Put out 30 taps today

[HAHA I 1]

My wife and kids and I put out 70 taps today. That is more than double what we did last year (29) and more than 4 times what we did the previous year (15). I have another 30 or so trees that I can easily access, but I am out of taps and am a little nervous about being able to handle much more. I have another 22 acres I can tap, and the neighbor said I can tap his 200 acres if I want to. Maybe later..... ;)

[HAHA I 1]

We knew it was going to be too warm for the sap to run, but we still collected 50 gal yesterday. Its snowing now, and the weather looks promising for this week. I hope to fire up the new evaporator tomorrow since we will be collecting more sap this afternoon and then even more tomorrow. I also have a 12" x 24" finishing pan being made right now to help even more. I am currently using a 24" x 36" sap pan and finishing in the house in a big pot. My goal is to be able to reduce in the big pan, then move it to the new, smaller pan for finishing.

[HAHA I 1]

Boiling today. Its pretty cold, so the sap is not running today. I should get all caught up. My evaporator is not as efficient as I had hoped, but I am not using bricks yet.

[ericjeeper]

I have a home made evap. out of a 275 gallon oil tank. I use a stanley squirrel cage fan to boost draft. It will boost it hard enough after an hour I have a torch like flam out the top of my 8 foot stack. I can boil off about 11 gph out of a 24x40 inch pan.
Might try to get a blower. ANd any old brick will work. Mine are left overs from my buddies brick house.

[HAHA I 1]

I, too, have a homemade evaporator. I made mine out of sheet steel and plate. Its similar to the expensive ones. I also have a 24" x 36" stainless flat pan, but I do not have a blower. I will definitely try it. I also REALLY need a sugar shack so I am not out in the open. Here is a (terrible) picture of my setup:

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg190/HAHAI1/Photo0090.jpg

[HAHA I 1]

I seem to pretty much be talking to myself in here, but we have been dead in the water all week - no sap. It should start running strong on Monday, and then I won't have a moment's rest for about 10 days.

[Dave Y]

If you are talking to your self, try not to awnser. that is when they say you are crazy. wait a mintue! you make maple syrup???

[KenWP]

This may be a dumb guestion but why is your pan not directly over the firebox. You have that big blank space in front that your looseing the direct flame of the fire off of. Move the pan to the front and have the back vacant or set it up for a preheater pan of some kind so that its being used. You will find preheating the sap will help a lot. Plus being out side to the elements is going to cut down your boil also. Even a plastic or trap wind break will help a lot.
Also is the pan directly to the heat of the arch or do you have a metal plate under it on top of the arch.

[HAHA I 1]

We sometimes have that one directly over the firebox, but we have another pan that goes there (the opening is covered with a piece of sheet steel in the pic). This other pan is smaller and is generally used once the sap in the larger pan has boiled down enough. Usually we start with both pans in place and boil as much as we can in both pans until we have enough to move into the smaller one to finish off.

The pans are directly exposed to the flame - no metal below them. I figure that is the way I should do it - am I correct?

We use some 5 gallon stainless pots to preheat sap and place them on that metal plate when we are not using the smaller pan - I have plans to make a special preheat pan that mounts above the large pan but it will have to wait until next year.

I am drawing up a sugar shack for construction this summer. It is 16x24 as of now, and will have a porch on front and a lean-to off the back for wood storage. I wish I could take the time to build a temporary enclosure now, but with 4 kids, soccer, and getting an MBA, I am busy enough with 70 taps!! I will take your suggestion on a tarp, though, and see if I can make something work for now.

I really appreciate the input and suggestions!

[KenWP]

Try the wind break and yes direct to the flames.

[DougM]

130 taps out yesterday, now it's supposed to warm today, but below freezing after that and most of next week. I hate it when the forecast changes while I'm out tapping.

[Mac_Muz]

Must be warmer there than I would have ever guessed. I am 3 maybe 4 weeks away from a test tap in NH .

[The Birdman]

7 pm here 36 deg outside and the sap still running good. The low for the night is 33 deg, all night run I hope.

[Bemis]

Nothing running north of Indianapolis. Got a few drips over the last couple days, but it looks like we'll be back in the freezer for the next week. Guess I'll just have to watch the Colts wreck the Saints instead of boiling.

[HAHA I 1]

Ran like a freight train today. Collecting it all in the morning after the snow stops, but I peeked in a few buckets today and it was running really well. A friend just to the north of me collected 100gal off 60 taps today.

[DougM]

That just goes to show the big difference in temperatures north to south in Indiana...looks like we're going to be frozen up the rest of the week. Now I wish we'd waited even longer, but can't do much about it now.

