James,
What kind of gph are you getting out of your evaporator??
Printable View
James,
What kind of gph are you getting out of your evaporator??
Well it the 2nd day and another 130 gallons of sap no record run but we will take it, the fields are getting verry soft the mud is up 2' deep now but the lake we had is gone, will start to boil at 7am, it will make for a fun day temp to go up to mid 50's tomorow still have 20" of snow in the bush, with any luck we will get 2 more weeks for sap. All the best to you guys down south.
I just did my first run with the filter press and new canner and by the time I was liking my fingers from the spills going into the bottles I didn't like the flavour and stopped bottling.
The last stuff I boiled yesterday was darker than everything else but would still grade as light. So I decided to go through the learning curve with the filter press on the darker stuff.
It was sweet enough but had a semi-metalic flavour and a V E R Y long lasting aftertaste. Salt and vinegar potato chips finally killed it an hour after the syrup.
I had cleaned the filter press meticulously but I was still afraid the taste was coming from it, so I went to an unfiltered pail and it was bad too.
So my best guess is that it's over and I got some buddy stuff. The run today should have been great but it was disappointing.
I hope I'm wrong but it looks like it's over around here.
Took a couple of gallons of fresh sap off the trees last night. Did not filter or put through the RO, just into the kitchen and boiled in a stainless pot.
Got a dry sensation on the roof of my mouth and an aftertaste. Nothing to do with what was happening in the sugar shack. Mild but I think its the beginning of the buddy stuff.
Anyone else getting this ???
Its 3.785 so I have made 8.71 gallons.Quote:
Originally Posted by TapME
I get about 20 gph but that is with wet wood cause my tarp tore apart the other day.Quote:
Originally Posted by WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER
Brent I collected another 100 gallons the other day and it has no buddy taste and it is a nice medium.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent
The end is getting near up hear we only collected 30 gallons yesterday but Friday and Saturday where good runs and we made 5 gallons this weekend. Still got 220 gallons to boil off thank God we put in the extra 100 taps this year we should make half of what we did last year.
On Saturday I started bottling a the latest batch and it was off flavour. I was concerned that filter press did not get cleaned well and was adding a metalic flavour, or that I had screwed up the cleaning and rinsing of the RO's or something else.
So Saturday and Sunday I drained the evap, cleaned it, and started a fresh load last night. At quitting time I thought I could smell and taste the "buddy" coming. Boiled a couple hours this morning and there is no doubt about it.
It's over around here.
The crowns of the trees from a distance have the redish hue to them. Up close the buds still seem small, but the damage has been done to the flavour.
The drip rate yesterday was pathetic. Some buckets were actually bone dry after 24 hours.
It's been quite an adventure. More thoughts later.
Well - I'm still alive although it is somewhat questionable how alive. Started boiling at 2pm on Friday and basically just kept going until 10 last night. The first 2 batches (60-70 gals sap apiece) yielded about 12 litres of nice light syrup, and the last batch from the last 100 gals of sap looks like it will end up about 12 litres of amber as there was no ice left in that tank. That batch is boiled down and sitting out on ice right now as I wasn't up for filtering and bottling last night. That'll put us about 55 litres overall - not a good showing for 100 trees. (US folks - for sugar bush math, 1 litre is basically 1 quart)
We last collected on Thursday night, I never went up to see if anything was running this weekend - had enough ahead of me anyway, but looking at the forecast I think we are done now. It sounds like warm temperatures all week, with no more cold nights. Still lots of snow in the woods and no sign of budding here so we could get some more runs but it doesn't seem like the weather will cooperate. I'll go collect what's in the buckets tonight and see if it's worth saving for one more batch.
Brent - how clear is your sap - if it is crystal clear and still tastes - then I think you're done. If it is hazy and tastes - new sap might not. Also - you might find one part of the bush is fine while another starts budding - maybe you can get another run or 2 out of some north facing trees. I'm always sad when it's over - despite finally being able to catch up on my sleep (and work).