RO, plan on replacing the procon with a used 5hp Gould's multistage pressure pump and adding a membrane. Built a 12x24 addition( that needs finishing) for the evaporator to have its own area. We'll see how far we get tidying and finishing before the season kicks off.

[Pdiamond]

Great to hear, growig ,growing, but never done it seems. That is the way I look at it.

[ADK_XJ]

Pre Season update.
We're gearing up for the season. Added 150ft to driveway and installed culvert to make a horseshoe driveway for maple weekend parking. Ditched the shurflow and 3/16 replaced with 5/16 and mainline, overall added 1000ft of main Adding another 100+ taps. In the process of upgrading the RO, plan on replacing the procon with a used 5hp Gould's multistage pressure pump and adding a membrane. Built a 12x24 addition( that needs finishing) for the evaporator to have its own area. We'll see how far we get tidying and finishing before the season kicks off.

Out of curiosity, why did you make the switch from 3/16 to 5/16?

[eseerup]

Out of curiosity, why did you make the switch from 3/16 to 5/16?
Simply put From a business aspect it doesn't make sense for us. We successfully have retailed every drop and there is more demand. We watch profit margins And hours spent.

More continuous vacuum at the tap every tap will get whatever I set the pump at. 3/16 was clogging, 5/16 laterals are easier maintenance. Less walking checking for leaks. Seems like twigs take down every line of 3/16 every year I'm redoing them. Branches lay on the 5/16 and you just pick the branch off. The mainline is also obviously more robust. It's cheaper and more productive to do mainline than make multiple long runs of 3/16. I can have a leak with the larger pump and it doesn't effect the whole system like a shurflow or even when on natural vac. You also dont lose all vac or sap if a 5 tap lateral goes down.. with 3/16 you loose what's on that line then lower vac on the rest of the shurflow. Consolidated only one pump to worry about. Streamline all fittings and drops. One tool one supply of "tubing" for repairs and drops one supply of fittings and taps.
With three kids time is more important... all under the age of 3.5 I can hop on a quad or sled drive down the mainline and check for leaks (vac gauges and ball valves)instead of checking thousands of feet of 3/16 on foot for a pihole or hollow tree etc

[sugarman3]

hello, all - what are folks thinking about the season ahead? I put a new set of lines in and ran all the way to the base of our woods for collection this year so i am entertaining tapping a bit earlier than my usual president's day weekend to see if i collect any early runs.

Hoping for a good year but worried about the weather...it's early yet.
winter will come,but it will be short,we will tap as usual,presidents weekend

[ADK_XJ]

Long range forecast looks right to keep my mid-to-late tapping plan in place. I may put up a string of check valve taps on the new 3/16 runs to see if they really do extend the season, otherwise it's my SS spouts from SmokyLake for everything else!

[Trevor5]

I am wishing I at least hung my lines up before the freezing temps this weekend, so all that was left is to drill holes when the weather starts to look right. I am sure I have missed out on some flows, but that is way to early in the season, not in the syrup mindset yet, especially with it being for "fun".

[MRFNY]

I think I might tap on Saturday. I'm on buckets....should I go for it or wait?

[tobrien]

I think I might tap on Saturday. I'm on buckets....should I go for it or wait? I'm in Galway. It looks favorable. Just hesitant to pull the trigger.

[ADK_XJ]

I think I might tap on Saturday. I'm on buckets....should I go for it or wait? Just keep in mind you basically start the clock on your season when you tap and you never know if you're pre-empting a short year or cutting off a long one!

[MRFNY]

I'm in Galway. It looks favorable. Just hesitant to pull the trigger.

I know! I've tapped this early in previous years which is why I am thinking I'll give it a go, but looking at my notes from each year there always seems to be a long cold spell in-between.

[MRFNY]

Just keep in mind you basically start the clock on your season when you tap and you never know if you're pre-empting a short year or cutting off a long one!

Ugh I know. Decisions decisions!

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Western Albany County here. I am considering doing my taps on tubing this weekend as the forecast is looking good and hold off on my buckets until later in the season. I trimmed some branches the other day and there were sapcicles hanging off them yesterday and it was only 34 and not even sunny out. I dont typically tap until the end of February and usually get a stretch of cold weather splitting up the season some but havent had any issues. I am lucky in the fact that i only currently tap about 20% of my trees so if this ends up being a failure i can always tap different trees if the season goes long.

The weather this winter has got me worrying about a warm march, but who knows we might end up going well into April this year? A few years back i was still boiling sap on April 20th.

[Eberzin]

Running great today. Typically, anytime I tapped around Valentines Day my taps never dried up. My friend on tubing has started tapping this past Sunday. He will finish by next week sometime. He catches the late season without any issues.

[sugarman3]

Well i usually tap around Presidents weekend ,but with this some what open winter,i will start tapping this coming Monday

[Mr. Bucketsworth]

I’m on buckets as well. Going to roll the dice and tap on Sunday. I’m just south of Lake George.

[crzypete]

Sunday is looking like the day for me, but I'll continue to watch the forecast. If they drop it a few degrees I may postpone. I'm also in Galway- about 800 feet of elevation and on buckets. 6 weeks is toward the end of march and that's pretty alright. I think I'd rather trade some early light for late season dark, so it seems like a good gamble.

My son tells me we need to exceed 50 taps this year, so I guess it's time for a new personal best.

Pete

[MRFNY]

I think I might roll the dice on Sunday as well. Saturday looks pretty chilly, so I think we'll warm up the sugar house and give that a cleaning and set up the evaporator.

[MRFNY]

Took a look at my notes from each year since 2018 and here are the dates we tapped:

2018 - 2/11 (February was pretty good)
2019 - 2/17 (Definitely tapped too early, but had no impact on overall season)
2020 - 2/1 (Not a great February but enough to get the pan sugared before an awesome early March run)
2021 - 2/27 (a pretty quick, short season. Pulled taps on 3/24)
2022 - 2/12 (two decent runs in February got the pan sugared then there was a fairly long lull until 3/11 before a pretty good rest of March. Again, the lull didn't impact the overall year from what I can tell)

[crzypete]

MRFNY, thanks for the notes. It's nice to see it all written down, I have been meaning to go back and review photos to see my seasons tap dates, but have never undertaken the task and it gets more and more cumbersome with every season. Maybe this will be the year!

I pulled out all of my gear today. Cleaned a bunch of stainless taps that I had stupidly left in water all year. Found all the buckets I could. I am definitely tapping tomorrow.

Hoping for a great season for everyone!!!!!

Pete

[ADK_XJ]

Tapped my lines today, the sugars in the sun were running but the shady ones and any reds were dry...tomorrow they'll probably all be ripping.

[MRFNY]

MRFNY, thanks for the notes. It's nice to see it all written down, I have been meaning to go back and review photos to see my seasons tap dates, but have never undertaken the task and it gets more and more cumbersome with every season. Maybe this will be the year!

I pulled out all of my gear today. Cleaned a bunch of stainless taps that I had stupidly left in water all year. Found all the buckets I could. I am definitely tapping tomorrow.

Hoping for a great season for everyone!!!!!

Pete

No problem! Have a great season Pete. Hopefully this year I can come see your operation!

[MRFNY]

Tapped my lines today, the sugars in the sun were running but the shady ones and any reds were dry...tomorrow they'll probably all be ripping.

I put in 45 taps yesterday and every tree was running. My best sugar maple, which gets a lot of sun was pretty much a steady stream and each bucket had an inch to inch and a half in it a couple hours after tapping it. My reds in the sun were dripping fast too.

