bucket lid downsides

[thenewguy]

Hey guys, Ive never used lids on my pails before. I have a friend who is cutting down his taps and had a bunch of extra lids kicking around that he gave me. I'm getting sick of bark, bugs and the occasional mouse ending up in my pails so I'll give them a try this year. He told me that he never liked using lids because they would dry this tap holes up. Sun would hit the bucket lid and heat would travel up the spile and dry the holes out...is there any truth to this, has anyone experienced this? I wanna keep the crap outta my pails but I don't want dry holes either..

[325abn]

Dry holes are very bad for sure! :) :) :) :)

I dont think there is any truth to this.

[peacemaker]

never heard the lids drying the taps i just know buckets dry quicker then tap lines cause the open i have friend who uses 5 gal buckets and tap line taps with a drop into ech pale he juas has extra buckets and moves trough switching out buckets

[H. Walker]

If the lids are shiny then I would think that they would reflect the sun away makeing the reverse more likely, not drying the hole out.

[Dave Y]

if your tap holes dry up and you have good sap weather in the forecast, ream your tap holes. the sap will flow again.

[andrew martin]

I think the theory is bogus- Thelid would have toconduct a lot of heat to the tap,and if the lid is heldon by a piece of metal wire, that lid would have to get very hot, and there is notmuch contact area. Try sanitizing your taps the night before or day of tapping, and your taps may last longer. I use nothing but buckets and have no trouble going 5-6 weeks during the season.

Andrew

[Russell Lampron]

Are these the flat covers or the roof type that are curved to let air flow through? I use the roof type covers and 5/16" Leader bucket spouts. Most of them were still running after 6 weeks last season. I think the use of the larger 7/16" spouts lets air into the tap hole causing it to dry up cover or no cover.

Russ

[Brent]

My only complaint about lids is they are too cold, same as the buckets.

Never felt a warm one yet, but if you're up tight about it, get the plastic spiles that won't conduct heat.

When you get to be over 60, dry hole takes on a hole new meaning.

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

BRENT

you are giving away our secrets

RICH

[Sugarmaker]

Use lids and get better sap.

[jemsklein]

well when i first started with buckets i always had fleis in it i had a bird in on and a mouse in one or deer drinking out of it (i actully saw one) it is a lot more work then tubing and you don't wast as much fuel to get it and you don't get stuck in the mud (as much) it was just so much better and this year the main line almost ends at the road so it is alot better

[thenewguy]

Thanks guys, thats kind of what I had thought also. Just these lids came from a very experinced sugar maker, when you have 1000 pails and lids I can see them maybe becoming a pain in the ***. anyways they shoul be fine for my 100. Thanks again

[Dave Y]

Lids may be a pain to handle, but they are needed to keep unwanted debris,rain and snow out of your sap.

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

if you arent on tubeing you need the lids

RICH

[thenewguy]

what does everyone use to "Sanitize there taps"?

[Dave Y]

Boiling hot water!

[jemsklein]

usally boiling water is hot but that is what i use

[danno]

It looks like we've all agreed on covers when using buckets - I agree.

Looks like the thread may be moving toward sanitizing spouts. This topic is worthy of it's own thread. I remember one last winter. Anyway, I santized taps last winter with ethel alcohol and did not see my taps last longer.

I did ream in early April - and that caused my taps to begin running like it was their first day.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Funny how reaming seems to work for you guys. I have redrilled part of my holes 2 different years in the past with a slightly larger bit. I drill my original holes with a 19/64" and redrilled them with a 5/16", and I could hardly see any difference at all.

I did it to experiment. I didn't work the first time and I thought I would try it again a couple of years ago as so many of the guys on here say they have good luck. Don't know what I am doing, but I never had any luck.

[tapper]

I tried reaming last year as a lot of guys said they were doing it . Like Brandon I didnt seem to have much luck with it either.

[danno]

I intially tapped the last week of Feb. last year. After a huge warm up late March when all our taps stopped running, we got real cold in April. When it warmed we were in great sap weather and I got nothing over a couple of good days, even though I was running vacuum.

I reamed all my taps around April 7 and taps ran full blast. My last boil was 4/21/07. I made between 4/7-4/21 the same amount I made from 3/22-4/6.

Maybe vacuum was the differance following reaming - I don't really know. There is a good thread in the ny tapping section titled "2nd season" from April, 2007.

[Russell Lampron]

When I first tap my trees I use a 5/16" bit and tap 1.5" deep when I ream them I use the same 5/16" bit and drill the hole 1/2" deeper. It worked good. I too had a good April last season when I am usually done by the end of March.

Russ

[tapper]

I was able to make syrup after that warmup last season as well. It was nice looking syrup but bad taste and the taste worsened with age.

[Dave Y]

I reamed my taps over Good Friday weekend last year. Had good results. Last boil was april 24. Made 3 barrels of commecial. after i reamed.

[Maplewalnut]

Just curious, how did the 'reamed' holes heal over the summer? Same rate as a single drilled hole or are they slow to close?

[Brent]

When you ream the holes, what spiles to you use.

I just got a bag of new blue spiles that don't look like they would hold in a hold that was a even a little oversize.

I assume you used 7/16 long taper stainless spiles ???

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I am not interested in making commercial or anything with an off flavor as I retail 100% of mine in quarts and pints, so it appears reaming wouldn't do me much good.

[Dave Y]

When I reamed my tap holes I went 1/64 larger. I used the same spile that was in the tree. I have an assorment of bucket spiles 5/16 and 7/16. what i did is when I ordinarly tapped i drilled 11/2". when I reamed I went the full 2".
When I reamed i had only made about 1/2 crop and according to the calendar my season should be ending. reaming extended my season and the commercial helped pay for equipment.
regardless if you dont currently make C grade you should consider doing so as the price is well worth it and you can not make syrup you cant sell . even if you put it in 5 gal buckets a syrup buyer will pay you good money for it. so why not make it your pans are dirty any way.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Dave,

All good points and maybe you all will consider me greedy, but I have I hard time making syrup for $ 15 to $ 20 a gallon when I average $ 50 a gallon retail. If I could only make syrup to wholesale, I would probably quit yesterday. I don't do it for the money, but it sure helps a lot to pay back all the investment.

[Dave Y]

Brandon,
No one would consider that greedy. I dont do it for the money either, I enjoy boiling. But the cash helps!

[royalmaple]

That's all the more reason to have an RO and efficient operation, so you are not burning up tons of wood and time for nothing. Now you can efficiently make commercial and the buyers will buy every drop. I don't think there is anything easier to make than commercial you can't screw that up. Off the evap in a drum, no guessing.

From a wholesale standpoint you are only talking a few dollars per gallon for the best possible syrup you can make to the absolute worst thing you could even still call syrup.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Matt,

I agree and if I had an RO, I might run thru some commercial. I have never really been able to hardly make any commercial regardless because the trees usually dry up and the temps are too high to make syrup before there is any worry about commercial anyway where I am.

[sapman]

Efficiency is the reason I went with an RO for this year. It's always been a dream, but with the cost of oil, it was much easier to justify to myself AND my wife. Now, hopefully the season does last long enough to make plenty of good syrup, plus some commercial, as that did help to pay the fuel bill last year.

As to reaming, I made 1/3 of my production last year after reaming in mid-April. But though it was grade A med. and dark, plus the commercial, most of the flavor did seem inferior, and worsened with age, also.

Tim

[Brent]

I'm curious to know if you did fine filtering or used a UV on the sap at the end of the season. I'm trying to understand if the end of season stuff is just getting buddy and hopeless or if some of the change was induced by the extra bacteria.