Red Roof Maples 2021

[Russell Lampron]

This is the start of my final season. I thought that I would be looking for things to do to keep me busy after I retired but have been too busy to stop and rest. I finished tapping today and am doing the little things that need to be done to get ready to boil. The first thing I need to do is fix vacuum leaks. I turned on the vacuum this afternoon and only have 15". It was too late to start looking for leaks so I'll do that as soon as I can tomorrow.

I bought a house in NC this past summer and then went down in October to build a shed. I've made 2 trips down with stuff from the house and basement. We don't have much left here in NH now.

I've got someone interested in my property that wants to keep the sugaring operation going. If he buys it he wants to buy the sugaring equipment too. If he backs out I'll have all of my stuff for sale.

I hope that everyone has a good season.

[Russell Lampron]

I had a good day in the woods today fixing vacuum leaks. I found and fixed the big ones and found and fixed some small ones too. I got the 15" up to 23" and will find and fix what's left for small leaks when the sap runs good enough to do so. So far things are going smoothly and I can't wait to fire up the RO and evaporator.

[Father & Son]

You could always take your rig south with you and try sorghum syrup.

[Russell Lampron]

You could always take your rig south with you and try sorghum syrup.

I've only got .6 acres down there and most of the few trees that I have are pines. I do have a huge pin oak in the front yard but I can't make syrup with that.

[Amber Gold]

Hey Russ, Good to see we've got another year of you being on trader. I hope it's a great one for you. Looking forward to reading about your season.

[red maples]

Hey There he is!!! you know my dad said the same thing after he retired figured he would to get to relax bit but that was 3 years ago and he's the same way too busy to relax. He's always got something going. Myself and my brother are the same way can't sit still very long!!!

When you have your feet up drinking sweet tea next sugaring season you should still check inhere let us know how your doing!!!

Hope you have a blockbuster of a last season!!! good luck!!!

[Russell Lampron]

It only took a week to get enough sap for my first boil. I've got 475 gallons in the bulk tank ready to clog up pre filters. I'm going to set up and plumb all of the tanks tomorrow and plug in the heat tape on the bulk tank valve. With any luck I'll be able to start ROing Wednesday morning to boil Wednesday evening.

This past off season was hard on my woods and tubing. I've had more crop trees come down than I've ever had before and a couple of those took down mainlines too. I've been out fixing leaks and don't recall having as many squirrel chews as I'm finding this year. A couple of laterals had 3 or more spots that needed to be fixed. I was hoping to make it through the season without having to buy any fittings but I'll be going to Sunnyside tomorrow for connector fittings.

[Amber Gold]

My first sap collected was very cloudy, even when I picked it up. It cleared up yesterday though.

Do you know what happened to Theron and Royal Maple? I was thinking of them the other day. I always enjoyed reading Theron's posts.

[Russell Lampron]

I was hoping to get more sap to add to yesterday's boil but the conditions weren't right to get a run. I didn't check the ssc before I started but was only able to get the concentrate to 6% and still have enough to boil. I lit the evaporator at 5:15 and was done by 6:45. Things went pretty smooth except that I had to shut down about half way through the boil to clean out the shut off valve from the flue pan. I was just commenting on how good the sugar house was starting to smell when I got a whiff of that smell that no sugarmaker wants to smell. I caught it in time and flooded the front pan from the valve on the other side of the pan. It didn't ruin the sweet. I got the float valve off, shoved a ratchet handle trough the valve to clean it out and put everything back together without burning myself!!! I closed the door on the evaporator, turned the blower back on and was back in business in a few minutes, disaster avoided.

With 475 gallons of sap to start with I usually draw off some syrup, but not this year. It was real close when I shut down and it won't take long when I start again to get a draw off.

On the RO side of things the sap that I put through it was pretty green and slimy but didn't plug the pre filter. I usually have to change it at least once on the first sap of the season. The RO ran flawlessly and my MES membranes still flow like new.

The only real problem I have so far is that my bulk tank is leaking. I hope that I can find and fix the leak before I put sap in it again but I've got to get the ice out of it first. It's not going to be fun with the cold and wind but things could be worse.

