Hop Kiln Road 2022

[Hop Kiln Road]

Tapping Below the Bucket

Finished installing the new evaporator ahead of schedule, so I’ve had time to study how to increase my sap production and watch a bunch of youtube maple flicks. Told M it was a good thing these new variants kept me home or I’d have completely missed this tapping below the bucket craze. I mean, what will these Vermonters think of next, huh? Tried to explain to M that these guys have got no choice but to drill below the bucket on the advice of their doctor cause they’ve got a lot bad wood but she just rolled her eyes, which means she doesn’t buy it. Real unfortunate, but can’t help to wonder if they hadn’t exercised a wee little more self-control when they were younger then things wouldn’t have turn out different? And don’t get me wrong, if my wood goes bad I’ll be headed below the bucket too.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Started putting in low holes up on top of the Twist Hill bush yesterday and I got to tell you Traders, things just didn’t look right. Now maybe I just don’t got the hang of it. You angle the hole up or down? Often takes me awhile to figure out new stuff like when those Apple folks update my phone at night – without asking - and when I come to I can’t figure out the weather. Anyway after 5 or 6 butt swell jabs my knees started to act up and I defaulted to my tried and true protocol: just get on with it, everything above the buckets. Good thing too! By the end of the day it looked like 2 gpt. Now I got to get the sugar house dusted off. This is my earliest start since 2012 and that season ended below average.

[Russell Lampron]

Hi Bruce,

I don't know about that tapping below the bucket thing either. It sounds like a plot from the guys in VT to drive the price of bulk syrup up. Kinda like the fake lumber shortage last spring.

Good luck with the new season!

[Hop Kiln Road]

Been out straight, already at 25% of an average season before my average start date. Only have 600 0f my 750 tapped. Sugar content is a little weak, but not unusual for early season sap.
Blew the Reverse Osmosis unit's high pressure pump. Been chasing a bad filter cannister o ring. Really!
One section of the new evaporator's preheater line was only tacked not welded. Blower is significantly undersized, so been boiling some raw sap with a weak blower but grade has stayed above 50%.
Sugarhouse and dump and trailer tanks all dry and buttoned up for the freeze. Field tanks are all 1/2 to 3/4 full. Foot of snow coming today followed by a 7 day freeze. Oh my, going to be quite a season. Nothing better than being a New England sugarmaker.

[Hop Kiln Road]

7F this morning with 8" of nice snow. H2O brought me a 300 pump for my 200 and I'm going to try to install it, only 1/2 hp and 3 amps bigger. I know Red Roof would go for it. Of course, the pump failed when the membranes were sugared but I've got them on ice. Need to make a move before the permeate tank freezes. 8 very cold days still in the forecast, so when we restart there will be little capacity in the field tanks.

[Russell Lampron]

Hey Bruce what are you waiting for? Red Roof would have had that pump installed and that RO squeezing ASAP after it was delivered even if it meant staying up all night! I wouldn't be talking about it here.

[Hop Kiln Road]

A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow.

"Do you ever get anywhere?" he asked with a mocking laugh.

"Yes," replied the Tortoise, "and I get there sooner than you think. I'll run you a race and prove it."

[Russell Lampron]

It looks like my reply was a little dickish and I apologize for that Bruce. I hope that the new pump is easy to install and that you can get back to the fun part of sugaring.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Russ, I didn’t read it that way. Since we had similar sized operations I always used you as my yardstick. You’ve seen my operation, I have 3 gpt field storage. I wasn’t even all tapped out when 50F then 60F days hit and got 3,000 gal, with one tank overflowing a little. The new evaporator had two glitches to deal with and then the 8 year old pressure pump failed midstream. H2O brought right down a new pump and are dealing with the blower issue. If I get behind, I let the field tanks freeze and keep the sugarhouse dry and ready to roll. And yes, I installed the new pump in the freezing dark with my headlamp and barehands. Hope to be able to wash the membranes when it warms today. But we’ve got a serious 5 day freeze coming.
I did make 40 gal of medium, a lot of it raw boil with a faulty blower.
Heard some of the Ridge isn’t going to be tapped this year.
I’m sure your family is pretty happy to have your energy and expertise nearby these days.
Bruce

[Russell Lampron]

I'm glad that you got the pump installed and applaud you for doing it in the cold and dark. Those headlights work good don't they.

