Woodchuck's Blog, of sorts-08, Cabot

[wdchuck]

Made my first trip into the woods today, after getting 2 snowmobiles shoveled out. Chose the Elan, and even got stuck with that (3 times). Lines dont look too bad, although I did find one limb that took out the very end of a 3/4 mainline. Shouldnt be too hard to fix. Gotta tie up a few loose ends at work next week, and then it's full time in the woods getting ready.

[HHM-07]

wdchuck
I know what you mean the snow is pretty deep up here also, thought it could not be any worse than last year , if we get more snow it will be just as bad. oh well we will make the best of it and hope that we get rewarded with a record year good luck

[peacemaker]

down here in the southern end we are just getting some snow cover lots of rain and ice yippie but got the arch moved today now just about everything is at the new sugar shack and sugar bush

[Salmoneye]

Shack is clean...Stainless is scrubbed...Piddly stuff now other than blasting my pans at the carwash next week...Will check lines this weekend and repair/replace...

Looks like at least two weeks yet here in the valley...

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Salmoneye,

Great to see ya back. How are things going and what have you been into??

Give us an update of what kind of setup you have this year with number of taps and etc!!!!!!!!!

[wdchuck]

Got out into the woods for real today- things werent as good as I had hoped. Got the one down mainline pulled out of the snow, then found another which included a broken manifold/booster- chalk it up to wind and downed limbs! Biggest problem is the crud/crust underneath the snow. Where the tubing is down, the stuff was just cemented to the ground. At this rate, I've got about a week or more to do just the maintenance, and then I'm hoping to replace tubing on about 250 taps.

[Salmoneye]

Salmoneye,

Great to see ya back. How are things going and what have you been into??

Give us an update of what kind of setup you have this year with number of taps and etc!!!!!!!!!

Good to 'see' you too...

I slacked off last year and didn't drill a tree...I got caught napping and the Valentine's Day storm took my ambition and cash as I blew the tranny in my plow truck...Blew it again last week LOL...I was plowing a road to my wood...

I have yet to determine how many taps I want to play with...I have enough mains and branches to do 250 or so...I hung a branch 2 years ago and never tapped that section...I have enough trees to get to 300+ here and have persmission for maybe 200 roadside in the village here...

Still fighting with the shack not being where I want/need it...Every time I get the time to move it, the weather won't cooperate, and the Wife needs to be 'heard' when it comes to tearing up lawn etc...

Been acquiring equipment (free)...I now have a 300 gallon stainless bulk milk tank, a 100 gallon stainless coffee urn (I swear), and a stainless gimballed 'mixer' that the guy converted to a wort boiler for making beer...It is by far the largest 'turkey fryer' I have ever seen...I have access to 3 more DeLaval milking cans...I have one, but FIL wants me to get them out of his barn...Really no need for them and no place to store them yet...They may come up for sale by spring...From the same guy that quit his beer-making, I got 3 carboys, and maybe 20 of the stainless canisters that they distribute soda syrup in?...He got them for scrap cost at the local scrap yard 15 years ago...They have rubber seals and can be pressurized...May use some for storage if I get lazy with keeping up with my canning...

Either that, or I should start making beer...

;-)

What's the best forum for the general BS'ing (like we used to do)?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

A lot of BS'ing goes on in most of the forms, probably the most in the tapping Journal for each month like the Febuary 2008 for this month.

[wdchuck]

Well, that wasn't much fun at all! Maintenance is a pain this year- Whereever tubing has been knocked down to the ground, it's probably frozen in. There's some real boilerplate crust down deep. Plenty of snow and more on the way. if things go well, and they usually dont, i could be ready to tap by the end of the week; All except the taps that I'm replacing the tubing on this weekend with my pal Jeff. Jeff sugars vicariously through me- he says its cheaper, it doesnt bother his wife as much, and he has just as much fun as if he owned the whole setup.

[wdchuck]

Well, that wasn't much fun at all! Maintenance is a pain this year- Whereever tubing has been knocked down to the ground, it's probably frozen in. There's some real boilerplate crust down deep. Plenty of snow and more on the way. If things go well, and they usually dont, I could be ready to tap by the end of the week; All except the taps that I'm replacing the tubing on this weekend with my pal Jeff. Jeff sugars vicariously through me- he says its cheaper, it doesnt bother his wife as much, and he has just as much fun as if he owned the whole setup.

[wdchuck]

Still not much fun- spent the first hour and a half getting the snowmobile stuck. Looks like I may have some mainline down below the big hill. It should get a lot easier with all this snow on the way!

[wdchuck]

Took a day off yesterday for my regular every-three-weeks syrup delivery. I needed it- getting sore from all the humping around the woods, and the cash takes the sting out of it. ........Wednesday was again not fun- I got around to a back corner of the woods and was reminded of that big limb that came down on top of some mainline- the one I never got around to cleaning up. So I dug it out, a trench 100 feet long and 3 feet deep. That was the highlight of the day,am I complaining too much here?........I'll start tapping next week. There's a warmup coming, but only for about 3 days. Not too worried about it in this area, we've got more snow and elevation than the Champlain Valley folks. Later.................

[wdchuck]

Hung tubing today as planned during the afternoon. Wore out Jeff's kid and 2 dogs in the process...............

[wdchuck]

Looked like rain yesterday, but it cleared up right after lunch, so another adventure in mainline maintenance. Today is town meeting day, so I'm debating whether to go or not. I've still got to hook up the new booster on the east side and I found another section of buried mainline- probably a limb on top of it.............Have I complained enough yet?...................

[Parker]

when do you think you will start tapping? Looks like a cooler pattern next week.

[powerdub]

WDC,

Right or wrong, here is my take on tapping based on some of my back breaking expience. There is too much snow to worry about getting your taps in now. Looking back to the good old years of deep snow, the trees have never really run all that well until the sun melted the snow back from the tree and some ground was showing. We busted our backs for more than one year tapping by town meeting day and struggling to keep the lines above the snow only to see tiny runs and a lot of frustration. One of those years I talked to a guy, I wish I could remember who, who waited it out and tapped the first of April and made a full crop in just under three weeks. No worries here and there should be no worries there. Hope this helps.

[wdchuck]

Agreed. Deep snow.......Done that..........1996, the year of tapping hell...............Got all my maintenance done on Tuesday and started tapping yesterday afternoon after the rain stopped. Today was warm, 40ish, and sunny. Sap ran a bit as I was drilling, but not gushing. Got about a day and a half of tubing replacement to go and and maybe 3 and a half of tapping. and that includes the help thats been offered. Lots of snow in the woods- it's not even thinking about moving away from the base of the trees.

[powerdub]

I talked to a few friends that represent about 5000 taps combined and they have not boiled yet despite being tapped for three weeks.

[Parker]

Where are you at in terms of boiling? What if the latest?

[sapman]

Years ago Neil Wright of Camden, NY, told me that the snow needs to melt down around the base of the tree before you get decent flow. At the time I didn't want to believe him. But as time goes on, I get less anxious about tapping when there is much snow around, as the years have pretty well proven him right. He was a very wise man.

Tim

[wdchuck]

Parker- No boiling yet, not even close.............IF I were 100% ready, I MIGHT have had enough sap last week to boil for a short time. As it is, there's still a lot of snow out there even after this past weekend's rain. I'm in total agreement that the snow needs to melt away from the trees some before things start to really flow. ............So tomorrow and Tuesday my brother will help out with tapping. About 1000 to go, so its pretty do-able. Then I'll just do clean-up and set-up, maybe start replacing a bunch of old drops that are pretty shmangey looking and grow bacteria like crazy. No major warm up in sight thru the 25th. A few days that break 40, but very few, and all that snow around the trees.................

[TapME]

I agree with the snow around the trees having to melt away for it to run, and it holds true even more for those on buckets. Haven't put any taps in yet with 2-3 of snow on the ground around the tree stile. Maybe next week.

[Valley View Sugarhouse]

You guys mite be surprised, with no frost in the ground they tend to kick off a little earlier.. I had trees running Sat in the rain when I was tapping...

I will let you know if it runs later today..

Andy

[wdchuck]

Tapping all done yesterday before lunch- now just have to set up a couple of vacuum stations and it looks like some heavy duty waiting around. Warmer tomorrow, but who knows if it'll run.

[wdchuck]

Vac #1 set up and running yesterday, vac #2 going by noon today. Looks like it might run tomorrow, but I'm not gonna predict how well- I know better. ...................Had help from Jeff today- he's getting pretty handy. Helped troubleshoot both sides of the woods for leaks in the afternoon and he's gotten fairly adept at it! Looks like we got most of the leak issues dealt with..On the other hand, I'm a little mystified which type of critter has been going after the lines. The most common one has historically been one done by big incisors-DEER! Today we found 5 or so that were a nice round hole right where the tubing is in contact with the tree, maybe woodpeckers?? The other predominant chew was always where tubing was low to the ground, maybe even touching it and it was kind of knawed on, but by fairly small teeth. Maybe Porkypines? Very little of the damage we found looked like the standard squirrell chews- shredded to bits by really small teeth. In any case, something needs to be hunted. Why arent those coyotes I hear all summer doing their job? ......................I've decided that I have one wish for this season, (other than lots of high testing sap!) and thats to finally have a season where nothing mechanical breaks down. That means truck, car, transfer pump, 2 vacuum pumps, ro machine, and anything else with or without a motor that we use to make syrup will not break down. It's never happened, maybe it's time!!

[wdchuck]

Well that didnt take too long. Inadvertantly broke off the lexan switch mount on my elecric releaser. Had it all hooked back down securely in about 10 minutes using wire and duct tape. (What else is there?.) Seeing as it only took 10 minutes, it may not count as an actual break- what do the rest of you think?...............On a lighter note, we boiled up 1200 gals of sap and ended up with 10 gals of fancy and some pretty sweet pans. The RO worked fine as usual. Took out 3/4 of the water and turned 2% into 8% just like it's supposed to. I've still got a couple vac leaks in the woods which I'll get to the next time it runs.

[wdchuck]

Went out to check for leaks this morning- found a couple minors, nothing else. Vacuum's running, but not getting much sap. I'm sticking with the theory of too much snow around the trees. Looks like a cooldown for a few days....................

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

WDCHUCK
same thing in my woods untill the snow melted down to about 6/8 inches then the vacuum brought them to life.

RICH

[wdchuck]

**** it was cold today. Sure didnt have to worry about any sap running. Got about 500 gals sitting in the tanks from yesterday. (Pretty meager...) Hopefully, we'll carry over some sap into Open House Weekend after what looks like fair sap flow midweek. Looks like I'll be doing a few estimates lining up summer work come Monday............

[wdchuck]

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080322/NEWS/548826391

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sure haven't heard much global warming lately. LOL!

[wdchuck]

Still too cold- temps may have hit 40, but it was 0 last night, so we've got a lot of thawing to do.Just the same, I turned on the vac pumps hoping to conjure up something, and got a meager flow, and that's probably being generous with the description. On the bright side, there's lots of ice in the 700 gals that has accumulated! So its not going to go sour anytime soon. ...........Sidenote- I can walk ANYWHERE I want on the snow without snowshoes. It's 2 feet deep and mostly concrete. Man if this melts fast, somebody downstream on the Winooski is gonna have some water come their way!

[wdchuck]

Sap finally started to run pretty good today. Not gangbusters, like in midseason, but still pretty good just the same. My electric releaser seems to have righted itself after I tightened up a few things. Ordered a new shaft seal for the pump anyway. If I dont need it tomorrow, I might by the end of the season by the way things are behaving with that thing. We may hold over sap into the weekend to boil on Sunday for Open House Weekend, or we might just say to heck with it and hope we get anough late week to boil just raw sap for show. After buying that RO, not using it is just a demonstration in how to burn a lot of wood!

[wdchuck]

Sap ran pretty well the past 2 days- we boiled 1200 gals yesterday and another 800+ held over for Open house weekend. Made a drum of nice fancy. Strangely, not much nitre on the pans like everyone seems to be reporting. Things going well, no unthawable freezes, not many broken things. Feels pretty good................

[wdchuck]

Yesterday RO'd 1100 gals for Open House Weekend and am letting it sit until tomorrow. It's so cold out, I dont think the grade will suffer much. Also, it's a heck of a lot easier to thaw 1 valve than 6, especially when company's coming over and before you know it, there they are! So, sap's ready, press is re-assembled, barrels washed, even got newspaper and kindling in the evaporator waiting for a match. Maybe I'll break out the snowmobile for one last test run before the crust gets soft...........................

[wdchuck]

Open House yesterday brought in about 100 friends and relatives for sugar on snow, boiling for the afternoon and sliding for the kids..............Plenty of ice in the tank, even thoughit was 10% concentrate............Making Fancy..........Not much of a run yesterday, pretty cold the night before. Froze up last night by 8pm and stayed that way all night although it only got to 30. I'm guessing it will run today when things warm up (duh!) and should run through the night and well into tomorrow night. I'm not even close to worrying about our season at this point. The concrete, ah snow, is still plentiful............

[wdchuck]

Had a good run yesterday! Started out slow the day before, pumps ran all night, finally kicked in late around 4 am. Gushed during the day, ran slower after dark, and froze up again sometime after midnight last night.. ....Made a drum+ on 1200 gals yesterday with another 800 in the tanks to freeze for insulating purposes. Sugar content is still good at 2.5% (especially for our woods!) and the grade is still holding at Fancy- gotta love ice! Today looks less than promising- way too cold! Tomorrow looks good, so I'll go with that, and feel good about it!

[wdchuck]

Now, even today looks good- It's cool out alright, with a stiff wind, but just the same, the sap's running! Not a "sap run like you read about" but still pretty good. We'll sit on everything and boil tomorrow. Shouldnt be any shortage of sap to boil!

[TapME]

sounds like a good start for you. how is the snow pack were you are?

[wdchuck]

And now for the snowpack report..............probably at least 20" in the woods. It's all ice and dense crud. Rained for over half the day yesterday and it just soaked it right up! I cant even see any open patches up in the windblown areas of the fields!

[wdchuck]

Made a 40 yesterday. Sap ran really well, especially on the east side. 1000 gals in the tanks when I shut vacuum down at freezeup. Gotta go on leak patrol this morning before I get too carried away with other things Later..................

[wdchuck]

Another day, another drum. Leak patrol was a wash due to iced up mainlines near the bottom- no vac at all above the logjam. Then it didnt get terribly warm, so not a lot of sap came down. Sugar content back up to 2.5! In the woods, the snow has just barely started to move away from the trees and its over my knees deep! This is a hell of a start..............................And Josh P.- got your phone message- leave your number so I can call you back!

[wdchuck]

"Rest" day today, kind of. Cloudy weather and cool temps on top of no freeze up last night kept the sap flow down. At least the ice thawed out of the mains..................Sitting on 600 gals at the moment, still running and a good freeze for tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer than today, so things are looking good..................The calender says early April, but it sure looks like mid March. Snow still tight around the trees, even on South facing slopes. Out in the fields, the first open spots have just barely started to show up. Havent heard a red wing blackbird yet either.................

[wdchuck]

Sap really broke loose today- one of those runs of biblical proportions! My father said that he's never seen it run so hard, (but you have to take into account that he say's this every year!) Vacuum's still running- gotta check Accuweather to see when it should freeze up. Looks like more of the same for tomorrow..............YEAH BABY!!!!

[wdchuck]

Sap's running like crazy! Started up about 8:30 on the east side. Gotta go! Later...................

[wdchuck]

Today was a repeat of yesterday- Good sap run, beautiful weather, another drum of syrup - I'm happy with that. Looking for the same tomorrow...................

[PATheron]

Wdchuck- What do you run for vac levels and what type of pump do you use? Drum a day is a nice pace huh? Theeeron

[wdchuck]

Just got in from shutting down the vac.................We run two vacuum systems- one on each end of the woods. East side is Surge Alamo that pulls at 17" and ends up at 16 1/2" 3500 ft of mainline away. The other side of the woods is a Surge piston pump currently pulling 19" at the releaser and 17 1/2" 3000 feet away. The 2nd system has some minor problems somewhere that I haven't had time to troubleshoot this week for obvious reasons. If I can find the problems I can probably pull over 20" throughout that section.

[wdchuck]

Took a day off- sort of...............Circulation pump on the RO died, so I had to go get the new one and install it. Thanks go out to Glen Goodrich for hooking me up. The actual install took about 20 minutes, then gave the membrane a wash and a rinse. Sap has slowed, even with a mild freeze in the valley last night. About 600 gals in the tanks waiting for tomorrow..............My optimistic side sees a good freeze tonight and rain and showers this weekend, so I'm foolishly thinking slow steady run all day and all night...........uh-huh, sure...............Some forecasts show cold nights from Sunday through to Wednesday! I'm hoping...............

[powerdub]

Us fools have to stick together! It has been trickling in for the past four days, I am looking for at least another four days. Most around me have shut down but for the price of dark it is worth the boil time.

[wdchuck]

The end is near- But not until Friday!
http://www.wunderground.com/US/VT/Cabot.html
Had decent vacuum induced runs for the past 2 days- boiled 1200 gals yesterday, although the sugar content is dropping. Made good dark amber which got up to medium at the end. This is actually turning into a decent year for us................If nothing else breaks, I'm calling it a blowout success!

[wdchuck]

Finished boiling last Friday- chased all the concentrate out of the eveporator and made 28 gals of medium amber. There's a lot of syrup in an evaporator full of concentrate..........Not much dark for us this year, and we made plenty of syrup. It seems like we're the only ones around here who did well, but we are not making it up. Just our year.................Time for cleanup after tying up some loose ends at work, maybe cleaning tubing this week if the snow has melted.

[wdchuck]

Had to get back to some of my regular work this week, so in between estimates and keeping my guy Johnnie employed, my Dad and I have gotten tanks cleaned, water hauled to wash tubing, and stuff generally picked up. Gotta get the pipeline washed- probably tomorrow we'll start. It's amazing all the work that goes into a 4-week maple frenzy! I still dont completely understand why I do it......................

[wdchuck]

Got the last of the pipeline washed earlier this week- managed to get swimming pool wet when a pvc booster gave out and I Ithought I could hold it together while the guys did the last 100 taps-NOT!!.............Got some wood moved forward in the woodshed in my spare time- we didnt even tunnel out the back this year due to high sugar content. We are declaring our season a big success! We had one of our best years ever, half was fancy and medium. Strangely, we are the only ones in our area to get a full crop, things just went our way for a change......................

[Sugarmaker]

Wdchuck,
Wow! long season for you. Thanks for letting us know your results. Rest a little then back at it for next year Right?:)

Regards,
Chris