LMP Maple 2022

[LMP Maple]

Started getting things together here in southern NH. Set one of my tanks in the woods yesterday after washing it out etc. Wanted to get it in place while I could still drive in the field. I know we are a ways off but it always seems to creep up on me. Sold all of my buckets last spring with the exception of 5 to keep around for the boy scout tour. Adding more taps this year at my neighbors all 3/16 on a sureflow with solar panels. I hope to be in the 60-70 tap range with a max of 100 this year. Also added a nano RO and CDL Vacuum press. Seems like a lot of new stuff which should keep me on my toes. I'm a little nervous with all the new 'toys' but in the name of efficiency they were a necessity. My traditional tapping date has been the 23rd of Feb the last two years we shall see how it pans out this year. Crazy to think that is only a month off. Nice deep freeze here currently which is a good thing. Good luck to all. Glad to see it is underway for some in the south. Good luck with the prep work to all my fellow NH sugar makers.

[ecolbeck]

Hope you have a great year. We bought the buckets from you last spring. Can't wait to use them!

[eustis22]

4 less taps and twice the amount of syrup made? That the RO + the vacuum filter?

[LMP Maple]

Hey Ecolbeck. Nice to put your call letters to the face. I was thinking about those buckets the other day. I am glad we connected when we did. I think buckets were hard to come by this year. Good luck on your season. I will be interested to here how you like the CDL vacuum press.

Eustis22 - 100 percent based on two things. I gave up on Red Maples on buckets and added 3/16 on Sugar Maples with a good slope. My first year I taped any Maple I could find some Reds deep in the woods they were marginal at best. It did not take me long to figure out that the Reds on buckets for me anyway were not worth the effort. My second year I tried to phase out the Reds as best I could. My third year I did not tap any reds and the sap numbers went up. That year I added 19 more taps that were all Sugar Maples and dumped all the Reds. That helped. My tap counts have stayed consistent but my species selection has changed a lot. Before I get any hate from the Red Maple guys this was my experience and with my sureflow set-up this year I would not hesitate to tap the Reds and likely will when I get a little more confident with it.

[eustis22]

makes sense....I only have a couple of sugar maples on the hill here but when I move to Western Maine ir will be all sugars.

[LMP Maple]

Good luck on your season and the move to Maine. You will be happy with the sugars. I love Massachusetts. Well, I love making money there then heading back to NH:) If Maine wont have you the granite state will take you in.

[LMP Maple]

In the woods all day today. Forgot how out of shape I am. Ran around 1000 ft of 3/16. I was getting anxious to tap and thought I might on Thursday but seeing the amount of snow in the woods and the ice/crust layer I am going to wait. Looks like a good three day stretch with above freezing temps here and talk of a 50 degree day mixed in this week then cold again. I think the warmth will be enough to get the trees thawed and soften things up a bit. I am planning on tapping likely next week if I see a good stretch. I will take this Friday to get all of my lines in and likely do a test boil on Wednesday.

[raptorfan85]

This week does seem tempting but it's still early. I think my taps are going in the 20th unless the forecast changes. This is the first year I got to leave my lines up, I don't miss running tubing in the snow! Good luck this year, hope it's a good one.

[LMP Maple]

Good luck as well Jake. Seems like we are on about the same geographical plane so to speak. Boy a day like today certainly gets the blood flowing. I was awfully tempted to drill some holes but I'm going to hold off for the next warm-up to tap. Still pretty frozen in the woods here although I think the sunnier spots probably would run this weekend. That's ok. I dont think I will miss out on too much sap and still a bit to do. Did my test boil today. All good there and set a few of my collection tanks. I will get the rest of the lines set on Friday and set up the sureflow. I think I will tap next Wednesday if the forecast holds looks like a 40 degree day after three days below freezing that would put me a week earlier than normal if I stick to it. Some days I wish I had 3000 taps at least then I would say I have to start by this date to get them all in. When you are tapping a smaller number it seems easy to overthink it, but it makes it interesting.:lol:

[Hop Kiln Road]

I'm going to start tapping 2/19, 2/20. I usually get some sap in the last week of February but also have to manage some hard freezes which takes extra time so nothing gets damaged. Easier to wait for the consistent flows I think. Should be a great season!

[UB29]

LMP,
Not too far from you. Completing final setup in the woods work (setting Shurflo systems, collection tanks) over the next couple of days. Flushing/washing RO and test boil this weekend and will probably start tubing taps early next week. Will hold off on buckets for another couple of weeks.
Good Luck all for a great 2022 season.
Thanks, Bill

[red maples]

good luck on your season!!!

