June Journal

[mapleman3]

Well it's a fine start to June here in Ma. Rain Rain Rain........ Just ordered arch/pan gasket and tree paint from bascoms, as soon as the weather ever gets dry .. it's off to the woods to start marking the trees. As soon as I finish building the new chicken coop, I will start on the new roof on the sugarhouse. anyone want free Chicks? I will soon have them coming out my ears 8O :lol:
Jim

[Al]

No free chicks wanted here!!!! Will start building next week hopefully. That is if the rain stops. Wanted to cut some trees down today but to much rain to make it fun. What did you use to cut your metal roofing with?
I've got to get mine next week.
Have fun marking your trees.

[mapleman3]

Al I think chickens would be a perfect addition to Pumkin Village :wink:

I used tin snips to go accross the roofing, and to go length wise.. I used a masonary blade in the circular saw...
have you priced it out yet... Galvanized?
I bought 8' sheets at 11 each... wish I could have found it cheaper down here.
Jim

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Jim,

I am planning to pour the floor for my sugaring area in the building I make syrup in hopefully within the next few days. I have got to make a trip up to PA to get all my equipment(2x8 evaporator, 320 gallon round bottom tank and 16x24 canning unit) next Sat or the following Sat. I have already laid out pipeline for about 60 taps next year and rolled it back up and stored it in garbage bags to keep it clean for next year. There are cattle in the area, but they take them out when I am tapping and making syrup.

I have about 150 to 175 more taps to pipeline together in two areas with both areas having aroud 75 to 85 taps. Most(probably all) of these taps will stay in the woods year around since there shouldn't be anything to bother them.

After getting the evaporator, I am going to have to build a cupola, install the firebrick and install the flue pipe and roof jack.

I am working as much as possible to get what I can before you and your family comes down, so we'll have to see exactly what gets done! :D :D

Brandon

[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

Al,
My grandfather told me a way to cut roofing and it worked great for me. What you do is take an old plywood sawblade for a skil saw and put it in backwards. Make sure it is backwards so the teeth won't rip the tin all up. But it works great.

[backyardsugarer]

We did our first festival and sold about $150 in syrup. Not bad considering it rained all of Saturday and didn't get above 55 degrees on Sudnay. It is amazing to me the number of people that have never tried real syrup in their lives. Most people also have no clue how the "real stuff" is made.

Chris

[mapleman3]

Chris.. do you give out brochures or show pictures or anything to show people how it's made?
What else do you sell at the festivals?
Jim

[backyardsugarer]

We have a huge frame with about 20 pictures in showing the entire process. I have a business card but no brochures. We also established a contact with a guy that makes gift baskets for a living and wants me to be his distributor.

As far as free samples, we did not have any but how do you distribute them?

Jim, we simply sell different bottles of plastic and glass along with gift baskets filled with syrup and pancake mix.

Thats $150 more towards a new rig!
Chris

[mapleman3]

Sounds Like Fun :lol:

[michaelh05478]

Chris, I havent gotten a hold of the guy with the used rig but ill let you know as soon as i do.....As far as free samples pick up a few ketchup squirt bottles at a dollar store and fill them with syrup, label the grade they are and get some real small cups, like the size they use at mcdonalds for ketchup or just use a quart of syrup with the small cups...have the grades you sell and let people have a taste of the different grades ....This might help make a few more sales....I always have the cups in my sugar house for anyone who wants to try some...Next year ill have a small snack bar size grill i bought set up to cook pancakes , sausage and some of Jims eggs (hint hint) if he comes up next season...............

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Al,

I have cut tin with a circular saw blade turned backwards and it works great. Sure is much faster than using tin snips. Remember to turn it backwards or you may have a dangerous mess!

