So I’ve got a 5/16” recirculating line with a needle valve - is it best to have the needle valve wide open or only open slightly to restrict the flow through the recirculating line?
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So I’ve got a 5/16” recirculating line with a needle valve - is it best to have the needle valve wide open or only open slightly to restrict the flow through the recirculating line?
I run it just high enough to get good vac usually -25. I find the heavier flows you can pretty much close it but when running slow more flow is needed. Kind find the sweet spot each time. That’s just what Ive found.
Last Thursday was THE day so far this year. Been super busy at work, and flow was good on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Thursday was the flood, many buckets were overflowing, both 2 and 3 gallon buckets. I averaged 6L or 1.6 gallons per tap. Tubing systems must really shine compared to buckets on these kind of days.
It was nice that the warm weather gave us a break from gathering to run the RO and evaporate all weekend to catch up!
So far I have collected about as much sap this year as I did all of last season....this coming weekend and next week look good so far
This past week was good! Despite my one pump being down most of the week still managed to fill my 185 gallon tanks. Pulled 900L out today and ran through RO.
Will not get through all I’ve collected this weekend but will hold over until next weekend. Colder temps coming in for the weekend and a bit of a warmup next week. Fingers crossed I get similar amounts in tanks.
Planning to head north this weekend - anything happening in the bush?
Yesterday was a really good day and today the lines are running also. Clear sap 2.2 brix this am.
Same here, collected 600L last night, and 740L in the first round today.....looks like a good weekend, and then after Monday next week its anybody's guess
Good weekend as well. Collected 1900L.
Been a long, strong run, I’ve collected just over 3500L in the last 5 days, and lost a bunch to bucket overflow.....
Wow 3500L - that's quite the run Willen!
Here's a question for everyone - how long will sap last before it spoils? I am a weekend boiler and with the sap running as strong as it is - my chances of boiling everything in the bush are slim. Which means I would hold the leftover sap to following weekend. How do you know when the sap is gone bad? Is it because it is cloudy and has a smell to it?
It has continued today with another 600L. However the sugar is dropping, down to 1.8 in today’s gathering, so I think I will pick up whatever runs tomorrow and call it a season.
As far as how long sap stays good, I think it depends on temps, maybe sunlight during storage, how clean your collection and storage equipment is, and how close to budding your trees are. I made some really weird syrup at the end of last year that we finished, tasted, debated, but ended up not bottling. Early season and cold temps, I’ve kept sap for a week no problem. The later in the season the shorter the window, but I am certainly no expert.
I have collected late season sap that is cloudy, with a yellowish to greenish colour, that boiled into perfectly normal tasting syrup.
Hi Harold - sent you a personal message earlier but not sure you saw. I am getting close to calling my season and I still have 300+ gallons in the bush that i won’t be able to boil. Would you like?
Getting a early jump this year new set of pans and gotta customize the arch to fit the extra length. plus a few changes to the shack. Upgraded from a 2x4 flat pan to a 2x4 drop flue and 2x2 divided finishing pans up front. I use to be in the refractory business and still have a few friends that are so was able to get some top grade insulation and brick. I think a new shack is in the picture for next year. Something tells me I’ve outgrown my existing sugar shack.
Hi All,
As the title mentions I'm a new member to the Trader Forum and am hoping that somehow I can be a small help to someone along the way as you all have been to me.
I've been reading and using your shared knowledge in an effort to learn and hopefully over time improve my sugaring experience (albeit Walnut syrup rather than Maple) over the next few seasons.
As I figure out the forum I'll certainly be posting pic's and related information on what I work with and such.
Cheers all.
Dave
Southern Ontario (Scotland)
What a crazy winter we are having. Can’t remember the last time I had grass showing this late into the winter. I sure hope we get some cold weather that sticks around a bit so the sugar season isn’t a busy also. Part of me feels like I should be running my lines well the other thinks don’t jinx it. Lol
Welcome to the site trends. I’ve never tried walnut syrup but you got me curious. Look forward to seeing your posts about it.
Any idea what this weather does for our season? Will it be short with a milder winter?
Lots of winter still to come.
Well I tapped one Walnut tree today as a test. This tree is about 200' up at the top of the lot with a drop of probably 40' down hill. My plan is to see how much I collect over say 24 or 48 hours just with natural vacuum then hook up my beer cooler (new build) Surflo vacuum setup and see if a get any significant increase in sap. Being Walnut I don't expect any great accumulation over a couple of days.
My hope is the vacuum system will pull about 50% more sap. Time will tell.
Well that plan didn't work well. We got 1 gal in 48hrs then the line froze.
Try again net week maybe.
Since December 15, there was a possible 15 days sap could have flowed in the Brampton area solely based on overnight below freezing temperatures and above freezing daylight temperatures. Likely 10 may have only been decent flow days. So 10 days out of 37 days, mid winter, does not make for a compelling reason to go all in on tapping.
I did this more for me thinking if I lived down in Southern Ontario like I used to, would I have tapped. The answer would be no, other than if I have some extra taps I wanted to use, for some mid winter fun.
I have a question, don't walnut trees usually run later than the maple trees?
Trends. Not being familiar with walnut tapping, don't walnut trees usually run later than maple trees?
