New to Tapping and Weeping Holes

[hefcat]

I am new to tapping and have a few questions as I have tapped about 10 maple trees in our yard this year. For the trees I tapped they seem to be weeping maple sap and honestly it looks like they are weeping a lot. Some of them have wet spots that go all the way to the ground. Is that normal? My other question is some of the tap holes have been producing well last week and in the last couple days they seem to have very little production. Is it normal to have this type of variation in production from day to day?

Thank in Advance!

Mike

[raptorfan85]

New spiles will leak for a few days until they seal up. That's normal. What's not normal is if they continue to do it. Make sure you don't drive the spiles in to deep. It can split the wood and then it will not stop leaking. Just seat the spiles work a light hammer until they make a solid thud. It doesn't take much to seat them. Flow will vary day to day. That's normal.

[hefcat]

If I drive the spiles in to deep and the weeping wont stop then what do I do? Can I back the spiles out? Should I take the spiles out completely?

Thanks!
Mike

[blissville maples]

Not alot you can do if they are too deep and split. You will just have to leave them and you get what you get and it will be a learning lesson for next year. I usually only see splitting on red maples. Chances are they are just not sealed completely, I wouldn't worry too much unless you see sap dripping off bark somewhere!!

[raptorfan85]

There's nothing you can do. Just leave the spiles in and collect the sap and make delicious syrup with it! You're probably not losing a whole lot. Just don't drive them in as hard next time.

[Sugarmaker]

The taps are set to shallow or too deep. both could cause the same leakage.
When you tap them into the hole you should tap them in like a little girl rather gently. When you feel the hammer have some resistance and bounce off the spile stop. Also was your hole drilled nice and straight into the tree? A sloppy hole can cause leakage. Having done this a time or two I do not see any leaks on mine this year.
Keep boiling!
Regards,
Chris

[hefcat]

Thanks for all the feedback! I am learning a lot!
Good news is I already made 1 pint of maple syrup!

[30AcreWoods]

Some of my taps leak a bit in the beginning, and then seal up. As others have noted, red maples can split pretty easy. I use a rawhide mallet (jewelers hammer) to set my taps and it works well.

And to answer your other question: Yes, your sap will be variable from day-to-day, and every year is different. Last year I had a 3-week blitz before my sap turned "buddy". The year before it was over 7-weeks. I collected almost the identical amount of sap and made the same amount of syrup each year. If you search on here a bit (there's a ton of great information), you will see that many things affect sap runs. As you continue-on, you will learn how your trees in your location respond to temperature, snow (or no snow), wind, clouds, sun, etc., etc.

[tgormley358]

I just posted on the Tapping forum on the same topic, and wondered if anyone thinks the rapid weather change could also contribute to weeping. I’m just two towns over from Hudson where this poster is, I tapped Feb 9, on 5/16 gravity, and they ran well early last week with temps in the 40s. I saw very little of any weeping. Then we had a hard freeze on Friday in single digits, followed two days later with two days in the low 40s again. I expected a good run but it was rather slow, not even half the flow of the prior week. When I went looking at the trees and lines, I noticed a lot of weeping, at least half the trees, but not excessive amounts. Not all the way to the ground. Some just 6” around the tap hole. I’m just wondering if there’s a correlation to the slower flow.

[30AcreWoods]

After as cold as it was, in my experience, it takes more than 2 days at 40 to start good flow again...and if it was cloudy or windy, forget it. Also, the trees might have been pumping sap, but if your taps/lines still had ice, then the pressure from the flow in the tree would have had no place to go but out around the tap holes. Finally, check your taps closely. Water/sap expands as it freezes. Plastic taps can crack and/or "frost jack" out of the tap holes, so you may need to reset some of them.

[tgormley358]

After as cold as it was, in my experience, it takes more than 2 days at 40 to start good flow again...and if it was cloudy or windy, forget it. Also, the trees might have been pumping sap, but if your taps/lines still had ice, then the pressure from the flow in the tree would have had no place to go but out around the tap holes. Finally, check your taps closely. Water/sap expands as it freezes. Plastic taps can crack and/or "frost jack" out of the tap holes, so you may need to reset some of them.

Thanks, that’s along the lines of what I was thinking. I gave some of the spouts a soft tap or two to see if they were loose or had come out. I don’t think I learned much from that. I also thought maybe it would take a day or two to really thaw out before running again.

[TheNamelessPoet]

After as cold as it was, in my experience, it takes more than 2 days at 40 to start good flow again...and if it was cloudy or windy, forget it. Also, the trees might have been pumping sap, but if your taps/lines still had ice, then the pressure from the flow in the tree would have had no place to go but out around the tap holes. Finally, check your taps closely. Water/sap expands as it freezes. Plastic taps can crack and/or "frost jack" out of the tap holes, so you may need to reset some of them.It's only my 1st year but Im frustrated with my trees. I think I'm in the same position, it's always windy in my yard so barely 40 and windy can for SURE attest to the weather wrecking havoc on the trees.

[30AcreWoods]

Have patience, Grasshopper :)

I can tell you that my first year on the 3/16" tubing I had was like that. And then, after 3 days of great weather, the flood gates opened-up and I had more sap than I thought possible...and from that point on I didn't sleep much!

In the meantime, look and learn on here. There is a TON of awesome information from folks who have decades of experience. Also, (and this is a shameless UVM plug because I'm an alum), Dr. Tim has some really great articles on the UVM maple farm web site.

And about those weeping tap holes:
https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m1217askwhyleaking/
https://mapleresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/0218askwhyleaking.pdf

[DrTimPerkins]

Some videos of interest on the subject at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZP4fDl-nB9-4aZkQyDR070QpxcAr02q5