Brandon

[themapleking]

I'm still thinning out the woods. Should be done buy the end of june. Than I can start building my roof for the wood pile. Need fire wood guys :wink:

[mapleman3]

Try this place for metal roofing... saw their add in the farming mag. I'm having them quote me on the roofing for my sugarhouse

http://www.wiinhavenfarm.com/
Jim

[syrupmaker]

HOLY TIN SNIPS !!!!!
You guys should also mention when using the saw blade backwards to be darn good and sure to were your safety glasses,a long sleeve shirt,and above all ear plugs or muffs.Ask me how i know? I buzzed sheets for a 60x250 free stall cow barn and wow is it loud even with the plugs in.I found in the DeWalt catalog they have a vinyl siding/ thin metal blade and it worked really well.little less noise too. 8)

[Parker]

I just had to take down a mainline that was on wire. The land owner did not like the way it looked. There must be an eaiser way. I cut off the laterals and removed the side tension wires then rolled the mess up. Seems like you could make some kind of reel thing and crank it up, any ideas? I guess they will want it down every year.
Lots of rain meakes lots of black flies and mosquitos!!!

[mapleman3]

Holy cow! Parker
that makes life difficult...how many taps? do you pay for the lease or give syrup? got to be an easier way :?
Jim

[syrupmaker]

Parker
i've never tried it,but i have seen guys that have used the wooden reels that the phone or power company uses for stringing strand wire or power cables. If you think it might work for ya and you cant find any reels let me know via e-mail and i'll see that they get sent your way. I know were there are lots of them. syrupmakr@aol.com

Rick

[Parker]

For those taps I give them a half a cord of wood and a gollon of syrup. I thought there were 75 taps there but i counted them and there were 90. The cabel reel sounds interesting, do you build a stand for it and roll the mainline on the reel? This would not be a good place to try to roll a reel through the woods.

[syrupmaker]

Parker
Ive seen it done both by rolling it up along the ground (picks up lots of debris between the rolls) and using a stand(i think this is how i would do it). :wink: Put the stand on the low side of the hill so that it trys to slide to ya rather than trying to drag it all up hill.Hope this helps.

Rick

p.s. keep up the questions so i can keep up the posts and beat mapleman for next year :twisted:

[mapleman3]

Rick
not with remarks like that for me to respond to..hehe :wink: <grin>
Jim
Chris told me I get to appoint the next prize winner so ya'll have to suck up to me :twisted: :wink:

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Okay gentleman, if it gets any deeper in here, we are all going to have to have sewage licenses to gain access! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Rick,

That does sound like a really good idea on rolling up the mainline. You could build a stand for the cable spool and then use it to unroll it the previous year.

I don't use mainline, so I don't have to worry about it. The 5/16 tubing is easy to roll up. My taps are scattered about so much, that I don't get a chance to use mainline.

Brandon

[mapleman3]

Sure has been quiet.. hope everyone is getting done what they want to, we are still dealing with rain here, although today(sunday) may clear up enough to do a little
Jim

[Al]

Hi Jim, better break the silence. :D Mike called me the other night and found a guy with good prices on pine. Whats everyones opinion of building with pine verses hemlock? Is there any? Will start building at the end of July. In the wood cutting mode now. Well actually playing at it. I only burn about a cord and a half. Although a tow behind splitter may be put on the far future want list. :lol:

[mapleman3]

Al pine is fine!! I'm building my chicken coop out of pine now.. easy to work with, hemlock justs lasts a little longer.. but if you have 20 or 30 years to watch the wood decay...I wouldn't worry to much :wink: the only problem with any wood is if it stays wet all the time or bugs eat it.
I'd love to get a tow behind splitter, cheapest out there on ebay is still a grand :?
Jim

[michaelh05478]

Jim, Al.......Ill give you a heck of a deal on a splitter and tractor!! :D .....Al, id let the pine age for a year then get a 5 gal can of wood sealer at Costco and spray the outside walls......Cost about $30 bucks......