[ADK_XJ]

I put in 45 taps yesterday and every tree was running. My best sugar maple, which gets a lot of sun was pretty much a steady stream and each bucket had an inch to inch and a half in it a couple hours after tapping it. My reds in the sun were dripping fast too. Nice! Glad to hear yours were all running, the portion of our woods where I run lines has a lot of hemlock mixed in and that shades the trees, at least the base of them.

[MRFNY]

Nice! Glad to hear yours were all running, the portion of our woods where I run lines has a lot of hemlock mixed in and that shades the trees, at least the base of them.

Yeah it was nice to see. Heading out soon to put in the remaining 45 or so taps and get the evaporator set up.

[MRFNY]

Wow, pretty good day! Put in 55 more taps to make it an even 100 for this year. Our "money tree" was dripping the fastest I have ever seen. We'll most likely have to go out and dump those buckets into our collection buckets for the night to prevent overflow. I anticipate boiling Tuesday after work.

[crzypete]

I got 36 trees tapped today. Will tap a few more tomorrow AM. Sap was dripping as fast as I've seen it from my best early tree. Bucket was 2" from the top at the end of the day- 2.5 gallon bucket. Cold tonight and hopefully more flow tomorrow. I'm Thinking Tuesday will be a boil day as well. MRFNY, would love to have you over this season!

Pete

[Trevor5]

Tapped most of my trees yesterday, around 40 taps I think (really should count them). Trees were flowing well, set the main line into the storage container about 3pm and collected about 15 gallons before they shut off. Things should really flow today.

[MRFNY]

My better half works from home so she was checking buckets today. Had some overflowing and many others about an inch from the top. Good but not good from a storage and long nights after work boiling point of view. lol

[crzypete]

We emptied buckets this morning. 30 gallons from the 36 taps put in yesterday. I added another 13 taps this morning. Up to 49 now. Was hoping my 10yo would tap a couple more with me (he's missed all the tapping this year), but he said I should tap another without him to get to 50.

Looks like another good day today. Tonight is not supposed to get below freezing. It will be interesting to see if it runs through the night and what we get tomorrow.

Pete

[MRFNY]

Crazy night tonight! Collected 148 gallons and probably had another 30 or so in buckets on the remaining trees that weren't in danger of overflowing. We did have quite a few buckets spilling over today! Boiled around 60 gallons and called it a night. I think we're getting a freeze tonight so tomorrow could bring another decent run, then it looks like we'll have a few days to catch up on boiling. Our pan will be sugared by tomorrow!



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[Trevor5]

I had an overflowing storage can when I got home from work yesterday and almost filled another can (32 gallons each) overnight and it was still running this morning.

[ADK_XJ]

I had an overflowing storage can when I got home from work yesterday and almost filled another can (32 gallons each) overnight and it was still running this morning. Nice! The IBC tote I plumbed into our new 3/16 lines was 1/3 full this morning when I checked and I would imagine will fill up by week's end.

[MRFNY]

Is this late March? lol. Man this has been crazy. We're battling to maintain some storage space for the next day's collection. Had to leave a lot in the buckets tonight, emptied the ones that were half full or more to prevent possible overflow again tomorrow. Pan is pretty much sugared already and should be doing the first draw-off of 2023 on 2/15!

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

I ended up tapping my two tubing runs Thursday night 2/9, a total of 45 taps on 5/16 gravity. I boiled 60 gallons Saturday, 70 gallons Monday, and 50 gallons Tuesday. So far i have bottled 3.25 gallons of Amber syrup (69-72% transmissivity). Only had a few hours of below freezing temps last night between 7pm-midnight, so not sure if i am going to get much sap to boil today. Its looking like things will be too warm until we get a solid freeze again Friday night and then hopefully Saturday, Sunday, Monday will be good flow days. Based on past experience I probably have about 1 gallon of syrup "trapped" in my continuous flow pans so that jives with the 180 gallons ive collected being at around that 40:1 2% sugar content. Ive never invested in a sap hydrometer, should probably do so one of these days.
Pic of my oil tank evaporator and sap hauler: 22881

[ADK_XJ]

I ended up tapping my two tubing runs Thursday night 2/9, a total of 45 taps on 5/16 gravity. I boiled 60 gallons Saturday, 70 gallons Monday, and 50 gallons Tuesday. So far i have bottled 3.25 gallons of Amber syrup (69-72% transmissivity). Only had a few hours of below freezing temps last night between 7pm-midnight, so not sure if i am going to get much sap to boil today. Its looking like things will be too warm until we get a solid freeze again Friday night and then hopefully Saturday, Sunday, Monday will be good flow days. Based on past experience I probably have about 1 gallon of syrup "trapped" in my continuous flow pans so that jives with the 180 gallons ive collected being at around that 40:1 2% sugar content. Ive never invested in a sap hydrometer, should probably do so one of these days.
Pic of my oil tank evaporator and sap hauler: 22881 Very nice, love the side by side and the update on sapping...we have almost the same about of sap in our main IBC tote and will be tapping our remaining 3/16 runs along with 50 buckets this weekend.

[MRFNY]

Two draw-offs tonight, put about 3 gallons into the finishing tank. Still have about 80 gallons of sap in the storage tanks to boil so it'll be nice getting a break from collecting until the weekend.

[Pdiamond]

The Heldeberg Sapper
I like how you have that set up on wheels, then roll it out each time you boil. Isn't it a pain setting up the stack?

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

The Heldeberg Sapper
I like how you have that set up on wheels, then roll it out each time you boil. Isn't it a pain setting up the stack?
I try and keep it setup as long as the weather looks good and it doesnt rain or anything. I have threaded rods with nuts welded on and i use an impact so i can level it off really quickly. I can have it out and setup ready to go in about 5-10 minutes. Ive had it setup since Saturday which was nice. I got 25 gallons of sap yesterday, boiled that down and then brought the evaporator inside because of the rain that is supposed to come tonight. Its looking like Sat-Wed will be good sap days with a nice solid freeze Friday night. In regards to the stack, the base stack and support stays mounted to the unit and i have the (4) 2' long pipes screwed together and i just pop it onto the base stack with a 4' ladder. Theres a piece of wire that i leave attached and kind of wrap it down to the evaporator itself, doesnt really do much but ive never had any problems even on moderately windy days. A sugar shack someday would be nice so i dont have to move the thing around all the time, ill keep dreaming for now.

[eseerup]

Run stopped today. Good start to the season tapped last Saturday and have made over 45 gallons so far. A few(5) hundred left to process tomorrow.

[Pdiamond]

OH yeah, It's so nice being inside on those nasty days boiling out of the weather. I did that the first year, and said screw this. been inside ever since.

[MRFNY]

I'm whooped, lol. Finally finished boiling what we had stored tonight. Have about 7.5 gallons in the finishing tank which we'll bottle tomorrow to make room for the next run. Had to dump about 45 gallons out of the buckets we had to leave due to lack of storage space. Didn't want to risk it with the warm temps we had.

[ADK_XJ]

Tapped in 50 buckets and the rest of our tubing lines yesterday - boiled down 150 gallons of first run and sweetened the pans, here we go!

[Aslowrie]

New to this thread, but have been mapling since 2016. First in Charlton and this year for the first time on my new property up in Milton. 15 taps this year and first time running an RO system. It's been a good start to the year so far.

[MRFNY]

Another great February day today! Collected 125 gallons of sap and trees were still dripping good at 6 PM. Added another 1.5 gallons to the finishing tank tonight with still about 70 gallons to boil tomorrow. Not sure if they will run tomorrow, cloudy and showers looks like. Looks to be an extended cold spell after Tuesday, should be a nice reset for the trees.

