Schenectady-Albany-Saratoga Counties

[MRFNY]

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...

My sap kept well and I made sure to boil any concentrate immediately. I have about 55 gallons of sap from yesterday in my collection tank that is staying nice and cold in my garage which half is basically like a foundation so it stays nice and cool in there. Tasted the sap tonight and it was fine and still clear.

The long range forecast still isn't looking very good but we'll see!

[MRFNY]

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.

An additional full month would be pretty incredible!

[Aslowrie]

Looks like the light freeze last night got the sap flowing again. Not a crazy day, but an ok for me 8 gallons. Good solid dripping to so hopefully a bit more through the night and some additional freezing temps this weekend to keep things going.

[ADK_XJ]

I was out of town but got back this evening and thought buckets would have been overflowing...it was definitely running but nothing like I would have thought with the hard freeze and warm sunny day. Weird.

[MRFNY]

Just went around and collected yesterday's small run. Just about 50 gallons. I think my reds are done, my sugars that sit down in a ridge and presumably in a colder area did pretty well yesterday. I may pull some taps today or tomorrow and just leave the good sugars tapped hopefully for a run on Tuesday and Wednesday.

[MRFNY]

Bottled 6.5 gallons today. Still making golden delicate!

[ADK_XJ]

The weather was terrible but we made the most of it and managed to clear out the entire 150 gallon head tank full of 8% concentrate I'd been keeping chilled all week with freezer bag ice blocks. Have to bring it to density and filter but should bring my total haul up to equal with last year at least.

By the forecast it should run for us M-W but we'll see...

[MRFNY]

The weather was terrible but we made the most of it and managed to clear out the entire 150 gallon head tank full of 8% concentrate I'd been keeping chilled all week with freezer bag ice blocks. Have to bring it to density and filter but should bring my total haul up to equal with last year at least.

By the forecast it should run for us M-W but we'll see...

That'll be impressive if you hit last year's number! We'll be about half of last year's finished product, but last year was a record for us by a long shot.

[crzypete]

Equalled Last year? I am impressed. I haven't even hit half of last year yet. Up to 5.25 Gallons for the season. Collected another 45 gallons of sap today. Last boil on Friday had a lower sugar content- boiled off 55 gallons to make a gallon of syrup. I am still entertained by it, so I guess it's alright. I'll stick it out a bit longer. Maybe things will be still ok after this warm spell. I was hoping to hit 10 gallons to have plenty for friends and family, but that feels like it will need a miracle at this point!

Pete

[ADK_XJ]

Equalled Last year? I am impressed. I haven't even hit half of last year yet. Up to 5.25 Gallons for the season. Collected another 45 gallons of sap today. Last boil on Friday had a lower sugar content- boiled off 55 gallons to make a gallon of syrup. I am still entertained by it, so I guess it's alright. I'll stick it out a bit longer. Maybe things will be still ok after this warm spell. I was hoping to hit 10 gallons to have plenty for friends and family, but that feels like it will need a miracle at this point!

Pete Yeah, what gave me a lift was the new RO system and being able to process far more sap more quickly...I think I was getting a much better yield as a result and wasn't losing any sap to spoilage as a result.

Question for you: what kind of evaporation rate are you getting on your oil tank arch? I have one of those but it's definitely not air tight, yours looks very nicely done.

[crzypete]

Question for you: what kind of evaporation rate are you getting on your oil tank arch? I have one of those but it's definitely not air tight, yours looks very nicely done.

I'm hitting 15GPH this year. I added a twin fan blower at the end of last year that added a bit of efficiency- had been topped out around 12GPH before that. Happy to show it to you or chat via email if I can be of help. I would not say it is as air tight as when I built it any more. Flames are often poking out around the door a bit and either my top rail or pan is out of flat at this point and there is a bit of a gap there. But when I fire it at night there is 2' of flame coming out of the stack!

Pete

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Currently boiling off sap from last Friday where I got 1 gallon per tap and today the trees are flowing like crazy and I’m already over the 1 gallon per tap point and the lines are running hard. Weather looks good next week if the buds survive the warm weather tomorrow.

[MRFNY]

Crazy run yesterday! I collected 100 gallons and had to leave probably another 50 in the buckets. I'll grab that today and anything that continued to run into the night. Next week is looking pretty good, probably going to pull the taps on some of the reds though.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Crazy run yesterday! I collected 100 gallons and had to leave probably another 50 in the buckets. I'll grab that today and anything that continued to run into the night. Next week is looking pretty good, probably going to pull the taps on some of the reds though.

I boiled 105 gallons yesterday (well technically my pans were empty so 10 of those gallons are just to get my level) in about 5 hours which isn't too shabby for a 2x5 setup. I collected another 20 gallons this morning that accumulated overnight and i am thinking based on the freezing temps this morning it should flow again today. Fingers are crossed for next week, its looking good!

[Aslowrie]

Had a good run yesterday too and am running out of storage for my concentrate. Today surprised me though, I came out prepared for a huge run and it was mediocre. Taps were flowing though and will probably go though the night.

