Woodchuck's Blog- 09 version.........

[wdchuck]

I'm a little late- been doing maintenance work on the pipeline and adding on some new taps for a while now...............I wasnt going to bother with this, but it's a good way to let the distant friends and relatives know whats going on with sugaring......(assuming they give a ****.......)...................We start tapping today- my brother is supposed to help, we'll see how long he lasts. Saturday, my friend Pat is coming over to help and Sunday is Jeff's turn to pound spouts. Weather looks like it has some potential in the next week, but long term says another cool down after that. No panic just yet...............

[colt454]

we are 100% and up and running for the 2009 season looks like fri sat &sun will be long days for us will keep you posted 22 gal for the year so far

[wdchuck]

Tapping is probably 2/3 done- had help from my brother for 2 afternoons and from my pal jeff most of yesterday. The snow turned to mush yesterday made for some tough snowshoeing!.......Still, sap just barely started to run............Temps moderating a bit around here towards the cool side, then it calls for cold and frozen by thursday/friday. After that, we ought to be in business!

[wdchuck]

Only 100 to go and tapping is done! Then its on to setting up vacuum systems and the sugarhouse. Snow was like mashed potatoes today-punishing to slog around in. Thanks to my friend Jeff for sticking it out

[wdchuck]

Got tapping done yesterday and set up one of the vac systems. We'll haul the tank down today and then get the other system set up. Sap's running!

[wdchuck]

We're boiling today! Sap ran pretty well the last 2 days, None of this BIGSAP stuff just yet. How big is BIGSAP anway? ............A couple minor mechanical glitches that were caught in time to prevent major mechanical problems, other than that, no real headaches..............Found 2 decent leaks on the east side of the woods- got my vacuum within 1/2" from top to bottom on a 1300 tap system........Windy last night- hope that didnr cause too many problems...............

[wdchuck]

Boiled today- 2000 gals of concentrate processed last night- let freeze overnight and fired up this afternoon. 15 gals in the drum, the rest in the evaporator. Sugar content is low- hope that means it's early in the season rather than a tough year to make syrup................

[wdchuck]

Cold nights!! Man does that ever mean it takes a while to thaw out and run the next day. I tprobably got to near 50 here today, but things never really broke loose until after 3:00. By then I'd finally got into the woods to hunt for a suspected air leak (found it!). The top inch or so of snow was wet and soft , but under that it was hard as a rock- my snowshoes didnt sink in a bit, and believe me, you need 'em. Anyways, not a whole lot of sap today, but tomorrow looks good, so we'll fire up late tomorrow. I'm off to shut down the vacuum pumps................

[wdchuck]

Another 2000 gals of sap bites the dust! Love that RO machine............Sap ran pretty well, sugar content went from a measly 1.5% to 1.8%, so there is hope yet...........

[wdchuck]

Another good day! Sugar content went from yesterdays 1.8 to 2.1% today. Every day gets easier............Went through 1600 gals, sap slowed down in the afternoon, but still going at the moment.........The vacuum stays on!! At least until it freezes............Looking forward to rain tomorrow and a possibility of no freeze tomorrow night- the non stop mega run! does that qualify as BIGSAP? What is this BIGSAP thing anyway?

[KenWP]

Make believe if you ask me but I actually got a good run today also. Got almost 30 gallons from 100 taps. For me that is great especially when you haul it by pail a half mile.

[wdchuck]

We had a 30 degree freeze up last night that lasted about 7 or 8 hrs. Got the vac running about 9 am. Once the ice cleared out of the lines, things took off. Not a gusher, but a pretty decent run- enough to boil in a few hours. Not supposed to freeze tonight, although I'm betting it could- in any event it should stay above freezing through tomorrow, so the vacuum is gonna get an endurance workout.................

[wdchuck]

NOT a mega-run, didnt really think it would be, but what the heck.....Vac ran all night and we'll have enough to boil again today, at least. 20 gallons is 20 Gallons................

[wdchuck]

Temps down in the teens last night and a cool day with a breeze today. Just the same, I went by my rule of "if there's even a prayer of a sap run, turn on the vacuum." And in the short 4 hours of even a miniscule run, I ended up with 500 gallons. Do the same tomorrow, and we can light a fire again!

[wdchuck]

Two days in a row now with cold, clear weather. I'd have guessed just a trickle on gravity alone- once again, got the vacuum on early and got short but hard sapruns...probably 1500 gallons total. Today is not supposed to break 30, but you never know ...........We'll boil tomorrow when we can keep valves from freezing up a lot easier........

[wdchuck]

Boiled off 1000 gallons yesterday of sap that had accumulated in the tanks..........Sap finally ran really well again today- after a while at least, Seemed like it took forever to thaw out and get going. Still running as I type..Things look good weatherwise !