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Al,

You can invest in one of the 1 quart paint sprayers from Wagner and spray the building every year or two and it would probably last forever. Use some that is only oil based and has no paint in it so the wood will soak it up. Pine in beautiful on buildings and if you take care of it, it will last forever. I have a double level deck on my house and over 150 feet of privacy fence behind my house, so I try to spray it every year with Thompson or Armor All wood protector. This works great and only enhances the grain of the wood and sheds water great also. Since it doesn't have any tinting(paint) in it, it will soak it all up and not leave anything to peal off in a few years.

I invested in a wagner sprayer that has a 50' hose and sucks out of 5 gallon buckets, but for years, I have used the 1 quart sprayers and they work great, just take a little longer. You can find them remanufactured at a Big Lots or there a probably a ton on ebay or the internet for really cheap and they will last for years. The key to pine is treating it every year or two, preferably every year. The water seal is only around $ 25 to $ 30 for a five gallon bucket and it goes a long way.

It will make the pine a little darker and it will make the grain stand out! Sure sounds like you are going to have a nice sugarhouse! :D

Brandon

[michaelh05478]

Al, A small manual pump hand sprayer works great also...i use one when i treat my front porches and my back deck.....Fill it up and pump it and it takes about 20 min to do all 3..........Brandon was right about making the grain sticking out.....Makes it look nice.....

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Michael,

You are right about a hand pump. The nice thing about the sealer is it is thin which makes it much easier to spray and gives you a ton more choices in applying it.

Makes things look a lot better and will keep your wood looking like new if you treat it every year! :D

Brandon

So far mapleman3 leads with 273 posts, westviriniamapler in 2nd with 130 posts. The more you two talk, the more we find out how little you know. :roll: do your wifes drink :?: :lol:

[mapleman3]

And????
your point is???
if signing on as a guest your hoping for a rise out of us.. don't bother... but it is funny you can't show who you are....
but hey it's all fun right?
umm yeah !

[forester1]

As long as you got the time guest, count up the total words for the true winner :)

I've built small buildings out of both pine and hemlock. Hemlock sometimes gets big splinters or cracks but is overall smoother. If you ever have to take the building apart hemlock doesn't want to let go of nails. Both the buildings built of Jack pine and Hemlock are over 25 years old and I never put stain or anything on them. The wood is off the ground and there is an overhang so the wood isn't decaying at all. Just fading to gray, like me. :wink:

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Guest,

I'm sorry if my chater bothers you. I and the other members enjoy this website, we don't look for things to criticize others about. Yeah, maybe Jim and I talk to much and maybe we don't know as much as you or some of the other members, but the way I see it, if you don't like it, get lost and find another website. :evil: :evil: I can guarantee that you will find someone else everywhere you go that you will have an issue with. The problem with people like you is you are never brave enough to give your name and you can always find problems in any situation!

As far as getting personal with Jim's family or my family, if I could get my hands on you I would kick your scrawny little *&^%$#. :evil: :evil:

Brandon

He wants you to reply so why waste your time. Buy the way let us know what you guys win, when the race is over. I might buy from you. "HELMOCK LAST LONGER" Thats why most of your old barns are made from it.

[themapleking]

Well I pulled up my last load of logs from the maple bush section. Now I can start hanging lines. If it every stops raining. P.S. I'll take bets on the race, and the winner is- guest- buy an ***"

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Back to the June journal, I was able to go and get all my new equipment yesterday. The Lapierre round bottom stainless tank I got was really nice and lightweight. It has an aluminum frame and with it being 320 gallon, it is the perfect size for us hobby syrupmakers. I will post some pictures at my Yahoo address in a month or two if someone else is interested. I only paid $ 424.80 for it! :D

As for the Leader evaporator and canning tank, I was blown away by the quality of the pans. They are crated very heavily, but I was able to look at them very well and I was really impressed. The new squared 32" high arch was really nice and the cast iron front was really thick and weighed a ton. I am hoping to get everything set up soon and I will post pictures at my Yahoo address if anyone is interested!

I am sure looking forward to next year and can't wait for Feb to get here!

