2020 season

[Revi]

Getting ready for the season. They are starting in Missouri, so the season has started. I am thinking about the middle of February, which is not that far away now. What do you think?

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

We’ll keep an eye on the weather. We’re back up to 400 taps, shouldn’t take long to tap in. Won’t be any earlier than mid-February for us unless the weather does something really wacky. The scary part is unlike most years it looks like we will be ready. New tank getting set today!

[West Sumner Sugar]

It wont be long now. We are up to about 500 taps this year and should have 1/4 of those on a test Shurflow pump system running of solar panels. Still some work to do to get the sugar house ready but we will get there.

[Revi]

We are thinking of getting one of those shurflow pumps. After we cut wood next year maybe...

I am going to predict an early start to the season based on how warm this winter has been already. Of course we'll probably freeze up in March...

[RollinsOrchards]

I am wondering if the lack of thorough chilling will mean a shorter season also. Any opinions on that?

[ariclittlefox]

I have been working with a friend of mine, and we put the taps in last week and we already got over 300gallons. but most of that was discarded cleaning the lines, we kept about 100gallons.

[Revi]

We're finally getting some regular winter weather. I think we've already lost some sap, but if it keeps a reasonable temperature for the next few weeks, it's going to be okay. I think if it wants to start up any time after the middle of February is fine by me!

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I gotta believe the season will come earlier than last year but still plenty of winter left to go. We're planning to be ready by mid February but too far off to know when we tap in.

[Revi]

It's going to be in the 40's today and tomorrow. This is the third time we have had a "January thaw". I hope it doesn't freeze up in February! We are planning on tapping in the middle of February.

[West Sumner Sugar]

It's going to be in the 40's today and tomorrow. This is the third time we have had a "January thaw". I hope it doesn't freeze up in February! We are planning on tapping in the middle of February.

It's been difficult to not start drilling holes. The temp swing have been dead on for good runs. We usually tap 2nd week in February. In the mean time, 90% of my Shurflo vac system parts have arrived so I'll concentrate on getting that going.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Fight the urge guys! Sun angle still low, days still short and its only 40 degrees for a few hours. I too am getting excited about maple but trying to focus on other things.

[Mvhomesteader]

I dropped in an observation tap today on a 12+ " sugar maple that I have tapped twice before, just to see what might be going on. Tapped at noon and I had 3 pints by 4:30. I brought it In to the house to check the sugar content. I put it on the refractometer expecting to see 3 or more, as I remember this tree providing, and I got............1.4. Needless to say I was a bit underimpressed. The refractometer was checked.

My question is does the sugar content start out low as a tree thaws and starts to flow, or does it start high from the get go? I know it drops as the season progresses. This low number has me concerned.

Would appreciate some opinions and or thoughts!

[abbott]

Looks like the temperatures will be a little too low to get any real sap early next week. But it is time to get the saphouse ready and the lines fixed. Last time I was down there a couple days ago I noticed that that the wire for my wet line was completely slack. I didn't go up into the woods to see what had happened. This is the first time I've had a high tensile wire break. I expect I'll be tapping midweek with the hopes of collecting sap by the weekend. Have to keep an eye on the forecast between now and then. Who's tapped already? Was it worth it?

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Good to hear from you Steve. I too will finish repairs and installing new drops/taps this weekend so we are ready to go. But next week still looks like winter so I'm going fishing. Going to wait until at least the following weekend now.

[West Sumner Sugar]

We are tapping in Lewiston today and Sumner tomorrow. Might not collect much sap this week but if we have enough to sweeten the pans next weekend I'll be happy with that. Also hoping to do some testing and tuning on the new Shurflo Solar Sap Sucker this week. Cant wait to see how it works out and see if it was really worth it.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Good luck in west sumner. Let us know how you’re doing.

[Road's End]

Put about 300 taps in Friday afternoon and finished the last 100 today. For once I think I'm ahead of schedule! I guess that means something will probably break soon, usually how it goes.

