Old Buckets and lids

[briduhunt]

I have about 50 old Gal buckets and lids hanging this year for the first time and let me tell you that there is more labor in these 50 buckets then the other 100 or so plastic buckets I have sitting on the ground with tubing run to them. I can not believe how much labor there is in these. I have at least 2-3 per day that either the wind blows them off the tree or the lid opens and allows water and other junk in the bucket. I like the plastic bakery buckets placed on the ground as there is never any rain water in them or other debris.
I have two different styles of lids one is a flap lid and the other is the roof style lid. Both are a pain in the butt. I do not mind putting the time but the extra effort does not seem to be paying off with sap as I have to dump out at least 2-3 buckets a day.
Well I am done complaining for now i just wanted to vent and see if others are having the same problems I am having.

Thanks

[Mark-NH]

Don't bother taking the lids off when you dump. Saves at least half the time per bucket. You'll get better at it and learn efficiencies.

[KenWP]

Have to get one full first in order to have to dump it. I have some with smaller plastic buckets that I found if you flip the handle of the bucket up it keeps the lid in place.

[danno]

It must be a windy spring here. I just have test two buckets next to the sugarhouse, everything else is on tube. I bet I've had the spiles pull out 3 or 4 times already and a couple of times where the spiles stayed in but the buckets blew off. These buckets are in an open field but the field is usually pretty well protected from the wind. Glad it's just 2 buckets and not 200 or 2000.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I hold a 5 gallon bucket in one hand, the bottom of the sap bucket in the other hand and then the lid with my head and rotate the sap bucket and dump into the 5 gallon bucket. Takes about a whole 5 seconds. I use the stainless hooks on my 5/16" Leader spouts and bend the hook down tighter and turn it around backwards so the hook is pointing upwards towards the tree and this really prevents the buckets from coming off the tree. Put in a couple of 7/16" taps this year for kicks and used the hooks too. I use the 9 quart aluminum sap buckets for the 16 buckets I have out.

[40to1]

Last year I used old milk jugs. They worked fairly well ...and were free. Best of all, the sap was always clean. Very little debris got into them.
However, my wife hated them. She had a point. They don't look, well... charming. I have learned that aesthetics are important.

So this year I bought some buckets with flap lids. They look great. The trees look like Currier & Ives, my wife is happy, and all should be right with the world.
However, I'm surprised how poorly the buckets perform. The cover and bucket rarely align. As the bucket hangs on the hook it can easily be askew by just a few degrees, leaving gaping openings between it and the lid. The sap can be filled with debris.
I have it in my head that there must be some Tupperware/silicon lid that make a secure, positive connection with the bucket rim....

[PerryW]

There are actually two sizes of the flat Grimm Covers. Sound like you need the larger size covers for your bucket diameter.

[KenWP]

I had to chase down a lid today also. Wind is pretty bad here. I have to figure out where to find one more hand also to empty buckets. I have three different kinds of lids. The D&G lids don't like the one kind of spiles they catch and the edge when I put the lid down. I actually seen the neighbour has plastic jugs of some kind on his trees to. It is hard to find milk in jugs here in Quebec mostly all paper cartons.

[Palmyra Maple 1]

Good old duct tape is the answer to keeping the lid aligned with the bucket. That's the solution that I came up with in this my first but not last year of making maple syrup. This has been a great learning experience!