Tapping in Western PA

[sbedilion]

I'm going to run my first line tomorrow (3/16th) and hopefully tap tomorrow. Last year I tapped Mid-January (roughly 50 taps on bags/buckets) and had a great season. If all goes well...I'll probably add another run or 2 during the weekend. Probably throw out a few buckets also.

[sbedilion]

Ran my first line yesterday. Tapped early so I can figure out the whole tubing thing and work the bugs out. What a pain it is to setup a line without a tubing tool!!! I plan on running 2-3 more lines in a wk or 2 once I get a better picture of the forecast.

Sap was flowing pretty good yesterday. I was surprised since it was the first day above freezing since this deep freeze hit us.

[Gary R]

Happy 2018 everyone! I woke up today, looked at the weather and said why not. Fixed up the tubing this morning and the laterals were unthawed. Put the evaporator together this afternoon and cleaned some tanks. I've got some more cleaning to do but plan on tapping and turning the pump on tomorrow. Hope to boil Monday. I'll pull the plug at about 20 gallons so I might only be boiling for a week or two. If your waiting, stop in and tell some stories. Good luck to everyone!

[Hoppy]

I wrote this in the Pennsylvania thread already but I put out 6 taps in the backyard today. Sap was dripping nicely. 10 more coming in the mail tomorrow supposedly. I have a relative with 3 huge sugar maples and am hoping to tap those tomorrow afternoon or Monday.

I boiled last year in a 4 inch steam pan on my camp stove. I'm in the middle of upgrading that setup to two pans that will sit on some burners. I welded up a framework and need to finish it up with some sheet metal to help keep the heat in. Hope to remember to get some pictures along the way.

[Hoppy]

I collected today at noon, so that's 21 hours after tapping. With 6 taps I collected a little more than 1/4 gallon so what looked like good dripping apparently stopped pretty soon after.

10 more taps arrived this morning. I have one more tree on my property I can tap an then I have to go to the relatives.
I hope it picks up.

[Evets]

I wouldn't worry too much. It's still pretty early. I just put in 7 taps myself in my backyard. All the tap holes were wet and I could hear a few dripping nicely in the buckets as I walked away.

[Gary R]

I've got more than 200 gallons in the tank. One of my 3/16" barrels was overflowing. Need to get my stacks up and light a fire this evening.

[sbedilion]

Collected 50 gallons yesterday. Finished tapping. 3 lines on 3/16. The weird thing....one of my lines that did very well Fri wasn't moving at all Sunday....while my other 2 lines were flowing fast. I checked for leaks and clogs....couldn't figure out what was going on. Hopefully it was just the trees because I can't work on the line for a few days.

[Hoppy]

My son and I tapped 3 monster sugar maples at a relatives house. They were dripping much more than mine. We have 3 taps in each so 9 taps over there for a total of 16 this year. I have a couple more I might try to get in the neighborhood.

I need to finish welding up my framework for the pans.

Someone tapped on McMurray Rd across from the Goddard school, looked like a dozen and a half out there.

[Gary R]

Glad I took a few hours vacation today. I collected 415 gallons of sap. Also glad to get my first boil of the year screw ups out of the way. Was drawing syrup in less than 3 hours and wasn't ready. My draw off showed 222 before I got a pot to draw off into. Also forgot to shut off the valve on my bulk tank when I was changing pumps. At least 50 gallons of that sap went on the ground:cry: At least I'll be done boiling in an hour and have about 1 1/2 gal. of syrup!

[sbedilion]

Hoppy.....I'm about 2 miles south right off McMurray Rd. That's cool to know there are a few hobby maple people nearby.

Collected 50 gallons Sunday. Haven't checked things since. My trees are at my in-laws down in Lone Pine (Washington). Planning my first boil Friday....hoping for 150-200 gallon boil. Things seemed to slow down a lot with this warm up.....hopefully things reset tonight with the dropping temps. Forecast looks goooood.


My son and I tapped 3 monster sugar maples at a relatives house. They were dripping much more than mine. We have 3 taps in each so 9 taps over there for a total of 16 this year. I have a couple more I might try to get in the neighborhood.

I need to finish welding up my framework for the pans.

Someone tapped on McMurray Rd across from the Goddard school, looked like a dozen and a half out there.

[helptheold]

Hoppy.....I'm about 2 miles south right off McMurray Rd. That's cool to know there are a few hobby maple people nearby.

Collected 50 gallons Sunday. Haven't checked things since. My trees are at my in-laws down in Lone Pine (Washington). Planning my first boil Friday....hoping for 150-200 gallon boil. Things seemed to slow down a lot with this warm up.....hopefully things reset tonight with the dropping temps. Forecast looks goooood.

Nice! I plan on tapping on Thursday, we got back yesterday and I still have stuff to clean to get ready. If you see any around Bower Hill School, those are mine :)

[Hoppy]

Sbedilion,
That's great you're close. Do you boil here or in Lone Pine?

Helptheold,
I'll be on the lookout for them!

My trees are really slow but I went over to the other property this morning and had 7.5 gallons from 9 taps. 5 or 6 were overflowing. That was about 18 hours after tapping. I was pretty excited. I have more than half of lasts years total sap already.

Last light I finished my boiler setup. I have a Blackstone griddle that we keep outside. The griddle comes off and it's a rectangular framework with 2 H burners. I put together a framework that holds two pans above the burners. I finally got some pictures today. It's going right now out on the porch. I have it on high. The bottoms of the pans are about 3 inches above the burners so they are close but the flame is not really touching the pans. It's evaporating pretty well though. The sap is about 200 degrees. The pans are dropping about 1/2 to 3/4 inch per hour so maybe 2 gallons an hour?

The sap from today is really sweet tasting. I'm just made a drink with Jameson's Black Barrel, ice and sap from today. It's very good, with a sweet finish.

[sbedilion]

Hoppy...my driveway. I just make a cinderblock firepit and throw a 3ftx4ft flan pan over it. I'm located next to the old Rolling Hills Golf Course. When the steam gets going....my neighbors start coming out to investigate and just shake their heads. haha

17203

[Gary R]

Boiled 227 gallons yesterday. Turned the pump off but should be back at it Friday.

