Started to drill in Gill

[hard maple]

Well Monday I put in a little under 200 taps. Another 150-175 more to go, hopefully I'll get most of those done today.
I tapped a tree on sunday ( the first one I tap every year) Sugar content was 2.7% (last year it was 3.5%)
By early afternoon on monday the bucket was half full, kinda wished I got everthing tapped sat and sun...
Let's hope for a bumper crop this year!!

[brookledge]

I here ya on that bumper crop
good luck
Keith

[hard maple]

I got 313 taps in this week, Finish up on saturday...hopefully
I should end up with a little under 400 for this year.
Last year with 200 taps I couldn't get enough sap, I don't think I'll be in that predicament this year.

[hard maple]

First boil tonite!!!!!
Gathered about 70 gallons, sweetened the pans a little.

Brandon--that blower works like a charm, very impressed, thanks again.

[Parker]

Way to go Hardmaple,,,,,looks like you will catch some this week!!!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Gabe,

Glad it works good, it will sure make a big difference on your gph rate! Good luck with the upcoming season.

[hard maple]

looks like bigsap today!!!! I just checked a couple of buckets and their getting ready to overflow after being emptied 2 days ago!!!
Looks like it ran through the nite at 7:30 this morning it was pouring out.
Off to gather......

[mcsap]

I noticed the same thing up in Worthington this AM. Hung buckets on Sunday and checked them with my little sapsucker yesterday after work and most appeared to have just started running. This morning at 630 some of the buckets were 1/3 full or more. Looks like I'll get a good workout carrying pails through the snow tonight.

[hard maple]

just finished up in the sugarhouse, made 6 gal of light stuff

[mapleman3]

Nice Gabe... sounds like things are going great!!

[hard maple]

Picked up a little more than 350 gal thursday
just got done boiling made about 5 1/2 gal
still got over 150 gal in the feed tank
tired had enough, that gathering with snowshoes makes ya earn it, that's for sure!!!
this weekend I'll hook up that filter press and use it for the first time.
I'm already missing those felts???????

[MaplePancakeMan]

Hard maple, how much has your GPH evaporation rate changed with the blower on your 2x6

[hard maple]

I would say about 5 gph
I'm still having problems with flames coming out the stack so I need to fix that issue before I can get the full potential from the blower.
I'm thinking about adding a baffle in the firebox right behind the grates, there seems to be a lot of open space there. It does taper up to 1inch below the flues (eventually)
Also I have a loose fit around the base stack, could that air leak be the problem????
Looks like another big run today. I should have a good 400-500 gal to boil on saturday.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Gabe,

It would work best if you could have it up close to the flue pan all the way back. Glad the blower is working for you. The longer you tweak it, the better you can get it to work.

[hard maple]

Brandon
I was looking at your pics of the inside of the arch, that's basicly what I need to duplicate. Also I'm getting a lot of coals and wood pushed up past the grates on the ramp, I'm thinking that could be the problem as well?

Big boil tomorrow= I just checked my milk tank on my way home from work got about 100 gal there and still running a little bit.
Should have a full day of boiling tomorrow.

[hard maple]

Just got in from the sugarhouse.
I'm up around 25 gal of syrup.
nothings canned up yet still in 5 gal containers and Delavel milk pails
I'm at 2 percent sugar content now, seems way down from last year.

[Parker]

I bet it will sweeten up after this cold snap

[mapleman3]

Don't worry Gabe.. still plenty of sugar left... today I only collected around 200 gal some ice in the buckets.. still running on only 175 taps.. it's been gang busters on every tap... maybe tap some more this week unless I keep getting lots of sap :)

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Come on President, get the rest of those taps in. You are slacking this year.

[hard maple]

Well the last four days have been amazing for sap flow.
I processed 1500 gal of sap from Wed to Sat
I'm a little over 60 gal of syrup.
The wood supply went down very quickly, I'll be using damp wood pretty soon. Not looking forward to that.

[hard maple]

I've been right out straight trying to keep up with this sap.
Ran out of (dry)wood ,been getting slabs from two different mills
gave away 300 gallons of sap
right now I'm at just under 100 gallons of syrup
buckets are overflowing
even the ones that leak are overflowing!!!!!
The sugar sand is unreal this year!
Seems like a lot of people around here are running out of wood.
I drove by Brookeledge yesterday, looks like pallets are on the menu...
Nice job on that new stretch of mainline, that's a steep section of woods,I don't remember that ever being tapped before. How is that working out?

[Parker]

100 gallons on a 2x6 with 360 taps,,,,thats a good year!!! You must be beat,,when was your last boil last year? do you have any snow left down there?

[hard maple]

Parker
last year I boiled into the first week of april ( I think)
I don't have my log book handy.
We have good snow out in the woods 1 1/2 feet in some places
around the sugarhouse it's mostly melted though.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Gabe,

What kind of rate our you getting out of your evaporator with the blower and how much has it helped??

