Started tapping Greene County '23

[ponderingjunkman]

Once again skipped a year. Unfortunately we skipped because my chief gatherer and all around good guy- my dad- had a stroke. Didn't have the heart to make syrup. While he is still kicking and willing, he won't be carrying buckets much this season. So I'll likely continue with our 3/16 lines, and make less. Wood is already cut, but the sap house needs prepping and assembling. Early this year, but sap was running out the holes as they were drilled today!22832

Huh, 'fred the dog is sideways! ...fix it later...

[ponderingjunkman]

1st boil today, after thrashing to get the evaporator assembled. Some freeze cracks in parts of my preheater, so there was last minute redesigning going on. Yes I should have prepared sooner. The 3/16 lines worked great- and all down into one barrel, which will be swapped for a tote, as it was overflowing this morning. Hoping for a freeze tonight!

[ponderingjunkman]

Ran 3 more sets lines up the hill yesterday. Always nice to see sap pour out the hole, and wash out chips! Grabbed a new bag of T fittings, but found that all of them are defective- one leg looks like the core pin in the mold was missing! The barb doesn't have a hole in it! Retreated to the greenhouse with some beverages and got the fire going in there and recycled some old line sets and salvaged the Tees from them. Seems odd that issue made it thru quality control.

Edit- there's nothing wrong with the tees- we were mistakenly given the green ones which intentionally are made with a closed leg. Learned something new!

[ponderingjunkman]

7 runs so far puts us in the middle of our season. Made 30 gallons for the year today. Less than previous years, but less taps too. Cold for a couple days will be a nice break.

[ponderingjunkman]

Gathered mid afternoon. We use a little homelite pump to empty the tote and 6 barrels into the tote on the truck, which then drains into our big tank at the sap house. We got two of those AP125 pumps at auction many years ago, and one has been pumping lots of sap in that time. Today there was an unusual and unwelcome rattle in the little 2 stroke engine. It got steadily worse, till it stalled and wouldn't restart, and sounded like marbles inside when trying! Dad was all for heading to harbor freight, but I knew that other pump was around somewhere. A search thru the shed and lean-to failed to find it. Doesn't seem like something that would be tossed... ah yes- upstairs above the shop it was sitting in pieces in a box. Had spark, no carb, no cover on the bottom end. Looked good tho, much better than the broken crank in the other pump! Swapped on the carb and fuel tank, bolted on the crankcase cover, and transfered the hoses. Started and ran well, and finished the day's work! Crisis averted, for free! 225 gallons waiting for tomorrow's boil.

[The Heldeberg Sapper]

The best kind of fix is a free one!

[ponderingjunkman]

Indeed! However you get what you pay for! The pump became very hard starting thru the day yesterday. Took it back apart and resealed the leaking cylinder base gasket. Seemed to start better again. We are on borrowed time for that series of pumps, and will upgrade next year. Cam lock connections and honda engines!

Looks like I got my wish to boil in the snow!

[ponderingjunkman]

Finishing the 16th boil today. Most we've done prior was 14. Seems like its slowing down, but the cold nights may force me to cut more firewood! Dumped half a barrel of yellow sap this morning. Gathered some buckets thru 2 feet of snow. Fun fun!

[ponderingjunkman]

We are calling it after our 18th boil today! Lots not running, some yellow and cloudy, but the rest produced enough for a last go around! Used up the last of the damp wood I dragged out of the woods. 79.5 gallons total. Odd that the season wraps up with snow still on the ground. Now to clean up....

Thanks for following along!

[ponderingjunkman]

Gonna just keep going in this thread! I really don't have time to tap, but it's such good exercise- and dad needs to be kept busy! The last couple days saw us get about 2/3 of our taps in. It was running well this afternoon. We changed drops on many of our lines this year. Got barrels, totes and the big holding tank sanitized. Not a lot of snow depth here, but the ice has been relentless and treterous! But with the soft breeze and low 40s temps, it's steadily going away!

Lots of prep needed for the sap house yet, and more lines to run, but the season is underway!

[ponderingjunkman]

All the taps are in. Lot less ice- it's so nice to see it melting! Assembled the evaporator this afternoon. 175 gallons in the tank and waiting for tomorrow.

[ponderingjunkman]

Just finished the 1st boil. Gathering this morning yielded more sap- even tho it didn't freeze last night. The highly accurate numbers cast into the tank said we have about 380 gallons. Tended to pumps and other details and got the fire started about 2pm. Saw a pinhole leak in the preheater but left it- the sap was spirting over the condensate catch pan and into the middle pan. Have to silver solder that in the morning. Such is life with a home built evaporator- it's like your favorite rusty truck- it is getting pretty ragged, but hopefully it will go another season! Took 7 hours to boil the 380 gallons. Decent rate of evaporation. Not quite ready to draw off syrup, but the pans are definitely sweetened!

[Shaun]

Haven't been on here much lately but recognized your name from another forum. Good luck on your season, I'll be following along as we have similar weather. Looking forward to Tagorama in the Catskills after sugaring season, it's been a long winter!

[ponderingjunkman]

Hey Shaun! Or Rudy! Love to chase your tags! The tag games do seem to be languishing lately! It will be nice to be riding again! Thanks for checking in!

[ponderingjunkman]

Just finished boiling 275 gallons of sap. Drew off 6 gallons of syrup. Saw 54 degrees this morning, and now it's below freezing and windy. One of my lines was not running the last couple days- found this morning 2 broken taps. Seems like deer got tangled in the line, but I haven't seen taps break like that before. The coming cold spell will let me catch up on stuff!

[ponderingjunkman]

4 runs so far- and more sap than usual! Despite the cold yesterday our 300 or so taps yielded 500 gallons! At 27 gallons of syrup for the year. We had to scrounge every last mason jar to bottle it- dad will run for more containers tomorrow. But the next week looks fearfully warm....

[ponderingjunkman]

Waiting for the fire to go out on our biggest run yet- 860 gallons of sap over 2 days. Supposed to freeze tonight- still uncertain about the next few nights, seems very warm. In 70s today, but no spoilage. 47 gallons total for the year