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I am tired reading your post. I worked in the shop all day abusing a beer keg. It least its nice thick metal and easy to weld on. Got it made into a filtering container for the orlon filters. Just have to fit a tap on the bottom and its done. Would have been easyier if it hadn't a hole in the side for the wooden plug and one in the bottom for the drain or what ever the hell that valve was for.
Now to finish the evaporator and wait for good weather . That will be about April me thinks. The little old lady at the library tells me to not get excited it will get here.
Now to figure out the preheater before I need it. The head tank i used last year was only 5 or 6 gallons and I am hopeing this year to triple my boil rate which makes it a bit small. Have to go shopping again me thinks.
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Today I worked and visited with Jim Bortles (Father and Son) hang some high tension wire for a main line down 100 yards of creek bottom. I learned some things about tightening and adjusting wire. This is going to make a nice addition to Jim's sugar bush and syrup operation. LOTS of nice maples that look like they have never been tapped. Thanks for the basic training Jim:) I should sleep well tonight!
It was kind of weird walking up on the head stone of the guy that used to own the property Jim was tapping, and when I asked I realized knew the gentleman very well when I was a kid. I had not been on the farm for 40 years. Small world!
This p.m. Daughter Kelly and her family came to visit with Addison the new granddaughter and we had a great dinner and family visiting.
I did get 20 taps hung but the tubing was shrunk so much from the cold weather that I will have to wait for it to stretch before I can fasten the ends around the bottom tree:)
I also picked up the 20 feet of 3/4 copper tubing and several fittings for the WUR air tubes at Kennedy's hardware. Nice to have a small hardware near by that has what you need. No crowds or lines either.
Regards,
Chris
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Ready?
New sugarhouse is now ready. Wired, plumbed, built, cleaned and stocked. Had a test firing to see how the system was working. I got the idea here for a tipping holding tank to get the last sap, and with two old garage door springs, it worked great, less than 1/2 gallon left when it is done.
Looking forward to boiling soon.
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Ever notice that it is colder IN the sugar house than outside. Today I lifted the mainline into the sugarhse and retightened in order to raise the level of the stock tanks. Hopefully get faster flow into the back float. Going to plumb the tanks with 1" copper and ball valves. If it freezes it will only freeze at the inlet to the float box. Slab pile is still patiently waiting to be cut. Have about 200 more new taps to install. Other than that I think we're getting close.:)
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Close to getting 2600ft. of wet/dry line done in an existing set-up. Can't wait for the day I can rip the old stuff down. Bush needs a good thinning anyways, so maybe next winter. Tubing and mains are shoddy.
Spent the morning changing the lateral mains where they will intersect the wet/dry. Afternoon was spent pulling out pipe and fixing bear bites. Wife and kids sleighed out to check on me. Son just wanted to use the tubing cutter and cut, cut, cut...Took it away when he wanted to snip a dropline in half.
2400ft pump line is next to go. Hopefully will have time to get it tied back before the season is in full swing.
Been waiting for the SIHI pump to come in from ordering. Pump house work still has to be done.
Equipment is in the new shanty. That will get plumbed at night. Should have done that before the Olympics started...or another reason to get a flat screen in there.
Tomorrow...going fishing.
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Getting close…
Mains and lats are all up, the arch is built, buckets, holding, collection and pick-up tanks clean and ready to go. I soldered up a couple of minor leaks in the pan, scrubbed it out and it’s ready to rock, too.
Finished re-decking the sap hauler trailer today, need to build a mount for the pump…as soon as I pick up the new head.
A couple of hours work left on the arch…stack and door… and then I just cut wood until tap time. The wood pile is looking a little thin, but the weather man says I’ve got at least 10 days to top it off.
I say: Let’s Go!
If I slow down now it’ll be tough getting the pedal to the metal again. :D
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Looks like it may be the first February I have never made syrup. Last year I started tapping on Jan 31st and today the 10 day forecast thru Feb 23rd is not showing it getting out of 20's. It is amazing how insaley cold it has been all month. Hopefully March will be kind to us and not warm up and be done around 21st as it usually is. Never seen a season as short as this one appears it is going to be. Hard to get any freezing nights after around March 20th here and a lot of temps in 60's and sometimes 70's. Amazing every day the season is getting shorter and we haven't even tapped. LOL!
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LITTLE SAP UPDATE!
Just wanted to see if you were paying attention!
I did get the rest of the short run tubing systems up. (about 500 taps total).
It doesn't sound like much compared to you guys putting up thousands of feet of tubing! But it will keep me and Cheryl busy for a month or so if the weather ever breaks:)
I did stop at a house in Cranesville and ask about the four big crowned sugar maples in there yard. They look like good ones, might get them for next year.
Also spotted another 20 taps on old Albion road the are on the same property that I started tapping last year. Close to the road and nice healthy young trees about 18 inches in dia. again probably for next year.
I agree with Brandon that this could drastically shorten the syrup season if the cold weather continues. I tapped Jan 22 10 years ago and made some nice syrup on Jan 24.
I think Brandon in Beckely has about the same snow fall as Albion. We are at least 2 hours north of him.
Delivered a quart of honey to a good customer while out finishing the tubing. Older folks, and they did not need to get out in this weather.
Regards,
Chris
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Best friend and I spent the day out on snowshoes fixing tubing again today, only about 60 taps worth haven't been checked and I think we'll just fix them as we tap. I'm planning on taking thursday and friday off work to start tapping, hopefully have them all in by Sunday, looking at about 920 taps right now, unless we get time to add more. Still lots of work to do to boil, headtank needs washed, releasers need hooked up, flue pan needs washed, yikes! I do think that we may be getting set for a big season though, thanks to this pain in the butt snow. Its insulated the ground enough that it's mud underneith now, no frost at all. The maple roots are all thawed out and ready to help supply some BIGSAP!!!! I hope everyone is getting ready to go and ready to make some syrup!
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Evening all, I must say I don't miss the snow shoes. We only have maybe 10" in the woods. No problem getting around with the 4x. Fix damaged drops today...lots of deer-chew, squirrel damage. Mighty cold & windy though. Put slab wood into the sugarhse before noon. Started to plumb copper to the tanks. Ran out of lamb tubing today...gotta go spend some more$.:)