[Hoppy]

Hoppy...my driveway. I just make a cinderblock firepit and throw a 3ftx4ft flan pan over it. I'm located next to the old Rolling Hills Golf Course. When the steam gets going....my neighbors start coming out to investigate and just shake their heads. haha

17203

Great sight! You weren't hauling sap in a silver pickup today were you? I'll keep an eye out near the golf course for you. I have taps on Center Church rd closer to rt 19.

My trees were dry, but I picked up 5 gallons from Center Church. Boiling again tonight. I wasn't impressed with my double pan setup. Tonight I was able to raise the back half of the burners. Now half of the flame is touching the pan and I have a boil going where I didn't before. Also, last night I was such a rookie and put cold sap into the pans. Duh.. Preheating tonight and going much better.

[Sugarmaker]

Boiled 227 gallons yesterday. Turned the pump off but should be back at it Friday.
Gary,
Good to see your out there making syrup. I heard the sugar content was good this last run?
May tap Friday???
Regards,
Chris

[sbedilion]

Great sight! You weren't hauling sap in a silver pickup today were you? I'll keep an eye out near the golf course for you. I have taps on Center Church rd closer to rt 19.

My trees were dry, but I picked up 5 gallons from Center Church. Boiling again tonight. I wasn't impressed with my double pan setup. Tonight I was able to raise the back half of the burners. Now half of the flame is touching the pan and I have a boil going where I didn't before. Also, last night I was such a rookie and put cold sap into the pans. Duh.. Preheating tonight and going much better.

That was most likely me :) Silver Tacoma with a 275 gallon tote. I collected 70 this morning bring my total to 120 gallons in that tote. I don't think that truck can handle anymore weight. I'm off tomorrow so I will be doing my first boil of the season. Weekend weather looks good, so maybe another boil on Sunday with similar numbers.

[Gary R]

Hi Chris! First day sugar was average, 1.4 on my 3/16" (mostly sugars), after that 1.1. Didn't have a freeze for three days. I'm surprised anyone is started up north. After this weekend it doesn't look too good. Should have been around to watch my wife fire the evaporator in a tee shirt:lol: I keep tell her you shouldn't do that.

[Hoppy]

That was most likely me :) Silver Tacoma with a 275 gallon tote. I collected 70 this morning bring my total to 120 gallons in that tote. I don't think that truck can handle anymore weight. I'm off tomorrow so I will be doing my first boil of the season. Weekend weather looks good, so maybe another boil on Sunday with similar numbers.

Ha, awesome! I don't know if you remember ( about 4:30pm) but you slowed down to let someone out of Cranmoor (on Mcmurray) right before Donaldson's Crossroads. It was me in a maroon pickup truck with racks, I wasn't paying attention to you slowing down because I was staring at the big tank in the back and thinking about sap in it, so you went ahead! Sorry! Then I saw it sloshing around, saw it was clear, and figured it could be sap.

Those numbers are great. We've collected 13 gallons so far. It's boiled down to about 3. Tomorrow should be good. I'm rethinking my griddle/double burner setup. It's not as fast as I'd hoped and it's going to cost me. I might have to build a little concrete arch like you have and just tend to it.

[Sugarmaker]

Gary,
Folks,
Sounds like PA is off and running.
I set the last three sap collection containers (50 gallon) this afternoon, and while out there taped about a third of the sugarbush.
Should have the rest tapped by tomorrow afternoon, Then just set back and watch the money roll in!:) Still have some tanks to clean and then test the pumps. Looking forward to trying this new sap hauler in 2018!
Hoping for a run this week end and then maybe another mid week, after that its anyone's guess as to what will happen. I do know that we were all done March 9 last year. That is only about 6 weeks out, so I don't think we are far off tapping now. And if we hold our mouth just right, might make 20 gallons of early syrup in the next week?
Gary, How was your grade for this early? Should have been pretty good!
Regards,
Chris

[Gary R]

Sap isn't running that great but I have about 230 in the tank. Will start boiling this afternoon. I hope to be done for the season by the end of this coming week but it's not looking good.

Chris, the grade is as always. I don't have a grade kit but this first run is maybe amber. I'm sure I'll be middle dark starting today. What's the new sap collector?

[Hoppy]

Boy I hope the season isn't over by next week. Had our best day today. Collected 12 gallons. Last year we got 16 total.
I made 6 jars of finished syrup last night. I need to come up with a good filter setup. I filtered twice and still have some sand.
Delicious though. I like it better than last year's syrup.

[Springfield Acer]

Seeing all you guys tapping and boiling has me a little envious.
I usually wait until Feb to start and as such I just am not ready.
I guess I'll work to be ready for Feb and enjoy your logs until then.

[Gary R]

Sap hasn't been flowing that great. Boiled 350 gallons yesterday and made about 4 gallons of syrup. Gotta love that 1% sap:rolleyes:

Randy, I don't think you've missed that much. Looks like a long cold spell coming up.

Hoppy, the season has barely started for most. I only need to make enough for some family and friends. I've got the capacity to do a lot more, just not the ambition. Great to see all you guys enjoying it.