Brandon

[mapleman3]

Way to go Brandon!!! it will be hard to wait that long!!! maybe a test fire may help the longing :lol: :lol:

Jim(who talks to much) :wink:

[Al]

Wow Brandon. Talk about an early Christmas!!! When you get it all set up send pictures. Leveling the ground for my shack this week and trimming a few more trees.
Have a great day!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Al,

I will post pictures on my Yahoo web address so everyone can see them. :D I will let you know when they are available. It will be a while before I get everything set up!

As for the new sugar shack, sounds like it is really coming along! If you get done too soon, let me know because I have plenty you can do down here! :lol: :lol:

Brandon

[syrupmaker]

Brandon .....Remember many hands make light work, so have everything ready to go in July for when Mapleman is down your way.Heck couple days with him and you can test fire with the water. Just dont padlock the chain to tight to his leg, he might get mad if his hide gets torn up. :P

Rick

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Rick,

That is a good idea! I could detain Mapleman for a couple of days and get a ton of stuff done. His wife may shoot me for ruining their vacation, but at least I would get a lot done! :lol: :lol: :lol:

The main thing I have left to do is pour the concrete and build a cupola. He is really good at building things, so maybe I will chain him to the roof until he gets the cupola finished! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Thanks for the idea!

Brandon

[mapleman3]

Ok ...Vacation list
Van
Camper
Extra trailer full of tools.
Lots of $$ to give wife and kids to play with
extra $$$ for my bus trip home :wink:

Actually I would love to give a hand!! anything to work on sugar stuff!!!!!

I'll have to wear white cotton gloves though for that shiny new stainless beauty!!!
Jim

[jmattice]

Brandon,
Where did you buy the 320 gallon round bottom tank? I'm looking for one and that sounds like a great deal!!
John

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

It is a Lapierre tank and I got it from Waterloo. It was list price less 10% discount. It has an aluminum frame and is really nice, especially for the price. I will send Chris(w/ Maple Guys) and see if he can get one. Algier sells it, so I am sure he would be more than willing to work out a good deal with you!

Brandon

[mapleman3]

Lobstfari.. Was it you who said you tap alot of red maples? I have a whole bush of maybe 30-50 trees from small8" to larger12-14" behind me bordering the wetlands(wet in spring of course) I would like to pipe them maybe get 100 or so taps if I go farther in(maybe more) I will also have 100-150taps roadside sugars, with mixing the two the taste should be as good right? there should be no diff in taste just the sugar content and more sugar sand?

now to find some vacume equipment or an atv!!!
Jim

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Jim,

One thing I have found out over the years is that the more water that is available to a tree, the more sap it will produce. Trees that are close to water sources or streams always seem to produce the most sap. It may not be as high in sugar, but it usually produces more sap! :D

As for red maples, some of the trees I tap are red maples and they work great and produce a lot of sap!

I don't test the sugar content in any of the sap and probably never will because I don't have a lot of trees to choose from. I have good trees, but not a ton to choose among!

Brandon

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

On the tank, I sent Chris and email and he said he would contact you once he got back in town and see what he could do to help you on the tank! :D

Brandon

[mapleman3]

Jeremy Thanks I definately will, my own sugarbush I'd be crazy not too...some trees may be small, but as others have said they tapped the smaller ones for 5 years with no trouble, but I will carefully select. I will be walking more of the bush today with a rolling measuring wheel to see the distance to the last tree, which I have yet to find, I am an hvac tech, and I have electric vacuum pumps that are 6 cfm, I'm wondering if I can set up some kind of system cheaply this year to help move the sap along, I think it will work as long as I figure out some kind of dump station. it will be fun to try it, I'll send out a long line fill with water and see if I can suck it to the dump station.
does anybody know a good site on tubing besides the maple producers manual...any seminars coming up???
Jim

[jmattice]

Brandon,
Thanks alot!!
John

[mapleman3]

Jeremy
I would love to barder my AC services for equipment for sure... wish I could find the right person in need!!!

