All Taped In Webster

[Uncle Tucker]

I taped my tubing on Sunday and about 1/3 were running. Taped the buckets on Monday after work, about ½ were running. Checked the buckets and tank today and got about 75 gallons of sap and still running ok. I will check and hopfuly have enough to boil tomorrow.

[Uncle Tucker]

I got another 60 gallons of sap today. Lit the new evaporator for the first boil of the year. I sweeten the pans and got about a gallon of light A. Man that thing boils HARD, all sap done in 3 hours. Just some quick math, about 40 gph.

[Parker]

That is excellant-do you have a blower on it?

[Uncle Tucker]

Yes Parker, I kept the blower off of that 2x6 and put a new motor on it. I have a wooden floor in my sugar house so I cut a hole under the floor and hung it under the sugar house. You cant even hear it run, but you can see it in the pans. Give a ring next time you are down this way, I will give you a tore. Cell 305-3753.

[Uncle Tucker]

I had the biggest mistake of my sugaring career yesterday! I had about 100 gallons of sap to pump up to the sugar house in the rain. Then carry up the 10 gallons that are still in the lines after tank is empty. When I got back to the sugar house,,, OH MY GOD!!! I left the float off the float box and the valve wide open. The flue pan was over flowing into the syrup pan and all over all sides of the arch and a river of sap running down the floor. I closed the valve and had to pump the flue pan back into the feed tank, emptied the syrup pan through a pre filter and saved the sweet for flooding the pans.

After cleaning and drying every thing I still made about a half gallon of A light.

For now on, I will check all valves and shout offs every time I pump sap. Lesson learned.

[jdj]

Don't feel bad Uncle Tucker, I did the same thing one time. I was pumping sap from the gathering tank to the feed tank and some guys stopped in and I got to BSing with them and never checked the valve on the holding tank and the float wasn't in the float box. I was fortunate that I caught it before it ran all over the floor or into the syrup pan. I did have about 12 inches or better in my flue pan though. Never a dull moment in this sugaring business!!!

[danno]

Uncle Tucker - don't sweat it. It's from those blunders that we learn what not to do again. Overflowing pans - been there, done that. My old evap. floats never completely sealed. After I shut down boiling one night, I left the sugarhouse with about 100 gallons still in the stock tank with valve connecting the stock tank to the evaporator still open. Next morning, full pans and allot of sap on the floor. To this day, I always go back out to the sugarhouse an hour after I've come in and close all the valves.

[super sappy]

Left friday nite late. Had 5 0r so gallons in the feed tank and had flooded the flu pan to 1.5" and Syrup pan to 1.5 " temp in pans was 140 degrees so I went to bed. Next morning found the flupan leaked thru the float and flooded the syrup pan and dripped out the open thermometer port. it wicked along the rail etc. I cleaned up as much as I could but as I boiled sugar burned and dripped all day. A big mess. Figured that I lost 2 +- gallons of surup cuz it took about 1.5 hours of boiling before I got a drawoff. Live and learn I guess never trust floats to hold back sap. and alwayse double check valves to see if they are open or closed . -SS

[Uncle Tucker]

GOOD run today.
This will help my first annual” BLOWING OFF SOME STEAM” party. My wife is going away for the weekend and my buddies are coming over for a lot of boiling sodas, food and fire works. I think with today’s run I will have enough sap for about 5 or 6 hours of boiling.

[Uncle Tucker]

I had a great turnout for the “Blowing Off Some Steam” party yesterday. Made about 5 gallons of light and bottled it this morning. Still have a few things to fix, like the rafter that burned through and the feed tank with the under sized over flow drain. But getting closer to having this running smooth. I will get these things taken care of tomorrow and be ready for Big Sap on Tuesday.