popped the cherry

[super sappy]

Tapped out about 140 yesterday. Sugar content held at 3.2% ,Got about 75 gallons by the end of the day. Fired up the new 2x6 got her rollin once she started to boil things were looking good, but I forgot the defoamer at the house. Well I filled the firebox and sure enough I boiled the foam up over the top of the pan. I have wicked dry wood and it foamed like that in about 1 second. Wife came in about 30 seconds later with the oil and we got her punched down and rippin. Its like light years from the old 2x4. Still have about 100 or so taps to do out back. And I have to think up a cool name for the 2x6 -ss

[VtSugarhouse]

Just some quick info ...if you forget your defoamer again just run outside and grab say a pine tree branch. If the foam wants to come over the pan just touch it with the needles on the branch. It will go right down. This will work till the defoamer arrives.

[peacemaker]

stretched and tapped 66 so far ... ran nice wicked sweet

[royalmaple]

I hope you were using synthetic oil, it will make your evaporator last longer!!

[super sappy]

Just a splash of good clean bar and chain. Its amazing when you add a 1/4 cup or so each time you fire NO FOAM -

[super sappy]

Just kidding- go easy

[peacemaker]

well the new drum i got for my barrel preheater /small batcher is got about 1/2 gal used 10 w 40 how u think that would work

[cropseyvillemark]

Go to it Jeff! I put in 300 on Sunday.I think that's about it this year.Short on wood,short on help. Have fun with the new rig!

[royalmaple]

I'd take an automatic dripper off a vacuum pump and use that to get your oil drip rate to about 1-2 per second.

That is for bar and chain, but if you are using something like wd-40, you might want 3-4 drips. That will certainly keep the foam down. Then just take a torch and hit your syrup pan every draw and you'll have flaming ambroshia. It has to work right?

[peacemaker]

i would would think what a new concept flaming pancakes yum

[super sappy]

Have had rivers of sap here in easton. not a lick of med or dark yet and well past 40 gal produced. Wood was getting low today so we wipped out old franks little brute splitter and about the second piece of wood launched off the wedge and cought me in the chin. put a hole under my lip and chipped off the top of a bottom tooth. I got a fancy shave ( almost Amish Looking now)pached together, The bleeding stopped , My bottom lip looks like a freakin hot dog, then finished splitting wood ,collected sap and boiled off another 150 gallons or so. I gave up at 9:00pm and left 100 gallons at the sugarhouse as I need to be ready for a meeting in the morning.Man I am beat after these past few days I have been pleasantly suprised with the ammount of traffic at the sugarhouse so far. I was able to sell enough syrup at this point to pay for fuel for the year for the tractor and the truck that we use to collect and 4 rolls of tubing. I hate to be the one to say it but I could use a day or two to catch up on work stuff ,I find it really difficult to concentrate on work when the sap is running like this. -SUPEr sappy

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

Super Sappy

Sounds Like You Need A Freeze Up

Rich

[Fred Henderson]

Or maybe a second shift!!!!!

[danno]

SS - way to get after it! Like the fact that you were back at it after getting kissed by the splitter. Now if there was just a quick way to get that wood dry! I'm in the same boat - still splitting.

[super sappy]

We hit 1 qt per tap tonight no vacuum and my road side tanks are full for an early Am pickup by Mrs super sappy YAAAAAHHH ooo .....................My bottom lip looks like a cocktail weenie now -SS

[super sappy]

I got 55 gallons off 16 taps that are 4 weeks old with the leader sanatery taps today the sugar at 2.6 % .I spent the whole day out in the rain and have had enough for today. I counted taps today and came up with 198 i dont know if this is accurate as I think I cooked my brain standing in the cold rain and snow all day . Anyway I am above 60 gallons of syrup so far and I am starting my experiments to see where the sugar is. I still have not made any med or dark syrup but the tanks are full for the morning and I have the day off so maybe Ill have some darker grade as I have orders to fill.I called my local dealer looking for 5 gallon drums but all he had were the Leader ones and I have not had good luck with then so I guess I will have to get some shipped .SS

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

post edited

[super sappy]

Kevin I was wondering if you ever had any luck finding your splitter, Was law enforcement any help? good to have you back -ss

[super sappy]

