Good luck! You're not getting high winds now? They started last night around 8 PM for me and have been going strong since.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
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Good luck! You're not getting high winds now? They started last night around 8 PM for me and have been going strong since.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
It's pretty "blustery" here already, yeah. I would say the gusts aren't more than 10 or 15 mph though. It looks like there may be some serious blasts later, so as long as I avoid that, I think I'll be okay.Quote:
Originally Posted by MRFNY
Abandoned plans of tapping today after my extra hands bailed and seeing the conditions in the woods...I'd like to see many syrup seasons in the years to come and having an ice-laden tree dropped on my head is not part of that vision! Next weekend looks much better for tapping, stay safe out there.
Good move! It was nasty out there and still is. My property looks like a war zone, lolQuote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
Still frozen solid out there, was below zero when I woke up this morning. Forecast suggests it should run this weekend but I wonder how long it will take the trees to thaw out.
I gotta think it will take some time for the trees to thaw out. I may put half of my taps in this weekend but really don't expect anything to run.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
Tapping this weekend. Should flow next week. . .
The same as the last two posts: we are tapping tomorrow and imagining we may not see any flow until early in the week. BUT we're also installing a small vacuum pump this year so maybe we'll be surprised!
Nice! I just took a walk and I weigh enough where the layer of crust on top of the snow doesn't quite hold me. FUN!Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
Start tapping tomorrow,on snow shoes plus hiring a dozer to get up a hill to the tank,lots of fun and extra expense,syrup ought to be $100 gallon
Looked at my notes for every season we've been tapping and in 2021 we tapped on 2/27. It was a very short season that came to an end on 3/23 due to a long stretch of very warm temps, upper 60's and low 70's during the day and nighttime temps in the upper 30's / low 40's. Only made 15 gallons that season. Hopefully this year doesn't follow that pattern!
Put in 50 taps yesterday. Wasn't fun stomping through the layer of ice on top of the snow! Will finish the rest throughout the week, yesterday mainly focused on the trees that get a lot of sun during the day and typically start producing earlier in the season.
Took the morning off of work today and got my 47 taps done. Sap has started flowing a little bit. I don't expect to have a huge run this week but i usually tap around this time so figured id go for it. I really like the golden syrup and i typically make that during February. I have a bout 12" of snow on the ground but its settling down fast, finally have some decent frost in the ground this year as well. Now i just need to get the evaporator setup and ready to boil later this week!
Glad to hear others are out tapping, too...we tapped in our 100 taps on tubing (this included replacing all of the drop lines and tees, WITHOUT a two-handed tool) on Saturday with the help of a small crew. That was a great time, I love sharing the experience with friends who've never done it before; they are instantly hooked.
As of first thing this morning, not a drop of sap had come out but I have to imagine it ran today even with the windy conditions. My kids and I will tap in our 50~ bucket taps over the week and into the weekend. I also need to plumb in the new solar vacuum pump and make sure that is drawing correctly from the 3/16 runs into the new (425 gallon) collector that replaces our old IBC tote.
You have to love it to want to do all the work!
It is definitely a great time when others share the experience! People don't realize how much work is involved until they come over and experience the processQuote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
Our buckets were dripping but very slowly today. I think it's going to take a few days of warm weather for them to thaw out. Wasn't much sun today either which doesn't help!
Same here. I had just enough daylight to check them after getting home from work and there was a very slow but steady drop from most trees.Quote:
Originally Posted by MRFNY
I put in 18 more taps tonight on some big producing sugar maples that usually take a little while to start producing and they were dripping so that's a good sign. Not sure about the upcoming weather though. Questionable lows at night, then rain during a couple days.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
Yeah, that is where the tubing setup earns it's stripes...I find it can weather (sic) the temperature fluctuations much, much better than the buckets.Quote:
Originally Posted by MRFNY
Yes for sure! I don't think I will ever get into tubing though.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
Put in 19 more taps tonight. My best sugar maple with 6 buckets was doing pretty well. One of the buckets was 3/4 fill, another two were half full. Some still bone dry though.
It's killing me to be at work today watching the low-40s and sunny day outside...I flipped my solar vacuum pump online for the first time this morning, and immediately, I could see a difference in the little stream of sap coming from my 3/16th lines. I'm just imagining that it's gushing right now.
My buckets were still very, very slow but it was still in the low-30s and not very bright when I checked.
I just got a mid-day farm report from the wife. She estimates about 50 gallons of sap in the buckets. Some were still dripping, some weren't.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
ADK_XJ - looking at your auto-signature, that's impressive growth to your operation over the years!
I tapped my trees earlier today. I was out of town on vacation, so hopefully I didn't miss too much. My big producers were gushing, even with just a couple hours of tapping. A lot were dry though.
Hopefully this is a good season!
Got about 60 gallons tonight and going to boil it tomorrow afternoon. Not enough to run through the RO but not a big deal!