[abbott]

I put in over a hundred taps yesterday. Will probably do a similar number today in the warmest part of the day. I plan to be all tapped by noon Saturday. If it warms up enough to run in the afternoon I'll look for leaks and flush the lines. Should be able to boil next week, though I'm not expecting big runs.

[West Sumner Sugar]

If the temps hold for next week, it looks like it could be the beginning of consistent runs. Probably take part of Saturday to get things thawed but after that, we could be on track for a good sap flood.

[twitch]

So how did the sap run today? I decided last week to change 400 taps over to 3/16 in my spare time so I'm not ready yet but curious what I am missing. Took down the 5/16 and added about 30 feet in elevation drop so I hope it is all worth it.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

While I’ve been away on a fishing trip, my buddy got things ready to go. He said he’ll start tapping this afternoon. I’ll join him when I get home or finish it tomorrow. Good luck everyone, hopefully get a run this week.

[Danthemapleman]

Going to deploy my buckes today -- about 100 of them. The weather looks good for 3 days, and then a question mark about next weekend. I just read a science-based article that suggests there is less of a gamble going early than late. Alwasy a tough call for us bucket-types.

[abbott]

So how did the sap run today? I decided last week to change 400 taps over to 3/16 in my spare time so I'm not ready yet but curious what I am missing. Took down the 5/16 and added about 30 feet in elevation drop so I hope it is all worth it.

Nothing to speak of yesterday. I finished tapping by 1pm, fired up the vacuum pump around 2 to look for leaks. Some taps were running, but nothing on the shady side of the tree for sure. Today it started around 10 am. I ran sap on the ground until 11:30 to flush the lines, then rinsed the tank and closed the valve. It's looking like I'll get about 1/2 gallon sap/tap. Tomorrow should be a solid run... and first boil of the season!

Interested to hear how the 3/16 do.

[West Sumner Sugar]

Buttoned up a few items at the sugarhouse this morning. Checked the 3/16 lines around noon and they were flowing, not hard but sap was moving. We had a issue with the new snow on top of our tanks holding ice in the lines entering them. Once we cleaned the snow and thawed the lines things were going nice.
About 80 taps in Lewiston on 5/16 hooked to a Shurflo produced about 40 gallons as of dark and the pump was still going. We will have out first boil this weekend coming up.

[Mvhomesteader]

Going to deploy my buckes today -- about 100 of them. The weather looks good for 3 days, and then a question mark about next weekend. I just read a science-based article that suggests there is less of a gamble going early than late. Alwasy a tough call for us bucket-types.

I agree. I'd rather be early than late. I can keep sap cold/frozen if need be in the event a run turns out not enough to boil, but you get sap on the front end of things. I tapped barely a week ago and have 26 gallons in the snowbank. Couple more days like today and it will be boil time. I'm planning on Saturday if all goes as planned.

[abbott]

Really good run yesterday. Cranked through 1000 gallons of sap today and made 24 gallons of syrup. I had sweetened the pans yesterday, but not drawn off. No freeze last night, so not a lot of sap today. Should be just a short boil tomorrow.

[twitch]

I told myself I would replace all the lines before tapping but I couldn't stand it needed to see some sap. I got 225 in on Monday between 10:00 and 5:00. It was running pretty good no freeze Monday night , Tuesday morning sap still running and lines still pulling vacuum and 140 gallons in the tank. Got another 100 in Tuesday and hope to finish line replacement and tapping today. Got a couple vacuum gauges to install to see what they are pulling.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Not much of a run in Peru on gravity. Lines dried up pretty quickly with no freeze and some trees definitely still not running. Got enough to clean the lines out. We'll be all plugged in and collecting for the next run which may not be until next week.

[Revi]

We're all tapped, and the lines are cleaned out, so it's going to be a little while before good sap flow. Looks like next Tuesday is good. We'll see...

[Revi]

Checked it out and even with the nice slush storm, still nothing to speak of. Maybe next week. Ok by me.

[West Sumner Sugar]

Checked it out and even with the nice slush storm, still nothing to speak of. Maybe next week. Ok by me.
I'm surprised you haven't gotten anything. I never would have expected to get anything today as it hasn't dropped down below 36 in a few days but I flipped on the vacuum pump this afternoon and sap was flowing.