It's nice to know that you used Red Roof as a yardstick. I always thought of you as the benchmark for what someone could do with a small number of taps. You've always had great numbers for a small producer.

I never got the tsunami sap that you did but it wasn't because I didn't give it my best effort. I was always a little jealous because you got the perfect temperatures when it was just a couple of degrees too cold for me.

Who's not tapping on the Ridge? With the turmoil up there I can't say that I'm surprised.

When we get some sap I'm going to hold a filter press school for the guys here in PA. It turns out that they all have trouble with it. We did an experiment the other day and when Theron was ready to change the papers in his press I showed him how I ran my press and we got another 20 to 25 gallons through it. We're going to try using less filter aid and add it differently to get more syrup through before it clogs up.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Russ – yes, I read your air pump filter press post. Always the innovator. I bought a bigger water bath canner and now try to make a keg a day. My gear press is usually good for 20 to 25 gal so I typically throw the cake out at the end of the day because I don’t like the time and wear and tear on the pump to restart a cold cake. Papers and DE on my scale are cheap. Did get the RO washed yesterday during the couple hours above freezing, pressures were a little higher with the new pump. Wednesday afternoon is going to be warmer and I’ll RO some stored sap if I can pump it. If all goes well, I’ll drill the last 150 by Friday. I think it is going to be a record year and I’m only tapping 750 of my 1100 trees >8”. I find keeping the entire operation sized properly is critical. And, breaking equipment is a killer in this low margin sport. 7F this morning with the wind howling so going over to MES to pick up more kegs. Bruce

[Russell Lampron]

It was 13 here this morning and it's supposed to get into the 40's tomorrow and Wednesday. It was originally supposed to be cold all week so we're happy about the warm up and are ready for some bigsap. We're hoping for a record year too. Good luck with the RO, it would be nice to get your sap processed before it runs again.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Felicity Where Art Thou?

Tapped out in carharts and gaiters,
Sugary boys all fidgety as idle waiters

While deep snows pile higher and higher
Awaiting Nature’s cherished sweet flyer.

Woodsheds stowed full in neat ranks
Where even the wee wash their big tanks,

And buckets and buckets, and buckets galore,
Hung with Saint Nickolas pray and then more:

Tubing spidered in webs snug so tight
By old and young a snowshoe all night,

To the dark hillsides' whine with a sucker's hiss,
Headlamps twinkle and search fittings amiss.

Long they shoe and frozen evenings they toil,
Before torching the stick wood for a roaring boil

Til old timers doze with rhythmic wheezings
To the hum of new fangled electric squeezings.

Each steam dream hopes tis Felicity they snag,
Even lest risk one scorches a sisterly hag.

Woe, many nary draw a frosted glimpse hoary,
Let alone the sought sweet kiss of their quarry.

For south from the border she so quietly wings,
The brightest light orb she so quickly brings.

Blink, aye, cause only a moment she tarries,
For it must be with all sweet flighty fairies.

And tis due north she so nymphfully scurries
While foolish forecasters still call cold flurries.

So sulks many a brave and hearty stoker forlorn
Fancy's hasty flight to the sound of her mother’s horn.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Got above freezing for a couple hours so I attacked my line of stalled tanks. Wasn't able to break through two, but got 600 gal from the others. Boiling was a pain with the weak blower. New one comes Friday.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Finished tapping this afternoon. Lines were dripping. Got waylaid by that first run and had to stop tapping and chase problems in the sugarhouse. Got the ro pressure pump repaired, picked up more kegs and glass, and found a 800 cfm evaporator blower to install tomorrow and then should be able to keep up.

[Parker]

Good you got the bugs out of the system befor the big push!
Good luck!