Pdiamond I am so new to tapping and sugaring that I really can't answer your question.I've heard the same statement from the local CDL dealer so last years plan was to watch a local Maple operation when they tapped in but they didn't tap at all so I'm still a bit in the dark.
I did start Mar 1st last year and ran thru to April 8/9 ish.
The tap on 1 tree earlier this week was to a test for a couple of things related to how a mechanical vacuum system setpoint system works and to whether it produced more sap than natural vacuum but the lines froze and spoiled that plan.
Thanks for the question
It will still be too cold to tap up north, but just wondering if you are tempted to tap down south in a week or so?
Attachment 22808
Based on what I see I don't think I will be tapping for a few weeks yet.
Looks a bit early
Attachment 22810
Should I be tapping already? Just looked at the 14 day forecast for my area, between Guelph and Milton, and 10 of the next 14 days have above freezing days!?
Not my business and I am still a rookie, asking the question more to learn, but starting Sunday in the location I looked at there were 12 consecutive days and counting with possible flow.Quote:
Originally Posted by Willen
My rookie derrière would go all in. This is where I would bow to more experienced south western Ontario sugar makers. It is early, but it has been a totally different winter.
Attachment 22815
It’s really a tough call. I haven’t seen anybody else around me tapping yet but maybe some of the bigger operations have started. Feels early to me but I’m sure thinking about it. I’m gonna hang the lines and do as much pre season as I can then make the call. Family day weekend I think is the earliest I’ve ever put taps in and that winter was one like this one is also. Maybe not as crappy. I will test the sugar content before I put them all in.
You are sort of north southwestern Ontario and I can see why it is tempting. My weather will be similar to yours, not quite as warm, but I would sure like to see the weather after Feb 20. If it stayed cold for 10 days after the 20th, then the answer would likely be no, if it rose above freezing again during that time period the answer might be yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hkb82
I still have to set up my stack which I hope to do by this weekend. If next week’s warm spell is still forecasted and they forecast some above freezing temps after the 20th, which I should be able to see by Sunday, I might start tapping in a week’s time.
South Bruce Peninsula
Attachment 22833
Pretty much ready to go but will wait until the end of the month and tap the last week of February.
I have updated my vacuum pumps to the Shurflow 4048's and have added a remote sap monitoring system to my 2 vacuum pumps.
The idea behind using the RSMS - my trees are located at my cottage 3 hours away. With the remote sap monitoring system, I am able to text the controller and it will tell me the temperature, if my pumps are running, how long they have been running, vacuum and even tank level.
I purchased the RSMS units from Mountain Maple in Princeton MA.
Here is the link to their site www.mountainmaplefarm.com
That’s pretty sweet. I live on the same property as my sugar shack and still would like this lol. Raining today. I want to get my lines out well the snow is still around to keep things clean. Prob try and have everything suspended and ready by the end of this week if I can. Test boil my new set up and watch the forecasts. I won’t be drilling till family day at the earliest. I’ve got a bunch of maples I don’t run on lines as they are to spread out but I may tap a few on pails to see what the flows and sugar content La are. More of a test and learning thing then actual collection.
Well, I’ve never tapped in February, but tomorrow is going to change that. Seems crazy early, but the weather looks like some good runs, and lots of folks south and west of here are getting some good flow, so it begins!
Sap was running today, not fast, but every hole was wet by the time I had a spigot in. Very weird to have mud on tapping day. Especially in Feb. I think all our snow will be gone in the next few days
It looks like your next three days should have great flow. Campbellville is a beautiful area, I used to live in Milton for a number of years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Willen
You’re right, today was a gusher. Overflowing 2 gallon buckets on the first day. I’m not ready for this!
Tapped on the 8th in the Niagara region. 6800L in so far.
First gathering today. Had to do it twice actually. 166 taps, many overflowing buckets, 1200L. On days like today, I think a lot about tubing systems, and how much more sap I would have collected.....as it is i averaged 7.2L per tap, or 1.9 gallons per tap.
Congrats!Quote:
Originally Posted by Willen
I am jealous, I have flow, but just dripping, I think over 3 great weather days my 90+ taps have produce only about 40 to 60 L total. Tomorrow hopefully it will be better. Lots and lots of snow here and that might be the difference.
Yesterday was my third day in a row of overflowing buckets! It didn't freeze Tuesday night, so the run was long, but slowing down. Im over 3300L/870gallons collected in the last three days.
The guy beside me is on tubing, and has collected about twice as much per tap, which I guess is the benefit of vacuum and no overflow losses.
An early, fast and strange start to the season, thats for sure!
Looks like it will stop tomorow, re-start on the weekend for a few days, and then perhaps return to Feb temps, and no runs until March. I have never tapped for the "early run", so I hope my spigot holes wont "dry out" and that things continue in March.
Does anyone have experience with losing later production with such a large pause (1-2 weeks?). Does the tree start to heal? Or is it just the inside of the hole starting to dry out?
Sounds like you’ve got some boiling to do. Great collection numbers for an early year start. Im by no means a professional and I’m sure someone with some more knowledge can chime in with better info but I can say that A bunch of years back I put out half my taps early to catch the first runs. Come March they definitely were not running at the same speed as the ones I did in the normal end of Feb beginning of March. So many variables that could change things but I think it was from them being 3 weeks older holes.