[crzypete]

It's been a good season so far. Hard to believe we are still in February. I have made 4 gallons so far which is almost half of last years output, and there is still sap that is needing to be boiled. Going to max out my firewood reserves for sure!

Pete

[ADK_XJ]

It's been a good season so far. Hard to believe we are still in February. I have made 4 gallons so far which is almost half of last years output, and there is still sap that is needing to be boiled. Going to max out my firewood reserves for sure!

Pete congrats! Yeah, it's been a great start here, too!

[ADK_XJ]

Finishing my first big batch from the weekend, looking like about 3-4 gallons!

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[MRFNY]

It's been a good season so far. Hard to believe we are still in February. I have made 4 gallons so far which is almost half of last years output, and there is still sap that is needing to be boiled. Going to max out my firewood reserves for sure!

Pete

I hear ya! We're going to do our second bottling this weekend which should put us at 13 gallons so far for the season. We typically average about 18 gallons, some due to mother nature some due to us getting tired and calling it a season when it get toward the end of March. What an awesome run it's been for February though! Glad to see some snow tonight, just doesn't feel the same collecting and boiling with no white stuff on the ground

[MRFNY]

Finishing my first big batch from the weekend, looking like about 3-4 gallons!

22930

Looking great ADK_XJ!

[sugarman3]

Weather sure is funny,we are way ahead of last yr,1st boil was march11-431 gal syrup- this year feb 13 made 145 gal already-hoping for a great season

[ADK_XJ]

Filtered everything down and bottled, by far the cleanest syrup I've ever made (i.e. virtually nothing gunking up the filter cone) and came out a beautiful copper color for this first run. My family all agreed it was the best tasting we've ever had from our own trees, very buttery:

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[eseerup]

Weather sure is funny,we are way ahead of last yr,1st boil was march11-431 gal syrup- this year feb 13 made 145 gal already-hoping for a great season
If the weather pattern continues it should be a good year, warm cold every other week. We've been lucky enough to make almost half of what we did last year already.

[MRFNY]

Bottled 5 gallons today, put us at 11.5 gallons so far for the year.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Havent had any sap since 2/22 but am glad i tapped on the 9th as i made just over 7 gallons of Amber on my 45 taps which isnt too shabby. I finished off the sweet in my divided pans and cleaned the pans up, was starting to get a lot of bubbles towards the end in the my syrup channel which i always assumed to be because of niter buildup. Trees are looking like they will stay frozen for a while and we finally have some decent snow for snowmobiling, so im not complaining. Curious to see how the rest of the year goes and if i feel inclined to put out some pales on drops to up my season totals.

[ADK_XJ]

Havent had any sap since 2/22 but am glad i tapped on the 9th as i made just over 7 gallons of Amber on my 45 taps which isnt too shabby. I finished off the sweet in my divided pans and cleaned the pans up, was starting to get a lot of bubbles towards the end in the my syrup channel which i always assumed to be because of niter buildup. Trees are looking like they will stay frozen for a while and we finally have some decent snow for snowmobiling, so im not complaining. Curious to see how the rest of the year goes and if i feel inclined to put out some pales on drops to up my season totals.

I'll say, considering the average season yield per tap is like .25-.35 gallons, you're doing great.

[ADK_XJ]

That hard freeze last week really slowed things down here this week and I had to do some strategic thawing with the help of a neighbor's Buddy heater but made another two gallons this week of some nice amber. Tubing lines were barely running today but buckets in the sun - should be the name of a maple-based cover band - were going pretty steady.

This storm coming up may stall things further but should be good for the season long term.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

I'll say, considering the average season yield per tap is like .25-.35 gallons, you're doing great.
Yeah im lucky in the fact that half of my maple trees are running along an old stone wall fence with southern exposure to a hay field so they produce really well. I always figure .33GPT per year but have exceeded that the past few years. I should get a sap hydrometer one of these days but i tend to be around that 40:1 ratio for the most part.

I was surprised to come home to about 25 gallons of sap yesterday, unfortunately i am away this weekend and wont be able to boil until Monday night or Tuesday. Hopefully the sap stays as its supposed to remain fairly cold. its looking like Monday might be a good day for more sap as well. If the sap looks questionable i might end up dumping it as im pretty far ahead this year. I have to resweeten my pans anyways and then its looking cold for the next week or two. Will wait and see how things pan out.

[MRFNY]

Wasn't expecting to collect 120 gallons of sap after work today, but we did! Going to be a nice couple of days boiling on the weekend finally and not after work until late at night.

[MRFNY]

Pic of the bottle options we have this year
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[MRFNY]

Holy smokes this has been insane. Got the "Gordie Howe hat trick" of sugaring today. Boiled 100 gallons this morning into early afternoon. Had to make room in the finishing tank so we bottled, then of course had to collect 100 gallons of sap after that. Already at 18 gallons for the season which matches last year's total.

[ADK_XJ]

Huge day here...filled an entire IBC tote with sap by early afternoon and it was ripping down the lines when we did!

[Aslowrie]

Big weekend for me. I was out of town Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and came home to a bunch of fairly full buckets with one overflowing this morning (~14+ gallons). Looks like we were running through the snowstorm. Sap was flowing today pretty well too, I had 4 more gallons of sap after just a few hours. Spent this evening concentrating it with the RO to go I to the freezer until I can get a boil.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Got home yesterday afternoon after being away Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning and my two 55 gallon collection barrels were overflowing (but only a couple hours im thinking based on the amount of melted of snow underneath the barrels. Seems like everyone had a really good weekend. Was able to re-sweeten my pans but had a scorching incident on my syrup pan and had to shut down the rig and clean, luckily it wasn't catastrophic.

[Aslowrie]

Anyone else have a huge day today? Even the buckets on my low producers were pretty full, and my high producers were overflowing.

[MRFNY]

Anyone else have a huge day today? Even the buckets on my low producers were pretty full, and my high producers were overflowing.

Oh yeah! Collected 180 gallons last night. Quite a few overflowing as well. I'm currently out of storage space until I can get some boiling done tonight. Today should be a good run too.

[Aslowrie]

Oh yeah! Collected 180 gallons last night. Quite a few overflowing as well. I'm currently out of storage space until I can get some boiling done tonight. Today should be a good run too.

Ya, much of this week looks like it could be ideal. I think this weekend may be my biggest boil of the year so far, but need to get through my RO backlog today first.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

I only picked up 10 gallons yesterday from my 47 taps (technically only from my one line that has 23 taps). It never got above 35 degrees and the only trees that ran were in direct sunlight in the evening hours. I am at 1500' elevation so that tends to keep things a bit cool, long term forecast for me is a lot of high 30s for next week and the following week looks like some 40s. Should be slow overall next 7 days unless things warm up a tad but should have enough for a quick boil or two. Lots of snow still, about 16" of base in the woods and supposed to pick up another 2-4 tonight. Then possible big storm early next week.

Side note after my scorching incident on Monday i ended up boiling the remaining sap on Wednesday and ended up making my first batch of Golden Delicate ever (well since i went wood fired anyways i might have made a micro batch back in the day on propane).

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[Trevor5]

Every day this week my storage bin at the end of my line has been overflowing. After today I should have 130 gallons waiting to be boiled, plus what is sweetened in the pan from a short 30 gallon boil on Wednesday. I have no idea how much pours out on the ground from overflow while I am at work, I guess it is time to upgrade my storage container size.

[crzypete]

Its been a great season so far. I've made 8 gallons and have maxed out my storage bins for the next boil already. Last year I only made 8.5. Should pass that next session. These crazy days have got me really wanting to get into reverse osmosis. 50 trees is just maxing out my wood supply and my time.