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
Gary,
Local maple meeting yesterday was very good to see old friends and had a good meal.
I had higher expectations for sap quantity yesterday as the weather was warm and rainy. Any way I did gather 550 gallons of 2%. Sweetened the pans by 9:00 last night and made 2.5 gallons of Amber syrup prior to shutdown. All systems worked good and Gary the new sap hauler is a truck upgrade. 2015 Ford F250 Lariat, 6.7 Power Stroke. Has 2 inch rear lift and I added Timbren rubber overload bumpers to carry the sap load. Yesterday I only loaded 220 gallons and I had minimal sag. I was draging the dump system on the other truck. This is a used unit with lots of miles but seems like its going to be a good truck for hauling. Just a big expensive toy!:)
Yesterday:
https://i.imgur.com/Im87SoC.jpg

Regards,
Chris

[Hoppy]

Folks,
Gary,
Local maple meeting yesterday was very good to see old friends and had a good meal.
I had higher expectations for sap quantity yesterday as the weather was warm and rainy. Any way I did gather 550 gallons of 2%. Sweetened the pans by 9:00 last night and made 2.5 gallons on Amber syrup prior to shutdown. All systems worked good and Gary the new sap hauler is a truck upgrade. 2015 Ford F250 Lariat, 6.7 Power Stroke. Has 2 inch rear lift and I added Timbren rubber overload bumpers to carry the sap load. Yesterday I only loaded 220 gallons and I had minimal sag. I was draging the dump system on the other truck. This is a used unit with lots of miles but seems like its going to be a good truck for hauling. Just a big expensive toy!:)
Yesterday:


Regards,
Chris

That's a great rig! Of course with my biggest yet haul of 12 gallons, I was almost overloaded myself!:lol:

The 12 is boiled down to about 1 now and I'm headed out to collect.

[Hoppy]

Picked up another 10 gallons today. I'm so small time I'm getting overloaded. Looking forward to a freeze, but having fun making it.

[Evets]

I collected almost 50 gallons today from 15 taps. First boil tomorrow!

[Sugarmaker]

Every one is doing good, no matter what size operation. Sometimes I feel making a gallon or two would be just as much fun! Its all about the scale of your operation and how much you like to watch water boil and or play with fire!:)
Just got back from gathering and visiting at a new sugarhouse in the neighborhood too. They were boiling like crazy at about 40 gph. Making nice flavored Amber to dark syrup.
I collected 480 gallons of sap this afternoon/ evening. Was very impressed with the sap hauler when fully loaded (ok maybe a little overloaded at 350 gallons of sap in the tank and the dumping station combined.) It only dropped the rear end about 3-4 inches. Much better than the previous 2009 F250 which was a tail drager when loaded.
Since I don't have to work tomorrow (or ever) I decided to get the sap into the tanks in the sugarhouse loft and call it a night. We can boil tomorrow. It was just starting to freeze at 6:30.
Regards,
Chris

[Hoppy]

I collected almost 50 gallons today from 15 taps. First boil tomorrow!

Nice!

I finished half a gallon of syrup tonight. Also had a very successful run through my filter setup with one oops.
I'll try and get some pictures of it. But basically it's two 2 gallon food grade buckets and one lid. I cut the inside of the lid out and put it on one bucket which also received a nylon fitting which was 1/4" MPT and 3/8" hose barb. The other bucket had the bottom cut out of it.

This whole idea was based on a filter setup that I saw on youtube which was by a guy that I think is on here. Peter Griffin was in the video.

Anyway, I bought a $2 piece of polyester felt at micheals to be the filter material. The filter sheet is set over the bucket with the lid/hole in lid. The bucket without the bottom is pushed down into the lid and squeezes the filter tightly. I then hooked up a brand new little hand vacuum pump (fluid transfer pump) to the hose barb. The just finished syrup is poured in and about 10 pumps with the little pump and the 1/2 gallon was sucked right down through. It was great. Of course when I lifted the top off I forgot to hold on to the felt and it fell into the freshly filtered syrup! I pour it back to the pot, rinsed the filter and brought back to boil then did it again. It's a lot clearer than the other nights syrup which had a bunch of sediment in it. Now, I bet it could be clearer. Not sure if it would help with a better cloth or just not dropping it in like a klutz.

Recommendations on filter cloth would be great to hear. Thanks!

[sbedilion]

Busy weekend standing by the fire. I was pretty disappointed w the ratio from my first boil. 125gal down to 1.5gal. Final product was nice tho. Made it most of the way through my second boil...100gal down to about 4 gal concentrate. Might finish that up tonight. I checked my sap barrels yesterday afternoon...Have about 60 more gallons waiting. I'll probably collect it Wednesday and Friday...and boil this upcoming wkend.

I have to bribe some of my shop guys (welders) with some syrup to finish my new pan 3ft x 4ft flat pan. Currently I have two 3ft 2ft flan pans. The new pan will be the same size as my current two but hoping I can easily put a valve on my sap tank and let the sap trickle into the boiling pan. Hand feeding batches of 100+ gal makes for a loooong day. Hopefully I can just feed the fire and walk away for some time.

17321

[Gary R]

It wasn't a great day yesterday. I only got 255 gallons of sap. I started my boil and after a while I wondered why I had so much "steam" coming off my front pan. Checked my stack lids and OK. I forgot to open the valve between the front and back pan. Entire sugar shack was now full of smoke! I dumped some water in and waited for the fire to die. Two channels are totally burnt and warped. I also have a leak. I think the solder got melted out of a joint. Fortunately I had a new spare front pan. Two hours later I'm back boiling. Boy did I screw up.

[Sugarmaker]

Gary,
Sorry that you burnt your pan. You are one of the elite group of sugarmakers now. Hope you can repair/ save the burnt pan too! Recovery is everything!
Regards,
Chris

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
Cold here today, hoping for one more warm up to get another run before the big Feb freeze!
Checked the evaporator this morning and it did not have any ice in it. Sugar content must be high enough to help keep it from freezing. I did install a small electric heater in the firebox just in case.
Since Saturday afternoon We have gathered and boiled in approx 1200 gallons of 2% sap and have 14 gallons of Amber syrup, plus the work in process in the rig.
All systems tested and functioning. Still having a lot of issues with big draws and making syrup in the center partitions. Mostly due to the design of my AOF system being just under the pan sides.
Regards,
Chris

[heus]

Chris great to hear you have already made syrup. Im still only about half-tapped, and dont plan to boil until after the big Feb freeze up.

