Cold Tapping

[backyardsugarer]

I have to tap presidents week (time off). It looks like it will not get out of the 20's!! Any advice on cold tapping as I have never had to do this before?

Chris

[maplecrest]

do not tap below ten degrees as you will crack them. i have tapped colder set the taps easy then sank them on a warmer day. cold wood is easy to crack. i use a rubber mallet to set my taps but rubber gets hard when cold and can cause them to crack. a wooden mallet works great. many people use a small claw hammer and tap the tap till it bounces. it is set. hit it again you will crack it

[maplehound]

Never a good idea to tap a frozen tree. It is hard on the tapping bit as well as the drill. Let alone the tree. And you won't know if you are hitting in a good spot since they won't be running. I try to never tap when the tree isn't going to run.

[mountainvan]

Go easy with setting the spile. Frozen wood will slit easier than thawed, which still splits if you whack them in. As for if it's a good spot to tap, as long as it's nice white shavings you'll be fine.

[brookledge]

I would recommend as maplecrest said if you must tap them soft set them by lightly tapping them in. Even though you will need to come back and set them that will only take a fraction of the time. When the trees are frozen they split alot easier. And you don't want to do that because under vacuum it willl suck air and gravity flow it will seep all down the outside of the tree. Either way it is a loss of production.
Keith

[maplecrest]

as every feb. when i want to tap it is a below zero wind chill. i tapped today but temps got colder as day went on. when i tapped in a spout and heard that bad sound of pop i knew it was time to quit, but as i wanted to finish that line knowing i will forget it, a couple more went ok, but when the tree split when i was drilling it i knew i was done for today. i know i have two to check for leaks as the season gears up