Pete

[MRFNY]

Decided to break the property record of 34 gallons set in 2013 by the previous owners, should end up with 36 or so gallons on 100 taps. Went through a lot of wood but have a lot of poplar that I can split and have dried out before next season. Unbelievable season so far!

[crzypete]

That's awesome MRFNY! Since I am exactly half as many trees tapped as you and am just a few miles away, I would make 18 gallons at that rate, I can't even imagine! I passed 10 gallons tonight with a boil yesterday and today. Still have sap on hand needing to be cooked. I'm scrounging for wood. Went through my pile of wrist sized splits and have burned at least 25 pallets. Cleaned my shop of all my scraps too. My cabinetmaker friend brings me a bin every year, still need to hit him up!

Epic season! Definitely going to be making more.

Pete

[MRFNY]

That's awesome MRFNY! Since I am exactly half as many trees tapped as you and am just a few miles away, I would make 18 gallons at that rate, I can't even imagine! I passed 10 gallons tonight with a boil yesterday and today. Still have sap on hand needing to be cooked. I'm scrounging for wood. Went through my pile of wrist sized splits and have burned at least 25 pallets. Cleaned my shop of all my scraps too. My cabinetmaker friend brings me a bin every year, still need to hit him up!

Epic season! Definitely going to be making more.

Pete

Thank you! You're having a great season as well, hoping I can get up to see your operation before you close up shop. As soon as we break the record I'm pulling the taps so if you keep going I'll definitely plan on stopping by if that works for you!

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Just made 2.25 gallons of really tasty golden delicate syrup yesterday from sap that accumulated Thursday to Sunday. Its gotta be some of the best syrup i have ever made, the trees are really liking the moisture from all the snow and the really large temp swings ive been having (11F Sunday morning and 41F during the afternoon). Like others have mentioned this has been a bumper crop this year, i typically am just getting things going this time of year and ive already made about 70% of my expected crop. The long term weather is looking awesome for the next couple week or two as well. I am afraid this year will be cut short by wood supply rather than sap supply.

[crzypete]

Thank you! You're having a great season as well, hoping I can get up to see your operation before you close up shop. As soon as we break the record I'm pulling the taps so if you keep going I'll definitely plan on stopping by if that works for you!

Would love to have you by! I'll boil for as long as I can scrounge wood and as long as I'm having fun and making good syrup! (Lotta factors there I guess)

Pete

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

How did everyone make out from the big storm? I got 35" of snow at my house on top of the 12-20" base i already had. I will be doing a boil this afternoon from sap collected since my last boil on Sunday. I still have to get a path to my wood pile, which will be a chore. I typically use the side by side or little hand wagon to get wood but its looking like many trips with the jet sled will be required instead. Ill take all this snow over mud though at least for now, we shall see how long it lasts. The 10 day forecast is looking prime for sap flow.

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[crzypete]

Weird storm. I got maybe 6-8", but my moms house- 8 minutes away got over 12" and others got absolutely bombed like you. I'm in East Galway and my mom is in Middle Grove. So glad we didn't get 35"!!!!!

Pete

[MRFNY]

Last boil of the season for Maple Ridge Farm. Finished with 35 gallons, a new property record! Niter was getting really bad the last few boils, anyone else experience the same? Now the dreaded clean up then on to splitting wood!

[crzypete]

Last boil of the season for Maple Ridge Farm. Finished with 35 gallons, a new property record! Niter was getting really bad the last few boils, anyone else experience the same? Now the dreaded clean up then on to splitting wood!

Congrats! That is an epic season!

We boiled today, another 6.5 quarts in the bank. 12.75 gallons on the year so far. Lots of niter today, but it was being caught by the pre filters and going through the felt filter just fine, so wasn't a big deal when bottling.

I am planning at least one more boil next weekend. Might do another this week just to reduce the sap before the warm weather.

I added a more powerful blower to my rig and really experienced the difference today. Achieved 16GPH evaporation rate and it was boiling with a fury I have not experienced before. I knew my old blower was not powerful enough, but not sure I expected this much improvement.

Pete

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

I've been having a lot of sugar sand this year as well. In fact i will be draining and cleaning the syrup pan tonight as there was a caked on crust on the bottom of the pan that i noticed during my last boil which was causing a lot of foaming. Filtering has been a pain as always but not horrible. I have two Orlon cones that i swap between once one clogs and filter directly off of the evaporator with them. On Saturday i finally tried the trick where you invert the center of the cone inside itself to get more surface area and it actually made a big difference in how long the prefilters and cone was lasting.

So I had boiled on Thursday night last week and on Saturday I ended up boiling 120 gallons of sap that was collected from after boiling Thursday till Saturday afternoon. The sap was flowing like crazy on Friday, definitely the biggest single run I've ever had, plus i ended up making just shy of 3.5 gallons of syrup from that run so the sap was nice and sweet.

Currently i am at around 14 gallons of syrup to date on my 47 taps on 5/16 gravity tubing and the weather is looking great for the 10 day forecast. its looking like Ill be running out of wood before i run out sap, i was worried about this year but its turned out to have been a great year so far.

[MRFNY]

Congrats! That is an epic season!

We boiled today, another 6.5 quarts in the bank. 12.75 gallons on the year so far. Lots of niter today, but it was being caught by the pre filters and going through the felt filter just fine, so wasn't a big deal when bottling.

I am planning at least one more boil next weekend. Might do another this week just to reduce the sap before the warm weather.

I added a more powerful blower to my rig and really experienced the difference today. Achieved 16GPH evaporation rate and it was boiling with a fury I have not experienced before. I knew my old blower was not powerful enough, but not sure I expected this much improvement.

Pete

Thanks Pete! Congrats to you on a nice season as well! I'm definitely not going to attempt 35 gallons again, lol

[MRFNY]

I've been having a lot of sugar sand this year as well. In fact i will be draining and cleaning the syrup pan tonight as there was a caked on crust on the bottom of the pan that i noticed during my last boil which was causing a lot of foaming. Filtering has been a pain as always but not horrible. I have two Orlon cones that i swap between once one clogs and filter directly off of the evaporator with them. On Saturday i finally tried the trick where you invert the center of the cone inside itself to get more surface area and it actually made a big difference in how long the prefilters and cone was lasting.

So I had boiled on Thursday night last week and on Saturday I ended up boiling 120 gallons of sap that was collected from after boiling Thursday till Saturday afternoon. The sap was flowing like crazy on Friday, definitely the biggest single run I've ever had, plus i ended up making just shy of 3.5 gallons of syrup from that run so the sap was nice and sweet.

Currently i am at around 14 gallons of syrup to date on my 47 taps on 5/16 gravity tubing and the weather is looking great for the 10 day forecast. its looking like Ill be running out of wood before i run out sap, i was worried about this year but its turned out to have been a great year so far.

I had the same issue in my pan which started just a few boils ago. Cleaned the pan, next boil went great until the first draw off then immediately noticed a decrease in boil rate and more foam in the syrup side of the pan.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

I had the same issue in my pan which started just a few boils ago. Cleaned the pan, next boil went great until the first draw off then immediately noticed a decrease in boil rate and more foam in the syrup side of the pan.

Yeah on Saturday for my 120gallon boil i was only averaging 15gph while i usually get 20gph easily. In hind sight if i had known i woulda cleaned the pan before the boil and woulda saved time overall. Oh well live an learn, i didnt notice the nitre cake until the fire was already going.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

So i ended up cleaning the pans partially on Monday and finished cleaning yesterday after a nice soak in vinegar. The syrup channel of my syrup pan had such a thick layer of niter cake build up on it, it was a nightmare to clean. Ive never had that happen before, the pan has been previously scorched there so i think that is part of the problem along with tons of sugar sand this year. Its looking like i will have to monitor this better and clean it before it gets that bad again. In the off season i am going to see if i can polish the bottom of the channel to get the surface a little better. I also will rotate the pan and put that channel on the intake side from the back pan. I also cleaned the soot off the bottom of both pans and the rig is running much better now. I am back to my 20gph and no foaming in the syrup pan.