[Sugarmaker]

Heus,
Feel I am a little early, but only time will tell. Will know for sure by first of April!:) Glad your right at it! Your Dad still helping you boil? Any new additions to your sugarhouse this season?
Thought we might make some light syrup? Mother nature says not yet!!!
Regards,
Chris

[Polish Wizard]

I get a kick reading posts from folks in my South Hills of Pittsburgh neighborhood.
I do all my hobby maple at our other property in Mercer County, but due to family issues I haven't had the opportunity to consider heading north for tapping in spite of the recent weather.
Hopefully that will all change and I can get north this weekend to get the process started.
I only use 50 taps, but it's provided enough sap to allow me to pass around some syrup to family and friends.
Besides weather dictating tree donations, if I start this weekend I'll be about the same schedule as last year.

If you folks in the South Hills are considering building an arch that includes firebrick, I'll suggest considering a vendor called Dealer Depot in Monongahela.
We built my system in 2016, and since my head architect and welder guru lives in Washington County we found Dealer Depot to be convenient, friendly and low cost.
You can see a picture of my set-up if you look into my gallery.
It includes a fan to provide AUF (that works really well) and buffet pans for me to play 3-card Monty with sap before switching to a propane turkey fryer for finish.

[sbedilion]

PolishWiz....I find it amazing that within 2 miles of my house in Peters, there are 3 other maple people tapping neighborhood trees. 2 of them are on here! haha.

Thanks for the heads up. I will be building an arch before next season.

[Hoppy]

Polishwizard,
Thanks for the heads up from me too. I'll keep Dealer Depot in mind. I think I have to build something for next year that fires with wood.
I have a barrel and am thinking of maybe using that and insulation and firebrick is a good idea for it.

My son and I keep our eyes peeled for more taps in the woods as we're driving around!

[Gary R]

After a series of screw ups I think I'm done for the season. I boiled a little sap today, chased the sweet a little and drained the evaporator. I collected about 1500 gal. this run but didn't quite boil that much:confused: I need to finish the front pan, filter and bulk pack the syrup. I should have about 12 gal.

Chris, nice looking sap hauler. I'd need to wax the BAT mobile to get as classy as you:lol: Good luck to everyone!

[Polish Wizard]

I read about the various evaporators on the market and wonder if I should step up from my three buffet pan system.
That is, until I read details like Gary experienced and remember when I too found lots of smoke inside my sugar shack.
After a quick check to make sure the shack wasn't burning down around me I realized one of the many lessons most syrup makers understand --- keep the liquid deep enough in your pans to avoid such issues.
With my screw-ups even the worst problem has a simple fix --- buy a new full size buffet pan.
And since I keep extras on hand, I'm right back in business if I still have any sap that didn't get destroyed.
Sorry to hear about your bad luck and short season.
I'm guessing you were tired and/or in a hurry and missed a step in your usual process.
From my experience autopilot only takes me so far before my nemesis "Murphy" steps in.

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
Resting today with the temps in the single digits last night.
Gary, Wow throwing in the towel already short season down south! Come up anytime!
Yesterday was a little warmer and the sap was running a little. I had purchased some supplies to build the tank lifting system in the back of the truck. So I worked on that. Its a prototype which will probably not get many changes!:)

I uses a Harbor freight boat winch, couple of pulleys and 1.5 x 2 inch tubing, plus 4 3/8 bolts. Cut and fabbed the frame. Mounted the winch upside down to 'tuck' it inside the frame.
https://i.imgur.com/CykpFff.jpg

Added a 3/8 eye bolt to the tank frame for lifting.

https://i.imgur.com/8N5uo3i.jpg

So we had a small run of 180 gallons of 2%.My trees are on a route and it took me 2 hours to make the loop and get it picked up at 32 stops. Back at the sugarhouse: This lifting system allowed me to easily lift the almost empty tank and rinse it out after gathering.
(saved some strain on the back) Was about $100 in materials. I was going to go with a power winch but felt that was over kill.

So as the temp went towards 10 degrees, I boiled in the sap and made 5 gallons of Amber syrup. Bringing our early total to about 20 gallons. Slim chance of a run this weekend as the temps will get back up near freezing but not much higher.
Tried a couple new old things last night. Ran the sap 1/2 inch lower. syrup came off a little more consistent. On shut down I drew off 3-4 gallons of sweet to be saved for the next start up as the pans blend during shut down. Also added some sweet in the float box to bring the sugar content up. Checked the cold evaporator this morning and the temp in the pans were still 39 degrees F.

Regards,
Chris

[Gary R]

I ended up with 13 3/8 gallons. It's all packed away. My neighbors want to make syrup. They may use my entire operation instead of their buckets and a flat pan.

Polish Wizard, The greater the reward the bigger the risk. I'm able to evaporate up to 60 gallons of sap per hour. My failures just cost more:) About where do you boil in Mercer county? I'd like to check it out some day if you don't mind.

Chris, I'll be around some day for some wisdom.

[sbedilion]

Gary...sorry to hear about the short season, but the upside is....um more free time for other hobbies :)

Chris...I like the lift. Last night I was trying to muscle my tote up so i could slide a brick under the back of it so I could get the last couple gallons of sap out the front. Your lift is def a back saver.

Boiled 100 gallons down yesterday on my new flat pan (3ftx4ft)...its the same size as my previous setup of two 2ft x 3ft pans set side by side, but it felt like things went sooo much quicker. Maybe one of these years i'll try a continuous pan. Collected about 300 gallons so far this season and made about 3 gallons of syrup. It looks like things will start to pick up this weekend with steady temps above freezing in the day...although I thought that 2 weeks ago..hahaha.

17417

17418

[HowardR]

If weather.com is right, there should be a nice run next week. I'll be tapping on Thursday and Friday.

[Hoppy]

This has actually been a nice break over the last few days. So far I've collected almost 60 gallons of sap and finished 1.3 gallons of syrup. I just need to get my filtering down.

[Sugarmaker]

Gary...sorry to hear about the short season, but the upside is....um more free time for other hobbies :)

Chris...I like the lift. Last night I was trying to muscle my tote up so i could slide a brick under the back of it so I could get the last couple gallons of sap out the front. Your lift is def a back saver.