Collected 50 gallons of sap from my 47 gravity taps yesterday and got the evaporator all setup and boiled it down. I have a 2x5 setup so it takes 10 gallons to get my 1.5" depth, took me 2.5 hours to get through the 40 gallons or about 16GPH, that included firing up the rig. I am trying some pine saw mill scraps this year for fuel and it seems to be working out well. I am able to get trailer loads of full length pieces for free i just have to buck them to 24" length but pretty much no splitting is required which is a huge time saver. Some pieces are a little big so i just split them with an axe real quick while im boiling, i just lay them flat on a thick board on the ground and whack them into pieces as needed.
It got below freezing last night for a while so should get some more sap flowing here shortly.
Nice, I like your fuel plan with the saw log cast offs...I use to do the same when we lived around the corner from a family run sawmill north of Saratoga, they had mountains of the stuff. Now, I use a combination of hemlock and left over hard wood from the home firewood pile for ours.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Heldeberg Sapper
Yep, dipped into the high 20s here and hoping the tubing will run again although it looks overcast all day. Only two of my three lines have woken up so far, but those two have produced about 100 gallons of sap over the last few days. Interestingly, I tapped in the third line after the first two so I wonder if that may anything to do with them being slower to come around...
Tubing ran well yesterday and a few buckets were almost full by last night...just went out to check the runs before work and it looks like the 3/16 ran all night to some degree. Should have an almost full IBC totes waiting for me tonight!
Going to finish tapping this morning to get my final tap count to ~125 taps. Typically do 100 but I bought 25 buckets this summer to increase production a little bit. Then I plan to collect what's in the buckets and boil that. Pan should be sweetened after today's boil. Then I gotta flush the RO and get that ready for the big runs that are right around the corner!
It was a very cold day boiling outdoors but we got through an IBC tote of sap yesterday before finally shutting down around sunset. I did leave my brand new power washer outside with Star San in the soap tank overnight so Im imagining some damage to that!
The day started out pretty nice then I was out putting in some additional taps the clouds, snow and wind rolled in! I'm very thankful to be able to boil under cover and out of the cold and wind. Boiled 60 gallons at the end of the day yesterday and the pan is now sugared. Went out this morning and put a lantern in the arch to keep the sweet from freezing up during this two day cold spell.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
Interesting - is there a reason not to let it freeze? I sort of figure it helps preserve it...Quote:
Originally Posted by MRFNY
Basically I was just taught to do it that way and there are threads on this site with others who do the same. It probably wouldn't harm the pan but I did read someone comment that if it was frozen solid it can lift off the pan and have a steam or air gap between the pan the the sweet. That could potentially warp the pan.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
I dont think what I have in there would freeze solid but would probably get slushy, but just being overly cautious I suppose.
very interesting, mine is definitely frozen solid...ill have to observe carefully when i start it back up!Quote:
Originally Posted by MRFNY
Let me know if you run into any issues, I'm curious if I am just being overly cautious or if it can be a big concern.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
Flushed the RO last night and ready for some big runs. Thunderstorms tomorrow? lol. Crazy weather
Yeah, it's hard to boil outdoors when it's either in the single digits or else pouring rain...I just got home and the lines have started running again, just in time for my new power source to arrive for the Shur Flo vacuum pump. I think I'm going to try getting that in place tomorrow and see what I can pull down before the weekend.Quote:
Originally Posted by MRFNY
The one good thing about the below zero temps to start the week is that I have a giant block of sap ice in the bottom of collection tote to keep it all cool until I can boil again!
My buckets didn't do squat today. A few of them started to drip late in the day but that's about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ADK_XJ
That big block of sap ice will definitely come in handy for ya!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MRFNY
Mine were empty yesterday too. I also just came in a and very little today. Yesterday I thought might happen since the it was so cold, but surprised at how little today.
I was expecting a gusher. Hopefully they wake up tonight and start going strong in the sustained warm followed by good freeze thaw cycles.
The tubing was running hard today, buckets not so much. I reinstalled my solar diaphragm pump and was pulling 22" of vacuum at the collection point and close to 28" at the top of the runs. Given the deep cold to start the week, I wouldn't be surprised it it runs through tomorrow!
hey guys, I'm late to the party this year and not feeling super motivated. Got 20 taps in and was planning on hitting close to 50 again, but it's been so hard walking through the snow that I may abandon the far side of my field and tap everything that is closer. Maybe my motivation will return after the first boil. Have not had too much time to be chasing anything, but did get the evaporator out and leveled. Hopefully we will have a decent season!
Pete
We're having similar weather to 2019 according to my notes. My buckets really didn't start running good until around 3/15 that year and boy it was extremely busy until the end of March. Daily collections of 100+ gallons on buckets, and no RO back then! Hoping we see similar flow coming soon!
Good luck Pete! Hope the motivation returns and you get some more taps in!Quote:
Originally Posted by crzypete