Sap is still flowing really well, i collected 90 gallons yesterday and boiled down 60 of them. The rest of the sap is sitting in a snowbank to be boiled today. This morning it was 29 degrees so will see if i get any sap today. Its been a great season so far but i am getting tired. Might throw in the towel this weekend, we shall see. Once the snow is gone and the mud comes that might be my reason to end.

[Trevor5]

Sap is still flowing in Porter Corners, but I am out of firewood, the last boil I did I had to push down dead dried trees and drag them up to the evaporator and cut them up with the chainsaw and split what was too big for a fast burn. Too much work through in the towel after a weekend of that. Giving any more collected sap away to a buddy.

37 taps on 5/16 tubing
just over 6 gallons of syrup on the year, easily could have been 10 gallons if I started earlier when the sap first started to flow, probably missed 2 weeks maybe more, and if I continued to boil what I am collecting.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Sap is still flowing in Porter Corners, but I am out of firewood, the last boil I did I had to push down dead dried trees and drag them up to the evaporator and cut them up with the chainsaw and split what was too big for a fast burn. Too much work through in the towel after a weekend of that. Giving any more collected sap away to a buddy.

37 taps on 5/16 tubing
just over 6 gallons of syrup on the year, easily could have been 10 gallons if I started earlier when the sap first started to flow, probably missed 2 weeks maybe more, and if I continued to boil what I am collecting.

That was me last year, i ran out of wood and had to start cutting up standing dead trees on the property. Luckily still had snow so was able to use snowmobile to haul the wood out (this was prior to getting my side by side). I tapped on 2/9 this year which was a solid 2 weeks earlier than usual. A few years back i had my last boil on 4/20.

[Trevor5]

That was me last year, i ran out of wood and had to start cutting up standing dead trees on the property. Luckily still had snow so was able to use snowmobile to haul the wood out (this was prior to getting my side by side). I tapped on 2/9 this year which was a solid 2 weeks earlier than usual. A few years back i had my last boil on 4/20.

I had snow, but only manpower and a 12 yr old daughter power to drag wood, she even helped split some wood! One weekend of trudging through the snow was enough for me. I tapped 2/11 which was only one week early, but I think the season really started in my area a few weeks prior to that. My last boil is normally around the first weekend of April. With how much snow I still have I would have been able to keep my storage cans cold for a few more weeks easily.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

I threw in the towel Friday night, was a great season overall for me considering how early I was able to tap. Ended up with 19.5 gallons of syrup on 47 gravity tubing taps. I only expect to make 15-16 gallons or so. The weather is still looking great for the next week or so and trees havent budded yet. I didnt pull taps but stopped collecting in my barrels and all day yesterday and Saturday they were still flowing like crazy, just didnt have it in me to keep going. I still have syrup left over from last year so no real incentive to kill myself and keep going.

I hope everyone else ended on a high note as well!

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

So i havent physically pulled the taps yet, just my collection barrels and the sap has been flowing like crazy all of last week. If i hadnt given up last week i am thinking today would be the last real day of the season for me. I probably gave up a few hundred gallons of sap over the past week. This is just a hobby for me so while i am sad i dont feel too bad as i still have syrup left over from last year and the year before haha. I do sell some by word of mouth, but need to put more effort into that this year.

The buds on the trees are starting to swell quite a bit and im curious if they will pop this week with the project warm days and no more freezing nights till the weekend.

[sugarman3]

Good for you sapper

[MRFNY]

Hello All,

Surprised there hasn't been any posting activity this year so far! Weather has been interesting, curious what it will mean for the 2024 season.

I purchased an RB15 RO system from RO Bucket this year. After last season I didn't want to go through the time and wood it took to make 35 gallons. Hopefully with an RO I'll WANT to make 35 gallons again, but without one there is now way I am interested in making that much!

For those using an RO, I'm curious how it impacts the boiling and the shut down of daily boils, if any? For example, without the RO i was comfortable doing a draw off from my 2X4 evaporator as long as I had at least 8-10 gallons of unconcentrated sap left. Will that change at all with a more concentrated sap?

[Ghs57]

On my 2x6 hybrid pan, I start to shut down when I have about 20 gallons left. My rig runs at about 35 gallons an hour. This usually works out well, with the head tank empty and a lower pan level than I normally run at. Next run will bring the pan back up to my operating level. This is not an exact science though, and takes some practice to zero in. You really have to know your rig and its boiling rate, cool down time, etc. I have doubled my RO capacity this year, so there may be some variation.

[MRFNY]

On my 2x6 hybrid pan, I start to shut down when I have about 20 gallons left. My rig runs at about 35 gallons an hour. This usually works out well, with the head tank empty and a lower pan level than I normally run at. Next run will bring the pan back up to my operating level. This is not an exact science though, and takes some practice to zero in. You really have to know your rig and its boiling rate, cool down time, etc. I have doubled my RO capacity this year, so there may be some variation.

Thank you for the info! I think I know my rig pretty well without the RO but I think I will need to plan on shutting down with a little more concentrated sap than I am used to. I always have 5 gallon buckets of water handy as well just in case I dont time it right. Thankfully I haven't had to do that! Knock on wood...

[ADK_XJ]

Hi all, we're approaching the start of another season one way or another...what are other folks thinking in terms of long-range forecast and tapping timeline? I've yet to have a year when I tap before Presidents' Day but it's late this year and of course this winter has been anything but winter'y.

The reality is I probably won't have my act together before Presidents' Day and all our "volunteers" in the neighborhood know that's when we usually go out, so that will likely still be the date...

[MRFNY]

Hi all, we're approaching the start of another season one way or another...what are other folks thinking in terms of long-range forecast and tapping timeline? I've yet to have a year when I tap before Presidents' Day but it's late this year and of course this winter has been anything but winter'y.

The reality is I probably won't have my act together before Presidents' Day and all our "volunteers" in the neighborhood know that's when we usually go out, so that will likely still be the date...

Probably holding off for a bit here in Charlton. It's tempting but I think the long range forecast gets cold and stays cold for a while. February 2023 was probably a fluke, at least I think it was!

[crzypete]

Hi all, checking in. Getting excited for another season. Days are getting longer. Currently Eying next Thursday as being a potential start, but will wait until we are closer and see the extended forecast from there. won't tap if it is just a couple of days of potential. I'm looking to do the same 50 taps as last year.

Pete

[MRFNY]

Hi all, checking in. Getting excited for another season. Days are getting longer. Currently Eying next Thursday as being a potential start, but will wait until we are closer and see the extended forecast from there. won't tap if it is just a couple of days of potential. I'm looking to do the same 50 taps as last year.

Pete

Hey Pete! Hope all is well! It was looking like we were going to tap soon but appears to be only one or two days of temps that would yield anything. There are a couple nights that won't get below freezing so I think we are going to hold off. After last year though, I'm not sure I even know! LOL

[Aslowrie]

I'm out of town next week and am going to check for forcast when I get home next weekend. I feel like I tapped to early last year and we got a cold spell, I regretted not waiting until presidents day.

That said, I cut a new trail in my woods and found trees for another 10+ taps, so I'm anxious :-).

[MRFNY]

I'm out of town next week and am going to check for forcast when I get home next weekend. I feel like I tapped to early last year and we got a cold spell, I regretted not waiting until presidents day.