Josh you should like your MES membrane. I'm really happy with mine.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Russ - sorry to hear you're trucking your expertise out of here. You've had a good run. I'm probably due for some new membranes, pressures are up, flows are down. Not too good seeing we might have a compacted season. Bruce

[Russell Lampron]

Hi Bruce, If you do decide to replace your membranes get them from MES. I'm on my 3rd season with mine and they still flow like new. I haven't checked the price lately but when I bought mine they were just over $200 each.

Someone asked about Theron and Royal Maple the other day and I forgot to reply on that. Theron's too busy to be on the trader and in fact is nervous about the season. He's got his trees tapped but doesn't have any help to fix leaks and truck sap.

Royal Maple has been out of the maple business for a few years now. His main business now is honey. If you shop at Hannaford's look for Royal Bees honey. That's one of Matt's accts. Matt is heading to GA next week with bees.

There's probably something else that someone asked about that I have the answer for. I'll have to read through the thread again and get back to you.

[red maples]

yes royal maple was always "bees first" ... speaking of bees I have order mine this weekend.

I am gonna need new Membranes too. my flows are down as well taking a lot longer to get through the sap. this will be the last year on these ones glad to hear the MES ones are good and you put through more sap than I do.

looks like this season may be compacted hoping we get into April. The early forecasts always look good but I think they are more of an average too cold for sap now. next week is very warm.

My first boil of sap was very green as well I dumped about 100 gallons of the first sap on the ground it was really nasty. my prefilter didn't plug up but was a very pretty green.

[Russell Lampron]

The forecasted temperatures for my area are usually higher than what I actually get. The warm up at the end of the week is just what I need to get the sap flowing here. As long as we return to freeze, thaw cycles after the warm up we should get some decent flows. My forecast looks like it will but a week out is just a guess.

I need to be done with the season by April 5th for a planned trip to NC. I should be able to make enough syrup by then to suit my needs.

[Russell Lampron]

The sap ran a little bit here yesterday afternoon and I was able to check the only mainline that I hadn't walked yet for leaks. I was able to find and fix 2 leaks and am just under 25" now. Despite the warm temperatures today things are off to a slow start. I'm going out in a few minutes to see how it's running. Hopefully the trees are getting thawed and the sap is flowing better than it was an hour ago.

I was able to find the cause of the blockage in the valve from my flue pan the other night. It was full of acorns!!! It appears that a rodent brought them in and stashed them in one of the feed pipes in the flue pan. That was why everything looked good when I checked it before I filled the evaporator. It's all cleaned up now and ready to rock and roll.

[Russell Lampron]

The sap finally started to run a little better today and I have 475 gallons going through the RO now. The sap was flowing pretty good this afternoon and I hope that it gets better overnight.

The vacuum is at 26" now and I'm running out of leaks to find. It feels good to be able to stay on top of things like that unlike when I had to fit it in between work and other chores.

I'll be boiling again tomorrow and will finally make some syrup.

[Parker]

You can come up to my place and hunt leaks if you run out of them down there. Good to hear your ready to go. Good luck

[Pdiamond]

Russ, I officially retired thus year march 1. Whooo Hooo!!!!!!

[Russell Lampron]

I don't know if I will take you up on that offer Parker. My knees are pretty sore after walking my woods a few times. Found two more leaks today and am at 26" now. I may have a leak or two that I haven't found yet but things are pretty tight now.

Congratulations on the retirement pdiamond. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I boiled again tonight and made 4 gallons. It's not much but it's a start.

[Russell Lampron]

It seems that as soon as I get something fixed something else breaks. I had everything fixed and all was good. Richard was riding one of my 4 wheelers when it died. That one was an easy fix, it was just a fouled spark plug. Then I went down to my releaser with my tractor and was bringing up a load of sap. The tractor broke the ice on my haul road and when it did the front of the tractor spun around and I hit a tree. That broke the yoke of off the bucket piston. I've still got to fix that. I went to turn off the vacuum valve at the pump and the handle broke off. Still need to fix that too. I just want to finish the season without having to rebuild everything!

[Russell Lampron]

I had to go get sugaring stuff done, now back to where I was. The tractor is 50 years old this year and has been pretty reliable. I had to replace the 5 year old battery recently and now the starter is dying. I've got to wonder what's next.

I boiled again yesterday and am at 17 gallons now. Now I've got something on the shelves for next weekend.

