Some one explain how benificial vacuum is to my parents

[dano2840]

OK SO i went to buy a releaser for my pump, my moms boy friend says "you dont need one of them" A. he has never ran tubing or had experience w/ it b. he has no idea about vac any way, none whatso ever, idk if he doesnt like it cause he doesnt know about it or what, and my mother is believing him, she says i dont think you need to try and increase production this year" I NEED THE THING TO PAY OFF EVERY THING IVE GOT INTO IT, i was supposed to pick it up at the farm show but it got canceled and my moms boy friend talked my mom out of the idea this morning,AND IM REALLY REALLY KINDA MAD it was a vertical single used bernard, and it was 650 instead of 950 for a new one and lapierre was the only one with a used releaser, and now im probably not going to get it unless some one besides me explains to them that vac is worth the expense as it will pay for its self and make more money after its done that this season , will some one please explain the benifits of vac on this post so i can show them please, im going to go down tomarrow and get my own bank account and buy one any way, i think even if i have to buy a new one im tired of her boy friend trying to tell me how to do my collection system, he knows a ton about sugaring but nothing about TUBING SYSTEMS, IVE READ THE BOOKS AND TOOK THE CLASSES AND TALKED TO LOTS OF PEOPLE ABOUT VAC SO WILL SOME ONE EXPLAIN JUST HOW GOOD AND AMAZING IT IS SO I CAN SHOW THEM PLEASSSSEEEEE PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE?

[Jim Brown]

Will I'll take a stab at it! As a matter of comparision here we go.
Two years ago before we had both of our bushes on vacuum we found this to be .On a good day when the sap ran just OK( nothing special) we had 175 gallon from 300 taps no vac. On the exact same day we had a 350 tap bush on 25"vacuum ran 700 gallons.
Made a believer out of me!
nuff said!


Jim

[paul]

Dano

get a leader catalog. Inside they explain the benefits of vacuum.

AND FOR HEAVENS SAKES WOULD YOU LET THE KID HAVE HIS RELEASER, HE KNOWS WHAT HE`S DOING.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Dano start out explaining how more sap translates into more time in the sap shack and not in the house playing Marlyn Manson at full blast and if that doesnt work try the Carpenders either one and they will pony up the Cash.

One more quick point If you have the money to go into town and open a bank account I assume you have the money to do that with just go get the releaser

[dano2840]

i have the $ but she controls my bank acount and thinks i should put the 900 thats left into an evaporator, but im going to have to borrow money from her any way which sugaring is going to pay for but because boy friend "doesnt believe in vacuum pumps" she joins his side, but where the pump is going isnt on his land any way so idk what he believes in or not

[NH Maplemaker]

Oh no, Dano has found the caps lock button again!! LOL

[Haynes Forest Products]

Your bio shows that you have a evaporator why not use that till next year

[MERIDIAN MAPLES]

Dan, this is from my experience, I've got roughly 2200 trees on vacuum, and I have a friend that taps about the same amount. I've had vacuum for about 12 years now and he had gravity up until about 5 years ago. Before he got vacuum I would always make about 1/3 more syrup then him every year. After he went to vacuum we were making about the same. I've got both a mechanical releaser, and electric releaser which are both awesome, and expensive. There are some alternatives to buying a commericial releaser to save costs for someone starting out. My friend built a PVC tower which worked very well. I think there are people on this site that have plans on how to build one. Also when I started out with vacuum I use zero bulk tanks. They a pretty available in my area because of the dairy farmers. They work well, but the vacuum creates heat in the tank and i found that my sap would turn cloudy. So in conclusion I would say a commericial releaser would be the best, but if you need to save money you can get your vacuum in other ways. Good Luck!!

[wdchuck]

Vacuum doubles my production, more so on negligible sap flow days. You'll pay for that releaser and then some. I'm with the kid- come on Mom! he knows what he's doing! It's a smart move............and we are all opening a whole new can of worms by interfering here, but what the heck............

[Acer]

Tell her if she won't support you you're gonna chuck it all and become a thumb twiddlin' xbox zombie loser like half the other kids out there.

Wake up Mom, you got a kid who is looking to be productive, support him and he will do well not only in the sugarbush, but in life as well.


D

[gmcooper]

Dano,
The vacuum system will pay for itself in a short amount of time. However we all on here have to live within our budgets. With all the work you have still to do from your posts the $900 you currently have will have a large chunk of that eaten up on the little stuff you never thought much about that you will need whether you know it now or not. We have all done that many times.

I would plan to get everything else set up and ready to run except the vac. Then take a look at the $ left and see what you can do.
You have a mostly new sugar bush with mostly new setup, right? The first year on any sugarbush is usually about the best year (not counting the weather) you will get gravity. Ask Proctor center.

