Taps/ buckets?

[Hunt4sap]

What will happen to my 5/16 taps over the next couple weeks in Northeast Ohio with the temperatures being colder than what it has been the last two weeks? ( Mid 30's highs, 15 lows?

[Cjadamec]

Not all that much will happen to them. A few may push out of the tree but they probably won't. It would be worth checking them all next time you get a run to see if any are leaking and need a tap from a hammer to reseat them. Once the tap is set it stays in the tree until the season is done for better or worse warm weather or cold.

[wnybassman]

What will happen to my 5/16 taps over the next couple weeks in Northeast Ohio with the temperatures being colder than what it has been the last two weeks? ( Mid 30's highs, 15 lows?

You will get a little bit of "healing" occurring even with it cold which could reduce productivity later on in the season. I am sure the amount of healing has many variables that influence it. That's why it is such a gamble whether to tap early or not. You have to weigh out whether the amount of syrup you gain early will be more/less the amount of lost productivity later on, and the future is a huge unknown.

[maple flats]

With buckets you run a far greater chance of having a hole start to heal up than if you had tubing. Bucket producers usually try to wait until the higher flow weather hits. To minimize this next year, just try using taps designed for tubing and place the container on the ground. That simple change, as long as you use 5/16 tubing reduces by far the contamination of the tap hole. It's the bacteria going back into the hole that starts the tap hole in the healing process. Since the sap will not go past any air in the line, 3/16 tubing in that respect is not suggested. If however you have a few feet of drop in elevation, 5/16 taps and drops with 3/16 for a lateral at the bottom of the drop can give you a little vacuum. Notice I suggest 5/16 drops and 3/16 laterals in that case.