I got a call Thursday afternoon from a reporter at the Concord Monitor. She had seen that this was going to be my last year. She asked if it was because of covid and I told her no, end of conversation. She called again Friday morning and asked a few more questions and if she could send a photographer over. The photographer came over and he took pictures while I showed him around. When I showed him the evaporator I told him that I was going to be boiling yesterday afternoon and he came back for that. He was really impressed with my setup especially when I drew off 13 gallons of syrup in less than an hour. I have to call the reporter tomorrow to find out what day I'm going to be in the paper. I think she said Wednesday, I'll find out for sure.

[Pdiamond]

Wow Russ you are going to be famous, can I get your autograph. hahahaha Good for you great promotional op.

[red maples]

last year because of covid... ha why would anyone stop sugaring from covid? not being open is open or no maple weekend this year yeah but geesh.

[Russell Lampron]

Where was the newspaper article when I could use the free publicity? Not that I don't this year but it would have been great when we had a maple weekend. The reporter was telling me that Bruce Bascom had told her that the Canadian reserves are getting low. He said that because of Covid a lot of smaller Canadian producers had gone out of business and that they are expecting the reserves to be depleted more because of it. Bulk prices are up slightly! There were a lot of smaller operations in Quebec that also had pancake houses to support their incomes. The Covid shut down helped put them out of business. That was why the reporter wanted to know if my shutting down was due to Covid.

It's been cold and windy here with the daytime highs in the mid 30's. I wasn't expecting much for sap flows but it ran surprisingly well. I got 300 gallons Saturday which was the cloudier but warmer day of the 2 and 350 yesterday when the sun was shining all day and evening with stronger winds than the day before. I went down to check my tank at 6PM and to my delight there was 350 gallons of sap in the tank and the sap was still coming in as good as was earlier in the afternoon. I was planning to turn off the vacuum when I went back to the sugar house but left it on. The temp at the sugar house was 27*! It's always colder in the woods and to my surprise the coldest section of my woods was running the best.

[Russell Lampron]

I went to visit one of the big local producers in town yesterday and he was telling me what I already knew. The squirrel damage was the worst that he had ever seen. He also said that the other big producers were echoing the same sentiment. He had spent the last 4 days fixing vacuum leaks and had walked 44 miles doing so. He has 14,000 taps. He also said that all of the leaks he fixed had only raised his vacuum levels a little bit and that he still has a lot of leaks to fix.

[red maples]

I guess that makes sense then as to why she thought you were closing due to Covid. We are small enough (I would consider us hobby or just above hobby) I make very little actual profit at this everything I make goes right back into it with more equipment and upgrades.

Its self supporting as far as that is concerned. We (my wife and I ) have our real jobs that pay for the house, car payments, college tuition etc etc etc. (probably need some more etc's there) but She has her art and I have my maple and bees.

Actually Bees are a little more profitable than maple as it doesn't require so much equipment just getting the bees to over winter is the biggest problem. if not then you have to buy more bees in the spring. I bought 4 more packages of bees $550 and need to buy more containers probably $300. but already spent $600 for glass and containers at sunnyside, $200 in supplies at Bascom's so far. Will need DE, new taps for next season Etc Etc Etc. But the one thing is that I could consider it all an investment because the retail value of the equipment I have doesn't go down that much anymore for the smaller producer. As long as I take care of everything. I think I could actually make money on my evaporator if I sold it tomorrow. I bought it for $3300 11 years ago and could easily get $5000 for it today.

[Russell Lampron]

For those of you that can buy the Concord Monitor, today is the day!!!! If this link works you can read the article here: https://www.concordmonitor.com/Maple-syrup-producers-around-New-Hampshire-make-changes-amidst-ongoing-COVID-19-pandemic-39388450 . If any of you producers in the area that aren't going to be open this weekend are out and about stop by for your last chance to check out my operation.

There wasn't much maple related stuff going on here yesterday. I made a batch of maple cream and that's about it. I have a couple of valves that need to be replaced so I'll be getting that done today. It was too cold and windy to attempt it yesterday.

That's one of the things that I like about maple Brad. The equipment holds it's value. If I just consider the money that I take in to the money that I spend I do make some here, but if I were to figure in a wage for myself I would always be in the red. That's why years ago I decided to make this a hobby business. If the IRS came knocking on my door I could easily show them that I don't make any money here.