I admire your dedication and the hard work you are putting into this project. However your posts above would not earn you any "brownie points" toward getting the releaser if mom reads it. Work hard and think smarter and you'll have more sap than you ever dreamed of!
Good luck
Mark

[Hop Kiln Road]

DanO - As I see it, the issue here isn't the vacuum but figuring out a way to cut a deal with your mom. You want the releaser and she probably wants something in return and to be a fair deal, wantever she wants is going to be just as valuable to her as the releaser is to you. So you've got plenty of time before the sap runs to negotiate a deal; think it over carefully and see what you have to bring to the table. Oh, and coincidently, I've got 40 years on you and me MY mom's BF don't see eye to eye on too much either, but we work it out and move ahead. Good luck. Bruce

[Clan Delaney]

Mom, your son is half my age and probably knows twice what I do about making syrup. The difference between gravity tubing and vacuum tubing is like the difference between and broom and dustpan and, um, a vacuum. He can get more done with less work with it, which means more $$ and your investment paid back faster.

[nymapleguy607]

Danno
I too needed to get a releaser for my vacuum system but I couldn't see spending $900 on a commercial setup so I built my own. They aren't as complicated as you think and once you finish it you will know how it works alot better than a commercial one. I know a handful of people around me that have built there own and they work great. Just my thoughts though
Jeff

[dano2840]

Your bio shows that you have a evaporator why not use that till next year

way too smalllll plus it wasnt mine it was my uncles and he just sold it

[dano2840]

Danno
I too needed to get a releaser for my vacuum system but I couldn't see spending $900 on a commercial setup so I built my own. They aren't as complicated as you think and once you finish it you will know how it works alot better than a commercial one. I know a handful of people around me that have built there own and they work great. Just my thoughts though
Jeff

do you have plans? i might be interested in building one unless it takes skills i dont have, as of today in metals class i can officially say ive gotten my welding skills back its like riding a bike, i tried all the welds but, lap, etc and they all came out like a roll of pennies, (with stick) tomarrow im gunna learn how to gas weld, then we move on to TIG YAY!!!!!!!!! I CANT WAIT FOR TIG!!!!!!

[HHM-07]

dano

i will not take sides on this one but if it were me i would figure out what i was going to be boiling on
b 4 i worried about the vacuum as you go thru life there wil be alot of things that you think you need right now , but you can not expect to snap your thumb and have them appear. the things that i have worked hard for planned and sacrificed for are for the most part the things that mean the most to me now, this does not mean i don't think you should get vacuum it's only a matter of when

good luck Dick

[caseyssugarshack93]

DAN,Use that releaser you already have that older lapierre one for this year even check it all over and if test it and see if it sticks. and get going on a evap.

just what i think

nate

[mapleman3]

I have one for sale.. an electric .. check out the classified ads here...it will do up to 5000 taps!!

[caseyssugarshack93]

darn i wish i had eletic at my sugarbushes (Id be owning that:p)

[sapman]

Dan,

You aren't far from Barre. Is the farm show still going on there? I know reps from the companies are there, and maybe you could get your mom there to talk with them about the tremendous benefits of vacuum. If it's over, surely you can find somebody within a reasonable distance to talk the benefits over with her.

All the best,
Tim

[peacemaker]

dano i agree with u vac is important but heres what i think dont put the cart before the horse whats the sense of swimming in the sap if u cant boil it put the 900 towards a new evap that can hadle the sap then get the sap

[Dave Y]

Dano,
While the benefits of vacuum are obvious, it doesn't mean you need it, at this time. I have been boiling for 6 yrs. I have 1800 taps on gravity. I thought about putting them on vac this year.I didn't because I knew I couldn't handle the sap. there is no one to sell it to either. so all my taps will be gravity and buckets for another year. you don't know what you are boiling on this year. get an evaporator and see how much capacity you have , then get the other stuff to go with it.

[maplwrks]

DanO-- I'll weigh in on this. The way I see it, you need to come up with a plan. You don't have an evaporator...What are you going to do with your sap?? Can you sell some? Also, from reading some of your other posts, you are using old tubing. Remember, you can have the very best vacuum system there is, but if you have crappy tubing, you have a crappy system. My advice to you is to get something to boil on. Maybe use your 18" x 6' rig, boil what you can, and sell the rest of your sap. As far as your woods go, use what you got and start thinking about setting up a good tubing system which includes vacuum. Putting in a good system is pricey, but will pay back quickly if done correctly. Set it up so that you can do it all ALONE...this will require some thinking, but you can't always rely on outside help. I think if you come up with a good game plan and attack it systematically, you may find that your parents will jump on board with you and may be able to help you out!!

[dano2840]

the tubing is older lamb tubing but it was never used, it was bought and never set out, im the first to use it, its not cracked or crappy or any thing, its still new condition, i do have people i could sell sap to no problem, 3/4 of my lats are up already, and it is set up properly and planned out and will run sap efficiantly,