[Lukie]

134 taps in and only about 10 gallons in my tanks hopefully next week .

[Mvhomesteader]

I'm surprised you haven't gotten anything. I never would have expected to get anything today as it hasn't dropped down below 36 in a few days but I flipped on the vacuum pump this afternoon and sap was flowing.

I thought my jugs would be empty today, but I ended up with 5+ gallons off 40 taps. Who would have guessed with that wind and cold! If it ran today, it will run tomorrow!

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Get ready folks. Things should shake loose around here on Tuesday :cool:

[maineboiler]

Had good run this past Tuesday. 190 gallons of sap so far and I have about 1/2 of my taps in. Brix is 2-3 % with some natural RO. Look out for Sunday-Tuesday this week

[Revi]

It was below freezing even late in the afternoon yesterday, but temps have been rising since then! I think today is going to be a big day!

[sap seeker]

It was below freezing even late in the afternoon yesterday, but temps have been rising since then! I think today is going to be a big day!

I'm 20 miles from you, I think guys on vacuum will get a pretty good charge today and bucket guys some but not a sap tsunami!:D I'm actually thinking this could be one of those rare times it goes through the night and all day tomorrow.:cool:

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I'm headed to check the tanks now. Planning to take Friday off to boil, could have a good charge by then.

[twitch]

Have not boiled yet but the 3/16 is up and going. I keep a pint jar at my collection tank so I can time the flow. At 11 this morning it was running at 34.2 gallons an hour on 460 taps . I believe the best I did on 5/16 was around 25 or so with 400 taps so I'm pretty happy with that. If the long range forecast is good I think we are in for a good season.

[sap seeker]

I'm 20 miles from you, I think guys on vacuum will get a pretty good charge today and bucket guys some but not a sap tsunami!:D I'm actually thinking this could be one of those rare times it goes through the night and all day tomorrow.:cool:

All night run confirmed. Everyone should have plenty to boil this weekend.:)

[Revi]

I went up to the sugarhouse and it was pouring in yesterday. We were planning on boiling later in the week, but with it coming in like that, it was time, so I fired up the first boil of 2020. Fun! We usually write down pour for a lot of sap, but I had to make a new category, garden hose!

Still sweetening the pan, but at this rate we'll turn out some syrup by this weekend!

https://bulldogclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/screen-shot-2015-05-12-at-2-00-39-pm-1200x702.png

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

We only had about 80 gallons in the tanks yesterday at 3 PM. Would like around 200 to fire up. Will see how much it ran last night when I get home today and will boil tomorrow afternoon and/or Friday morning. Hoping it freezes tonight so we get some more tomorrow, looks like it might for us.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Had 225 in the totes now and still trickling. Looks like a half day of work tomorrow and our first boil. Can’t wait! Should have more if it freezes tonight.

[Revi]

I went up to the sugarhouse to check and there was nothing yesterday. I went out back to pee and found a tree across the mainline. After an hour of sawing, tightening and seeing if there was slope with a kilometer and we were back in business. All that sap that was sagging the line poured out and we were dripping a bit again. Boiling today!

[sap seeker]

I went up to the sugarhouse to check and there was nothing yesterday. I went out back to pee and found a tree across the mainline. After an hour of sawing, tightening and seeing if there was slope with a kilometer and we were back in business. All that sap that was sagging the line poured out and we were dripping a bit again. Boiling today!

I'm interested to see what it does today, didn't drop below 32 until 5:30 this morning, I still think its going to run though.

[West Sumner Sugar]

I'm interested to see what it does today, didn't drop below 32 until 5:30 this morning, I still think its going to run though.

Only got to 32 for a short time this morning in Lewiston. Even with the Shurflo running its a slow drip. Hoping for a good freeze tonight so we can get back in business.

[twitch]

Never froze for me last night got down to 34 but was running at 15 gallons an hour at noon. I haven't made it up to check vacuum gauges yet but I think the new 3/16 is pulling pretty good. Sweetened the pan a little with first boil ran 880 gallons and Drew off about 12 gallons of finished syrup.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

30-31 here last night. But only for a few hours, not enough for a freeze. Same as what we had yesterday in the tanks today. First boil of the season underway.

