Is it lost forever

[Brent]

Like most of us, I"ve got the drill on the charger and itching to pulll the trigger, but the question that keeps coming up in my mind is ....

If we delay tapping, do we really lose sap?

Is it gone forever out of reach and unrecoverable, or does it sort of slosh up and down the tree to a large degree, with most of it still available, until we get some serious bud swelling?

[VtSugarhouse]

How can you loose sap if the trees are still frozen? We are just having a normal year instead of it being early.
With buckets you want to tap as soon as they start to run. Which on a normal year here is in the first part of March. The last few years have been early but too many people forget what the winters used to be like.

[argohauler]

Remember when it got hot last season then too cold the first part of April, then a few good running days after that?

I hadn't made enough syrup before it got hot so I was really hoping for a few more runs. I kept watching the 2 week forecast and they said cold, so I kept going.

Well I made more syrup in April than I did in March. It ran a lot, nice and clear, but it made the worst syrup I've ever tasted, so I wholesaled it.

The buds were very swelled and some soft maples had opened.

Yes it'll still be there. It may be getting sweeter. It shouldn't be winter sap with the low sugar content with all the mild breaks in the winter we've had so far.

Monday is 6 or 43. Debating whether to catch this run that's coming Monday.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I tapped a week late last year due to the extreme cold in Jan and Feb and made syrup about 10 days late and made aprox 75 to 80 percent of the crop in 10 days after it took a couple more weeks to get started. With all of the snow pack in most of the NE this year, I would be prepared to do the same. If the temps hits 40s and 50s for several days in a row, you had better be ready because it may run like crazy as the snow level will drop fast as long as the ground is not frozen underneath all the pack.

I know this sounds crazy, but you could make close to a quart per tap in a week with all that snow laying around melting and feeding the trees water pending the weather hits right which is not likely, but possible.

[MR Electrician]

brent relax allready the trees are still frozen were not loosing anything.now get yr gear ready go tap one or two test trees and relax when they start to run then its open season,until then play with the wife ,kids,dog computer or whatever gets yr fancy.relax it will come




next week

[Brent]

OK maybe I should explain more the reason for the quesiton in the first place.

NO EVAPORATOR (yet)

My new evap is now officially late. I can't see firing it for a few days after it gets here with bricking, stacks etc.

How long do I sit and watch it warm up before I tap and try to store the sap, as opposed to leaving it in the trees. It won't keep long in the the tanks, even with filtering and ice. I did not go for the UV this year.

As long as the trees are frozen, I'm cool with waiting ( no pun )
but if the truck doesn't get here for another 10 days and it warms up, I'll be agonizing.

So, does anyone have a study or even a good gut feeling, how much might be lost by leaving the trees untapped until late, or tap when it gets warm and do my best to preserve it till the evap shows up ??????

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

BRENT

i think you would be better to wait and tap when the pan gets there. THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT CAN GO WRONG just my thoughts

RICH

[MR Electrician]

do any of yr neighbours tap
if so sell the sap or do a little horse trading

[pennslytucky]

tap em and sell the sap till you get ur evap??? maybe you have a neighbor needin more sap?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

The later you wait to tap your tree, the harder they will run when you tap them.

[cropseyvillemark]

I'm with Brandon on that one. I had one year that I didn't tap until March 20 because of a family vacation. When I did tap,I could have put in faucets instead of spouts. I still made over 1 qt./tap in the following 2 weeks.

[Sugarmaker]

Brent,
As suggested if the weather is right and you have a outlet for the sap you can sell some early sap. If not I would wait till the arch is set and the brick is in, then tap. You will still have enough to do to get the rest set up. maybe have to hold some sap for a couple days at the most while you get the pans set and other do-dads ready on the new unit. I know your itching to go.

Chris

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

On the other hand, if you have waited months for a new evaporator, the worst thing you can do is to sell the sap. I know, you want to boil it all. If needs be, wait a few dollars later if you have to.

[Brent]

OK The closest place I could sell some sap would be to some absentee sugar maker slave drive near Millbrook (who thinks he knows something about cold and electricity.) he he !!

Sounds like I can leave it in mother nature's good hands and be better off to tap later than too soon.