Boiled 100 gallons down yesterday on my new flat pan (3ftx4ft)...its the same size as my previous setup of two 2ft x 3ft pans set side by side, but it felt like things went sooo much quicker. Maybe one of these years i'll try a continuous pan. Collected about 300 gallons so far this season and made about 3 gallons of syrup. It looks like things will start to pick up this weekend with steady temps above freezing in the day...although I thought that 2 weeks ago..hahaha.

17417

17418

Thanks!
Hope your season in the lower part of the state is good. If you run out of things to do or your season is done we are having our Taste and tour event March 17 and 18 10-4 each day. About 5 sugarhouses around our area and 15 I think on the tour.
Check it out on PAmaple.org.

Regards,
Chris

[Springfield Acer]

Gary;
Sorry to hear this! Laura told me you were done for the season but not that you had "difficulties".
Unfortunately, I know this exact scenario.
I now have "valve" written on the SS float box cover so that when I pull the covers, I am reminded to open the valve.
I got lucky though with no leaks but the warps caused minor scorching issues so I bought a new one this summer.
I hope to be boiling by the 17th.

[helptheold]

Checked my trees this morning, dumped everything that I found but all are running nicely so I'm hoping tomorrow will be a good day :)

[sbedilion]

The cold spell was a nice break but im itching for this weeks flood gates to open.

New labels arrived today.

17518

[Gary R]

Chatted with Sugarmaker the other day. Hope to get up there soon. Here's a picture of my BAT mobile. It works good but doesn't really like deep snow. We usually have mud.

Randy, better get it in gear! tomorrow looks like the day to start boiling. Good Luck!17519

[Sugarmaker]

Gary,
You were supposed to put another coat of wax on the BAT moblle!
Humm,
We might get a small run today? Things are just starting to thaw!
Looking good!
Regards,
Chris

[Gary R]

The neighbors balked at using my entire operation. They put up 33 buckets yesterday and will do a few more tomorrow. They boil on a flat pan on a fire place in a log cabin. I'll get a picture in a few days. I'm going to haul some sap from my 3/16" tubing over there. I need to make sure they get good long boils in:) The best thing is I get to watch and drink THEIR beer!

Chris, I realized no matter how well I waxed the BAT mobile, it wouldn't be as pretty as your sap hauler:lol:

[Sugarmaker]

Gary,
Best of both worlds: Them boiling and you consuming their frosty beverages. Don't forget to keep mentioning your rigs boiling rate, and the amount of time they still need to boil, and if they want you to bring them another tank full of sap? Just kidding Have fun!
BAT mobile is looking good As is!
We may be boiling Thursday afternoon/ evening based on the current forecast. Man it is going to be cold tonight, and will take a day or two to thaw out!
Canned up 9 gallons of nice Amber syrup yesterday.
Regards,
Chris

[sbedilion]

Boiled down 100 gallons yesterday down to about 10 gallons concentrate. I have about 2 gallons finished and now 2 batches of concentrate (about 10 gal each) that I need to finish. That should give me about 4 gallons finished so far. I haven't checked the barrels from yesterday's small run but I'm assuming with today's temps I'll have another 100gals to gather after work.

I've been really disappointed with my sap's sugar content. I'm right at 1%-1.5%. I have 3 lines on 3/16th gravity (roughly 75 taps)....but I honestly dont know what type of maple they are. I will have to get a few pictures and post them. I don't mind collecting low sugar sap this year...but next year I will definitely build a small RO system to help. Does sugar content raise some as we get closer to spring? Last year I taps several huge sugar maples with bags...I miss them (haha).

helptheold.....were you at the liquor store yesterday? i stopped in to buy some wine to drink while sitting by the fire. the cashier goes..."you smell like campfire". i told him i was making syrup in my driveway, which is why i smelled like campfire. He told me a woman just left that mentioned she had tapped some neighbor trees.

[Sugarmaker]

Boiled down 100 gallons yesterday down to about 10 gallons concentrate. I have about 2 gallons finished and now 2 batches of concentrate (about 10 gal each) that I need to finish. That should give me about 4 gallons finished so far. I haven't checked the barrels from yesterday's small run but I'm assuming with today's temps I'll have another 100gals to gather after work.

I've been really disappointed with my sap's sugar content. I'm right at 1%-1.5%. I have 3 lines on 3/16th gravity (roughly 75 taps)....but I honestly dont know what type of maple they are. I will have to get a few pictures and post them. I don't mind collecting low sugar sap this year...but next year I will definitely build a small RO system to help. Does sugar content raise some as we get closer to spring? Last year I taps several huge sugar maples with bags...I miss them (haha).

helptheold.....were you at the liquor store yesterday? i stopped in to buy some wine to drink while sitting by the fire. the cashier goes..."you smell like campfire". i told him i was making syrup in my driveway, which is why i smelled like campfire. He told me a woman just left that mentioned she had tapped some neighbor trees.

The RO will help you boil a lot less. Or you might find some sugarmaples to bring the sugar content up to 2%.
Good luck in your syrup making.
Regards,
Chris

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
Cold last night in, in the low teens, sun is out and its looking good for this week to make some syrup about Thursday. Looking at the calendar this is about the time I would usually start to tap. Jumped the gun this year . Will see how that shakes out at the end of the season.
Regards,
Chris

[Sugarmaker]

Taking a shot at the forcast. This is what we should be seeing by Wed evening or Thurs evening?
Made a gallon of first run syrup into candy today.
In the "getting ready again" mode
Water heater went south in the sugarhouse. Elec. company will be out to fix that. Seems to be running on just one element.

https://i.imgur.com/izZZiUJ.jpg

Regards,
Chris

[sbedilion]

black maple?

17588

17589

17590

17590

all my trees look like this...getting 1% sap. will it get better?

[karl evans]

Sure looks like a black maple leaf. I would guess that. Black is considered by most same as a sugar. I met some producers from Ontario years back who felt the black maple was slightly Superior to the sugar. I always found that interesting. They should produce better than 1%

[sbedilion]

They should but aren't. haha. Nothing like boiling 100 gallons to make 1 gallon. I'm only selling a limits number of bottles, this is just a hobby so its not a big deal.