That said, I cut a new trail in my woods and found trees for another 10+ taps, so I'm anxious :-).

I tapped on 2/11 and 2/12 last year and by 2/18 I had already bottled 6.5 gallons. That is crazy for me on 100 taps all on buckets!

[ADK_XJ]

Sounds like everyone is about on the same page as us, holding out for a bit longer to see how the temps shake out...right now the (extra) long-range forecast has some nights in the teens the week of the 12th but then it looks real good after President's Day on the 19th.

We're not adding any new lines this year but plan to rig up one of those small Shurflo pump type vacuum handlers for the 100 or so taps on 3/16th using our old RO pump and then I'm hoping to have a two-post 4x40 membrane RO put together by the time we have any serious sap.

That's the plan at least...

[MRFNY]

Buddy of mine a few miles from me tapped yesterday. Said his buckets were about 1/3 full after 3 hours. Looks like middle of this week could be a decent run for a couple of days but then the overnight temps dont get below freezing and then it appears we are in for a longer cold spell. I still think I'm going to hold off.

[MRFNY]

Got the RO set up and did the initial flush today. Few minor leaks on a couple connections but easy fix!

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Also holding off here in East Berne. Im sure the sap has been flowing decent the past week or so and it looks like this weekend would be solid. Have about 7" of snow on the ground up here but this winter has been anything but. Last year i tapped on 2/9 and made a lot of early syrup in Feb before things froze up again late Feb and early March and then opened back up again mid march. I am hoping the long term forecast is correct and the rest of Feb is on the colder side. I dont have a lot of firewood this year and ive still got syrup left from last year so while I really want to tap im going to hold off. My plan is to catch up on firewood for the home and syrup the next couple weeks. Hope everyone has a good season!

[sugarman3]

I am holding off till the middle of Feb,even using check valves on vacumn ,last year tapped early in Feb[6th] had some good weather at end of march,flows weren't as good as the taps that we did the 1st week of March,firm believer that after 50 yrs,tap holes last about 6 weeks,even with check valves

[Trevor5]

I will be holding off on tapping until at least presidents day weekend. Might even wait another week if this cold snap actually happens.

[ADK_XJ]

Just cleaned and sanitized all the buckets, think I may tap in those tomorrow with the kids before the SuperBowl. My tubing lines still need some work and a few sections need to be replaced so that may happen Presidents Day, as planned.

[Aslowrie]

I was thinking about starting to tap tomorrow as well. The long term forecast is still chilly, but it's starting to look a bit warmer. Getting harder and harder to wait :-).

[MRFNY]

Having a little regret for not tapping right now. Buddy of mine up the road is going to bottle around 7 gallons of syrup this weekend!

[Aslowrie]

Having a little regret for not tapping right now. Buddy of mine up the road is going to bottle around 7 gallons of syrup this weekend!

You just need to keep thinking "the late season syrup is the best"

[MRFNY]

You just need to keep thinking "the late season syrup is the best"

HAHA yup! I've also had buckets sit on trees for an extended period of time and not a fan of that so I'll look at it that way too!

[ADK_XJ]

We put in just shy of 100 taps on 3/16 tubing and repaired a few sections (mostly squirrel chews or trapped sap from last year that grew mold)...it was a beautiful day in the woods with my kids and neighbors, glad we got out there.

We decided to save our buckets for next weekend since those (open) spouts tend to shut off a bit sooner than the (sealed) tubing taps.

[MRFNY]

Tapping Friday!

[MRFNY]

Put in around 40 taps on Friday. Was pretty windy so I didn't want to go deep into the woods so I'll finish up today.

Tried posting some pictures but this site is absolutely terrible for posting photos and they wouldn't upload for some reason.

[Aslowrie]

I put mine in too, just 23 taps, but have plans for a few more after the threat of snow goes away (they are on a steep slope).

Probably will be slow for a few days, but looking forward to Wednesday.

[crzypete]

I'm looking at tapping Tuesday. Kids are home from school this week, so I'll have lots of labor to slow me down! Targeting the same 50 as last season, but maybe I need to add one more to make it a new personal record.

Pete

[MRFNY]

I'm looking at tapping Tuesday. Kids are home from school this week, so I'll have lots of labor to slow me down! Targeting the same 50 as last season, but maybe I need to add one more to make it a new personal record.

Pete

Do it Pete! 51 is the number! haha

[ADK_XJ]

I'm looking at tapping Tuesday. Kids are home from school this week, so I'll have lots of labor to slow me down! Targeting the same 50 as last season, but maybe I need to add one more to make it a new personal record.

Pete

Lots of labor to slow you down, I feel this! But wouldn't have it any other way...the kids' cousins are coming by today and I've saved 20-30 buckets to put in with them.

[crzypete]

Lots of labor to slow you down, I feel this! But wouldn't have it any other way...the kids' cousins are coming by today and I've saved 20-30 buckets to put in with them.

Yes, The best way! My older one has gotten bored with tapping, but is good for carrying a few buckets now!

MFRNY, yes, must do 51! Have to have you by this year!
Pete

[MRFNY]

Yes, The best way! My older one has gotten bored with tapping, but is good for carrying a few buckets now!

MFRNY, yes, must do 51! Have to have you by this year!
Pete

Yeah we definitely want to swing by to check out your operation!

[ADK_XJ]

Anyone getting much run yet this week? I got home late from work so didn't get a chance to check the tank or buckets, Sun-Tue we had virtually nothing due to the cold nights and overcast days.

Hoping for a big run tomorrow.

[Aslowrie]

More or less the same for me. I had a tiny bit on a couple taps, but mostly dry. I was more hopeful today, but it looks like it was just too cold last night to run today.

Also hopeful for tomorrow.

[MRFNY]

Anyone getting much run yet this week? I got home late from work so didn't get a chance to check the tank or buckets, Sun-Tue we had virtually nothing due to the cold nights and overcast days.

Hoping for a big run tomorrow.

Not too much really. I have some buckets who get a lot of sun that were about 1/3 full but most of the others were dry or just starting to drip when I got home from work last night. I had 12 degrees at the house yesterday morning so just too darn too cold to get a big run. Today could be better though

[MRFNY]

Collected around 40 gallons tonight. Was hopeful for today but clouds rolled in early and didn't feel nearly as warm as the forecast said it was going to be.

[Aslowrie]

Pretty weak day for me as well. Probably about 1 gallon with some ice in the bottom of the buckets. Tomorrow says 48 in West Milton, so if it's not running tomorrow then I just don't know what's wrong.

[ADK_XJ]

Same here, I think the overnight temps have just been too cold and the daytime is overcast with some wind...our taps on tubing were running tonight but verrrry slowly.

[crzypete]

I have tapped 46 trees and having similarly poor flows to all of you. I may be done tapping. Maybe when things pick up I'll get more inspired to drill a few more holes! Got the evaporator out of storage and plopped outside. Put the pan and stack on. Maybe I'll get a chance to use it at some point!

Pete

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

I did 49 taps on gravity tubing on Tuesday and have only gotten about 5 gallons from them so far. Its been pretty cold over night and not as warm as i thought during the day. Lack of sun really keeps things froze up. Its looking like today should be a bit better and then next week should be solid. Cant wait for the first boil, ive got the rig all ready to go. I currently just wheel it out of my garage for every boil and put it back after but this year i might be getting a 10x10 metal roof leanto from a buddy to setup under. That would be nice, i just have to make it happen.

[Aslowrie]

Just brought in today's haul. Better than yesterday, but still not great, about 2 gallons on my 23 taps. The good news is, most of the trees were flowing, if only a little and a few were dripping reasonably fast. I suspect I'll have a bit more when I wake up in the morning since it looks like the cold won't set in until midnight.