[twitch]

21154the 3/16 s has definitely increased sap production by alot

[twitch]

21155 an other one was flowing at 60 gallons an hour on 460 taps at noon the new lines will definitely pay for them selves !!

[abbott]

21155 an other one was flowing at 60 gallons an hour on 460 taps at noon the new lines will definitely pay for them selves !!

Technically it's impossible to get a vaccuum beyond -30" Hg. But clearly it's doing what it's supposed to. 60 gph on 460 sounds about right. I have about twice as many taps and was at 110 gph for a while today. Let's hope it actually freezes tonight and we'll be in business again tomorrow.

[West Sumner Sugar]

Cooked up our first batch this weekend. Pulled in just under 1000 gallons of sap in the past week and bottled up 15 gallons. Sap was running well this afternoon when we left the sugar house. Luckily we were able to fix up a bunch of leaks today so that should increase production with the Shurflo system. So far its paying off. We haven't had a 1000 gallon week in a few years

[twitch]

Abbott, that is what I thought to I liked what I saw though. There 10 dollar gauges so probably not exact. It's 30 degrees at my house right now but I live in valley. We will see .

[abbott]

Well it didn't freeze up here. Maybe partially froze in some of the woods, I'm not sure. Sap flow picked up when the sun came out, but not like yesterday. Still, with a thousand gallons through the evaporator, the syrup count is now at 178 gallons... about 40% crop based on current tap count.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

200 gallons in the tanks at 3 PM yesterday and it was still running steady. We did get a freeze Sunday night and 30 degrees right now at 6:30 AM. We haven’t filtered our draws yet but the syrup is definitely light. Boiling today, good luck everyone!

[abbott]

How's everyone making out? Right now I'm at 270 gallons of syrup on 11470 gallons sap. That's about 42:1, which would be fine over the whole season, but the sugar content has been really low lately. We'll see if the cold nights bring it back up. I have a feeling that this year will end up being the worst sap:syrup ratio I've ever had.

The sap has really run well, though. After 13 straight days of boiling, this is my first off day. I'm at 64% crop right now, so I should come out ok in the end... just going to use more wood than I would have liked. The sap ran hard yesterday, but only for 4 hours. It's running well now, but again only a short run. Still, I'll have plenty of sap for a boil tomorrow.

For those interested, I'm going to have my open house as usual. Sumner Sap Saturday will be from 10-4 pm this Saturday. Due to the long dirt/mud road and half mile walk down to the sap house, plus the fact that I don't really advertise, I never have a big crowd, just a few family and friends. Go to the dead end of Bradeen Rd in Sumner and follow the signs down the hill.

[West Sumner Sugar]

We are right about 50% of what we "hope" to make. Just shy of 30 gallons right now. The sap in Lewiston dropped to 1.5% last week. We didnt test the Sumner sap but I'm guessing its in the 2% range. The RO has really saved us. Hoping this cold and the snow pack in Sumner keeps the season going. After last year it would be nice to come out of the hole with a good year.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Had a surprise decent run last Friday in the rain. Not much since, it started for us today but was short lived. See what we have and hopefully be able to boil again Wednesday or Thursday. At 50% of our target. Hoping to get a shurflo hooked up by the end of the week to get more sap. With the 2x6 oil we could handle double what we are getting for sap even without an RO. All boils so far only 4-5 hours from startup to cleanup. Will have 2 mainlines on shurflos for next season.
All syrup so far has been amber, last drawoff looked close to dark. We will also have friends and family over Sunday. Break out the cotton candy and also make some taffy. Hopefully we have sap to boil too!

[BRL]

We are going to take what we can get at this point.. 9 Gallons bottled so far, 5 or so Gallons to finish. Only 123 taps in this year all on 3/16 gravity. The new drawoff is dialed in and working great. The oil burner is working great, so much easier! Next years build will be an RO! Hopefully we get another 2 weeks!