[ADK_XJ]

I'm hitting 15GPH this year. I added a twin fan blower at the end of last year that added a bit of efficiency- had been topped out around 12GPH before that. Happy to show it to you or chat via email if I can be of help. I would not say it is as air tight as when I built it any more. Flames are often poking out around the door a bit and either my top rail or pan is out of flat at this point and there is a bit of a gap there. But when I fire it at night there is 2' of flame coming out of the stack!

Petenice, I'll send you a DM to ask about your door setup and how you bricked it...

[ADK_XJ]

I think my trees all got too warm in that consecutive run of 60F+ days...they should have been running hard M-W of this week but it was only a steady trickle and the buckets were sporadic.

After 3 days I had 100 gallons in the 275g IBC tote (I've filled it in a day before), so I used that to test a new 1" PVC pipe line we repurposed from my neighbors' well so we could pump up out of the drainage/valley my collection point is in.

Every year about this time, I get stuck up to the wheel wells of my side by side in mud trying to haul a full load of sap up that ridge; no more! We ran just shy of 200' of line (almost ten pieces of 20' schedule 40) straight up the hill and put a check valve at the lowest point with a ball valve in front of it to empty off any backflow...my Harbor Freight 80cc pump sent 100 gallons through it straight up hill in about 3 minutes.

It's been a short but enjoyable season, I won't complain. And the weather has been incredible, the perfect week to have taken off work. Hope it continues to run for everyone else!

[MRFNY]

I think my trees all got too warm in that consecutive run of 60F+ days...they should have been running hard M-W of this week but it was only a steady trickle and the buckets were sporadic.

After 3 days I had 100 gallons in the 275g IBC tote (I've filled it in a day before), so I used that to test a new 1" PVC pipe line we repurposed from my neighbors' well so we could pump up out of the drainage/valley my collection point is in.

Every year about this time, I get stuck up to the wheel wells of my side by side in mud trying to haul a full load of sap up that ridge; no more! We ran just shy of 200' of line (almost ten pieces of 20' schedule 40) straight up the hill and put a check valve at the lowest point with a ball valve in front of it to empty off any backflow...my Harbor Freight 80cc pump sent 100 gallons through it straight up hill in about 3 minutes.

It's been a short but enjoyable season, I won't complain. And the weather has been incredible, the perfect week to have taken off work. Hope it continues to run for everyone else!

Are you done ADK?

[ADK_XJ]

Are you done ADK?ha, yeah - that was my long *** winded way of saying my season is over.

I'm finishing my last bit of concentrate right now, beautiful night.

[MRFNY]

ha, yeah - that was my long *** winded way of saying my season is over.

I'm finishing my last bit of concentrate right now, beautiful night.

HA nice! Congrats on a great season for you. I'm holding out to see what next week brings. Will keep a close eye on the sap but it should be fine since some of my bigger producing sugar maples are in wooded areas and not even close to budding yet.

[MRFNY]

Wish we could post photos, would love to see everyone's setups and production

[MRFNY]

Am I the last man standing? Collected 55 gallons tonight on 66 taps left on sugar maples. Sap looks great and tastes great.

[Ghs57]

Pulled the plug today. Some trees were running, but not enough to restart the evaporator. I drained it during the warm spell and finished/filtered/packed the nearup. It takes a few hundred gals to start back up. My most recently tapped lines were running pretty well, but that's not enough. This cold snap was just too late for me.

[crzypete]

The 18" of snow on Saturday made it a pain to walk to my buckets. Found one overflowing this afternoon. Will probably run another batch.

Pete

[Aslowrie]

I'm still going. Was out of town Monday and Tuesday, but came back to a ton. 27 gallons, many buckets were full or overflowing. I may hold out for 1 more week.

[MRFNY]

Collected another 65 gallons tonight and also pulled some more taps that just aren't doing well. Looking at the forecast this weekend might be it for me. Will RO the 115 or so gallons tomorrow then boil it.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Still flowing strong here is East Berne. I've collected over 110 gallons the past few days from my 49 taps. Still crystal clear but I'm running out of wood and motivation so will probably wrap things up shortly even with some more projected freezing nights coming up.

[Trevor5]

Still getting a little flow in Porter Corners, got about 20 gallons between Tues and Wed. Looked clear and didn't taste bad, didn't taste sweet though, did have a slight film on the sap. I am a little concerned it won't be good to boil, I never pulled the taps out of my reds and they are pretty budded out, hopefully they aren't adding any sap to my mainline. I will need at least 20 more gallons to make it worth boiling this weekend, at least with the snow I can keep the sap cold.

[MRFNY]

Nice to hear others still chugging along! RO'd the last couple days of collections and boiled 45 gallons of concentrate tonight and got some nice draw offs. Should end up with a nice season which is surprising seeing how whacky the weather has been!