[LMP Maple]

Tapped today. 83 taps all Sugars. 48 on a shureflow. Rest 3/16 gravity. I think I am going to be buried but that is why I bought the R/O. Took the last two days off to get things ready wish I had tomorrow off as well. Was running later today and should let go tomorrow. Still don't feel ready but at some point it is go time. Everything working well so far with the exception of my cell connection monitor to keep an eye on it. Cant seem to get the sim card to work but that will have to wait until the weekend. Here we go ladies and gentlemen! Not sure how I am going to handle being at work tomorrow think I will sneak out early.

[raptorfan85]

I put 100 taps in today as well. Will try to get the rest tomorrow. I only had a few holes running but my woods is quite cold. It doesn't matter how much you prepare, you never feel ready! Hopefully you get the remote monitoring figured out. It's definitely go time. Tomorrow and Friday should be good runs. Good luck.

[LMP Maple]

It has been a busy couple of weeks for me. Glad to have what looks like a week or so off from gathering etc given the temps. Eight inches of fluffy light snow today. Last check it was 18 degrees here. I have boiled 4 times so far. I have made around 4 gallons of syrup I would say although it is all in my stainless draw off containers at the moment and it is pretty hard to put a total on it. I am planning on taking the day on Sunday to put it through the vacuum filter and bottle it up so I will have a much better idea on my totals then. This is by far the earliest that i have made syrup and I tapped a full week early and probably missed one minor run. It is good looking stuff and light. Loving the R/O took me a bit to understand the batch process but using this I can get the concentration up to around 6% which makes for some short boils which is great. Easily the best investment I have made in the operation. I still am shocked by the amount of water that is coming out that I do not have to boil. I find myself checking the permeate often thinking really there is no sugar in that and low and behold there is not. I do need to run some soap through it tomorrow and put it in a non use state with citric tomorrow as I don't think I will be concentrating until next weekend. Sap has all been testing at 2% for me. I hope everyone is there or better. Early indications are that this could be a good year for us in NH. Although we live and die at the hands of mother nature so who knows!

[LMP Maple]

6 Gallons 32 ounces made so far. Canned it all up today. A very good start for me. My goal is 20 gallons this year. It was a long day for me longer than what I expected. I am not 100% sold on the Vacuum press. This year with the press I drew directly off the evaporator with only a light filtering. Today I heated up all my syrup to 180 and added DE then put it through the press. It started out well but seemed to get plugged up quickly. Its better than gravity for sure but not as good as I expected. I cannot have another day of canning like today again. I am going to try using the press at drawoff right off the evaporator without the DE of course to take out one of the steps. It will be interesting to see how it does without the DE in there. It will be hot coming off the evaporator so I am hoping that will help. This way my syrup will be filtered and be ready for canning without reheating and filtering and only reheating once to can.

[ecolbeck]

Disappointed to hear about the vacuum press, I had big hopes for it. I guess it sorta makes sense because the amount of surface area on the press is far smaller than on a cone. I haven't tried mine out yet. Keep us updated on how it goes.

[LMP Maple]

Will do. Please do the same when you use yours. As with most new 'toys' could be some operator error or just trying to find what works best. It was my first run with the unit so I am hoping things improve. At the least I am going to switch up my procedure to see if I can improve it. I will gladly take any advice you or others have on how to best maximize the unit. For me the logical next approach is to try to use it at draw-off. I don't draw enough to justify adding DE so I will try to filter it through straight and see how it goes. Lots to think about, waiting on the next warm up! Just had 100 gallons of oil delivered, ouch! Should get me through a few seasons particularly with the RO.

[BAP]

How much DE are you using? I run a 12” CDL vacuum filter without problems. Filter hot with DE. You need enough DE so that it builds a layer on top of the prefilter at least 1/8” thick. Also I found that dumping off the built up layer before filtering the next batch works the best.

[Russell Lampron]

I agree with you on the reds. They are finicky on buckets and it's usually not worth the effort to tap them. On vacuum they all run and depending on the quality of the tree they can produce a lot of sap.

Before you try filtering at the draw off try heating your syrup to 200 degrees or more before you filter it, 180 is too low. Hot syrup is easier to filter than cold syrup and the goal is to have the temperature at or above 180 after filtering to sterilize the container that you put it in. Always use the filter aid. The amount of filter aid will depend on how dirty the syrup is. If they gave you instructions with the filter use that as a guideline.

Good luck with your season and with the filtering.