[Russell Lampron]

Yesterday was just too cold here to get a sap run. The original forecast was for a high of 41, that was dropped to 39 yesterday morning and what I got was 34. The sap that I did get only dribbled in. My releaser which holds about 25 gallons only dumped once and was about 1/3 full when I collected Sunday's run at 6PM. I'm going to start ROing this morning for a boil this afternoon or evening. I've got 650 gallons on hand and today's weather should bring in more.

[NhShaun]

Interesting article you shared. Not close enough to snag a newspaper but i read it online. Hopefully the last season had good yields, always good to go out with a bang.

[Russell Lampron]

It was a strange day for sap flow. I turned on the vacuum at 9:30 this morning when the temperature got to 30. There wasn't anything coming in at that time but with the bright sunshine I figured that it would be running soon. I went back at 12:00 when the temperature was at 48 to check it and the sap was barely dripping off of the releaser flap. It seemed like the sap should have been running but it wasn't. I went back down at 3:00 when the temperature was 54 and it was running better than before but not by much. I had about 30 gallons for the day so far. I went back down at 6:00 and the temperature was 50 and in the 3 hours since the last check I had gotten over 200 gallons. The sap was still coming in good when I pumped the tank a half hour later. It's not supposed to freeze tonight and I'm hoping to find a lot of sap in the morning.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

We are a ways apart Russ but similar thing here in our cold woods. Nothing at 3 PM then 40 gallons by 6 PM on 120 taps. Pumps are on all night and work looks optional tomorrow! Good luck!

[raptorfan85]

Same here too. Our woods are always exactly the same russ. Our seasons usually mirror each other pretty closely. I have a really cold woods and tap mostly reds, which i believe you do too? I watch your posts pretty closely for those reasons. The sap took all day to run here, but it's rolling in now. I just checked the releaser. I'm pretty sure we'll be waking up to some decent sap.

[BAP]

Same here Russ. We did freeze overnight. But yesterday’s sap run was not too spectacular. For as nice of a day and how late it ran I was expecting more than I got.

[Russell Lampron]

Hey Jake I just found and posted in your thread. Your orchard is similar to mine and it helps that most of your reds are in the coldest section. It helps to extend your season and like me you can go as long as the guys with all sugars can before you call it a season. I have never made buddy syrup and I have been tapping reds since 2005 when I told my former "maple expert" son in law that I was going to tap them. I don't get as much sap per tap as the guys with sugars do but what I do get makes better tasting syrup.

It was the same here Bruce, I was expecting the sap to run all night and was prepared for it but woke up to 27 degrees at the house. I'll take the frost over the overnight run anytime. I don't know what time it went below freezing but do know that there was frost on my deck at 4:30 this morning.

[red maples]

I am a Reds tapper too, hence the name, and most of my woods are cold too. Blocked by a nice hemlock stand. I have made some buddy syrup Reds are funny that way mine have budded with ice still in the ground. One maple might run great, another not so much. Sugar is lower, sap amount is lower but I agree with russ 100% that the syrup tastes better. I will go out on a limb (no pun intended) and say I feel it has a little more complex richer flavor to it than syrup made from only sugar maples. but thats just me. although I do feel I have a very educated palet being a chef and all. but just my opinion.

[Russell Lampron]

I agree Brad, the reds produce a richer flavor that I didn't get when I tapped only sugars. It's not my imagination either, many visitors to my sugar house say that my syrup is the best they've ever tasted. I'm sure yours is similar. I've never had anyone refer to a stand of hemlocks as nice. I hate the **** things! It's a tossup as to which is worse, the hemlocks or the beeches. This year it's the hemlock sapplings.

After a nice freeze and a slow start I'm at .7 gpt plus for sap today, the best run of the season so far. The trees were liking the rain that we had earlier. I'm going to have plenty of sap for the upcoming weekend and am hoping for a good turn out.

[Russell Lampron]

We're ready to see what the weekend brings. I've got the sugar house set up and clean and the shelves are stocked with syrup. We've prepared for the weekend like we would for a normal maple weekend in hopes that we get a lot of visitors.