[MRFNY]

Had our last boil yesterday and pulled the remaining taps. Going to do our last bottling of the season today, should end up with 20 or so gallons. That's basically our annual average so overall a pretty darn good year considering it was looking like we wouldn't hit double digits not too long ago.

[crzypete]

We boiled our final boil on Saturday as well. Finished with 9.5 gallons- just short of my 10 gallon goal, but perfectly respectable. Also made my first batch of maple cream during the big snow storm last weekend. Turned out well and seems to be a hit amongst the family, I will make more.

Now to get it all cleaned up!

Pete

[MRFNY]

We boiled our final boil on Saturday as well. Finished with 9.5 gallons- just short of my 10 gallon goal, but perfectly respectable. Also made my first batch of maple cream during the big snow storm last weekend. Turned out well and seems to be a hit amongst the family, I will make more.

Now to get it all cleaned up!

Pete

Nice job Pete! I haven't tried maple cream but we started doing maple sugar this year which is very easy to make and quite delicious!

[Trevor5]

My season was not great, ended up with only 2.875 gallons of Syrup. Filtering was terrible this year, even though there did not appear to be as much niter as other season (I wonder if the particles were smaller and less visible this year), but the syrup would not go through the filters, so lost a fair amount of syrup, probably would have hit 3 gallons at least if filtering went better. Definitely one of my lowest outputs ever. I did have about 80 gallons of sap spoil before I could boil, but overall I think my sugar content was very low this year.

[ADK_XJ]

Hey all, getting excited about another season here in Saratoga County...although snow has been practically nonexistent for us (i.e. no snow pack in the woods), I am hopeful for a strong season given the fairly consistent cold this January (so far and as forecast).

We are planning to install a small solar array (4 panels for 100 watts) and a ShurFlo pump setup at the bottom of our 3/16th tubing run this year. We have about 100 taps on 3 lines, but may throw caution to the wind and add in another 25-50 that I've held off on because there is a bit of a depression between that top part of our sugar bush and the main set of trees. I'm thinking putt ing the system on vacuum will help carry that sap through the hump and then down into the main path that is all on a descent.

Anyway, happy tapping in advance!

[MRFNY]

We'll be getting things ready soon. Looks like a stretch of pretty frigid temps early next week so not in any rush yet. Ordered some more RO filters today and also getting the process started for custom labels for plastic quarts and pints. Took a ride to Shaver Hill Farm in November to buy some glass containers and they showed us around and their new machine to put the labels on the containers, so we're going to have them made. Quite an operation at Shaver Hill, great people too!

[sugarman3]

They are great people,i was one of the 1st customers to have them do jugs for me,awesome guys,dwayne,david and damian

[MRFNY]

They are great people,i was one of the 1st customers to have them do jugs for me,awesome guys,dwayne,david and damian

Yeah they have been fantastic to work with!

[YBSean]

I have been using a Shurflo pump on our 3/16th lines with 100 taps for the past several years and the yield has increased by 1.5-2x.

[Aslowrie]

Checking in too, also getting excited for the year. I did around 25 taps last year, but found about 10 new good size and convenient sugars and reds on a new trail I built. We'll see how many taps I get total.

The weather has been nice this year, so I'm hoping for a good haul. We'll see how long I can hold out before I get anxious and inevitably tap a week or two early :-).

[ADK_XJ]

I have been using a Shurflo pump on our 3/16th lines with 100 taps for the past several years and the yield has increased by 1.5-2x.

That's what I'm hoping for. I just bought a new (well, used..."new to me") 500-gallon collection tank to replace my IBC tote, which regularly overflows on a good day already. The guy who sold it to me does 2400~ taps and he said the same thing: "vacuum is a game changer."

[ADK_XJ]

Last night I went through the woods to cut off all the old spouts and run a peroxide mix through all the lines, checking for leaks. I need to move the solar system and pump into place, finish my "manifold" connection to the lines of 3/16 at the collection point, and swap out the old IBC for our new giant *** sap tank.

Based on the 14 day weather, our traditional tapping date of President's Day looks just about perfect. LFG!

[ADK_XJ]

Looks like a pretty decent dump of snow over the next 24 hours (8-12” forecast) and then real cold for the next 10 days or so. Probably decent for tapping but not much else.

[MRFNY]

Looks like it'll be at least a couple more weeks of cold weather. Going to be some deep snow to walk through when tapping finally comes around!

[ADK_XJ]

Yeah, it should be an interesting start to things…we are expecting 10-14” over the course of the weekend into Monday. I’m a little excited, honestly, as it’s been a while since we’ve had the winter maple conditions I remember as a kid in VT.

[ADK_XJ]

Ordered all new check valve and stubby adapters from Bascoms, they were due to deliver Wednesday...today they're telling me they arrived at the regional distribution center IN SOUTH CAROLINA! Sigh...I'm planning to tap on Monday and have help lined up, may need to come up with a Plan B real fast.

[MRFNY]

7-14" of snow and potential .5" - .75" of ice on Sunday. I anticipate a lot of limbs and trees to come down if that forecast is accurate!