Has anyone out there made their own releaser or dump unit?
Jim

[backyardsugarer]

Guys,
I am still looking for a new rig (2 by 6). I have some minor changes to make to my shack (Jim, I will send you pictures soon). For the most part I am collecting 5 gallon pails and looking for more trees. Let me know if you see a rig.

Chris

PS. Guest with the big mouth, go away!

[michaelh05478]

Chris, The guy sold his 2x8 already....Ill keep my eyes open...what state do you live in???

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Chris,

Jim(mapleman) has a nice rig that he probably wants to sell. It is a 2x6 he got from Michael about a month or two ago and it is a thing of beauty. I think he has already outgrown it before the season even started! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Just kidding Jim! :lol: :lol:

Brandon

[mapleman3]

NO way :lol: ... if Micheal can bust out 93 gals on this baby.. I am sure going to try!!!! 8)
Jim

hmmm gotta run that tubing now.........
and thanks chris I look forward to them

[jmattice]

Chris,
I have a 2 by 6 for sale in New York. If your interested I can give you more info!
John

[syrupmaker]

John...if chris isn't interested let me know.I might know where one that size would fit.
Rick :idea:

[backyardsugarer]

I am very interested, I sent you a private message regarding the rig. If the rig/price is right we can exchange phone numbers and set up a time for me to pick it up! Now I'm getting excited :P

Chris

[backyardsugarer]

I am in Rochester NY, about an hour east of Buffalo. I am willing to travel and pay Cash$.

Chris

[syrupmaker]

Chris .....If you need a hand picking it up let me know. Be glad to lend a hand and besides,you can only drool on one side at a time.I can drool on the other. Heck at Maplemans i KNOW we had a circle of drool slopped around the floor by the time Jim and i look his rig all over.

Rick

[backyardsugarer]

Rick,

Thanks, sounds good. How far away from you is the rig?

Chris

[mapleman3]

Rick, There has been so much drool left on it everytime I show it off(mostly mine) that I had to repaint the arch 3 times and keep a dehumidifier in the shack :lol: :lol: :lol:
Jim

[syrupmaker]

Chris...... i'm not sure wich part of the state it's in. There are two towns with the same name .One is by Cayuga Lake and then other is over past Binghomton.If he contacts you let me know and we'll go for a ride to check it out.


Jim......well at least the dehumidifier is along your line of work you'll have to desighn about a 5 ton unit just to have the floor dry enough so you wont slip. :P

[themapleking]

Jim, Go ahead and tap your red maples I do. I have about 10-15% red maple mixed in with the sugar maple that I tap My tubing goes buy them anyways. The only thing with reds " they say" is the sugar % is lower and the sugar sand is higher. I was thinking about running my reds on their own line and make syrup just from reds and see if there is a differance between red and sugar maple syrup if any. You don't know unless you play around with it. The reds do bud out about a week or two faster than the sugars. So just watch em

[backyardsugarer]

I agree. I have to ton of red maples and tap some of the bigger ones to supplement the sugar maples. They are a little heavy on the sand and you do have to tap early but I make great quality syrup with them.

We had another good show this weekend and I am getting low on my supply. I can't wait for some snow! 8O

Chris

[mapleman3]

Well look at what we have here.... hot hot hot weather afterrain rain rain... Did I miss something, where did spring go? did it ever get here?
Well we took the pool cover off now that the rain is gone. haven't done any sugaring stuff, I will wait awhile till fall to run the tubing, but when it's still warm. everyone says do it when it's warm, the tubing is easier to handle. Vacation in just a few weeks, and some visiting. hope everyones summer is off to a great start!!
Jim


Thanks everyone for the pictures :lol:
keep em coming

[mapleman3]

Jeremy
Thanks for the heads up on the tubing seminar.
I'm hoping tocheck out both Brandons and Ricks(syrupmaker) tubing setups so I can get an Idea how to run it.
I did go to Bascoms but got to the tubing seminar at the end :?
unfortunately I want to start running it in the fall, november may be later than I'd like... although I could alwys just run the mainline and do the branches after.
Jim

[Al]

Hi Jim, yep, sugaring projects all shut down untill end of July. I'm picking up a 275 gallon square tank from my father-in-law next week. My next pipe dream is to put up a 120 buckets in the spring and sell the sap I don't use. I'm still only going with 20 buckets for myself until I pick up a new evaporator the following season. Have to check the market in this area. Wouldn't hurt to make a little money. :D
Take care.

