Screwing a hook to maple trees.

[MajorWoodchuck]

Do you think it will be a problem if my screw a hook into my maple trees to hang the buckets from? I plan on leaving the hook in place for several years before taking it out. I just am tired of placing a chunk of wood on top of the buckets...only to see it tipped over when I collect a few days later. I picked up 100 galvanized hooks from Menards when they were free after rebate. I was thinking of screwing the hook in a location close to a previous tap hole because that area should be already damaged and not leak much sap. I know removing it eventually is important being a firewood cutter.

[Pdiamond]

I would have to believe there is a better solution for your buckets rather than creating more damage to your trees.

[maple flats]

Since you want to drill new wood every year, how many screw hooks will you install?
I don't think it's a god idea. When using buckets you should locate last years tap hole, move over about 3" and up or down 6". I don't see a semi-permanent screw hook a help for more than year 1.

[DRoseum]

Will the bucket hang on this hook? Why not hang on the spile? Or set on ground and run a drop line to it. The excess damage to the tree is not a good idea.

[MajorWoodchuck]

The buckets will have a drop line going to it. The line will be 2-3 feet long so if the bucket is hanging from the hook I should be able to reach it with a line for many tapping seasons. I found by putting the buckets on the ground they do not sit level as the ground always is higher at the base of the tree. I tried putting log quarters on top of the lid but with uneven ground and possibly inquisitive deer I many times found my buckets tipped over. These are 6 gallon buckets that I can only empty on the weekend so too heavy to be supported off the plastic tap. I was rethinking and I have access to unlimited supply of plastic banding from my work. I could make a belt to go around the tree and screw that to a block of wood that has the hook in it. Then the belt could be rotated around the tree for future holes or loosened as the tree grew in diameter. I assume that within 5 years I would go to vacuum as I already have a 1hp vac pump and reds do better on vac. I retire in 4 years so then I could stay up at the cabin longer during the season. Just don't think the vac would work now being a weekend boiler.

[Bgreisch]

I have the same setup with buckets and drop lines to them and only check them on the weekends as I have a 3 hour drive to our cabin. If I need to level a bucket I will put a branch or something what ever I find here the tree to help level. And then I have 6" field stones that I locate under the snow by my trees to put on top of the bucket that is usually enough weight to keep them standing. If there is snow on the ground, I always dig down to the ground before placing the buckets so there is no tipping as the snow melts and I will also pile snow in around the buckets if I can.
Bryan

[berkshires]

I have the same setup with buckets and drop lines to them and only check them on the weekends as I have a 3 hour drive to our cabin. If I need to level a bucket I will put a branch or something what ever I find here the tree to help level. And then I have 6" field stones that I locate under the snow by my trees to put on top of the bucket that is usually enough weight to keep them standing. If there is snow on the ground, I always dig down to the ground before placing the buckets so there is no tipping as the snow melts and I will also pile snow in around the buckets if I can.
Bryan

I also use 5 gallon buckets on the ground and only collect once a week, and I do the same. My sugarbush is very hilly, so it is sometimes impossible to find enough level spots for two or even one bucket. I sometimes take downed branches and run them between the tree I'm tapping and the nearest tree to make a platform that the bucket can sit on. And yes, I also use nearby stones and sometimes even dig a divot out of the ground if need be.