[Pdiamond]

Do you have a local supply store nearby that you could buy from?

[johnallin]

Ordered all new check valve and stubby adapters from Bascoms, they were due to deliver Wednesday...today they're telling me they arrived at the regional distribution center IN SOUTH CAROLINA! Sigh...I'm planning to tap on Monday and have help lined up, may need to come up with a Plan B real fast.

I'd say drive over to the CDL store in Castile NY but Bascoms in Vermont is closer!

[ADK_XJ]

7-14" of snow and potential .5" - .75" of ice on Sunday. I anticipate a lot of limbs and trees to come down if that forecast is accurate!

Yeah, same here - now I’m glad that I haven’t tapped in yet!

[ADK_XJ]

Do you have a local supply store nearby that you could buy from? I do but they don’t carry spouts for 3/16 drops…this whole thing got kicked off when I asked them to order them back in the fall and then found out in January that none of their dealers carry them 🤦*♂️

[ADK_XJ]

I'd say drive over to the CDL store in Castile NY but Bascoms in Vermont is closer! next time that’s exactly what I’ll do.

[BAP]

You H2O/Leader dealers closer to you than Bascoms. Bascoms is in New Hampshire not Vermont. You have a H2O dealer in Pawlet, VT which isn’t that far. Go onto H20 Inovations website and use dealer locator to find some near you that you can drive to.

[YBSean]

I have been using 5/16 spouts and drops on 3/16 lines with tees that are 3/16-5/16-3/16. I also use the Zap Bac spouts and replace the spout, drop and tee every other year. This is year 8 of that setup and was recommended by Cornell Maple. It helps with tap hole sanitation and keeps all drops/spouts (and tooling) the same size as we also have mainline with 5/16 laterals.

[MRFNY]

Check out Shaver Hill Farm too, they are an H2O distributor. Awesome people

[ADK_XJ]

Check out Shaver Hill Farm too, they are an H2O distributor. Awesome people nice, is that a little closer to Saratoga region?

[ADK_XJ]

I have been using 5/16 spouts and drops on 3/16 lines with tees that are 3/16-5/16-3/16. I also use the Zap Bac spouts and replace the spout, drop and tee every other year. This is year 8 of that setup and was recommended by Cornell Maple. It helps with tap hole sanitation and keeps all drops/spouts (and tooling) the same size as we also have mainline with 5/16 laterals. I just checked out the zap bac spouts, had never heard of these before…looks like Bascom and a few others carry them, so I’ll have to try them next season. I have the stubby adapters on their way and looks like ZB makes the spout ends for those, too.

[MRFNY]

nice, is that a little closer to Saratoga region?

They are out near the Cobleskill area. I went there recently for some glass containers and it was about an hour and 15 minutes from the Charlton area (just west of Ballston Spa).

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I just checked out the zap bac spouts, had never heard of these before…looks like Bascom and a few others carry them, so I’ll have to try them next season. I have the stubby adapters on their way and looks like ZB makes the spout ends for those, too.

We use the zap bacs as well. Order them through anyone who deals CDL equipment. They do make stubby adapters too but we just use the spouts. Our cycle is year 1 new drop and white smart spout, year 2 and 3 zap bacs. Year 4 start cycle over again.

[ADK_XJ]

Today is the day! We didn’t get anywhere near the snowfall projected, so I’m suiting up for a day in the woods. The only concern is the high wind warning later this afternoon and evening.

[sugarman3]

Be safe out there,there looks like there will not enough warm weather for 10 days,i am going to bottle up bourbon barrel syrup today and then make about 20 lbs granulated sugar next couple days ,stay warm

[MRFNY]

Today is the day! We didn’t get anywhere near the snowfall projected, so I’m suiting up for a day in the woods. The only concern is the high wind warning later this afternoon and evening.

Good luck! You're not getting high winds now? They started last night around 8 PM for me and have been going strong since.

[ADK_XJ]

Good luck! You're not getting high winds now? They started last night around 8 PM for me and have been going strong since. It's pretty "blustery" here already, yeah. I would say the gusts aren't more than 10 or 15 mph though. It looks like there may be some serious blasts later, so as long as I avoid that, I think I'll be okay.

[ADK_XJ]

Abandoned plans of tapping today after my extra hands bailed and seeing the conditions in the woods...I'd like to see many syrup seasons in the years to come and having an ice-laden tree dropped on my head is not part of that vision! Next weekend looks much better for tapping, stay safe out there.

[MRFNY]

Abandoned plans of tapping today after my extra hands bailed and seeing the conditions in the woods...I'd like to see many syrup seasons in the years to come and having an ice-laden tree dropped on my head is not part of that vision! Next weekend looks much better for tapping, stay safe out there.

Good move! It was nasty out there and still is. My property looks like a war zone, lol

[ADK_XJ]

Still frozen solid out there, was below zero when I woke up this morning. Forecast suggests it should run this weekend but I wonder how long it will take the trees to thaw out.