[wdchuck]

1600 gals of sap taken care of today- still running, not gushing, but I'll take it. Looks like freeze ups may not happen over the weekend according to the forecast. I'm hoping our woods will- still plenty of snow down there.............

[wdchuck]

Vacuum ran all night- sap flow slowed significantly, but still holding on. I'm leaving everything on for now- things are supposed to clear up late morning and that should coax a better run from the trees. Also gotta get ready for Open House Weekend..............

[wdchuck]

Left the vac on all last night and when things went from gloomy to sunny, sap just took off- nearly as much as if it froze.............We didnt boil today, it's open house weekend, so we're saving it for tomorrow. So far there's 1600 gals plus whatever from this point on. A mild freeze looks possible- good! I can get better sleep without that midnight pump check................Word of the day: VACUUM!!

[wdchuck]

Went through 2000 gals of sap on Saturday and 1600 today. Got the light freeze on Friday night, nothing last night. Sap is still running under vacuum, but its slowed considerably. Yesterday it was just gushing!! It's not supposed to freeze tonight- Monday night looks good!

[wdchuck]

And I still havent turned the vacuum off! It runs better during the day when it warms up a bit, slows down at night. Today was pretty good- 1200 gallons plus whatever runs before noon or so tomorrow. It might freeze a bit tonight- if it does, I'm looking for another gusher with any sunshine at all. The SP-22 lost about 2 inches of vacuum today, so it was time to find a leak- didnt take too long- a downed limb was leaning on a tree and the snow underneath it settled, the limb fell and tubing pulled apart. That pump is great- dependable as the sun coming up tomorrow, and pulls 22", but doesnt pull a lot of volume.

[Justinmaple]

Hi,
I'm in Johnson, VT. I've not gotten much sap over the past two days. Some of my buckets have had slightly yellow sap. I'm new to sugaring. I've been dumping the yellowed sap b/c I don't want it to mess up the clear sap that I'm collecting from the other buckets. Is this the right thing to do or should I just keep it? Are you getting any yellowed sap in Cabot?
-Thanks!

[wdchuck]

Tough call- depends on what your whole gameplan is. Maybe seperate the sap, boil in different batches? When its time for the grade B, there isnt much you can do about it anyway, so as long as the flavor is OK, no worrys. Ask around................I cant tell if sap is yellow as we're all pipeline. It's been a little cloudy, but that's about it................................................ Except for 4 hours early am Saturday, the vac pumps have been running steady since Friday AM. We're sitting on 1800 gallons that we'll boil this afternoon and then hope for another freeze.

[wdchuck]

WWOOOHOOOOO! It froze, and hard-25 degrees.........Supposed to warm up to the 50s and sunny, so the sap ought to run like crazy. Outside chance for a freeze tonight and then nothing for a couple of days so the vacuum is gonna get another long haul workout- I'd rather have the freeze..........

[Justinmaple]

Hey, just wanted to say I've missed the blog over the past 2 days. I got 20 gallons of sap on Tuesday night and another 13 on Wednesday in Johnson. I only have 32 taps. I am excited because I was starting to fear the season was over at the beginning of the week. I am hoping for another run early next week. Good luck in Cabot.
-Justinmaple

[wdchuck]

Our connection was unconnected for 2 days- just as well because the sap has been running! Wed was a total gusher- the kind of sap run you read about. It slowed down overnight, then picked up again on Thursday, ran through the night and all day today at a slow but steady pace. And it's still running! The pumps stay on until the flow of sap stops! We've had 5000 gallons of sap so far, and I'm posting so late at night because I'm up to go check vacuum pumps. Not complaining though.............

[wdchuck]

Finally turned the vacuum off about 20 minutes ago! Thats 4 straight days for old dairy pumps, one of which runs off a gas motor.............So I'm now sitting here drinking a cold, cheap beer and enjoying the thought of NOT getting up in the middle of the night to check on a Surge Alamo and it's not terribly dependable drip feed oilers.

[wdchuck]

Been running the vacuum constantly still, although last night it got down to a trickle, and with a freeze coming in, I shut'er down. Gawd, it felt good to sit on the couch in my jammies knowing I didnt need to check on things in the middle of the night! I've gotten a bit sick of that, so I finally got in touch with a dairy supply guy up in Newport who had drip feed oilers with a thumb screw adjustment- they should work SO MUCH better! Hopefully, I'll have enough confidence in them to leave them alone all night. AND THE BIG NEWS-IT FROZE LAST NIGHT!!..........Should be a good run today once I get those oilers installed.....Oh yeah, we boiled yesterday- 1200 gallons since Saturday.