Hit the learning curve with the new evaporator last friday. Boil went from 35+per to 15 gph and alot of wood being burned. Well my 2 year old wood is gone so that was part of it. then I had to switch to 16" wood all hardwood and no pine and I got a terriable creosote problem that caused a fire under my flu pan 12 hours after the last fire. I got cleaned up and cleaned the bottom of the pan as best as I can but I need to figure out something better . Today I was avjing 30.331 gallons per hour and I want to do better . I feel that the pine and hardwood mix works best for me. I was between 34 -38 gph with the wood that I prepared last year. Started making med today with 3 day old sap. The north wind stopped right before dark so we will get some sap tomorrow. We decided that it is time to get back to our real jobs tomorrow and collect and boil what we can every other day from here on out. It is a tough decision but one that had to be made as customers are calling and maple is our hobby. A local resident stopped by and offered his 60 Acre woodlot that was logged in 1963. He felt that we were the last small farm in Easton and he wants to see us make it. I was really taken back by his offer and I know that he really has no family so I will go and take it slow one step at a time.Maybe it will happen or maybe it wont. It is about 3 miles away and west facing. +ss

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

post edited

[super sappy]

SOS- SOS- SOS - I think I need a bigger evaporator! I know I have already burned almost two seasons worth of wood. 2 bulk tanks are rimmed only 400 gallons of storage left. Now I have to go spend the day pouring friggin concrete because the sub that I hired cant be found. I want an Ro ,and dependable help, and a filter press,and fuel to drop below 2.00 per gallon. Maybe i should just start drinking in the morning -Im off-later -----SS

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

post edited

[super sappy]

here I am in at a quarter to ten PM. Everything is back at the sugarhouse.I am hoping for an early start with around 700 gallons of sap. Work Today was brutal with every thing not going as planned but the only thing that worked out was when I got out of the up south woods with my last load of sap... there was Mrs Super sappy, Super sappy junior and the little brute wood splitter and a decent pile of sugar wood for tomorrow. My god I fell in love all over again with the old ball and chain.I still have my road side barrels to collect in the Am. I had one of my neighbors stop by at 9:00 pm tonight he is in his 80s and he thought that I may be needing a hand as he had heard that I was fallin behind. I like the old timers as they seem to know how to look past the end of there own noses for an hour or two. I also got a CD player for the sugarhouse today,Before I logged on I dusted off some Beatles white alblum, Neil Young, Bootsy Collins, Bob Marley And Joes Garage ....At 30 gph I shall see you guys on friday-SS

[super sappy]

i boiled on wed from 7:00 am till 11:15 Pm when I pulled the plug. I had real bad scorching on my pan near the drawoff around 9:00 pm but I kept going until I overflowed a barrel all over the floor. I have lost count on # of gallons produced at this point,I think I am hovering near 80. To me this is incrediable.Before work yesterday I threw some acid in the pan to set all day. I then collected about 250 gallons of fresh sap.Went back to the sugarhouse and worked on the pan. I am switching sides every 4 0r 5 hours but I seem to have alot of scale this year. I need to clean my pan about every 15 gallons or or the scale starts to burn..My woodpile is spent except for a bunch of half rotted stuff. I talked with a local friend last nite who has 450 taps and he said that he has sold over 7,000 gallons of sap so far this year. I think the end may be near as I heard a tree frog the other night and saw a frog in the pond yesterday during lunch. -SS

[super sappy]

I had my final boil yesterday complete with a few new customers stopping by and a couple of those boiling sodas.sap looked like skim milk(awesome) My sugarhouse sales have increased dramaticly over previous years. I bottled up 20 gallons early and then I had to crack and bottle a blue jug already. The buckets are back at the sugarhouse and the roadside pickel barrels are gathered but not back yet. I was dragging my A.. today so after work at noon I took a break from maple stuff and burned last years weeds off the garden and rolled the compost pile. My garlic plants are 3"tall already.I think I will wait to wash my tubing until saturday and then the following weekend is the open houses 4/24? I think. I will have to double check on that ...What A great year. I had a few blunders that cost me some syrup but that seems to be the way that I learn the best, when it hits me in the wallet. Time to clean it up and triple the size of the garden this year.Produce is going to be real expensive. this year and next winter. -Sappy out of Service