Hopefully it went better for you all.

[crzypete]

Collected all of our taps this afternoon with my kids. Maybe 25 gallons. It was still flowing, but not exactly the robust week I was hoping for. Maybe a boil on Sunday?

Pete

[MRFNY]

Boiled yesterday, only 35 gallons so it was a quick boil. Always good to get the evaporator fired up for the first time each season. I should have a decent amount to collect today as some of my better buckets were about half full in the afternoon and still dripping pretty good.

[MRFNY]

Just took a walk and checked some buckets. Should have roughly 100 gallons after collecting!

[MRFNY]

Had about 85 gallons after Saturday collection. Ran 50 or so through the RO and boiled that today. The other 35 gallons froze solid in one of our holding tanks, lol. The RO is going to save so much time and wood, incredible!

[Aslowrie]

I'm still jealous, I got a grand total of only 4 gallons by Saturday morning. Out of curiosity, how many taps did you run this year?

The RO was game changing for me too. Built one last year and it's awesome to take 75% of the water out. I went from being under water with my 16x30 pan to casual weekend boils. Biggest thing for me was that I could store my concentrate in my chest freezer so I could boil when convenient.

[MRFNY]

I'm still jealous, I got a grand total of only 4 gallons by Saturday morning. Out of curiosity, how many taps did you run this year?

The RO was game changing for me too. Built one last year and it's awesome to take 75% of the water out. I went from being under water with my 16x30 pan to casual weekend boils. Biggest thing for me was that I could store my concentrate in my chest freezer so I could boil when convenient.

We did our normal 100 taps. We're pretty far behind normal production too, and the long range forecast is not looking very good. Hoping to get some big runs this week at least.

Everything I read about RO said you were going to wish you got one a lot longer ago. Boy were they right!

[crzypete]

Made 3.5 quarts of golden delicate yesterday. Filtered easily which was a relief after last year. MRFNY, did you buy a commercially made RO or assemble it on your own? I am keep contemplating one, but don't have the motivation to drop $500 on the RO bucket.

Pete

[MRFNY]

Made 3.5 quarts of golden delicate yesterday. Filtered easily which was a relief after last year. MRFNY, did you buy a commercially made RO or assemble it on your own? I am keep contemplating one, but don't have the motivation to drop $500 on the RO bucket.

Pete

Nice job Pete!

I bought the RB15 from RO bucket and got the upgraded pump option. I mounted everything on a board, so it's still easy to move around. If I could figure out how to post pictures on the site, I'd post a few!

[Aslowrie]

It is nice to hear I'm not alone. Today was disappointing, but not "why don't I give up" disappointing like the last week has been. Still haven't even gotten. 1/2 of one of my frequent good days last year.

@crzypete your in the ballpark of my system which I built custom. It's four 100gpd membrane in series (more efficient membrane flushing so you get more per membrane than just using a single). It's somewhere in the ballpark of an RO10 if I recall, but I can do a throughput test tonight if you want since I'm using it.. I do two passes and take out 75% of the water with a target of 6% sugar. I can easily go through 10 gallons this way in a few hours. Or more like 25gal in the same time if I just do a single pass to 50% water removal.

It's definitely cheeper to build your own, but it will still cost $110 for 4 membranes/housings, $110 for the pump, and conservatively $100 for the valve, filter housing, fittings, pressure gauge, etc. it's also reasonably scalable to a bigger system using 400gpd membranes, but you may need/want a bigger pump.

Let me know if your interested and I can get you the design and bill of materials. It's life changing :-).

[MRFNY]

Filled the 55 gallon collection tank tonight and left probably 30-40 gal. in buckets to collect tomorrow. I'll RO the collection tank in the morning and move that to a holding tank to make room for another collection tomorrow night. Will boil tomorrow as well and get some draw-offs. Long range forecast is not looking good. If it holds true I might not even see double digit finished syrup.

[Aslowrie]

My trees finally woke up. I hope you all had a great day too.

[MRFNY]

My trees finally woke up. I hope you all had a great day too.

Nice! Pretty epic day! Ran the RO this morning and boiled 47 gallons after one pass through the RO. Then collected 130 gallons, which we'll run through the RO tomorrow and boil immediately. Put 3-4 gallons in the finishing tank today so overall a very productive and tiring day!

[ADK_XJ]

I'm late in recapping the insanity of Tuesday...our sugar bush was deluged in sap (and then later rain) and, with the help of my neighbor, I worked until 12:45am Wednesday hauling in loads from the overflowing buckets at the top of our property and two separate IBC totes at the bottom of the property that were actively overflowing from our 3/16 lines.

It was an astonishing amount of sap and strange to be handling it when it was 62F. I had anticipated this somewhat and filled ziplock freezer bags with water and froze them the day before, which I then chucked into our big collection tank in the barn since I won't be able to boil this all down until the weekend.

I also finally admitted to myself that my homemade, four membrane RO system simply can't keep up with our needs and I bought the single-post 4x40 kit from ROBucket (which they managed to ship to me in a single day). I did the drilling and tapping of mounts on the hand cart in the wee hours of the morning Wednesday and finished it last night.

One thing I really like about this system the ROBucket guys developed is that its SO quiet to compared to a vane pump and also it can run dry without burning out...which is helpful when most of your boiling time also involves imbibing with the neighbor!

[MRFNY]

I'm late in recapping the insanity of Tuesday...our sugar bush was deluged in sap (and then later rain) and, with the help of my neighbor, I worked until 12:45am Wednesday hauling in loads from the overflowing buckets at the top of our property and two separate IBC totes at the bottom of the property that were actively overflowing from our 3/16 lines.

It was an astonishing amount of sap and strange to be handling it when it was 62F. I had anticipated this somewhat and filled ziplock freezer bags with water and froze them the day before, which I then chucked into our big collection tank in the barn since I won't be able to boil this all down until the weekend.

I also finally admitted to myself that my homemade, four membrane RO system simply can't keep up with our needs and I bought the single-post 4x40 kit from ROBucket (which they managed to ship to me in a single day). I did the drilling and tapping of mounts on the hand cart in the wee hours of the morning Wednesday and finished it last night.

One thing I really like about this system the ROBucket guys developed is that its SO quiet to compared to a vane pump and also it can run dry without burning out...which is helpful when most of your boiling time also involves imbibing with the neighbor!

That's awesome on all fronts! My little RB15 has been a total game changer. We RO'd 125 gallons yesterday down to 50 gallons and boiled it last night. I was thinking to myself, I would have been completely stressed out if we had to boil all 125 gallons! The time between draw offs has been drastically reduced now too.

[Aslowrie]

I'm late in recapping the insanity of Tuesday...our sugar bush was deluged in sap (and then later rain) and, with the help of my neighbor, I worked until 12:45am Wednesday hauling in loads from the overflowing buckets at the top of our property and two separate IBC totes at the bottom of the property that were actively overflowing from our 3/16 lines.

It was an astonishing amount of sap and strange to be handling it when it was 62F. I had anticipated this somewhat and filled ziplock freezer bags with water and froze them the day before, which I then chucked into our big collection tank in the barn since I won't be able to boil this all down until the weekend.

I also finally admitted to myself that my homemade, four membrane RO system simply can't keep up with our needs and I bought the single-post 4x40 kit from ROBucket (which they managed to ship to me in a single day). I did the drilling and tapping of mounts on the hand cart in the wee hours of the morning Wednesday and finished it last night.

One thing I really like about this system the ROBucket guys developed is that its SO quiet to compared to a vane pump and also it can run dry without burning out...which is helpful when most of your boiling time also involves imbibing with the neighbor!