[mapleman3]

Thats the way Al.. but you'll start boiling that sap... I bet!!!
better to sell the syrup than the sap.. you'll make more$$
Hows your back doing? hope your feeling better...
Jim

[michaelh05478]

Al, keep me in mind.....Maybe we can work something out with your sap......Ill talk to you about it later....I have a question for the rest of you .....Whats the way to go when finishing off the inside of the sugar house....Insulate or not to Insulate..That is the question......

[forester1]

I wondered about insulating the inside of my sugarhouse Michael but decided against it. The building is only used a short time each year except for storage and I didn't want to give rodents any hiding places. Once they find a way inside the wall it's difficult to remove them. Plus I think overall I will be too hot more often than too cold.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Michael,

I agree with Jerry but I also think it would make it sweat also. Insulation is bad about sweating anyway and it is unbelievable how much water that stuff will hold. We definitely know that plain wood doesn't really sweat enough to amount to any thing!

If you have water in it, install one of the frost free spickets where the water comes into the building so you don't have to worry about it freezing and you can turn on the water and shut if off at the faucet as a control valve for the rest of the building.

Besides, when you are making syrup you are busy enough you don't have time to worry about getting too cold!

Brandon

[jmattice]

Michael,
I definitely agree with Jerry and Brandon. I don't think I've ever been too cold in the sugarhouse. But plenty of times towards the end of the season, I've got the doors wide open and short sleeves on to stay cooler!
John

[MICHAELH05478]

Thanks for the info guys. The reason i asked is because im switching to oil and will probally have to put a small wood stove inside seeing how oil rigs don't give off much heat if any........I may need the wood stove to keep warm....My only source of water will be off my prheater hood so i shouldn't have to worry about freeze ups........Thanks again

[mapleman3]

Jeremy... if you don't have vacuum you don't need 2 lines right :?: :D
Jim

[themapleking]

If your a girl insulate real men don't insulate. But If you have to do it try this tip. If your using fiber "pink" insulation cover over it with plastic this will keep the moisture off the insluation. Or your can use that stiff foam 'blue" board. That way you don't have to worry about moisture and installing the plastic. See which is cheeper. I have notice the mice like them both. My opion not that it matters.

[mapleman3]

Last season I had a mouse the would hang around while I boiled, it would taste the spilled or dripped syrup off the floor... so they definately occupy the shack!! I would not insulate. you want to be able to keep all areas free of mice nests. plus they can smell (the nests) bad too once you have one in a nook or cranny!!!
Jim

[syrupmaker]

Mapleman-- 305 posts . WOW going for 400 now? What do you mean syrup spilled on the floor?Thats a SIN!!!! Hey the mice have to have company too.

[mapleman3]

yes but rick.. your working your way up to that goal :wink:

actually the mouse was fun to have around..he would just sit there and enjoy... it was used to me :D
Jim

[forester1]

Don't let that cute face fool you. He was looking for something to chew up or a new place to crap. :lol:

[mapleman3]

Who Rick?? :wink: Oh the mouse hehe.. aww he'll be alright, just as long as he stays out of my Evaporator and other equipment. :lol: :lol:

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Jim,

Since the 2x6 is a lot faster than the half pint, you won't have much time to watch mice. Besides, you wouldn't want to step on him and fall into the boiling syrup! :lol: :lol: or should I say ouch! 8O 8O

Brandon