I ran 515 gallons of sap through the RO and have about 130 gallons of 7% in the head tank. I'm hoping to push the dark stuff out of the evaporator and get the grade up to amber. I collected 325 last evening that I'm saving for tomorrow but can single pass it to boil today if the crowds warrant it.

Temperatures colder than predicted again overnight! I woke up to 19 when the forecast was for 23. It's supposed to warm up fast and I'm hoping for a good run today. I've been collecting sap just about every day but have been having to wait anywhere from 8 to 3 days to have enough for a boil. It would be nice to have some consistancy.

[Russell Lampron]

The turn out for the first day of what would normally be maple weekend was less than I had hoped for. Reports from around the area are that it was the same for everyone else. It's hurting us that the NH-MPA only promoted this as just another weekend in maple month. Civid or not this should have been promoted as maple weekend and let the people decide if they want to go visit sugar houses or not. With no promotion I think that they don't know that we're even trying to do it.

Because of the lower than predicted overnight temperatures the sap run got off to a slow start yesterday but when it finally kicked in the trees were gushing. We got a lower than predicted overnight temperature last night too and I hope that the trend continues through next week's warm up.

My syrup grade has been hovering in the lower dark range and no matter what I do I can't get it to lighten up. Hopefully the warm weather next week will bring in bigger sap runs and I can get the dark stuff boiled out of the evaporator. I miss the boils with 1000 gallons of sap or more. This 500 to 600 gallon crap is getting old!

[MapleSaint]

Hey Russ. It is always a pleasure to read your post. I was wondering why the syrup won’t lighting up. Here has been dark and very dark. You always have some helpful information in your post. Hope the 1000 gal runs come for you on you last journey.

[Russell Lampron]

Hey Russ. It is always a pleasure to read your post. I was wondering why the syrup won’t lighting up. Here has been dark and very dark. You always have some helpful information in your post. Hope the 1000 gal runs come for you on you last journey.

This year I think that the dark syrup is because of the small sap runs and not being able to boil every day. Over the weekend I put 1365 gallons of sap through the RO and the highest concentration percentage was 9%. By yesterday afternoon I it was coming out of the draw off lighter than I has been all season. It wasn't light enough to bring my syrup up a grade but got me into the mid dark range. The first draw off yesterday was the darkest I've seen it this season. The sap in the flue pan was a lot lighter colored at the end of the boil yesterday too. I'm hoping for a good run today to follow up yesterday's good run in hopes that I can finally make some amber.

Last season I think it was because of the low sugar content. It was rare to see it higher than 1.2% and it was usually below 1%. This season, other than the first run it's been running between 1.5 and 1.8% which until last season is pretty much normal for my trees.

[Russell Lampron]

Well maple weekend turned out to be pretty good when all was said and done. I had a lot of visitors and only one or two that didn't buy anything. The leaches that were only looking for free samples didn't come this year. I had a steady stream of customers coming through all day with no lull from open to close which never happened in the past. I was supposed to close at 4 but stayed open until 5:15 when the last customers left. Sales were just shy of what I would normally make on an average maple weekend which was real good considering how bad it was on Saturday. A lot of people said that they had seen the article in the paper and some of them said that that was why they came.

My shelves were full at the start of the weekend and are pretty bare now. I'm off to jug up some syrup and get things going for the boil this evening.

[jrgagne99]

This year I think that the dark syrup is because of the small sap runs and not being able to boil every day.
...

Last season I think it was because of the low sugar content. It was rare to see it higher than 1.2% and it was usually below 1%. This season, other than the first run it's been running between 1.5 and 1.8% which until last season is pretty much normal for my trees.

Same here, Russ. I tap 150 reds and I usually get a batch or two of Amber at the beginning before hitting Dark for the rest of the year. This year I started in Dark due to the slow start, small runs, too much time between boils. Hoping it gets back into to Amber with the decent weather, but I almost doubt it.

Also, I have had other people comment on my syrup be very flavorful as well, so I think there is something to this Acer Rubrum.

BTW, I started out at 1.7%, went to 1.5% and was back to 1.8% yesterday.

[Russell Lampron]

I boiled for the 3 day in a row and made another 15 1/2 gallons of dark last night. I'm at 73.5 gallons for the season now.

