Dia to tap

[adk1]

What is the minimum dia maple to tap for buckets.

[Russell Lampron]

I start at 8". I use 5/16 bucket spouts not the old 7/16 and only drill them about 1.5" deep. They heal fast, after a couple of years you can't even find the original tap hole.

[maple flats]

most experts agree, 8-10 with 5/16 taps and 12" with 7/16 taps. Realize however that few 8" trees have enough canopy to give a lot of sugar. The sugar we need is made in the leaves. This means on average the sap from marginally small trees will be lower % on average, all other things being equal. The guidelines are related to regrowth and the ability to tap every year working around a tree without ever running out of fresh wood to tap.

[markct]

i usualy been going about 8 inch as the smallest, maybe a hair smaller if its a tree that doesnt realy matter or would be good to thin out anyhow. i was surprised to see at red bucket sugarhouse in mass they had a tree out by the road tapped that couldnt have been more than about 5 or 6 inches!

[Russell Lampron]

If it is a cull tree I tap it when it is big enough to hold a tap without bending over from the weight. I figure I might as well get what I can for sap out of it before it meets the saw.