temporary grading kits

[VT maple maker]

This year at leader they were getting rid of some old 05 temporary grading kits for free so i grabbed one. It seems like all i could pull was dark amber and B this season. Did anyone around central VT make fancy or light A. Im not sure if my grading kit is off or if i did something wrong when i was boiling. I kept my front pan at about 1 to 1 1/2 inches on my 2x6 and we were drawing off every 45 minutes or so. The syrup tastes great but i kind of was hoping for some lighter stuff in the early part of the season.

Kyle

[fred]

there is a reason it was free!!!!!!!!!
the temp kits get lighter over time.the best thing to do is dump them and clean them good and use for sample tests.get a new kit next feb.

[VT maple maker]

Tretchary, i knew there was something funny about that deal haha. Oh well better luck next time.

Kyle

[Valley View Sugarhouse]

Kyle,
If you are down my way give me a shout, I will let you have my 08 kit.. I buy a new one evrey year regardless...

[hookhill]

We made around 25 gallons of fancy this season. One batch of sap measured 3.2% sugar. We need to get our filtering process figured out because the cloudiness is downgrading our bulk.

[Valley View Sugarhouse]

are you using a filter press??? That will eliminate the cloudiness.. if you reheat after filtering, I have seen it get cloudy also..

[sapman]

I was pumping syrup from a drum last week, drawing off the bottom. I filter press everything, but it was coming out with a little haze to it. Then I remembered I had filtered it at 200+ degrees, so it pushed a little more niter out before cooling. Guess I'll have to keep it under 190 from now on.

Tim