[Hop Kiln Road]

Got concerned last night about the ice volumes in some of the tanks so went out and pumped 300 gal to make sure there was enough overnight capacity. It was coming in pretty good but still had to bust through some heavy ice.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Yup, would have overflowed one tank. Just under 2 gpt in 24 hours. Sugar hovering just below 2, not good. Grade dipped to the high 40's.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Opened up my next case of quarts, and, yikes, they're blanks. But got rid of the 285 cfm blower and installed a 800 cfm and now its more like a boil. The new high pressure pump has increased the flow rates by more than 50%. The new level sensors on the transfer pump are also working flawlessly. So I'm ready for peak flow which is a coming.

[red maples]

Blanks? were they assoc. containers? thats no good!!!

[Hop Kiln Road]

23F and 4" of nice snow. H of 50F today. The sap is going to run this afternoon and stop with a low of 23F today. Going to be a big week. Cleaned the front pans after 3,500 gal, see if the grade comes up a little. Been hovering 48 to 52.
Brad, the carton was labeled correctly so it was just a mix up when I picked them up back in Nov. Course, I thought I was all set! Other cartons were correct. But it did take my breath away!

[Russell Lampron]

I was talking to a dealer here in PA and he said that he can't get jugs from Sugarhill for 42 weeks because they don't have anyone to put the labels on. He can get blank jugs in 3 weeks. I can see where a case may have slipped through that didn't get screen printed.

The sap tsunami will be starting for us here in PA today as well. Even with marginal temperatures the trees have been running pretty good. It started late yesterday afternoon in the middle of a snowstorm and was still running after it dropped below freezing last night.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Got 1gpt in less than 6 hours this afternoon. SC jumped too, not sure why, there is frost in the ground.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Hit 50% of my 20 year gpt average last night and didn't get all of it pumped before the freeze. Perfect weather. Still some ice in the tanks and plenty of frost in the ground. Looks like another gpt+ today!

[Hop Kiln Road]

Brought in 1000 g and it was still coming when I went to bed. Grade doesn't seem to want to go above 50 LT. If the weather forecast doesn't change we will only have an average season.

[red maples]

every container counts these with a simple lack of them. Lota of sap here down here too and I have mostly reds everything running great with this weather. trees even running as it drops below freezing until the lines freeze up. even with this rainny crappy weather at 34/35F last night sap still coming in stronger than I thought. low pressure good for sap on vaccuum!!!

except for my first boil which was very dark it usually is until all nasty clears a bit from the tubing but LT has been around 37-40 which is good for my reds.

mot excited about the up coming forecast though. less than average is quickly becoming average since last year ended early for me too. If it doesn't change will have to boil water next weekend. I just add a little syrup to the front pan for aroma

[Hop Kiln Road]

Had a Red Roof moment while we were boiling in the storm. Start each day with a clean filter press and it is usually good for 20+ gal. My operation is designed for 15 gal days. But with the heavy runs, we were filling a 2nd keg yesterday and probably past 25 gal when pressures rose and output slowed to trickle. So I cleaned and replaced just one frame, added some more DE, and finished the 31 gal with no problem.

[red maples]

ha I like that... "Red Roof Moment" :lol: He will like that. I like those moments when you made "too much syrup" I have never said those words before. My set up is good for 10 gallons a day so when I get to 11, 12, 13, 14 gallons which does happen on occation I will have to re-set the press to get it through.

I like that idea of just changing 1 plate. never thought of that. I am gonna try that next time I have a red roof moment.

[Russell Lampron]

"Red Roof moment "I like that. Making too much syrup in a boil is what I lived for. I was always a problem solver and could usually come up with a solution on the fly. Great job Bruce. Filter pressing used to be a big problem for me but now it seems to be my specialty.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Yeah, I have a propane finisher to keep the day's production hot until I have 15 gal to press. Hate starting a cold press. Usually I burn some oil during the season cause I get too tired to load the wood furnace, but when I saw the temps last week and the price of fuel oil, I loaded two more bucket of wood in the basement! Then my son came over Saturday and helped get that big run through the SH. By the time we had loaded the last of the sap by Saturday afternoon it was 23F. Had a bunch of freeze ups but worked through them. Now look at the forecast! This season has been either 10 deg too cold or 10 deg too warm. I'm at 70% of my 15 year average so should be able to make it...