[Justinmaple]

I have only gotten 4 gallons of cloudy, buggy sap since Friday. I guess that's the difference between using a vacuum and not. Where I live it keeps getting below freezing at night but then never gets above the mid thirties in the day. Not enough of a change to make the sap flow. I had ice in every bucket last night. I hope to heck it runs today. I would love to make a few more quarts. I am now trying to figure out how I can access more maples next year. My 2.5 acres is nearly fully tapped. I wish I knew that the maple bug was going to bite before I bought my property. Oh well. Keep on rocking in Cabot!

[wdchuck]

Finally a good freeze the past two nights- it didnt run really well yesterday, just too cool. Today was a totally different story!- warmed up quick and by 11 we had a really good run going. Between yesterdays short duration run and todays good one, we had 1300 gallons at 4:30 this afternoon. Definitely boiling tomorrow.

[wdchuck]

Just got in from shutting down the vacuum, sap still drizzling. Boiled 1900 gals today, and get this: the grade went from a low dark amber to a light Medium. I dont think fancy is gonna happen again, but ya never know..........

[wdchuck]

Didnt quite freeze the whole woods Friday night and so we got just a mediocre sap run. Hate to say it, but I think that's more a result of the trees getting to the end of their season than a questionable freeze up. Still, 400 gallons in the tank- nothing to sneeze at. We'll find out tomorrow how things stand in the woods as it should be a bit better weather conditions. Today looks to be just too cold to amount to much.

[Squaredeal]

Chuck, It froze here Friday, and we collected enough 1.5 sap yesterday to make 55 gallons. Every bit of it was just shy of fancy. Don't give up yet.

[wdchuck]

Gawd no! Never say die! I'll quit when the sap stops running..........

[wdchuck]

Still a little cold today due to the wind. The next 4 days look to be perfect weather-wise, so if nothing really big happens, then it's obviously the end getting near. Right now, though, I'm an optimist.

[wdchuck]

Saprun kicked in today- at least part of it anyway. The warm side of the woods is acting like it's about had it, but still running a bit. The other side, which is cooler, is still running pretty well. Not gushing, but doing ok. Boiled 1100 gallons today - made 20+ gallons of syrup. Sugar content actually went up from a couple of days ago.............all the way to 1.7%!!!

[wdchuck]

Stick a fork in us, we're done!.... Boiled yesterday for the last time- chased all the syrup out of the evaporator with water and yanked the membrane out of the RO. Gone too far to turn back now. So today I spent a few hours with my Father cleaning tanks- holding tank, permeate tank, and 2 sap tanks at the vacuum pumps. One was particularly manky.....that might be related to mersh, maybe one of the mershmakers can clue me in..............Monday looks good- maybe get a start on cleaning lines if Dad gets some water hauled to tank #1.

[Justinmaple]

I've really enjoyed you blog this year. Overall how would you rate this season?

[wdchuck]

Thanks Justin! Always good to get positive feedback. We had our best year ever ,volumewise. Added on maybe 100 new taps at the most.........................Got half the pipeline washed on Monday- I managed to walk 2 very ambitious high school kids into the ground, so I dont feel so bad about my physical conditioning............

[wdchuck]

Got the last of the pipeline washed yesterday- only took 4 hours- had 2 more good kids helping- Tubing cleaning should be done during school vacation week!..........Just gotta drag a few things into their proper places and straighten out the sugarhouse and I'll have to start on next year's wood/slab pile....................

[wdchuck]

Finally got some of the sugarhouse straightened out today after delivering syrup to our stores. I've hauled a steady stream of stuff to my father who has had something to wash up every day for a week now. And pretty soon I can get a start on next year's sugarwood...............

[wdchuck]

...........and the evaporator has been sitting full of sap since we quit- pretty awful, and you can smell it from out in the middle of the road! My Dad says its time clean it now, so time to get out Mr. Pressure Washer............

[lpakiz]

Woodchuck,
Be sure to let us know how it cleaned up using that method..
Larry

[sapman]

I can tell you I left my pans with water in them for about a month. The remaining sap in there got it going pretty ripe. But pretty much anything that was covered came clean, except for some real tough niter on the sides of the partitions, which won't matter.

Tim

[parkerfamilymaple]

I can tell you I left my pans with water in them for about a month. The remaining sap in there got it going pretty ripe. But pretty much anything that was covered came clean, except for some real tough niter on the sides of the partitions, which won't matter.

Tim

you need to be carful doing that. it can eat holes in your pan.

[caseyssugarshack93]

Hey Mike!!!!!!

[sapman]

you need to be carful doing that. it can eat holes in your pan.

I've wondered about that. I figured washing with acid is pretty bad anyway, but it's in and out quickly, so maybe that's not so bad?

Thanks,
Tim

[wdchuck]

The bottom of the pan (soldered stainless) came 99.99% clean. The sidewalls have a heavy buildup that just doesnt seem to clean off and I've tried every conceivable method to get it off. Oh well, I can live with that...............