[MRFNY]

Still frozen solid out there, was below zero when I woke up this morning. Forecast suggests it should run this weekend but I wonder how long it will take the trees to thaw out.

I gotta think it will take some time for the trees to thaw out. I may put half of my taps in this weekend but really don't expect anything to run.

[Kmb]

Tapping this weekend. Should flow next week. . .

[ADK_XJ]

The same as the last two posts: we are tapping tomorrow and imagining we may not see any flow until early in the week. BUT we're also installing a small vacuum pump this year so maybe we'll be surprised!

[MRFNY]

The same as the last two posts: we are tapping tomorrow and imagining we may not see any flow until early in the week. BUT we're also installing a small vacuum pump this year so maybe we'll be surprised!

Nice! I just took a walk and I weigh enough where the layer of crust on top of the snow doesn't quite hold me. FUN!

[sugarman3]

Start tapping tomorrow,on snow shoes plus hiring a dozer to get up a hill to the tank,lots of fun and extra expense,syrup ought to be $100 gallon

[MRFNY]

Looked at my notes for every season we've been tapping and in 2021 we tapped on 2/27. It was a very short season that came to an end on 3/23 due to a long stretch of very warm temps, upper 60's and low 70's during the day and nighttime temps in the upper 30's / low 40's. Only made 15 gallons that season. Hopefully this year doesn't follow that pattern!

[MRFNY]

Put in 50 taps yesterday. Wasn't fun stomping through the layer of ice on top of the snow! Will finish the rest throughout the week, yesterday mainly focused on the trees that get a lot of sun during the day and typically start producing earlier in the season.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Took the morning off of work today and got my 47 taps done. Sap has started flowing a little bit. I don't expect to have a huge run this week but i usually tap around this time so figured id go for it. I really like the golden syrup and i typically make that during February. I have a bout 12" of snow on the ground but its settling down fast, finally have some decent frost in the ground this year as well. Now i just need to get the evaporator setup and ready to boil later this week!

[ADK_XJ]

Glad to hear others are out tapping, too...we tapped in our 100 taps on tubing (this included replacing all of the drop lines and tees, WITHOUT a two-handed tool) on Saturday with the help of a small crew. That was a great time, I love sharing the experience with friends who've never done it before; they are instantly hooked.

As of first thing this morning, not a drop of sap had come out but I have to imagine it ran today even with the windy conditions. My kids and I will tap in our 50~ bucket taps over the week and into the weekend. I also need to plumb in the new solar vacuum pump and make sure that is drawing correctly from the 3/16 runs into the new (425 gallon) collector that replaces our old IBC tote.

You have to love it to want to do all the work!

[MRFNY]

Glad to hear others are out tapping, too...we tapped in our 100 taps on tubing (this included replacing all of the drop lines and tees, WITHOUT a two-handed tool) on Saturday with the help of a small crew. That was a great time, I love sharing the experience with friends who've never done it before; they are instantly hooked.

As of first thing this morning, not a drop of sap had come out but I have to imagine it ran today even with the windy conditions. My kids and I will tap in our 50~ bucket taps over the week and into the weekend. I also need to plumb in the new solar vacuum pump and make sure that is drawing correctly from the 3/16 runs into the new (425 gallon) collector that replaces our old IBC tote.

You have to love it to want to do all the work!

It is definitely a great time when others share the experience! People don't realize how much work is involved until they come over and experience the process

Our buckets were dripping but very slowly today. I think it's going to take a few days of warm weather for them to thaw out. Wasn't much sun today either which doesn't help!

[ADK_XJ]

It is definitely a great time when others share the experience! People don't realize how much work is involved until they come over and experience the process

Our buckets were dripping but very slowly today. I think it's going to take a few days of warm weather for them to thaw out. Wasn't much sun today either which doesn't help!

Same here. I had just enough daylight to check them after getting home from work and there was a very slow but steady drop from most trees.

[MRFNY]

Same here. I had just enough daylight to check them after getting home from work and there was a very slow but steady drop from most trees.

I put in 18 more taps tonight on some big producing sugar maples that usually take a little while to start producing and they were dripping so that's a good sign. Not sure about the upcoming weather though. Questionable lows at night, then rain during a couple days.

[ADK_XJ]

I put in 18 more taps tonight on some big producing sugar maples that usually take a little while to start producing and they were dripping so that's a good sign. Not sure about the upcoming weather though. Questionable lows at night, then rain during a couple days.

Yeah, that is where the tubing setup earns it's stripes...I find it can weather (sic) the temperature fluctuations much, much better than the buckets.

[MRFNY]

Yeah, that is where the tubing setup earns it's stripes...I find it can weather (sic) the temperature fluctuations much, much better than the buckets.

Yes for sure! I don't think I will ever get into tubing though.

Put in 19 more taps tonight. My best sugar maple with 6 buckets was doing pretty well. One of the buckets was 3/4 fill, another two were half full. Some still bone dry though.

