Bascom's open house...

[maplecreamy]

hello all, still new this site, not sure if this is where i should be asking this question but, did anyone go to Bascom's open house? how was it??

[Russell Lampron]

I went to Bascoms today and had a good time. I saw quite a few Maple Traders there as well. As usual there was a lot of new and used maple equipment to look at and free food too.

Russ

[super sappy]

Went to bascoms today. For some reason I was not as excited as last year. Still had fun .Went with massey jack didnt meet any traders .Think I will buy a Maple pro 2x6 I will try to see a Darveaw this week in granville NY on monday. Otherwise the deer rifle will be sold and I will have enough cash to buy the new rig. SS

[Lwood]

I don't think that they are open in granville on monday's. I'd bet that Pat would meet you there if you called him though. Not sure if he has one there or not. If he doesn't you are more than welcome to come up and see mine. It's a 20 x 66 but the quality should be the same.

He also carries maple pro.

[GregMVT]

I got down there early yesterday but was only able to stay about an hour. Needed to pick up some electric fencing, farther south in NH, for the piglets we are planning on getting soon. Sorry I missed you Russ.

Greg

[Russell Lampron]

We will have to find some way for us Maple Traders to identify each other when we go to functions like this. I was looking for you Greg but was pretty busy the first hour or 2 that I was there. I saw a guy there that I thought might be Super Sappy but didn't know for sure.

Russ

[super sappy]

Russ I thought I may have seen you as well "from matts pictures".next time cary a boiling soda. Did you happen to listen to the tubing seminar with Brad from Leader? I am doing everything wrong,using bulk tanks, Black tubing etc... . I do think that that guy has alot of balls to stand in Bascoms barn with bruce right there and say that black mainline should not be used , Plastic gathering tanks should not be used etc. Bascoms only has enough of that stuff to stretch from there to the ocean.(just my 2 cents). I think that the coolest thing that he had was an old antique wood gathering tank. It took some talent to make that. I am alwayse able to pick around and find something cool there. OH and I almost forgot I have officially retired my Leader hat.my NEW fancy going to town hat is, a NEW YORK MAPLE . SS

[Russell Lampron]

Super Sappy,

Were you wearing that hat yesterday? If you were it might have been you that Matt asked 2 times if he was Dennis. I would have been carrying a "boiling soda" but Bruce was only serving the non boiling kind.

I did listen to some of that seminar. I thought it was a commercial for Leader tubing and mainline and open top stainless tanks. I would go broke (wait a minute I am already) replacing all of my black mainline, plastic tanks and bulk tank. Matt and I thought that the wooden gathering tank was pretty cool too. Did you happen to check out the silo room? I didn't count them all but he has a lot of them in a temp controlled room. That was pretty cool too.

Russ

[brookledge]

What was Brad's reason for not using bulk tanks?
Keith

[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

It probably had to do with the relation to black tubing. hot sap from the black mainline going into an insulated bulk tank will stay hot. not that I agree or disagree with him, but that is what would make sense to me.

[nhmaple48]

An inclosed,insulated tank can't breathe,therefore the sap,if it's warm coming in,stays warmer than in an open tank.

[maple flats]

I attended his talk on Sat and if he said no plastic tanks, I missed it. He did explain the why for no black. Said that it was indeed a money saver to buy but that it was more apt to pull apart, more apt to expand/contract. This expansion made a line wavy and created turbulance in the line which made a poorer sap quality, it heated the sap about 8-10 degrees higher which was also not good. Yes, he was hawking his product but he seemed to give good reasons why it was better to use a UV transparent tubing in terms of syrup production and grade. Grade B may be catching up in price but it is still not in demand as much as the A grades for retail sales. I do not have any UV tubing but I think I will someday. Whenever I design my first Vac setup I hope to be able to swing it. This season i had a black pull apart and I am not sure how much sap I lost but I am convinced it cost me money. And, as I look along all of my mainline I see a serpentine wave instead of the straight line I had when I installed it. Turbulance slows the flow which results in more heating.
One thing Russ said gives me questions as I think it over. He was talking about how he cleans tubing, it sounds easy but I question if it results in the tubing getting as clean. He said he carries his water/?acid solution to the taps and uses vac to suck some thru. My question is how complewte this would be in the mainline, just sucking a little thru the 5/16 tubing will not fill the main so only the very bottom gets cleaned at all. It seems that when a full flow during the season was on the sap line would be much fuller and leave a scum line up the side of the tube and a slow suck to clean would miss this, resulting in bacteria left to attach and grow in the main. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

[Homestead Maple]

Hi Dave,
I've wondered the same thing as far as using vacuum to clean tubing. I have never tried it but it seems as though the drop would be sanitized well but any main lines would not have enough liquid in them to completely clean and sanitize well. I know that when you pump a line full there would be a long detention time using a cleaner in the water but then again some don't even clean lines and when the sap turns to vinegar it's suppose to sanitize the line. I haven't tried that either but from looking in some other maple makers tanks at the beginning of the season and seeing the black sludge that comes down the lines and ends up in the tanks I would wonder if they ever have any plugged lines. Just a thought.