Sure looks like a black maple leaf. I would guess that. Black is considered by most same as a sugar. I met some producers from Ontario years back who felt the black maple was slightly Superior to the sugar. I always found that interesting. They should produce better than 1%

[Sugarmaker]

Sap ran a little today. But we did not gather. Spent time making candy, Sugar coating candy, making Maple BBQ and Maple mustard.
Will gather and boil whats out there tomorrow. Seemed like a weeping run. Started to get some light drizzle at dark so that might help get the big maples running better.
Regards,
Chris

[Springfield Acer]

I started drilling Friday evening. We finished up a new tubing system at my friend's so he can stop handling buckets Saturday including putting all the taps. Saturday PM we Finished all the sugar maple taps then cleaned out the shack and started cleaning everything. We got some decent run yesterday and I boiled for three hours and actually got the first draw in just over two hours. There was a full gallon in the jug by the end of the three hours. There was another nice run today but had no time to boil since my wife owns a flower shop and I had to help deliver. More sap coming and steady boiling starting again tomorrow night. I might get the last third of my taps which are on vacuum in this weekend..... Last night's syrup tasted awesome! :D

[red gate maple]

Thanks for this post. We tapped our trees on Sunday and we are getting a very slow drip at best. Maybe the sap will run on Thursday.

Brenda

[Kippster]

Northwestern PA over here. Put out 64 buckets yesterday, drilling every hole by hand with my brace and bit. It was a gorgeous day in the woods and the sap was running nicely. I plan to put 50 more buckets out today. Evaporator is set up and ready to go. We're off and running!!!

[Gary R]

I sent 80 gallons to the neighbors this morning. They've also got about forty taps. They boil about 10 gallons an hour so they should be busy all day today. The sap isn't running that well. The weather doesn't look to good also. Not many freezes next week. It will be tough on the buckets.

[Hoppy]

Sbedilion, your labels are awesome. How do you filter? That’s the main thing I can’t do as well as I’d like.

So all last year we collected 16 gallons of sap, I collected 15 today. This year will be a big success over last year.

Today I bottled 104 ounces of syrup, bringing our total to just over 2 gallons finished. That’s from 75 gallons of sap.

[PA mapler]

I tapped 200 trees today, til the batteries ran out... the sap was flowing really well, but looks like a cool down for a few days up here. I normally tap the beginning of March, but this year looks unusual again.

[helptheold]

No way to check my sugar content but I've gathered about 60 gallons over the past two days in the rain. I'm not sure my jeans and boots will ever recover!

[Gary R]

Went to the neighbors yesterday. They boiled over 8 hours and made some syrup. A little dark because the pan got too low trying to finish and as normal had to filter out the mortar that falls down the chimney:o17627.

[Evets]

Went to the neighbors yesterday. They boiled over 8 hours and made some syrup. A little dark because the pan got too low trying to finish and as normal had to filter out the mortar that falls down the chimney:o17627.

Hope there's no asbestos in that mortar. If so, just filter asbestos you can!

[helptheold]

Hope there's no asbestos in that mortar. If so, just filter asbestos you can!

Oh that's bad :lol:

[Sugarmaker]

Gary,
Remove the plastic tank and hose and I would think the picture was take about 150 years ago! Wow!
Between yesterday and today I gathered about 450 gallons of sap, about 1.8%, and made 9.5 gallons of slightly darker syrup. ( Dark Robust ).
Just keep squeezing them! Puts us at about 30 gallon this spring. Not setting the world on fire but plugging along.
Oh yea the jeans comment reminded me that the inside of my truck is usually trashed during this time of the year too! Mud and sticky sap.
Hey that tank raising system works pretty darn nice in the truck. One of those " why didnt I do that a long time ago" things?
Regards,
Chris

[Gary R]

Those guys are 4H leaders and having all the kids over tomorrow for a boiling demonstration. I've still got 70 gallons of sap in barrels for them to boil. The buckets have not run well. The 4H has been to my place, but I still think they would have been better off boiling at my place.17636

[Sugarmaker]

Gary,
I agree! Man your rig looks sharp!
We did gather 115 gallons of 1.8% sap and boiled it in to the rig. Just got everything cleaned up before the freeze last night. Looks like several good days this week.
Regards,
Chris

[ehausinfrats]

Glad I took a few hours vacation today. I collected 415 gallons of sap. Also glad to get my first boil of the year screw ups out of the way. Was drawing syrup in less than 3 hours and wasn't ready. My draw off showed 222 before I got a pot to draw off into. Also forgot to shut off the valve on my bulk tank when I was changing pumps. At least 50 gallons of that sap went on the ground:cry: At least I'll be done boiling in an hour and have about 1 1/2 gal. of syrup!



I have a saying when that happens. “ there’s no use crying over spilled sap”

Eric

[sbedilion]

Had my biggest final product yet...3.5gallons and started boiling another 100 gallons (of 1% sap..boooo). Ran out of firewood and had to head to the farm to get more.

Looks like we will have a couple HOT days this wk but then drops back down for some great maple weather. Hope all is well with everyone.

17648

[sbedilion]

stress'n over today's awesome weather. ha. I have about 150 gallons boiled down to a concentrate of about 40 gallons...with an additional 80 gallons of sap from yesterdays collection sitting in the back of my truck. Its 73 now....and will hit 76 today. I won't get the fire started until about 5:30. I'd hate to have to dump everything. Thoughts? I don't think I've ever had sap sitting out on such a warm day.

[helptheold]

Not really sure!

I just checked all my buckets. Most were cloudy, a few were yellow. I saved some to see how it smelled when I boil it but I'm going to get my older stuff done first. I'm guessing I'll be dumping most everything that collects in the next few days.

[Evets]

I collected about 40 gallons this morning. Most of it looked pretty good except one bucket was a little yellow/green. Funny thing about that is it's a 5 prong tree in which I have taps in 3 of them. One of those is the yellow/green and the other 2 are normal. I probably should have dumped it but I mixed it all together. It was just a couple gallons either way. I put it all in the garage, out of the sun. I'll boil it down this evening.