[ADK_XJ]

It's killing me to be at work today watching the low-40s and sunny day outside...I flipped my solar vacuum pump online for the first time this morning, and immediately, I could see a difference in the little stream of sap coming from my 3/16th lines. I'm just imagining that it's gushing right now.

My buckets were still very, very slow but it was still in the low-30s and not very bright when I checked.

[MRFNY]

It's killing me to be at work today watching the low-40s and sunny day outside...I flipped my solar vacuum pump online for the first time this morning, and immediately, I could see a difference in the little stream of sap coming from my 3/16th lines. I'm just imagining that it's gushing right now.

My buckets were still very, very slow but it was still in the low-30s and not very bright when I checked.

I just got a mid-day farm report from the wife. She estimates about 50 gallons of sap in the buckets. Some were still dripping, some weren't.

ADK_XJ - looking at your auto-signature, that's impressive growth to your operation over the years!

[Aslowrie]

I tapped my trees earlier today. I was out of town on vacation, so hopefully I didn't miss too much. My big producers were gushing, even with just a couple hours of tapping. A lot were dry though.

Hopefully this is a good season!

[MRFNY]

Got about 60 gallons tonight and going to boil it tomorrow afternoon. Not enough to run through the RO but not a big deal!

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Collected 50 gallons of sap from my 47 gravity taps yesterday and got the evaporator all setup and boiled it down. I have a 2x5 setup so it takes 10 gallons to get my 1.5" depth, took me 2.5 hours to get through the 40 gallons or about 16GPH, that included firing up the rig. I am trying some pine saw mill scraps this year for fuel and it seems to be working out well. I am able to get trailer loads of full length pieces for free i just have to buck them to 24" length but pretty much no splitting is required which is a huge time saver. Some pieces are a little big so i just split them with an axe real quick while im boiling, i just lay them flat on a thick board on the ground and whack them into pieces as needed.

It got below freezing last night for a while so should get some more sap flowing here shortly.

[ADK_XJ]

Collected 50 gallons of sap from my 47 gravity taps yesterday and got the evaporator all setup and boiled it down. I have a 2x5 setup so it takes 10 gallons to get my 1.5" depth, took me 2.5 hours to get through the 40 gallons or about 16GPH, that included firing up the rig. I am trying some pine saw mill scraps this year for fuel and it seems to be working out well. I am able to get trailer loads of full length pieces for free i just have to buck them to 24" length but pretty much no splitting is required which is a huge time saver. Some pieces are a little big so i just split them with an axe real quick while im boiling, i just lay them flat on a thick board on the ground and whack them into pieces as needed.

It got below freezing last night for a while so should get some more sap flowing here shortly. Nice, I like your fuel plan with the saw log cast offs...I use to do the same when we lived around the corner from a family run sawmill north of Saratoga, they had mountains of the stuff. Now, I use a combination of hemlock and left over hard wood from the home firewood pile for ours.

Yep, dipped into the high 20s here and hoping the tubing will run again although it looks overcast all day. Only two of my three lines have woken up so far, but those two have produced about 100 gallons of sap over the last few days. Interestingly, I tapped in the third line after the first two so I wonder if that may anything to do with them being slower to come around...

[ADK_XJ]

Tubing ran well yesterday and a few buckets were almost full by last night...just went out to check the runs before work and it looks like the 3/16 ran all night to some degree. Should have an almost full IBC totes waiting for me tonight!

[MRFNY]

Going to finish tapping this morning to get my final tap count to ~125 taps. Typically do 100 but I bought 25 buckets this summer to increase production a little bit. Then I plan to collect what's in the buckets and boil that. Pan should be sweetened after today's boil. Then I gotta flush the RO and get that ready for the big runs that are right around the corner!

[ADK_XJ]

It was a very cold day boiling outdoors but we got through an IBC tote of sap yesterday before finally shutting down around sunset. I did leave my brand new power washer outside with Star San in the soap tank overnight so Im imagining some damage to that!

[MRFNY]

It was a very cold day boiling outdoors but we got through an IBC tote of sap yesterday before finally shutting down around sunset. I did leave my brand new power washer outside with Star San in the soap tank overnight so Im imagining some damage to that!

The day started out pretty nice then I was out putting in some additional taps the clouds, snow and wind rolled in! I'm very thankful to be able to boil under cover and out of the cold and wind. Boiled 60 gallons at the end of the day yesterday and the pan is now sugared. Went out this morning and put a lantern in the arch to keep the sweet from freezing up during this two day cold spell.

[ADK_XJ]

The day started out pretty nice then I was out putting in some additional taps the clouds, snow and wind rolled in! I'm very thankful to be able to boil under cover and out of the cold and wind. Boiled 60 gallons at the end of the day yesterday and the pan is now sugared. Went out this morning and put a lantern in the arch to keep the sweet from freezing up during this two day cold spell. Interesting - is there a reason not to let it freeze? I sort of figure it helps preserve it...

[MRFNY]

Interesting - is there a reason not to let it freeze? I sort of figure it helps preserve it...

