Tapping HOLLOW sugars?

[gomish]

Originally Posted by gomish
Has anyone tapped hollow sugars? Have some 14” diameter ones that have hollow trunks. Outer shell seems about 3” thick, all solid around the trunk circumference except for a opening about 4” wide from ground level to 4 ft up, which is where you can look in and see it is hollow. Tapping an inch and a quarter deep should be in the sap wood with solid sap flow without going thru into the hollow? The tree looks healthy otherwise with a nice top for a woods tree.


Thanks for the two guys that said they tap hollow trees with good results. anyone else had good or bad luck with tapping 14" or larger Hollow trees?

[Lyle]

I only had one that I tapped for several years. I always got good results untill a windstorm broke it in half one day.

[mcsap]

I've tapped some trees like that and had surprisingly good results, too. Also, some trees that were a combo of hollow and rotten parts. For me these are trees in old stonewalls that I had to walk by anyway, hung a bucket on, and was not disappointed.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Tap them but be careful of the depth you drill. I've gotten lots of sap from old, hollow, partially rotted trees.

[mapleack]

As long as the wood shavings coming out are all light wood you're good. That is until you try vacuum on tubing, then hollow trees are bad news.

[Randy Brutkoski]

Walking through my woods today searching for leaks and i could hear air at the very botom of a tree, and it was echoeing through the tree. found three hollows like that. Fixed them and vacuum jumped up 2 inches. They looked healthy and didnt seem hollow when i tapped them. Crapshoot i guess.

[cncaboose]

I tap rotten to the core old timers and they do just fine. Got to pick your spot to get solid wood. Our best producer was 3/4 dead and rotten with only 2 big live branches until a windstorm broke it right off.

[gomish]

Thanks to all who answered, and all the replys were positive, with buckets, but not on vac, and with a shallow tap hole. Now I can plan to tap a couple hollow and or damaged sugars next year instead of passing then up!!

[Fred Henderson]

For the first time I tapped a hollow one on the north side and it gives up good clear sap.

[orange county maple]

This a good place for vacum leaks, but I have one on buckets it's been one of my best producers this year.:o