That's awesome, how is the capacity of the 4x40? My system works quite well for me and my modest setup, but I keep expanding my trail system and finding more maples.

[crzypete]

It is nice to hear I'm not alone. Today was disappointing, but not "why don't I give up" disappointing like the last week has been. Still haven't even gotten. 1/2 of one of my frequent good days last year.

@crzypete your in the ballpark of my system which I built custom. It's four 100gpd membrane in series (more efficient membrane flushing so you get more per membrane than just using a single). It's somewhere in the ballpark of an RO10 if I recall, but I can do a throughput test tonight if you want since I'm using it.. I do two passes and take out 75% of the water with a target of 6% sugar. I can easily go through 10 gallons this way in a few hours. Or more like 25gal in the same time if I just do a single pass to 50% water removal.

It's definitely cheeper to build your own, but it will still cost $110 for 4 membranes/housings, $110 for the pump, and conservatively $100 for the valve, filter housing, fittings, pressure gauge, etc. it's also reasonably scalable to a bigger system using 400gpd membranes, but you may need/want a bigger pump.

Let me know if your interested and I can get you the design and bill of materials. It's life changing :-).

That would be awesome! would love to see what you came up with? I can DM you my email if that works best for you? Where are you located? I'm in Galway. MRFNY and I actually live on the same street which was pretty funny to figure out.

Right now I am pretty much keeping up with production- My OTE is boiling at 15gph which is really crazy. I upgraded my blower and It has added a new level of evaporation- used to only hit 12GPH.

Made my second batch on Tuesday night. Boiled from 4-8 and busted out 5.5 quarts. Hoping to get batch 3 cooking this weekend.

Pete

[ADK_XJ]

That's awesome, how is the capacity of the 4x40? My system works quite well for me and my modest setup, but I keep expanding my trail system and finding more maples.

So, the short answer is this unit processes about 60 gallons per hours of sap at a 50:50 concentrate to permeate ratio.

The longer answer is: the kit I bought is a slightly different version of the 4x40 single post that many DIY-ers have been making...it doesn't have the big, noisy, high capacity ProCon "vane" pump but instead uses two high-flow diaphragm pumps plumbed in parallel. Everything I read explained how sensitive those vane pumps are and the initial cost is a lot more because of the need to buy a large motor to drive them and they also need ANOTHER low-pressure pump to feed the sap in because they don't have suction, only outfeed.

I really like the one I got because it's SO quiet and will have it right next to the evaporator while hanging out with family and friends. Plus, I have small kids and they are SUPER distracting in the sugaring process so I don't have to worry if a tank of sap runs out and the pump runs dry for a minute or two.

It was over $1000 for the kit but I was able to sell my original 4 membrane RO that I made years ago for $500 the day I posted it on FB Marketplace...

[ADK_XJ]

That would be awesome! would love to see what you came up with? I can DM you my email if that works best for you? Where are you located? I'm in Galway. MRFNY and I actually live on the same street which was pretty funny to figure out.

Right now I am pretty much keeping up with production- My OTE is boiling at 15gph which is really crazy. I upgraded my blower and It has added a new level of evaporation- used to only hit 12GPH.

Made my second batch on Tuesday night. Boiled from 4-8 and busted out 5.5 quarts. Hoping to get batch 3 cooking this weekend.

Pete

Once you actually do it, you realize just how easy assembling a DIY reverse osmosis system is...it's literally cutting tubing and pushing it into fittings. And it's a GAME CHANGER for boiling sap. I can also provide some tips and guidance if you like, DM me.

[MRFNY]

So, the short answer is this unit processes about 60 gallons per hours of sap at a 50:50 concentrate to permeate ratio.

The longer answer is: the kit I bought is a slightly different version of the 4x40 single post that many DIY-ers have been making...it doesn't have the big, noisy, high capacity ProCon "vane" pump but instead uses two high-flow diaphragm pumps plumbed in parallel. Everything I read explained how sensitive those vane pumps are and the initial cost is a lot more because of the need to buy a large motor to drive them and they also need ANOTHER low-pressure pump to feed the sap in because they don't have suction, only outfeed.

I really like the one I got because it's SO quiet and will have it right next to the evaporator while hanging out with family and friends. Plus, I have small kids and they are SUPER distracting in the sugaring process so I don't have to worry if a tank of sap runs out and the pump runs dry for a minute or two.

It was over $1000 for the kit but I was able to sell my original 4 membrane RO that I made years ago for $500 the day I posted it on FB Marketplace...

60 gallons per hour, holy smokes! That's pretty amazing!

[MRFNY]

Bottled just shy of 5 gallons of golden delicate today. I've made some golden before but not this much. Delicious flavor! Can I attribute this to the new RO?

Also collected 90 gallons today and will probably have 40 or so in the buckets tomorrow I'm assuming. Still not even close to our annual average of 20 or so gallons of finished syrup, but we'll see if the forecast changes at all.

[MRFNY]

Holy smokes, I don't think the trees went to sleep last night. I probably have another 75-100 gallons to collect and RO today.

[Aslowrie]

Holy smokes, I don't think the trees went to sleep last night. I probably have another 75-100 gallons to collect and RO today.

Same here, or at all today. I collected this morning since I didn't want to go out in the rain yesterday and got 17 gal. Just went out again and got 7 more.

[MRFNY]

Same here, or at all today. I collected this morning since I didn't want to go out in the rain yesterday and got 17 gal. Just went out again and got 7 more.

Just got back to the house now. Ran 125 or so gallons through the RO today, collected another 100 gallons and left probably 30 or so in buckets to collect tomorrow, boiled 62 gallons of concentrate. Productive weekend!

[ADK_XJ]

Another crazy run of sap...I had collected an IBC full and about 70 gallons from buckets on Saturday, then was surprised when the 275g tank filled AGAIN yesterday and most of the buckets were near capacity, too.

The new RO is making a huge difference in my ability to process this volume but my real worry is the concentrate may spoil before I can finish boiling it in the evenings...

Happy sappin!

[MRFNY]

Another crazy run of sap...I had collected an IBC full and about 70 gallons from buckets on Saturday, then was surprised when the 275g tank filled AGAIN yesterday and most of the buckets were near capacity, too.

The new RO is making a huge difference in my ability to process this volume but my real worry is the concentrate may spoil before I can finish boiling it in the evenings...

Happy sappin!

That is a lot of sap, awesome!

[MRFNY]

So I took a half day from work today thinking I'd have about 40 gallons on the trees in addition to the 50 gallons held over from Sunday. NOPE! 100 gallons on the trees! What is going on? Have they run non-stop since Friday? It didn't get below freezing all weekend I think? All I can say is thank God for RO. Having an abundance of sap is not nearly as stressful as it used to be!

[ADK_XJ]

So I took a half day from work today thinking I'd have about 40 gallons on the trees in addition to the 50 gallons held over from Sunday. NOPE! 100 gallons on the trees! What is going on? Have they run non-stop since Friday? It didn't get below freezing all weekend I think? All I can say is thank God for RO. Having an abundance of sap is not nearly as stressful as it used to be!

Yep, our trees ran straight through yesterday afternoon / early evening. The issue is preserving the quality of any sap that sat out in the woods during that crazy warm spell.

Hoping we get a good cool down here next week and a restart to the process...

[ADK_XJ]

This is always the time of year when I start wondering "how far along in the season am I?" and worrying it's closer to being over than I want. I actually think this warm spell portends good things, and we will get some cold temps blowing in the rest of March.

We have friends from Maryland who are coming April 5 and really, really want to see maple sugaring in action...if it holds out till then I will be mighty pleased.