[LMP Maple]

Thank you for the help on this. I used the ratio of one cup of DE per gallon of syrup. I should have been more clear. I brought the syrup up to 180 then added the DE then sent it through the filter, or attempted to. After I filtered all the syrup, about 6 gallons or so, back into the caner the filtered syrup went where I brought it up to 190 before canning it. I can at 190 and if it falls below 185 I stop and add more heat until it gets back to the 190 level. I liked the idea of drawing off the evaporator into my 5 gallon stainless draw off cylinder without dealing with filtering and filtering later when I had down time. What I forgot about was the time it takes to reheat the syrup without doing it too fast etc. I really thought that the new vacuum filter would save me a lot of time but that was not the case on this first go. I will say one of the likely many mistakes I made was not whisking in the DE as I did find that I built up some on the filter but at the end of the canning there was a fair amount on the bottom of the canner. I suspect i should have mixed it more. Also sounds like I may want to be higher in temp if I do it this way again. For this next run I am going to try to filter it right off the evaporator. It will come off at 220 or so or whatever temp we are making syrup at that day and we shall see how that goes. My draws are about a quart or so at a time so I suppose I could draw into a small container add a little DE and run it through at that time but I do want to try it with straight syrup just to see how it filters if at all. I will let you all know how that works out for me. It looks so efficient in the video and I never see them add DE. Thank you for the advice on the DE it certainly makes for a very polished finished product no doubt about that. I always pause as I throw in the DE, it seems so foreign to me to be adding anything to the syrup after we work so hard to keep things out of our syrup but that is a mental thing in my mind.:lol:

Was running a little today but still a lot of ice in the tanks. It looks like a real good run coming Sunday and all of next week here is S. NH. Thank you for all the advice and please keep it coming. I certainly appreciate the advice and wisdom of the sugar makers on the trader.

[BAP]

I suspect that your problem filtering is not getting your DE mixed in well and possibly you need to add a little more. I have to experiment each year to find the sweet spot for amount of DE to add to get it to filter good.

[red maples]

yeah the DE will settle out so I assume filtering in smaller batches will work better. Like Russ said the amount DE depends on how dirty the Syrup is. if its clogging the filters quickly you need to add more. but keeping it suspended in syrup can be an issue. they actually make agitaters for bigger producers finishing tanks
eh don't know how to spell it... that keep the syrup moving so the DE doesn't settle. I have a round draw off tank and it get swirling arounf in it pretty good to keep the DE suspended. I also use a really big whisk as well. filtering anything under 190* can be tough to get through the press.

[LMP Maple]

Thank you. I bought a whisk today and may try that in my small drawoffs to filter into the vacuum press. I will take the suggestions and see how it goes and report back. Much appreciated. Looks like we could be in for a good week starting tomorrow and back to running. Cleaned my syrup pans today. Also got the cell monitoring up and working. Excited about the remote monitoring. Surprisingly it was running fairly good yesterday on the sureflow but enough ice to let it sit. I will be collecting on Saturday, getting the R/O out of the storage state and hitting to ground running, I hope. 60 on Sunday so that should be a fun one. Hopefully just one day of boiling in a tee shirt!

[LMP Maple]

Been busy here. I would say I have made another 5 gallons or so. I will know better when I get a chance to can it up. Getting the hang of the R/o and really like the time savings. I can get the concentrate to about 6%. It's nice to set it up and do other things knowing I am saving a lot of time. I have started to get comfortable with boiling while RO ing, however, it can get a little busy in the sugar house and I prefer to get it to the number I want then start boiling. On the work nights, I go for it and do it all at the same time.

On to the vacuum press. Been through a few iterations on this trying to get it dialed in. Switched to a battery-powered vacuum unit as I have one brand that I have four batteries for and I thought this would be the ticket, no cords. It did ok but when I tried to push it a bit the motor would overheat and shut off. I think it was just too small. I bit the bullet and bought a bigger new shop vac that seemed to work well last night. I have found that even with the DE, and I think I add a fair amount I have to change the filters a lot. I guess I should not be surprised by this as with any filter press the filters have their limits. I did not try straight syrup but I might. I am filtering right off the evaporator which will make the canning faster down the road. The 9inch filter seems slow to me. It's also noisy with the shop vac. It beats gravity for sure and the syrup with the DE is crystal clear. I'm not sure I would buy it if I could go back in time but I need a season or two with it to dial it in. My project now is to put the shop vac in another room off the back of the sugar house and pipe it in. I will turn it on via a remote switch this will cut down on the noise. My sugar house is tiny so every square inch has to be carefully laid out. Sap still looking really good at this point. About 4 inches of snow or so falling now.

[red maples]

sounds like its going good over there... temps might kill it going into next week though going like gang busters then boom stop like last year. but get it while you can!!!

[tapdat]

I've really enjoyed hearing about your upgrades and experiences with them this season. You really stepped it up! I'm a few years off from many of them, but it's all great information shared. I'm just a town over getting the same weather, drowning in sap right now haha, first upgrade will likely be an RO even though we're still on a block arch with steam pans. Hope you keep getting good runs and have a good finish to the season

[MapleLady]

I am boiling on a block arch with 3 steam pans and added RO (ROBucket) to my set up this spring. It was worth every penny! It has cut my boil time immensely and I am glad for it. I only put out 17 buckets this year, as it tends to get away from me and also to reduce my wood use.