When I changed the side of the evaporator that I draw from I noticed that I had forgotten to switch the plug in the flue pan before the weekend. I boiled all weekend with the sap coming in on the side that it was feeding the front pan from.

I woke up to 25 degrees this morning, another good freeze. It's supposed to get to 64 today and not freeze again until Monday. The buds are starting to swell on the reds. I hope that the forecast is wrong!

[Sweet Maple Trees]

Best of luck Russ on your last season

[Russell Lampron]

Best of luck Russ on your last season

Thank you! It has been a tough year to get sap but it has been fun to be able to get everything done without having to fit it in around my work schedule. The nicest thing about being retired is that I can do what I want when I want and being able to fix things when they break.

[Russell Lampron]

Last night was the biggest boil of the season and the first one that was over 1000 gallons at 1025. It's probably the last one over 1000 gallons too. I'm at 88.5 gallons of syrup now, all dark. I'm at about a half seasons crop for a normal year and with the weather possibly done for the year. Time will tell!

[Russell Lampron]

What a difference a couple of days and 27" of vacuum makes. I pumped out my 550 gallon woods tank yesterday afternoon and left about 25 gallons in it. I wasn't expecting much overnight with no freeze and some rain too but found 475 gallons in the tank this morning. The season ain't over yet!!! It's testing at 1.2% sugar which is pretty good considering the circumstances. My bulk tank is nutted and I'll be boiling tomorrow.

[DrTimPerkins]

What a difference a couple of days and 27" of vacuum makes.

Yup, it ain't over til it's over. Vacuum is a wonderful thing.

[red maples]

yep my trees are popping but the vacuum is an awesome thing!!! still getting sap!!! sap is about 1% still

[Russell Lampron]

I decided to call it a season yesterday and I see that I'm not the only one.

I had 1250 gallons of sap for the biggest boil of the season and also the last boil for Red Roof Maples. We lit the evaporator for the last time and then I poured some shots of amaretto for a toast. The shots were poured in 2 oz sample cups for appropriateness. The toast was made and the boil commenced. An hour and a half and 18 gallons later we were done.

I finished the season with 106.5 gallons of dark syrup made. The sap for the last boil was cloudy and I could taste a hint of bacteria in the finished syrup. I don't need the syrup so I decided to dump the contents of the evaporator and start cleaning up. I finished the season with a little over a half crop which is the worst in my 21 seasons. It was even worse than 2012 when I made 132 gallons.

Even though it was short and the production was low it was a fun season because I was able to devote all of my time to it. In some ways I'm sad that it's over but am happy that I can now close this chapter of my life and move south to be with my family.

I've made a lot of friends on the "trader" over the years and am sorry that I didn't get out to visit some of you this year. Every time that I tried to get away there was something that needed my attention and I had to stay and take care of it.

I'm sure that when maple season gets here next year I'll be lurking to check in on you guys and to answer questions and give advice.

[white mt]

Good luck in the future .

[Wannabe]

You had a heck of a ride and I enjoy/ed reading your posts. Enjoy your family time!

[Dill]

Best of luck Russ! If the bubble master wasn’t making light the rest of us won’t. I had a good boil Saturday. It’s still trickling in. I think I’ll dump the sap tank tomorrow and start fresh Tuesday. At 2/3 of a normal crop

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Thanks for all your contributions on here Russ. Congrats on ending this chapter and good luck on the next one.

[n8hutch]

One of the Best reads on the Trader. One door closes and another one opens, I am sure you will come up with a new Hobby down south. Spoiling Grandkids maybe. On a note about your season and saying that your production wasn't steller but it was a great season. I tell people that all the time, People will ask if it will be a good season and I say everyone of them are. Good luck Russ

[BAP]

Every season in the woods and in the sugar house is a great season. No matter how long or how short it is, it always seems like it is too short to end. I’m sure it is going to be hard to let go of everything when you move south. Good luck with your future endeavors and don’t be a stranger on here.

[Sugarmaker]

Russ,
Good luck in your move down south and future. You have helped and inspired many folks here on the trader! Wishing you and your family the best!
Regards,
Chris

[johnallin]

Russ,

Always enjoyed reading your posts you'll be missed for sure.
Thanks for all of your shared info on the Bubble Master and colorful commentary over the years.
Curious, what do they call a boiling soda down south?

