Yellow sap?

[Loun]

A couple of my trees today produced almost full buckets of yellowish sap. This is my first year doing this so im trying to just put my mind as ease that its not my neighbors screwing with me by peeing in my buckets :)

It was only a couple trees, its been raining for a while so maybe its rain down the tree and getting in under my lids? Thanks in advance if anyone has some thoughts.

-Lou

[highroadsyrup]

Your thinking is correct, its proably the rain. Dont eat yellow snow and dont drink yellow sap:lol:

[Loun]

will boiling that sap ruin the syrup? I have most of it segregated but its 10 gallons out of the 40 that I have.

[morningstarfarm]

10 gals? I'd dump it and stick with the stuff you know is good..wood is worth more than it is imho.

[Maplesedge]

Sometimes a tree puts out "buddy" yellow, or geenish sap. Different trees put out different sap under different conditions, like when it's warm and rainy.

Rinse out the buckets and hope for better tommorrow.

If we get a good cold snap, the same trees may run clear again.

I've had trees like that, cloudy sap one day, clear the next.

But don't boil it, it's bound to taste off. Especially if it is your neighbor's urine.

[JuniperHillSugar]

I checked the sugar in some recent yellow sap and it was zero. It was dumped, probably rain that ran down the tree. Have faith, the'll be more.

[KenWP]

Did you taste the sap. If it's just a little bit discoloured it will boil just perfect. The water running down the tree just discolurs it a bit.

[sugar man]

i checked all my buckets to day.they are all full with yellowish water from the rain.rain runs down the bark hits the spile runs in the bucket.:)

[Treetapper]

I had the same problem years ago. I solved it by running tubing through a tight hole in a lid of a 5 gallon bucket with the lid snapped on in two spots. Keeps every thing out (including the rain) and helps the pails from blowing away when empty. The hose tethers the pails to the tree. Your neighbours will probably be too lazy to pull the lids off this way.;)

[Jim Schumacher]

Do as someone mentioned in a recent thread. Take a sample of syrup over to your neighbor and closely inspect his expression when you ask him to have a taste. That will complete the urine test. I would boil rain diluted sap.
Jim

[valleyman]

I have the same yellow water in some of my buckets as well. It's been pouring rain for a day and a half It's rainwater for sure.

I collect when its dark out and when dumping some of that in for the first time I could see that it was stained even in low light. For the past couple of days I keep one bucket empty and dump the new sap into that and if it's colored I ditch it. If it's clear I pour a little into a small cup and sip it. You'll know if it sap or not.

[Loun]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Weather was a bit crazy last night, its snowing now, hoping to get a chance to boil on the 2x4 block evap today or tomorrow for the first time, it will be nice to see how well it works.

[valleyman]

Hi Loun,

I'm goin in! Snowing like crazy. My open shack is certainally showing it's shortcomings but it'll shelter me a little.
I'm also going to boil on th eblock evaporator. I just modified my copper coil pre heat. I wrapped it in insulation, secured it with a couple pcs of coathanger wire. Then I wrapped it with two pcs of stove pipe (opened up). If it works I'll post a pick. It's not to pretty but it should keep it a bit more toasty.

[3rdgen.maple]

Well getting some yellow sap is not that uncommen but have you guys ever seen purple sap? I think someone was messing with me while I was at work. I had 3 buckets from 2 different trees that had purple sap in them. No I was not drinking. I tapped them last night and the only tracks in the snow where mine.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Were you tapping a Grape vine by chance?

[michelle32]

3regen I had that problem last year with some buckets I bought. Found out from the guy latter he washed them with iron out so the were not so rusty. Turned the buckets of sap purple. Had to wash them like 4 times before the sap stopped turning purple.

[3rdgen.maple]

Aluminum buckets and they got a good plain hot water rinse before I hung them. Haynes those must be the largest grapevines I ever saw.

[KenWP]

Well getting some yellow sap is not that uncommen but have you guys ever seen purple sap? I think someone was messing with me while I was at work. I had 3 buckets from 2 different trees that had purple sap in them. No I was not drinking. I tapped them last night and the only tracks in the snow where mine.

I had that purple problem also last year on one trees. It seemed to be the spile that caused it. Wasn't to bad. The tree never gave enough sap to make it worth while tapping anyways.