Basically I was just taught to do it that way and there are threads on this site with others who do the same. It probably wouldn't harm the pan but I did read someone comment that if it was frozen solid it can lift off the pan and have a steam or air gap between the pan the the sweet. That could potentially warp the pan.

I dont think what I have in there would freeze solid but would probably get slushy, but just being overly cautious I suppose.

[ADK_XJ]

Basically I was just taught to do it that way and there are threads on this site with others who do the same. It probably wouldn't harm the pan but I did read someone comment that if it was frozen solid it can lift off the pan and have a steam or air gap between the pan the the sweet. That could potentially warp the pan.

I dont think what I have in there would freeze solid but would probably get slushy, but just being overly cautious I suppose. very interesting, mine is definitely frozen solid...ill have to observe carefully when i start it back up!

[MRFNY]

very interesting, mine is definitely frozen solid...ill have to observe carefully when i start it back up!

Let me know if you run into any issues, I'm curious if I am just being overly cautious or if it can be a big concern.

Flushed the RO last night and ready for some big runs. Thunderstorms tomorrow? lol. Crazy weather

[ADK_XJ]

Let me know if you run into any issues, I'm curious if I am just being overly cautious or if it can be a big concern.

Flushed the RO last night and ready for some big runs. Thunderstorms tomorrow? lol. Crazy weather Yeah, it's hard to boil outdoors when it's either in the single digits or else pouring rain...I just got home and the lines have started running again, just in time for my new power source to arrive for the Shur Flo vacuum pump. I think I'm going to try getting that in place tomorrow and see what I can pull down before the weekend.

The one good thing about the below zero temps to start the week is that I have a giant block of sap ice in the bottom of collection tote to keep it all cool until I can boil again!

[MRFNY]

Yeah, it's hard to boil outdoors when it's either in the single digits or else pouring rain...I just got home and the lines have started running again, just in time for my new power source to arrive for the Shur Flo vacuum pump. I think I'm going to try getting that in place tomorrow and see what I can pull down before the weekend.

The one good thing about the below zero temps to start the week is that I have a giant block of sap ice in the bottom of collection tote to keep it all cool until I can boil again!

My buckets didn't do squat today. A few of them started to drip late in the day but that's about it.

That big block of sap ice will definitely come in handy for ya!

[Aslowrie]

My buckets didn't do squat today. A few of them started to drip late in the day but that's about it.

That big block of sap ice will definitely come in handy for ya!


Mine were empty yesterday too. I also just came in a and very little today. Yesterday I thought might happen since the it was so cold, but surprised at how little today.
I was expecting a gusher. Hopefully they wake up tonight and start going strong in the sustained warm followed by good freeze thaw cycles.

[ADK_XJ]

The tubing was running hard today, buckets not so much. I reinstalled my solar diaphragm pump and was pulling 22" of vacuum at the collection point and close to 28" at the top of the runs. Given the deep cold to start the week, I wouldn't be surprised it it runs through tomorrow!

[crzypete]

hey guys, I'm late to the party this year and not feeling super motivated. Got 20 taps in and was planning on hitting close to 50 again, but it's been so hard walking through the snow that I may abandon the far side of my field and tap everything that is closer. Maybe my motivation will return after the first boil. Have not had too much time to be chasing anything, but did get the evaporator out and leveled. Hopefully we will have a decent season!


Pete

[MRFNY]

We're having similar weather to 2019 according to my notes. My buckets really didn't start running good until around 3/15 that year and boy it was extremely busy until the end of March. Daily collections of 100+ gallons on buckets, and no RO back then! Hoping we see similar flow coming soon!

[MRFNY]

hey guys, I'm late to the party this year and not feeling super motivated. Got 20 taps in and was planning on hitting close to 50 again, but it's been so hard walking through the snow that I may abandon the far side of my field and tap everything that is closer. Maybe my motivation will return after the first boil. Have not had too much time to be chasing anything, but did get the evaporator out and leveled. Hopefully we will have a decent season!


Pete

Good luck Pete! Hope the motivation returns and you get some more taps in!

[MRFNY]

Had more in the buckets than I expected tonight. Collected 65 gallons and boiled it, had a couple draw offs too. Getting closer to bottling some finished syrup!

[MRFNY]

Why can't the issue with posting pictures be fixed?

[ADK_XJ]

Was surprised to find my tubing trees running hard when I got home from a work trip yesterday afternoon, not so much today with the wind and overcast weather. It's not a good day for boiling, either, but we've got a full tote of sap waiting to go one it warms up a bit!

[MRFNY]

Was surprised to find my tubing trees running hard when I got home from a work trip yesterday afternoon, not so much today with the wind and overcast weather. It's not a good day for boiling, either, but we've got a full tote of sap waiting to go one it warms up a bit!