[Russell Lampron]

Thanks for the well wishes guys! Maple people are the best and sharing information with all of you has been fun. I just looked and I joined the "trader" in 2002 and I've contributed over 5700 post! I'm going to have to stick around to reach my 20th anniversary. I still have a wealth of knowledge and can still share it even if I'm not making syrup anymore.

I was one of the first small producers here to get an RO and the information that I shared here helped clear up the some of the myths surrounding that machine. I'm sure that there's a lot of producers here that got one because of the information that I shared.

I'll be helping a large producer in PA next year to get my maple fix. I met the guy, PATheron for those of you that remember him, here and we became good friends. Maybe I'll start a thread in the NH section about my experiences in PA next season.

As far as hobbies are concerned I'm bringing my doodlebug tractor to NC with me and plan to drive it in parades. Anyone want to ride shotgun and toss candy to the kids? I'm also going to be looking for a full size GM convertible that I can polish up and go to cruise nights and car shows in. I found a nice 1966 Impala SS in TN last summer but couldn't buy it. It was low mileage and had an original looking 327 under the hood.

[Russell Lampron]

Russ,


Curious, what do they call a boiling soda down south?

Moonshine!

[amasonry]

Hey Russ I have a 1964 malibu convertible with a 283 in it. original engine and tranny. she starting to get soft in the rear fenders and inside the trunk. my step father said he let it go for 5000.

[Russell Lampron]

Hey Russ I have a 1964 malibu convertible with a 283 in it. original engine and tranny. she starting to get soft in the rear fenders and inside the trunk. my step father said he let it go for 5000.

Sounds like a good price but I'm looking for a rust free southern car.

[Russell Lampron]

It was a beautiful day to be in the woods and if I was still going I would have probably gotten a good run. Instead I was bringing my tank and releaser back to the sugar house and pulling my taps. It's all done but the clean up now and I've got a pretty good start on that.

[Brian]

Well Russ you do put out good info and good luck in N.C. There have been alot of sugar makers that have come and gone on this site over the years. I hope you injoy your retirement.

[johnallin]

Well Russ you do put out good info and good luck in N.C. There have been alot of sugar makers that have come and gone on this site over the years. I hope you injoy your retirement.

+ 1.......

[amasonry]

Hey Russ I have a 1964 malibu convertible with a 283 in it. original engine and tranny. she starting to get soft in the rear fenders and inside the trunk. my step father said he let it go for 5000.

[Amber Gold]

It was me that asked that question and thanks for the update on Theron and Matt.

Last I remember, Theron was ~8000 taps, running 2 RO’s (redundancy), and a 4’x12’ ish oil evaporator. What’s he doing now? I always enjoyed reading his posts. Lots of energy. If you make it up there during the season, it’d be interesting to have you start a thread and keep us posted on it.

It’d be great to have you keep tabs on trader and add your input.

Good luck with your retirement.

[Russell Lampron]

It was me that asked that question and thanks for the update on Theron and Matt.

Last I remember, Theron was ~8000 taps, running 2 RO’s (redundancy), and a 4’x12’ ish oil evaporator. What’s he doing now? I always enjoyed reading his posts. Lots of energy. If you make it up there during the season, it’d be interesting to have you start a thread and keep us posted on it.

It’d be great to have you keep tabs on trader and add your input.

Good luck with your retirement.

I haven't kept up with what Theron is at for tap count and equipment but the last that I had heard was that he has about 10000 taps now. His evaporator is a 6 x 14 and as far as I know he's still running the 2 RO machines.

I am planning to go up to help him out but at this point I don't know how long I'll stay and what part of the season I'll be there. I will start a thread to keep everyone updated.

[Parker]

Make sure you tell TTHHEERROOONNN, I don't have many hero's in my life, but, he is one of mine. I remember his first posts and what he started with. The man is the definition of stone cold hustle.

[red maples]

hey Russ just wanted to say I always enjoyed reading your thread. learned lots here and will always remember the guy that made the term "boiling soda" famous!!! good luck with the move, retirement and whatever the future brings. Besure to start a new thread on here next year and check in from time to time during the season so when we are running around and falling asleep at work and leaving the wrong valves open and spilling sap, and the releaser hang ups etc. you can post about relaxing sitting on the porch drinking sweet tea!!! :lol: