Tapped today in So. NH

[Gary in NH]

I decided to tap my trees this weekend. I've got 35 tapped since late yesterday and early today. Some are running pretty good now and some are still just thinking about it. I thought about waiting until next weekend but I never seem to get good runs after the first week of April so I decided to tap a little earlier than usual. I put alot of effort into sterilization this year. I pre-sterilized all taps by boiling for 30 minutes and then kept them soaking in 3% hydrogen peroxide as I tapped. Also sterilized the drill bit after every hole in 3% hydrogen peroxide and wore nitrile gloves. I saw no adverse effects on stainless steel or aluminum taps from contact with 3% peroxide. I did end up with a couple of leakers though. I just wish I could convice myself one less tap with the mallet would be OK.

Gary in NH

[DS Maple]

I also did quite a bit of sugaring work this weekend, but unfortunately I can't say that anything got done completely. As of now all of the collection tanks are in their locations, but not completely hooked up. In one place I need to extend the mainline by about 10' and in another I have to replace the bulkhead fitting that got broken in transport. Nothing major, but I can't cross "tanks" off my list yet. I can't complain too much though, because placing them this year was a bit more work than last. Truck mounted plows were no match for the ice banks that currently line our roads, so digging out the tank placement locations involved a lengthy roadtrip on the tractor; something I don't usually have the pleasure of doing.
Almost all of Saturday was spent cleaning the evaporator; something that did not get done last spring as a result of some unfortunate events. It's about as clean as it gets now, and given the amount of dirt and ash on my two helpers and I Saturday afternoon, it should be. I was actually amazed that our student helper made it through the entire day with a smile on his face. Unfortunately we can't put the machine back together though until the new heat gasket arrives from Bascoms, so it is yet another thing that can't be crossed off.
In terms of tapping, I think I drilled about 30 or so out of the approximately 800 that we will do this year. Today was not bad for tapping, but I don't see much harm in finishing next weekend given that it is supposed to get real cold again in the middle of this coming week.