Nice! I thought today was going to be warmer but looks like high of low 30's only. Couple days next week look stellar, but a little nervous about the extended forecast. Seems quite warm with a lot of nights above freezing

[ADK_XJ]

Another decent day for my taps on tubing, around noon I made it out to the woods (had to take my daughters to an outdoor Girl Scout cookie booth in the morning, brrrr) and it was running well. By the time I got out with the tractor and the pump it was overflowing the tote, I really need to switch in my new 425 gallon tank for the old IBC but when there's sap coming in it's hard!

The RO is running in the garage now and then I'll start boiling again tomorrow since I've got the week off from work...love when a plan comes together.

[MRFNY]

Another decent day for my taps on tubing, around noon I made it out to the woods (had to take my daughters to an outdoor Girl Scout cookie booth in the morning, brrrr) and it was running well. By the time I got out with the tractor and the pump it was overflowing the tote, I really need to switch in my new 425 gallon tank for the old IBC but when there's sap coming in it's hard!

The RO is running in the garage now and then I'll start boiling again tomorrow since I've got the week off from work...love when a plan comes together.

Great news! Glad to hear tubing is at least producing, buckets are having a dismal season so far and it's not looking promising after a couple good days this week.

[Aslowrie]

Pretty great day for me too. All my buckets had something, and my high producers were near full. I'm hoping it either continues though the night, or gets just cold enough to run hard again tomorrow.

With that said, it's looking to be a disappointing year. I'm a bit less than 50% of last years sap right now...which was a slow year for me. Hoping it cools down a bit after the warm spell.

[MRFNY]

Collected 115 gallons yesterday around 2:30 in the afternoon and buckets were dripping good. I think we got a freeze last night so today could be crazy but it's going to be quite warm and I dont see a freeze after tonight until next week possibly

[ADK_XJ]

Shew, it is RUNNING. We had 26F overnight and 62F at noon deep in the woods in the lowest spot where our tank is. I've taken 400 gallons off the collection tank already Sunday to today, this was the first day with full buckets and I imagine the tote will fill up again by midday tomorrow. It's supposed to be 28F overnight but cooler in the day, imagine it will run some more but not like this.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

It did not freeze at my place Monday night like I was hoping (elevation hurt me this time as it was 28F in the valley but 38F up on the mountain) but regardless the sap poured like crazy. There is still enough frost and ice on the ground that the 65+ degree temps had the sap flowing like a faucet. I collected 125 gallons from my 47 gravity tubing taps and boiled it all down last night. I haven't bottled it but it looks like it will be around 3.25 gallons and its some really tasty syrup. It was back down to 26F this morning so things should reset and keep the season going. I was getting worried for a little while that this year was going to be a bust as the runs have been small. I am running leader CV spouts so hopefully this warm weather this weekend again wont mess things up too bad.

I am currently dreaming of getting a float box on my rig. I currently have a smoky lake feed pan that going right into my back pan and they sell a float box and hose that i can keep using the feed pan as my head tank but utilize the float box. Maybe next year...

[MRFNY]

Busy couple of days! Looks like everyone else was in the same boat. Boiled 200 gallons the last couple of days and probably have 7-8 now that is ready to be bottled. Will be using the RO Bucket filtering and canning system for the first time, sure hope I don't screw up. lol. Carl at RO Bucket is awesome though, always willing to take calls and help and he said we could set up a video call so he can watch me to make sure everything goes smoothly. Sounds like mistakes can be reversed so that is a good feeling.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Let us know how the filtering goes. I didn't know they made a filter setup but looked it up and it seems nice! I just use an inverted cone filter right off the evaporator to filter which works well but I'm always looking for new things to spend money on haha.

[MRFNY]

Let us know how the filtering goes. I didn't know they made a filter setup but looked it up and it seems nice! I just use an inverted cone filter right off the evaporator to filter which works well but I'm always looking for new things to spend money on haha.

Will do! Prior to this new system, I would draw off the evaporator and pour into a finishing tank through three filters. That would remove the niter, the problem was reheating the syrup to get it up to density prior to bottling. I would wait until I had 5 or more gallons before bottling to make it more productive.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

Will do! Prior to this new system, I would draw off the evaporator and pour into a finishing tank through three filters. That would remove the niter, the problem was reheating the syrup to get it up to density prior to bottling. I would wait until I had 5 or more gallons before bottling to make it more productive.

Gotcha I have a continuous flow pan so I draw off multiple times when it gets to syrup and it always ends up being on the heavy side (on purpose). I filter it right out of the rig into a stock pot where I then slowly reheat for bottling and achieving the proper density. I haven't had any issues with niter reforming but to be safe because I bottle mostly in plastic I always fill an 8oz glass jar so I can make sure that batch doesn't do anything weird. I also mark all of my with a serial number so I can keep track of everything. For example when I bottle tonight everything will be labeled as 25031265. The 25 is the year, 03 is month, 12 is the day, and 65 is the light transmittance from my Hannah digital grader (haven't actually checked this batch yet but am curious how dark it will be). Last year I made all Golden and Amber Syrup, I have a feeling this year will be on the lower end of Amber and getting into Dark Robust.