Sap has been running like crazy here in southern NH. I collected 25 gallons yesterday from my 17 taps. Not bad for a backyard micro-maple operation!

[tapdat]

I am boiling on a block arch with 3 steam pans and added RO (ROBucket) to my set up this spring. It was worth every penny! It has cut my boil time immensely and I am glad for it. I only put out 17 buckets this year, as it tends to get away from me and also to reduce my wood use.

Sap has been running like crazy here in southern NH. I collected 25 gallons yesterday from my 17 taps. Not bad for a backyard micro-maple operation!

I know what you mean. We batch boil on the weekend (a few neighbors together) on the one evap we built. Last week we added a 7th pan and I still had 25 gal I couldn't get through, steady 4 pans minimum boiling at all times and a 6am start. We made 2 1/2 gallons that day, but that's about it max throughout. RO's are the logical first step from a time/cost perspective. I know 7 pans is ridiculous...

[LMP Maple]

Took Friday off to can syrup etc. I am at 13 gallons canned up for this year. I would say I have another 3 or so in the draw-off tank. My goal is 20 I think I will get there. I made a stand for the vacuum press today and put the shop vac in the rafters. It was easier than drilling a hole to put it next door and works well. The press is ok. I can get about a gallon through it before changing the pre-filters. I am starting to get the hang of it and with the DE it makes some nice stuff. Good sap runs the last two days. Boiled today finished just as the winds started to howl and have about 40 gallons that I collected today that I will send through tomorrow. Great to hear from some of my southern NH brethren. I am likely going to call it next weekend. I think I will have a few good days this week but next weekend looks like it will be it for me. Some of that is due to my work ramping up but I also fear the spring peepers may make an appearance and that will do it. I have my list of improvements ready for next year. Really trying to focus on bottlenecks to time like pump size when transferring sap etc. The RO by far is the best purchase I have made thus far........thus far is a scary thought. Keep pushing.!!!!

[red maples]

Maple is like a black hole of improvements year to year that you just keep dumping money into. pumps, releasers, RO's, filters adding on to buildings for more space... then just when you get everything going good something burns out or breaks, or its time to replace something. every year its something. some of my tubing is rated for 5 years which I installed 12 years ago so thats my project for this summer. re-run some of my 3/4 inch mainlines with 1 inch 30p for better vacuum transfer and new tubing for laterals new drops and re-route a few to get less taps per lateral. hopefully make my woods more efficient and get more sap per tap.

but yep looks to be ending just as I feel we are getting ramped up. too bad. I have a lot of ice in the swamp so that might help me but with no freezing nights coming doesn't look good.

[LMP Maple]

Pulled the plug on Wednesday. Tuesday was one of my biggest runs of the season. I boiled until 1 am and on my way to work on Wednesday morning at 5 am I said out loud in the car, to myself, time to call it a season. I do think the trees have a little more to give but I don't think they will make it through this warm up, here anyway. It was a great season for me. I think I will clock in at 22 gallons or so once I finish off what is in the evaporator in my canner. My goal was 20. I always find knowing when to start and when to end are some of the hardest decisions. This year I was mentally ready after Tuesday. If I had that run on a Friday night I might still be at it, but I have done this long enough to know it never runs on the weekend! I will untap everything on Saturday and start the clean-up. Planning next season and how to improve my efficiency. For those still in the game, keep pushing!

[UB29]

Going to hang in there at least another week. Sap flowing well this week, even with warmup, but down to 1.2%. Only flowing on vacuum.........buckets forget it.
Sitting at about 32 gallons for season; made 38 last year. Had a goal of 50 this season, but looking bleaker by the day.
Maybe another freeze or two next week will do the trick.

Thanks, Bill

[LMP Maple]

Ended my season at 21 gallons. Definitely pulled the taps early but I was done. It was a great year for me and we had a mini-open house on the 19th that was a lot of fun. I was just boiling water which gave me a chance to actually talk to people something I would not have been able to do with sap. Thinking about next year and how to get the surge out of my sureflow set-up. The solar panels were awesome and overall the system is great. Unfortunately, I see a 212 stainless tank in my future but beyond that I think my costs will be down for next year...........famous last words. Enjoy the ride!

[UB29]

Wrapped it up last Saturday. Reds were popping and sugars were close. 49 gallons for the season (shoot...goal was 50) of 1/3 Amber and 2/3 Dark. First year no Golden. A couple new tanks planned for the off season, but no major expenses planned....ya right!
Wacky year for sure. These heat wave spurts are killing us. Wondering if it's the new normal.
Good luck to all in the off-season.
Bill