[eagle lake sugar]

Still no sap here in Eagle Lake, waiting for a couple days above freezing. Hopefully this Thursday and Friday will kick things into gear.

[West Sumner Sugar]

Sap seemed to run decent today after a short freeze up. Seems to be about over in Lewiston so we moved our Shurflo from there up to Sumner to finish out the season. Should get a few more weeks up there. No solar panels on this one but 3 deep cycles should keep it running.

[Road's End]

Good run today, at 2% which is normal for us. It's about this time when our season "usually" starts to take off. The snow is melting fast and we seem to be in a spot that starts later but also ends later compared to even a few miles south of us. Made around 20 gallons to this point.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Collecting today and boiling yesterday’s run. Sap still looked pretty clear in the totes yesterday. Will be a busy weekend of bottling for us. We’re going to get 1 shurflo hooked up this weekend as well. Still snow in most of our woods as well.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Well my 100 gallons turned into 260 by the afternoon. Ran most of the night and was still running at 3:30 when I collected. And that’s on gravity, anyone on vacuum must be doing real good. Best run of the year yet. Looks real cold and prime for early next week. Sap still super clear. Cooking right now:cool:

[abbott]

Closing in on 2 gpt since it thawed yesterday, 1.9% brix. Boiled off 1260 gallons in 10 hours, looks like another long day tomorrow. Looks to be the lightest syrup of the year, probably still Amber, but close to Golden. Haven't tested with the Hanna yet.

[sap seeker]

Stock up on your beer boys, she ran all night, any bit of sun this afternoon and people are going to be real busy!:cool:

[twitch]

The 3/16 tubing has really changed the game for me. At 85 gallons of finished syrup is more then I have ever made. I got off to a slow start this year as well. Definitely going to hit the 100 gallon mark by the end of the season. Next year's biggest goals is definitely improvement of sap transportation. Ran 900 gallons through the evaporator last night. Got plenty of wood left so bring on the sap. Little more sugar in it would be nice.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Bottled a little over 15 gallons today, all Amber with excellent flavor. Shurflo got hooked up....Nothing like working on maple stuff with your headlamp on but we got it :rolleyes: Sap ran some today. Should have around 150 gallons to boil tomorrow if it doesn’t freeze in the totes. Always nice to have sap for maple Sunday. Just friends and family for us so they still plan to stop by. Keep cooking!

[abbott]

Through yesterday: 360 gallons of syrup on 15,850 gallons of sap. That's .38 gallons of syrup and 16.7 gallons of sap per tap. I'm hoping for 90 more gallons of syrup, which looks quite possible at this point, and it would be an above average season if I get there.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

8” of snow on thawed ground....but at least it’s good for mapling. Should melt quickly. Looks like a great day for sap and forecast is good through Saturday. Hoping for a big week, good luck everyone!

[sap seeker]

8” of snow on thawed ground....but at least it’s good for mapling. Should melt quickly. Looks like a great day for sap and forecast is good through Saturday. Hoping for a big week, good luck everyone!

Next ten days look dynamite for western, central, and even northern Maine if forecast holds.

[Mitchman]

Hey Abbott!!! Nice to see everyone is having a good year!!!! I couldn't just let the season go by again reading all those good posts so i started up late. Low key but making some awesome syrup, of coarse family all wants some. I knew that would happen. And i was out myself, can't have that!!!! Later Mitchman

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Well after seeing and boiling through today’s run which is still going and looking at the forecast through the weekend, I’ll be changing my screen name to #needromachine. We are still making a light amber, nice stuff. Gonna be a busy weekend! Going great in Peru! How’s everyone else doing?

[twitch]

Anyone else's sap sugar content drop ?

[Mvhomesteader]

I boiled yesterday and noticed that the sugar was 2.25%, down from 2.5ish on the previous boil. I also decided to drop off any tree with less than 1.8% and was surprised to find a bunch lower than that and a grouping around 1.8 to 2.5. Definitely lower than s few weeks ago. Since 55 gallons is what I can easily boil in a day, 1.8% is the cut off to give me a gallon of syrup for my effort. A couple of taps have stopped. Three (?) more boils to go.