[Hop Kiln Road]

38F on top of the hill, so it ran through the night. Didn't let loose until 2PM yesterday, so I'll pump this morning. We'll probably get a marginal freeze tonight with all the frost still in the ground. Got a bunch of school kids coming this week so I'll need to tidy up. Still think I'll reach average, if I don't have a major screw up, but it has not been a smooth season to date and the forecast leaves little room for optimism.

[Russell Lampron]

The forecast is even less optimistic here in PA. One thing going for us is that the frost is out of the ground and that we got some snow before the last freeze.

[Hop Kiln Road]

33F this morning so with the frozen ground we'll get at least a partial recharge. Was at 75% of average last night, got a bout .5 gpt Sunday and and .5gpt yesterday, good, clear sap. Expect these weak flows will contiinue until we get a hard freeze or the buds pop.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Well I was wrong. Got a heavy run as the frost is coming out. Pumped 1000 gal and didn't get it all and it was still going as hard as it has all season. 35F this morning on top of the hill, still some snow patches in the woods and ice on the swamps. That pump put me up to 86% of average. My Hanna seems stuck at 47, most of the season has been 47 or 48 and he sample bottles confirm it. I have never had a season with such little variation in the grade.

[Russell Lampron]

It's nice to be wrong once in awhile. If the season ended now Theron would be right around the 60% mark. He passed the 50% mark last night.

My syrup color was like that the last 2 seasons. The grade stayed just under the dark reading for the whole season. I blamed it on small and inconsistent sap runs. I could never boil long enough or often enough to get the dark stuff out of the evaporator.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Pumped .75/gpt last night and only one tank was cloudy. 45F this morning and the forecast says nothing until mid week. I'm at 96% of my 15 yr gpt average. LT has not dropped below 47 nor risen above 53 all season. Very tight range. Going to wait until Sunday and see if the forecast improves but not interested in dealing with 200 gal/day of warm sap.

[BAP]

Pumped .75/gpt last night and only one tank was cloudy. 45F this morning and the forecast says nothing until mid week. I'm at 96% of my 15 yr gpt average. LT has not dropped below 47 nor risen above 53 all season. Very tight range. Going to wait until Sunday and see if the forecast improves but not interested in dealing with 200 gal/day of warm sap.
It’s amazing that you are so high on your output. I am at about 45%, and most everyone I have talked is similar in the western part of the state.

[Hop Kiln Road]

BAP – It really isn’t amazing. I have 750 thinned, fertilized and inventoried sugar maples on clean 3/16 systems. I’ve had a water meter on my sap pump for more than 15 years and keep detailed records. Apple trees are more productive in mono culture orchards. Red Roof has inspected my operation. Anyone is welcome to stop by and inspect my systems and records and chat. Bruce

[Hop Kiln Road]

Oh boy, got another .67 gpt of 70F sap last night. A little cloudy with a high insect content but not quite murky. Going to RO it this morning and boil it for the tourists in the rain. Suspect the frost was deep enough in the ground that the trees made it through this warm spell. Puts me above my season averages.

[BAP]

BAP – It really isn’t amazing. I have 750 thinned, fertilized and inventoried sugar maples on clean 3/16 systems. I’ve had a water meter on my sap pump for more than 15 years and keep detailed records. Apple trees are more productive in mono culture orchards. Red Roof has inspected my operation. Anyone is welcome to stop by and inspect my systems and records and chat. Bruce
I’m not sure how any of that controls the weather and environment that is the biggest driving factor for sap production in the springtime. Maybe you think your trees and tubing are better than others, but there is a lot of other producers with just as good trees and tubing as you and aren’t getting the conditions to get the sap. All I was pointing out was how production could change in a relatively short distance away. I’m not sure that I would want to visit if you think you are better than the rest of the producers.