The evaporator was promised to show up by the 29th. If I had started last summer and we were late a few weeks or months it would be one thing, but this is getting to nail biting time. What was it one you said in and earlier post
.... leading to a medical condition known as rectal pucker.

Oh well, got to go outside now and prep the Half Pint for pick up in a couple hours. Good timing eh !!! Ship out the Half Pint 10 days before BIG-SAP Ontario. Hmmmm 230 taps and a turkey fryer.

[MR Electrician]

OK The closest place I could sell some sap would be to some absentee sugar maker slave drive near Millbrook (who thinks he knows something about cold and electricity.) he he !!
hey i resemble that remark

.... leading to a medical condition known as rectal pucker.
you have been hanging around the dude ranch too much

Hmmmm 230 taps and a big turkey .

ok so i corrected a few speeling mistakes in yr post there brent
i love a good mud slinging party bring it on buddy

okay seriously now do you have a date of delivery yet
im shure we can find you a pan to rent for a week or two

[jemsklein]

Im glad your not talking about me.

[MR Electrician]

Im glad your not talking about me.

no but i think your related to the guy hes talking about.

[Brent]

I think all the nut cases on this forum are related in some way. The two of you are just a little closer than most of us.

If the evap doesn't show up I may come by and help you a little till you're done at school.

Gotta get it out of the system somehow.

PS just watched the Half Pint go down the driveway to a new home near Brantford. Hope he has as
much fun with it as I did.

[mapleman3]

what?? we are supposed to be tapping???? ;)

[MR Electrician]

I think all the nut cases on this forum are related in some way. The two of you are just a little closer than most of us.

If the evap doesn't show up I may come by and help you a little till you're done at school.

Gotta get it out of the system somehow.

PS just watched the Half Pint go down the driveway to a new home near Brantford. Hope he has as
much fun with it as I did.

nuts usually come in pairs
bring yr sap over you can boil it all by yr self
hope you got yr moneys worth from the half pint.
any delivery date yet on the new evaporator

[Brent]

I lost my shirt on it actually. Bought it for $950 a couple years ago. Exchange rate at about $ 1.55 Plus shipping, plus customs, plus firebricks, plus custom mod on grates etc. Sold it for 800. I think under todays exchange rate and replacement cost it was as good as I could expect and it was a good deal for Mike at about half the cost if he imported a new one today.

Still got lots to do in the conversion of the shed to a sugar shack. No sign of the new evap yet.

[Grade "A"]

Sorry to hear that your rig has not come yet. You will have to get that RO tuned in so you get 24% out of it, then you can keep up with your trukey fryer!!!

[Harken]

Hey Brent, I talked to Patrick Phanuef on Wed. He said he is delivering 3 evaporators to Ontario this week (plus a pan to me) !! He said one was going near Wasaga Beach...is that you ??

[Brent]

No, I'm just 20 minutes north of Toronto Int Airport. He said he will (would ) start the run with 4 rigs, 3 for Ontario and 1 for Ohio. No word from him yet.

Just last Thursday he said he would be here this past week. I'm not really up tight, but I do feel like a kid on Christmas eve.... can't come soon enough.

[gmcooper]

Brent sorry to hear your new evaporator is not there yet.

Sounds like Patrick makes a nice product just needs some business help. While your waiting to get yours offer to straighten things out for him. That ought to get yours deilvered very soon. LOL I just read an artical on startup companies and the biggest problem they face is the startup person has the idea and the knowlege to make the product but usually not the business ability to keep things going forward. They can get the ball rolling just don't have a clue on how to steer it.
Mark

[Brent]

Mark

I've seen this many times. We sell machine tools ( cnc lathes, machining centers, etc) and a guy will come in that is a great machinist, has saved up some money to make the startup, and can't get past about a 3 to 5 man shop because, although he is a great machinist, he can't communicate, organize, purchase properly, or present and sell his machine time.

I've heard nothing but good things about Patrick's work. It looks like he needs a partner or manager to run the business side.

[Brent]

Sunday AM Update

Patrick sent me an email ... that was the bad news, he's still at home.

The good news is that he will be finished all 4 today and on the road tomorrow.

We have machine builders that are often late a month or more. I can live with being late a week.
But only because the sap is not running seriously around here yet.

At least at Christmas you could count down to when Santa arrived.