[markcasper]

You may have been thinking of me and not Russ in reguards to vacuum cleaning. I do use the vacuum and hope to figure out an easier way of getting an air compressor into the woods for future years.

In reguards to not getting the mainline full; I have valves installed on the ends of almost all my mainlines, in back of the end star. When I am through with all the laterals, I pull at least 5 gallons through each end of mainline. There is incredible suction and turbulence created when you allow some air in the end as well. I jsut have a short piece of milkhose and dunk it back and forth from the 5 gallon jug.

With the valves installed on the ends, I also was able to rapidly flush all of my mainlines after the cold snap in April. I used plain water at that time and the results were very inpressing when the sap started back running a day or two later. Pretty clean sap.

Alot of my mainlines are easily accessed and not too far away off the beaten path.

If I could afford it, I'd put in all white mainline, I know Lappierre handles it.
In my opinion, Leader is a bit hypocrytical with the black main. ANY color, other than plain white will draw heat and allow sap to warm, albiet probably not as bad as black, but still. I think the UV kick is a bunch of hooey.

[Russell Lampron]

Maple Flats I think you did have me confused with Mark. When I clean my tubing I pump water up through the mainlines and laterals with my transfer pump. I haven't found an economical way to get compressed air down into the woods yet so the water flush is better than nothing.

Russ

[maple flats]

To get the air to my woods where i can't reach from the sugarhouse I have clamp on pallet forks for my tractor loader bucket. I load up my generator and compressor on that, on the back of the tractor I have a carrier for my tank. I also do this for my roadside rented locations by loading it into the truck and my truck is a short box half ton with crossover tool box taking up space. I do need to leave the tailgate down and strap things in.

[gearpump]

Russ, couldn't you use your vacuume line that goes to the sugarhouse for an air line? A simple tee,valve, and airline quick connect would be all that is needed. I think that adding the air to the water is the what really does the cleaning.

Marty

[MASSEY JACK]

Just a note on the bulk tanks. I like the flat top tanks. I open them up at night so the sap can cool. Frequently there is a layer of ice on top in the morning when I close them again. Also, in the early runs when it might freeze real hard before I can boil it all it helps to keep it from becoming a block in one day. If it does become a block then it will keep longer to use for refrigeration later on. I like the insulated tanks.

[Russell Lampron]

Marty,

I never thought of doing that but with a little adapting I should be able to come up with something that will work. My tubing cleaning is done for this season but that is something that I can work on for next year.

Russ

[royalmaple]

Russ, just need to fab up a small line that you can shut off during the season but will act as a bypass for your releaser, so you don't have to try and blow it up forcing the air / water mixture through the releaser.

We can set you up this summer.

[Russell Lampron]

Matt,

I was thinking of fabbing up some connections on the pipe that goes to the releaser but disconnect it from the releaser. Then use something like what you got from The Governor to connect to my mainlines. How much air pressure do you use? If it is too much it will blow the plastic pipe apart.

Russ

[royalmaple]

We can come up with some engineering feat that will defy the rule books.

Might take a few sodas to get it 100%. I can just bring down my washer next year and we can wash your tubing in no time.

I have the air set at 60psi and water at 50 psi. Gets a good wash. If I had more incline to the lines I'd need more air but its flat here as you know, just man made slope!!

[Russell Lampron]

I've got some slope and some distance. I'm not sure how much pressure my Honda pump puts out but it has no problem pushing water all of the way to the furthest taps. I'm sure we can come up with something that will work. Plastic water line will handle 60 psi easy enough.

Russ

[maple flats]

As far as I know the cheapest plastic tubing is rated at 80 psi@73 degrees F, most is rated higher. If you are pushing cool or cold water up you will not have 73 degrees and that would give you even more margin for error. The rating is printed on the pipe, usually small print in a line along the length and is repeated every 2 ft or so.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[Russell Lampron]

Governor that sounds like a good way to do it. That way I should be able to connect to a garden hose and not have to use the pump or water tank at all. I think the house water pressure is 50psi. I'm sure between you me and the Pirate we can come up with something that will work.

Russ

[royalmaple]

AAARRRRRGGGGGGG...

Now all I need is a parrot on my shoulder and an eye patch.

[802maple]

I thought maine pirates had a beaver on there shoulder

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[royalmaple]

shoulder sometimes.

[gearpump]

Governor, you should have brought some tubing and hooked up a "mini" tubing setup on some cactuses. Would have made a great picture! The locals would have a field day with that one!

Marty

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[Russell Lampron]

Cactus syrup! Hmmmm maybe you're on to something there.

Russ