[Marc Duclos]

You couldn't have said that any better. I make tons and don't use AOC #'s

[M&M Maple Grove]

You couldn't have said that any better. I make tons and don't use AOC #'sI was impressed with him being at tourist level. I only have customers. Let’s keep in mind this is the Internet and most things are taken out of context so we shouldn’t take each other so seriously.

[Hop Kiln Road]

"the weather and environment that is the biggest driving factor for sap production in the springtime"

BAP - I think vacuum is actually the biggest driving factor. Regardless, it is more complex than that and the only way to make informed decisions is to keep accurate records. My competition is year to year with myself which I share on this blog, don't take it personally. I like reading MT to find innovators. Bruce

[Old County Road]

Bruce - if you have a few minutes this week would you mind posting about your procedures for tubing sanitation? I have 200 taps on 3/16 laterals running into a 1” mainline that I would like to sanitize. The mainline and laterals are 3 years old now so I am thinking it is a good idea to do it but I’m interested in learning from someone who has experience having done it.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Pumped 110 gal of 1.5% Sunday morning and raw boiled to flush the sugar out of the flue pan for the visitors. LT 29, but was selling it right out of the canner. Going to flush and clean the pans and wait and see what happens with the mid week freezes. Sap is going to run but the quality might be an issue.

Old County Road - Pretty simple. The Art Kruger method. I cut off my spouts when I pull my taps and let the drop hang. Then I load my lines, laterals and drops with a calcium hypochlorite solution. Mostly I load the top of the system from a truck tank with a shurflo pump and walk down the line capping each drop after it fills. I let it sit for a couple days or until I get back to it. Then I drain the line and rinse, drain and cap the drop lines. In December I do line repairs and attached the new spouts. The trick is figuring out the easiest way to load your systems. With a 1” line you may be able to pump from the bottom and fill the laterals, I don’t know. The key is beach solution having complete contact with the tubing walls for at least a day which means you have to get all the air out of the system as you load the lines.

[Old County Road]

Thank you Bruce - I appreciate the sanitizing information. I'll try to pump from the bottom, that will be easier for me as long as I can get the necessary pressure.

[Hop Kiln Road]

28F on top of the hill this morning and probably a little colder at the bushes. Forecast is wind this afternoon and colder tonight too. Everything is cleaned and ready to go.

[M&M Maple Grove]

“The Art Krueger method”. BTW.. that is the correct spelling of his name. I only mention this because you won’t find anything when you search “Kruger”. I was just pointing out in another thread that Art attained all his information from UVM. Let’s give credit where credit is due. This probably gets lost in the video because of all the clucking chickens and roosters in the background. He should however, be praised for spreading the information.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Pumped .8 gpt during the afternoon and half-filled the canner. Boiled well with no foam ups. Didn't grade yet but looks lower end of DR. Probably another .5 gpt out there before it stopped last night. A big freeze coming.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Pumped .8 gpt of 1.5% this morning. My SC is low this year for some reason. Sap has cleared up a lot and now only slightly cloudy. 33F this morning. I expect the grade to go up a little. Line are barely running but a major freeze is coming.

[red maples]

yeah we need this freeze hopefully it will reset things and we can keep going for at least another week. still getting a little sap but really not much coming in only at .25 gpt since yesterday. after the little freeze we had the other day it was up to .5-.6 gpt. We'll see!!!

[Hop Kiln Road]

Another .8gpt of 1.5% yesterday. Made LT 30. While I'm at 118% of average for sap, I'm only just hitting average for syrup. This season is the lowest sugar I've ever had, and the lowest grades. I'm actually quite impressed with the taste of the lower end of the DR's made in the last couple days. I suspect the low sugar might be due to my orchards flooded with water last summer and fall, 13" in July alone. Still have some ice in swamps but the forecast is again too cold followed by too warm to produce good runs.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Pumped .5 gpt this morning from Friday night and Saturday, 1.5%, cloudy but not milky and still LT 30. Boiled about midday and visitors showed up for all over: Venezuela, Brazil, Louisiana, Boston, not sure how they found the place unless it was the steam! It’s fun to have folks who have never seen maple syrup made and then taste it right out of the canner. Forecast is a good freeze and maybe sap Wednesday and Thursday.

