not able to colect everyday

[NedL]

Hi All,

I travel a bit with my job and it looks like I will be away for several days at a time during Feb/March. I do buckets and milk jugs right, now. I was thinking of putting a few of the trees that i have that are close onto tubes, maybe running into a 20 - 30 gallon rubbermaid bin. Do I just have to make sur the lines are on an angle down? I'll probably be doing 4 - 5 taps to a bin. I know I have to worry about keeping it cold. Hopefully this snow keeps up and I can pile it around the bins. Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Ned

[Haynes Forest Products]

Yes I would make sure that the tubing does not sag so syrup sits and spoils. But if it sits and freezes and then thaws and new sap goes in to the tube you wont have spoilage. I would olso cover the bins with blanket or moving pads to keep tops on and sun off.

[Sugarmaker]

Ned, your concept is sound. We do 20 taps on short run roadside trees into a 40 gallon plastic tote. (actually only holds about 35 gallon to the holes in the handles. I figure about 2 gallons of storage per tap per day. seems about right. since some taps run much better than others it averages out. I would go with a 4 gallon rule of thumb for a two day run. Yes pack the tub with snow and the sap should be in good shape till you get back. Keep the lines as tight as possible and 5% slope is the best. we use just 5/16 tubing and spouts.

Chris

[tessiersfarm]

I did tubing last year, but I don't have enough slope on my woodlot. I use 5 gal buckets set on the ground with a short piece of tubing running down into it. I only had one out of about 60 buckets run over last year and I only collected wednesdays and saturdays because of my work schedule.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

If you can dig a hole and sit at least part of the tube down in the hole, it will help keep it cooler as the ground stays very cool, especially this time of year. Also, shade them with some used roofing tin or plywood, something to keep them cool and sun off of them at all times by building a small leanto that will still allow the air to circulate.

[NedL]

Thanks everyone. I'm feeling better about this, now.

Can I use regular taps for the tubing? I can get any size tubing I want from my homebrew store to fit over the taps. I think I just answered my own question.

[mfchef54]

I would suggest getting 5/16 taps made for tubing. If you are talking about regular bucket spouts you might find it hard to get a good seal to prevent spillage

[DaveB]

I did/do this for a couple of areas and you should not have a problem. You should use tubing and adapters made for maple sap and it'll make your life a lot easier. There's a dealer about an hour from you in Woodstock, CT or Belchertown, MA that would have everything that you need. You just need the tubing and adapters. Tap high on one end, run the tubing past all your trees and end at your collection bucket.

One tip on keeping the sap cool: If there is an evergreen nearby, put it under that or bring some pine branches and place them on top of your bin. You could also freeze some empty milk jugs filled with sap (or water) and place them in there every week. Shaded, they will take almost all week to melt. Also, place the bin on the north side of a large tree so it will be in the shade most of the day.

Good luck!

Dave

[NedL]

Now off to the tubing forum to see what to do next. I think I have an idea of how to do it.

[maple flats]

Don't get too worried about spoilage. If you keep the tanks cool as possible and boil as soon as you can you should be OK. Just realize that you will likely get darker syrup but that is the best flavor anyways.

[danno]

Alright - let's take the next step. Those Rubbermaid's get pretty heavy and sloshy. 20 gallons of sap - we're talking 160 lb's. How are we getting those to the evaporator? Sliding them on the kids plastic sled or pumping out into a holding tank in the back of the truck or tractor.

I kind of miss those days.

[NedL]

All about the sleds, baby. I usually boil once a week on Sundays, so I'm used to darker syrup. But last year my first boil gave me VERY light syrup. I was impressed,but the family like the darker stuff.

[tessiersfarm]

That was the other big factor in my going back to 5 gal buckets this year. It was a nightmare moving the sap from the tanks. We ended up carrying most of it in buckets anyway. We just emptied one bucket into the next until we had 2 full ones and carried them out.

[Packerfan]

I do this with totes. I pour it into another tote, secured to my otter sled, and off I go. When the totes are REALLY full I use a bucket and bail them out. I thought about a hand pump, but where's the fun in that.LOL!

[maple flats]

For my biggest woods tank I am trying something new this year. It is a 550 plastic, closed top tank. I drilled a 1.25 hole thru the manhole cover which allows the 1" tube to fit nicely. Then I got a shade tarp (bought from a green house supply, 80% shade. I will cover the tank with that to keep it well shaded and it also gives excellent ventilation as it is like a fishnet with 80% solid/20% open mesh. I will report how it works after we get a few warmer sunny days.

[NedL]

I'm having an issue with the sap getting stuck in the tubes. I increased the slope a little on the tubes to see if that helps. I only have 3 - 5 taps on each run. 5/16th drops into 5/16th lateral into the buckets. Should this be a closed system or should I put little holes near the top of the run to help it flow better?

Thanks,

Ned

[KenWP]

What color is the shade cloth flats. If it is dark it will attract heat instead of keep the tank cool unless you mean by covering the tank you have it suspended above the tank and not touching.

[maple flats]

The shade cloth I got is black. It is a net or mesh with 20 % holes. It partially touches the tank at present. We have not had enough warm weather yet to see if it does as hoped. If needed I can raise it so nothing but the shade touches the tank. Right now it is slung over the mainline support wire but on one end the cover does touch the tank. Tomorrow or Sat. should be good tests for it if we get sun because the temps will be the warmest of the season and with sun the test will be on. I however heard something about rain, might be no sun. but either way there will be lots of sap.