[helptheold]

Finally got my husband to look at all the links for the DIY RO's and he agreed to make me one for next year, yea!

[helptheold]

I collected about 40 gallons this morning. Most of it looked pretty good except one bucket was a little yellow/green. Funny thing about that is it's a 5 prong tree in which I have taps in 3 of them. One of those is the yellow/green and the other 2 are normal. I probably should have dumped it but I mixed it all together. It was just a couple gallons either way. I put it all in the garage, out of the sun. I'll boil it down this evening.

Mine probably would have been OK if I had gotten to them first thing but life got in the way and almost all of my stuff was in the sun for hours. Same problem for tomorrow morning. Bah.

[sbedilion]

My sap is still clear. Boiling now. :)

17695

[helptheold]

My sap is still clear. Boiling now. :)

17695

Yea! The stuff I collected yesterday is still good so I'm just working on getting it boiled down. The stuff from today had a starchy smell so I dumped it all. We'll see what the weekend brings.

[sbedilion]

I think this proves I’m boiling plan water.

[Hoppy]

I think this proves I’m boiling plan water.

Ha ha, hopefully not.

I collected about 11 gallons today, some looked good, some smelled a little off, but not bad I guess starchy might be a good term. None of it was really cloudy. I tossed about half of it. I think I might pull my taps. I have a batch that needs finished maybe tomorrow night that will be another 3/4 gallon or so. Great season for us. I'm happy if I stop now.

[sbedilion]

Pulled close to an all nighter to get things boiled before it spoiled. Down to a 6 gallon concentrate...finishing that now. Should end up with 3 gallons.

Ran out this morning and collected all my barrels and letting the lines run on the ground. The barrels had about 80 gallons of slightly cloudy sap. I’m boiling that down now. Took the day off to get everything wrapped up. Not sure if I will boil all 80 gallons or go until I’m tired then call it quits.

With this warm spell....and other hobbies (bike season!)...I might call it quits. Well will see 10 days from now how things look

[helptheold]

Dumped everything today but a quick taste test still was sweet. Considering we dropped 20 degrees in a few hours I have some hope so I'm leaving everything up at least until March.

[Gary R]

I've been able to stop at a few sugar houses lately. Monday I stopped at Triple Creek Maple and got to see an awesome vacuum and sap monitoring system. No need to go check on how things are working. Then I stopped at Sugarmakers. Chris started boiling and it's always great to talk with him. Today I stopped to see the Maple Baron at Yeany's Maple. Dave was boiling and gaining ground on the three gallon per tap run the last 24 hours. Barrels getting filled!

[unclejohn]

I wish we had more producers around here. We have pulled our taps and started cleaning everything after making 23 gallons from 185 trees over 3.5 weeks; the syrup is turning dark and temps over the next week do not look good for sap flow. good luck to all in western PA- we took a bike trip on the Great Allegheny Passage a few years ago and went through Meyersdale, the syrup capital of PA??? Beautiful country you have there.

[helptheold]

I feel like I should be asking my husband to build an ark not a RO! This is nuts.

When (or should I say if!) the rain breaks today I'll go get my buckets and pull the taps on my bad trees. Will stick everything back out on Sunday and see what happens.

[Sugarmaker]

Was good to see lots of friends and family in the sugarhouse the last few days! Gary R stopped and we had a good talk, solved all the maple issues in the world.
We have been busy the last few days. Very warm temps on Tuesday provided large amounts of sap. Some local producers boiled all day to try to get caught up with the strong flow. We had 758 gallons of sap that day.
On Wed there was another 450 gallons of very cloudy sap. Looked like a end of season run! Mad Very dark syrup.
Have made about 60 gallons to date. Some sugarmakers in the area are tapping now. The weather looks real good into next week. We have had a freeze last night and its raining and snowing. Sap may start to run today again.
Hope things are good out there !
Regards,
Chris

[sbedilion]

Done. :)

I finished up my last batch this morning. Hit my season goal of 10 gallons! It took a ton of barely 1% sap.

Looking at the forecast...it doesnt look good. Sure there may be a day or two here and there but not worth it for me. If it ever stops raining Im going for a bike ride :)

Beside the low sugar, it was a good season for me. Got a new pan, slightly better arch (didnt have time to build a legit one this past yr), had a better preheating setup, auto feed into my pan, boiling went smooth, filtering process was less of a headache, and made enough to sell to all my annoying friends that try to score syrup off me. It was enjoyable.

2016 - 4 gallons
2017 - 6 gallons
2018 - 10 gallons

It was fun hearing about everyones season...so keep posting.

[slammer3364]

waiting for sap to run here in Elk County got about 40 gal this week tapped last Sat. Hoping for some good runs in March. Last year my sap barely hit 1 percent also, hoping for a little sweeter this year.Best of Luck!

[helptheold]

Gonna give this week a try, I would love to have some more syrup on hand for gifts. My husband has been home the past week with the flu & pneumonia and he heads back to work tomorrow so I'm itching to get out of the house and do things without having to worry about him!

[Gary R]

Acid cleaned the evaporator and removed stacks yesterday. Pulled all the taps and washed the tubing today. Hope you guys get some freezes.

[Hoppy]

I’m not planning on doing anymore other that pulling my taps and trying to make some maple cream and some maple candied nuts.

We finished with 3.5 gallons of syrup this year. Way more than I thought we’d get. Bottled the last 1.25 gallons today.

[Sugarmaker]

Gathered 140 gallons of sap and cleaned the collection tubs. Boiled and made 2 gallons of Very Dark syrup. Might freeze?
Regards,
Chris

[sbedilion]

Yup...Hit my quota, low on firewood, cleaned all my equipment up and started putting away, called it a season.....weather changed and the sap bug got me. Put all my collection barrels back out this morning. Weather looks great this week.

Now i gotta order more prefilters and bottles. Addictions....

[Sugarmaker]

Yup...Hit my quota, low on firewood, cleaned all my equipment up and started putting away, called it a season.....weather changed and the sap bug got me. Put all my collection barrels back out this morning. Weather looks great this week.