[Hop Kiln Road]

A little chilly here so I watched another movie with that nice lady from Proctor Research. She went out and bought whole bunches of golden maple syrup only to discover – egads! - none of it was golden. Wait, not a one? Well, I’ve always thought them some foolish to banish Fancy to Canada. Then the video got a little confusing and she started channeling that great NH poet:

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Huh. Ok. I mean I was there with the transitory explanation, but geez the Lusitania sank from just one torpedo! But then she goes out and buys bunches of Dark Robust, and, what…most of it ain’t? Hang on. So now I’m beginning to think it’s all a spoof, like the night before cousin’s Wilson’s wedding when we gave the Major the ole 22 with the cockeyed sight, I mean about 2 feet to the left of the barndoor was the best he could do and of course we all aimed two feet to the right. We told him it was the jitters.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Got a little bit overnight and a light flow right now, but my fluepan is still frozen and my couple of buckets are ice chunks so the trees must be pretty stiff.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Pumped .85 gpt from since the freeze. Slightly cloudy and 1.8% which is about normal this season. Boiled easily and the grade jumped to LT 38, but flavor just isn't quite as good. Forecast says more sap for the next three days but volumes will probably drop off.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Only pumped .58 gpt this morning and it was milky so it's over here. This year, sap volume above average, SC below average, grade below average and taste above average. Overall, yield was above average: a lot of weak sap. Long season but temperatures bordered on bizarre. Clean up doesn't look too bad.

[Russell Lampron]

I'm glad that you had a good season. Some of the people in PA finished around 50% crop and for a couple of them that's how they make their living. For them the sugar was low too. I'm not sure about color. Theron was close to 75% and still going early last week. I've got to talk to him to find out if he's done and how he did.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Thanks, Russ. Hope you're kicking back in NC! Going to contemplate my RO situation over the off season. First time I've had to deal with sugar under 2 and it's a different ballgame. I suspect it's an anomaly from a drought summer followed by a wet summer and the droughted trees sucked up a lot of water and mineral giving the low sugar and darker color. Not sure the overall amount of sunlight varied. Another thing I discovered was the slightly higher wash temp difference makes a big difference. The Manufacturer Rep said membranes are much for forgiving than we are led to believe. Still had some of your LT 72 forced air syrup bottle in glass and used it in the tastings this year.

[Russell Lampron]

I'm not exactly kicking back here in NC. I've been building a deck for my daughter's above ground pool. It's only 10x10 but is a lot of work. Figuring out some of the angles took a lot of time. Thankfully my wife bought me a nice Dewalt 12" sliding mitre saw for Christmas and a stand for it for my birthday. That made life a lot easier. I've also got a good collection of Ridgid cordless tools now so I don't have extension cords all over the place.

How did my syrup do in your taste test? You got that from me about 3 years ago if I remember correctly. The density was a touch light too I think.

[Hop Kiln Road]

I had bottled your syrup in glass and keep it in the cold room. Like Brad, my syrup was remarkably consistent in color this year. I don't keep track of the tastings anymore because there are too many people too fast. I have them taste 3 or 4 different runs (this year they varied from LT 52 to LT 28) and emphasize that they will be able to distinguish a difference. And all of them can. Their descriptions...well I'm going to make a video next year because the facial expressions of disbelief are priceless.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Ok, don't count my taps until I pull them. 780, a couple more than I thought. Made 210 gal. Sap volume was 135% of average but SC was 80%. Color was 10 points darker than average. I'm pretty sure I had some anthracnose last summer and the foliage color was off. Hopefully it is an aberration!