[abbott]

Anyone else's sap sugar content drop ?

The cold stretch early this week actually brought it back up to 2.0 briefly. I've been between 1.7 and 2.0 for a while now... an unusually low sugar year for sure.

The sap has run well the last couple days, but not as well as I would have guessed... I think the taps are starting to dry up.

Few more days.

[twitch]

Sap I picked up today was at 1.3% not to good. Started off 2.25% went down came back a bit. last year seemed to stick at 2% or better for nearly the entire season. Yup feeling the end is near.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Last 2 day run totaled 515 gallons. Just flicked the switch. Sap testing at 2% so holding good here. A little cloudy but not terrible. Should make 10+ gallons today.

[abbott]

Who's still in it? I almost quit, but decided to stick with it a bit longer. I pulled the taps I have in reds, as well as the ones tapped below the mainline. Barely a trickle the last couple days, but it's running ok today, back up to 1.7% sugar. I'm convinced a good portion of my taps have dried up, but the ones on the north side of the trees are still going, as well as the new tubing I put in a week into the season. The plan right now is to boil for two more days and call it a season. I've barely made any dark this year, today's boil was at 35% transmittance. Seems crazy that it still has to go down 10% more to make Very Dark... it seems so dark already and the sap I'm boiling seems like pretty questionable stuff. But the syrup is still coming out fine.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Still plugged in next door to you, reds and sugars. Vacuum lines are running good, others still going but not much. Will have a good amount to boil tomorrow though. We’ve made medium and dark, been a great season. Sap was 1.8 on the boil yesterday. If we get sap again tomorrow, will boil again Thursday. May get a freeze this weekend for one last push but not sure if we’ll stay in for it or not. Knowing me, we will! Keeping every boil separate for a good cold syrup test. So far everything has been good. Give it hell!

[sap seeker]

I'm going to pull tomorrow and boil but I think you guys on vac have another run coming this weekend. I just want to get to camp on the mid coast and hunker in place where the ice is out for some salmon and brook trout before the chit hits the fan! Been a good year, a little better than 1 gpt.:cool: Stay safe all.

[Road's End]

Ran pretty well today, although a late start letting the snow melt off the trees first. Sugar is low, about 1.3%. RO really earns it's keep now! Hoping for a strong run tomorrow. I'll hang on as long as the sap comes in and tastes good...my limiting factor at this point is not having mechanical vacuum. I have 3/16 that works fairly well but it just can't keep the trees running on the extended runs without another freeze.

[twitch]

Pulled out on Sunday . Had pretty good freeze Friday night and did not run well Saturday and what I did get was around 1% sugar . I just figured it was time had a great season. I am amazed at how the 3/16 lines performed. Can't wait till next year!!

[Revi]

We may pull this weekend, but it looks like a couple of good freezes coming on the weekend. Maybe we'll keep boiling... There's very little else we can do now!

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Forecast looks cool middle of next week now. At some point, too many non freezing days in a row and our trees will shutoff. Taps stay in until then!

Collected 180 gallons and it was running pretty hard by 10 AM. Sap from yesterday at 1.6%. Boiling it now and will again tomorrow once it stops.

[abbott]

That's it for me. Barely a freeze last night and the sap didn't run well today. Plus there's only so much 60:1 I can take. Final total should be just shy of 1/2 gallon syrup per tap. Very similar total to last year, it just took more sap to get there.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Yup same here. That sap running hard didn’t last very long this morning. Gravity lines stopped in the afternoon sometime while I was boiling. Vacuum lines pulled marginally all day and left the pump on tonight. If we have 100 gallons to boil Friday morning than I will do that before finishing out the pans. No interest in trying to boil sap through another warm spell. Slightly above average year for us. I’m guessing we’ll end up just shy of 40 gallons. Looks like our last boil this year will be 2 days after our first boil last year. Gotta love Mother Nature!

[Revi]

Yes, that's it for us. We will call it a season on Saturday and chase with water.

[Revi]

It was a sweet season, even though there was no Maine Maple Weekend. C'est la vie.