[HAHA I 1]

Snow, snow, snow! I know we do not get nearly as much as our northern brethren, but we have about a foot of it on the ground (some from our snow last week) and are expecting another few inches of it today. The temp has not come above 30F for over a week now, so we have been high and dry on sap. We have made 3 gallons of light syrup so far this season. We should be able to get about 20 when its all done. I hope.

[the old guy]

Hey Ha Ha
How Are You Doing? I Went Out This Morning To Work On My "phd" (piled Higher And Deeper) We Have Nearly 10" Of New Snow On The Ground Here. It Is Snowing At About 1 1/2" Per Hour. It Is Also Starting To Blow. I Am Kind Of In The Same Boat As You. Put Out 300 Taps Early And Made Nealy 11 Gallons Of Bright Gold Syrup. Now The Taps Have Been In The Trees For Four Weeks And I Am Little Worriedthat They Might Not Run Very Well. They Have Not Produced Much As Yet. I Know Reaming Is Not A Good Idea. My Neighbor Has A Good Stand Of Maples He Said I Could Tap But The Weather Does Not Look Good For The Rest Of This Week Either.
Strange Year! Good Luck.
The Old Guy

[HAHA I 1]

My neighbor said I could tap his 200 acres if I want to, but I am not ready for that just yet. I will keep you posted on what happens here. It looks like there MIGHT be a potential run on Saturday, and then it should be good for at least a week after that.

[HAHA I 1]

Sap is running!! Going to collect in the morning. Should have over 100gal in the buckets by then, and it should run like a wildfire tomorrow!

[HAHA I 1]

Collected about 125gal yesterday. Boiling it all down now. Got my tractor stuck in the mud from all the snow we have had that is now melted. Should be able to collect another 100 (at least) today. Based on the latest weather, it should easily run for the next 10 days straight. My wood pile is depleting fast!

[the old guy]

Hey Ha Ha
Looks Fairly Good So Far This Weekend. We Got Nearly 800 Gallons In And Still Got About 130+ Hanging. I Was Worried About The Taps Having Been In Too Long, So I Pulled 30 And Placed Them In New Trees To Compare. There Is A Marked Improvement In The Flow Of The New Taps. The New Taps Averaged Nearly Two Gallons Per Tap Compared To About A Half Gallon Of Those Put In Jan 20. The Newer Taps Are Somewhat Higher In Sugar. I Plan To Put About 30 - 40 New Taps Wednesday Or Thursday. Like To Get Another 800 Gallons This Coming Weekend. Boy Is It Ever Muddddd--y Out There--everywhere!

The Old Guy

[HAHA I 1]

Muddy doesn't even come close to describing it. I got my 4x4 tractor hung up collecting sap! Made a complete mess of the yard and woods.

Our taps seem to be doing well despite being in since late January. Like you, I was worried about them. I got 125 gallons off of 70 taps in 24hrs.

[the old guy]

I Think You'll Be Just Fine Ha Ha, But I'm Not Getting Nearly That Kind Of Production. Royal Maple Told Me A Long Time Ago That When You Start Seeing Miller Moths And Ants In The Sap, It Is Time To Think About Quitting. Well I Did Have Lots Of Moths This Morning. And He Also Told Me To Always Take What The Tree Gives You. I Moved 20 Taps Yesterday To New Trees And Am Moving 60 More On Thursday Of This Week. Sugar Seems To Be Picking Up In The Newer Trees, Went From 61 To 1 To 57 To 1 This Week. So Far We Seem Have All Light To Medium Syrup This Year. My Oldest Son From Floyds Knobs Is Crying For Some Dark Syrup. He Has A Friend There Who Uses It To Make Jalepeno Salsa????
Hey Keep That Tractor Rolling Because I Am Betting This Weekend Is Going To Be Really Good.

The Old Guy

[HAHA I 1]

We were gone Tues and Wed of this week and the sap ran like a water faucet. We have gathered over 300gal since Monday and look to gather another 150+ tomorrow and then more on Saturday, then its probably over.

[Mark72]

Hi HAHA, I just found this site in time for things to wind down. I am only a few miles from you.

Mark

[HAHA I 1]

My dad is in F-burg. Whereabouts are you located? Good to know someone else is nearby!

On a side note, it looks like our sap run is finished for the year. We will have a little in the buckets tomorrow, but thats it.

[Mark72]

Bullington Rd. You're on Big springs right?

[HAHA I 1]

Yep, how did you know?

[Mark72]

I'll tell ya when I run into you some time..

[HAHA I 1]

You wouldn't happen to have a relative that is a UPS driver, would you?

Our season ended last weekend and we finished 18 gallons of syrup. Our light syrup run was very long this season, but we expected to get an additional 10 gallons of syrup this year, so it was a short season for us. We sold 8 gallons of the latest very dark stuff today.