Now i gotta order more prefilters and bottles. Addictions....

Your not the only one that has ever done that. Its hard to stop when the weather is right again.
Good luck with your second season!
Regards,
Chris

[Sugarmaker]

Yesterday It was cold and I gathered all the sap that was out there. It would have been 30 ice cubes! About 140 gallons of 2% cloudy sap. Made 3 gallons of very dark syrup.
Spent today in the sugarhouse making product for our Taste and Tour event March 17 and 18th. Made and packed granulated sugar, boiled syrup for maple cream and set aside for cooling, and canned two batches of syrup (12 gallon)
We may get a run by Wed.?
Regards,
Chris

[helptheold]

Yesterday It was cold and I gathered all the sap that was out there. It would have been 30 ice cubes! About 140 gallons of 2% cloudy sap. Made 3 gallons of very dark syrup.
Spent today in the sugarhouse making product for our Taste and Tour event March 17 and 18th. Made and packed granulated sugar, boiled syrup for maple cream and set aside for cooling, and canned two batches of syrup (12 gallon)
We may get a run by Wed.?
Regards,
Chris

I hope so! It's been a nice freeze but I'm itching to see what happens when the temps during the day are better. Did get about a gallon today which will at least let me see if the sap is still good or not.

[sbedilion]

checked my 3 collection barrels. 2 were near empty and the 3rd was full (50 gallons). walked the lines to see if something was up...everything looked fine. hopefully they start running tmw.

also took the time to look for antler sheds since i was already in the woods. i never find them when im looking for them so i just call it hiking:)

17972

[Gary R]

Ditto on back in the game, sort of:D I have another neighbor that has made a little syrup for a few years. The last time he boiled he burnt down the small greenhouse he was boiling in. They have an awesome timber frame pavilion they made last year. They have a fire place in it and boiled on that for the first time yesterday. He only has a few trees and has been collecting. They made about a half gallon yesterday while a gang watched. It was nice amber syrup. This morning I hung seven buckets on some sugars that I haven't tapped in years. Hopefully I'll get some more sap for him to boil. 17986

[sbedilion]

Collected yesterday after work. I was expecting more but only collected about 60 gallons. 2 of my 3 lines were running good. Clear sap...tasted sweet. The buds are firm. The third...not sure whats up w it. Maybe a clog? O well..it will have to sit idle for a couple days.

I wish I had some higher sugar %s. The 10 day looks amazing for runs! I could definetly knock out a lot of syrup this week, but instead ill be boiling 1% sap :).

Im out of prefilters and bottles...might have to put in a quick order.

[Springfield Acer]

This continues to be an odd season here in Mercer. One complete stand of sugar maples seems to have shut down while another is still making nice clear sap,
My stand of red maples on vac has been plugging along and a little cloudy until today and now I think it's junk. I'll probably dump all 125 gallons tomorrow along with anything that comes from those trees through the day. The syrup went lighter tonight by comparison with only 35+ gallons made so far. It looks too cold for much sap over the next week here. The end here depends on the sugars now.

[helptheold]

Some of my taps are drying up and some are still going strong. With the kids both starting new after school activities next week, I don't think I'll drill any new holes. Will see what I get this weekend and then I'll be done. Still on track to make more then last year which makes me happy.

[Sugarmaker]

Slowly making syrup in the great white north. 200 gallons of 2% sap yesterday. Will boil this afternoon.
Regards,
Chris

[sbedilion]

Some of my taps are drying up and some are still going strong. With the kids both starting new after school activities next week, I don't think I'll drill any new holes. Will see what I get this weekend and then I'll be done. Still on track to make more then last year which makes me happy.

Nice work! My kids winter sports wrapped up yesterday. No spring sports for them :) It's bike season.....well after this cold spell.

[sbedilion]

Collected 50 gallons yesterday of 0.000000000000001% sap (haha kidding). Kinda thought I would have more sap....but I'm fine with that. 2 of my 3 lines are still running good. My 3rd is being weird and barely running. I walked the line and saw slight movement in the line all the way to the first tap. Its my newest line and right next to my other 2 lines....so it shouldn't have any variables that are different than the other 2 lines.

I have 20 gallons of concentrate and 50 gallons of sap to work on tonight/tomorrow.

[helptheold]

Nice work! My kids winter sports wrapped up yesterday. No spring sports for them :) It's bike season.....well after this cold spell.

Considering I didn't even think I'd be able to do anything after my hip surgery, this is a win in my book :)

[PA mapler]

Hi from the frozen tundra outside of Bradford PA.... no sap since late February! :lol:

On the bright side, I've been lurking all over here all month and have re-energized my enthusiasm! I'm almost done with a bubbler for my syrup pan... in the 10 years I've had this 2x6, I've never made anything but dark syrup no matter what I tweaked. Great flavor, and don't really mind the color, but unless the sap is perfectly cold, clear & fresh I get ALOT of niter FAST in the syrup pan. So we'll see if the bubbler reduces the cleaning effort.

Also decided, after realizing I don't have the time to boil all night anymore, we (hubby has been drafted) have also decided to build an RO for next year!

Happy boiling!!

[Sugarmaker]

Tired of the tundra! Ready for some spring weather! Might get sled dogs next year!
Regards,
Chris

[Hoppy]

Sbedilion, your labels are awesome. How do you filter? That’s the main thing I can’t do as well as I’d like.

So all last year we collected 16 gallons of sap, I collected 15 today. This year will be a big success over last year.


Today I bottled 104 ounces of syrup, bringing our total to just over 2 gallons finished. That’s from 75 gallons of sap. Wow, been out of it for 5 years now. I hope you all don't mind a newbie question. I still have a bunch of this syrup. At least a gallon. Is it OK to use? I remember one bottle looking like it had strands of stuff in it at one point then it cleared again. Should I reboil it? Do I just have to toss it? Thanks for the help!

I have 3 big maples available to me this year so if I've been thinking about tapping again.

Hoppy