Glad you are having a good year, keep this up and you might hit .4 or .5 gallon per tap.

[mapleman3]

WOW Gabe 100 gals... thats awesome... I am back to 175 taps, my vac pump died but still I am swimming in sap, I should be at 72+ tonight.. I do believe 100 gals is reachable for me too but will take a week or so more.
Had 350+ gals of sap yesterday and today, I'll be happy with 100+ each day till I'm done. still running good.

[hard maple]

Just checked the milk tank on my way home, that's overflowing, it was just emptied the day before! I've never seen the sap run like this.
Trying to keep with this much sap has been a chore to say the least, more than once I've thought to myself " I hope the sap does not run tomorrow"
Two days ago when I checked the sap it was at 2.3% sugar content.

Brandon
the blower helped a ton, I don't have a exact number though. I would guess 40 gph?!

[mapleman3]

I'll take the sap.... I'll boil till 2am if needed.. boil boil boil..... I think I'm going mad... boil boil boil.... it's funny usually I'm burnt out by now.. but I could keep this up for weeks!!! ;) ;)

[Mike]

Jim, We still havent had a good run here.......Im ready for any sap we can get...We have storage for around 2600 gals....It would be nice to fire up and make 30 gals or so in a half a day.......Glad to hear your doing good...Sounds like a lot of people are haveing a great year...I heard around $3.00 a lb in the barrel...........Like ya said, BOIL BOIL BOIL...................

[mapleman3]

Jeeze Mike I hope it opens up soon for you!! I know My aunt in Enosburg was telling me of the sugarers she knows up there say it's still froze up. How much have you made? I know last I heard from you it was practically nothing???

Gabe
Maybe someday we will be making that amount in a day right?? when we pony up and buy ourselves RO's it's funny for years I was against RO.. but everyone is going that way and the syrup still sells, I haven't taste tested against my syrup so I can't say if there is a difference.... "quality over quantity" I always say !! But.. guys are swearing by them so......

So how many late late night have you had...
I had 2-3 at midnight
a couple around 1am
and 1 2am
mostly try to finish up by 11pm
all that starting around 6pm

[hard maple]

Jim
I think I did 3 or 4 14 hour boils
that ro is sounding better all the time
and for about the cost of a new 2x6

[hard maple]

sap is still flowing like gangbusters
every day this week the milk tank has been full
but there's only a gallon of storage per tap
this weekend will be another big boil/catch up

[Parker]

Gabe- Waht is the latest?????? Still running? Have any wood left?

[hard maple]

This has been the best year I have ever seen.
These kind of banner years may come once every quarter century or so.
360 taps
I made 104 gallons of syrup
I sold 1700 gallons of sap
which was between 1.5-1.8 sugar content
Had I not run out of (dry) wood
that would have yielded another 32+/- gallons of syrup
I can't begin to count the loss of sap due to overflowing.
After the last boil, I just let the sweet in the pans run down the floor drain.
Wet wood and raw sap get to ya after awhile I guess!
The pans are soaking in vineager
And I've started filling the woodshed for next year....

[brookledge]

Thats close to .4gallons per tap which is good
Good work.
I think everybody around western ma has had a banner year.
I've been at this for 33 years and this is the best yield I had although in the early years my records are not as good as they are now.
I would have never thought that I'd get over .6 gal per tap as I did this year. and like you I ran out of wood
Keith

[hard maple]

keith
that new stretch of tubing you put under the road and up that brook looks good.
I'm glad the season has come to an end....
give me a month or two and I'll be ready to do it all over again

[brookledge]

that new section has 455 taps and I went light on the taps if there was a tree that was a inbetweener I went with the lower amont of taps. I plan at some time to go with a liquid ring pump and run the vac. at 24"-25".
Keith

[mapleman3]

Keith, that 455 on gravity???

[hard maple]

jim
I believe that's on vacuum and I think flows right to the sugarhouse?

[brookledge]

All vacuum. 1161 on vacuum and 4 buckets
Keith

[hard maple]

Keith
I like that ratio of buckets to tubing
I'm slowly headed in the same direction
I dumped another 150 gallons of sap today
It was cloudy but not yellow
If I had dry wood I would have boiled down every drop of it tomorrow.
Still need to take my buckets down and wash the tubing

[PATheron]

Keith- Neat things happen at 25+ inches. The ring pumps are nice. Very little maint once they are all set up. Gotta keep your eye on them a little but not a lot of work really. I couldnt believe what the vac did for me this year. Once the trees started running good I never saw a time when it was above freezing when they werent running. Youd get a freeze and they would run for three days easy without another one. Ive never ran the dairy pumps maybe they are the same way but I thought the ring pump was great and I think there is a big difference between 20 and 25". Theron