Southwestern Ontario

Looks like we have a break in the action for at least two weeks, and it is welcome. Yesterday was another day of overflowing buckets!
In the last week, I’ve collected over 5000L, which is over half of what I collected all last season. Finished 80L so far, and I’m not done boiling down yet.
Now I’ll have time to fine tune my new DIY cold sap float box, make some RO system upgrades, shuffle around the totes, clean the pan, and get ready for round two in March. I might actually be ready for it by then!

I've probably collected over 400L from my 19 bags. That's close to half of the normal year, depending on the year. Might decide to pull the taps early. We still have a bunch of bottles from last year.

Got all my current lines run and tight sloped and ready to drill. I have a pretty easy to access 30-50 more trees I could run lines to buy waiting to see what this year brings. Got all my storage cleaned and ready. Sugar shack is cleaned up and stocked with wood. I just need the sapping weather to return and I’m in business. Looking at the weather I’m probably gonna start Monday after this cold snap provided the 14 day forecast isn’t showing another week of below freezing temps. Might just be another week still.

Going to tap my trees tomorrow and get things all set for when the weather turns. Interestingly i was looking at pics from last season and my first boil was March 12th and looking ahead at this years 14 day forecast - I may be able to start boiling around the same time as last year - fingers crossed.

Trees tapped, tanks in place and vacuum pumps at the ready for when temps climb above zero. Weather forecast this morning was showing plus 4 Tuesday and Wednesday but a quick check now shows those days to be only plus 2 and plus 1. Was hoping for a warmup this week so I could flush the lines and dump the first run.

The 14 day forecast isn’t looking great atm but you just never know what might happen. I find it changes almost hourly some days. I kinda trust a day or two in advance but anything after that is just a guess. I’m gonna be tapping this week also. I don’t want to miss the next set of runs. I also let a bunch just drain out the first run to clean out anything that might have been left behind after the end of last seasons cleaning plus over summer months. I kinda have a feeling it’s gonna get warm and then stay warm this year or be a short sapping season. Mainly because I bought a new set of pans this year lol. That how my luck goes. Another reason is the lack of snow in the bush and the fact that this has been a warm winter for around me at least. I’m usually tapping in two feet of snow and this year it’s three inches at best. Couple weeks ago the bush was bare.
With enough taps I’ll get the sap. Is what I’m going with for this year. I’m ready to put in another 100 trees if needed so bring it on. The upgrade in pans was more about efficiency then production amounts so hopefully I won’t need that extra 100

Just checked in with my remote sap monitoring systems and it is showing both pumps are running with vacuum ranging between 17 to 24 inches and temperatures of 38F.
There looks to be some sap running because my one tank is registering 2% full.
Weekend weather for South Bruce Peninsula is now showing +4 to +5

Started putting the taps in today. What a beautiful day to be in the bush. Was calling for overcast and +1. It was full sun from about 1pm on. Felt like +10 although it wasn’t. Things were running ok but wasn’t warm enough to really get them flowing. Was perfect to give them a pre season flush. Got 3 lines to finish tomorrow and then it’s collection time. Hopefully maybe first boil Sunday or Monday. Gonna take more sap for me this year to start up this new rig.

Things ran pretty ok today nothing crazy but ok. Actually tested @ 3% from the tree. That’s the highest I’ve seen my trees produce. It may have been I just didn’t check it at other high times but I can’t say I’ve ever had 3% before the ro in the past. I also have only been testing it since I started using an ro. Best I saw last year was 2.5%.
I was able to get enough sap through the lines to flush them out so I was able to collect from about 12:30-1pm on today. I’ll collect the back bush tomorrow but I might have close to enough to do a boil if we get another decent run tomorrow. Looking to have around 200-300gal before I start to boil.

Good runs each of the last three days, averaging at 4.5L/1.2 G per bucket each day.
Today was the surprise, as it didn’t get much above freezing, but the trees in the sun sure produced.
I’m already at 80% of the most sap I’ve ever collected in a season, and we are only 2 days after the earliest I have ever tapped, until this year.
Nice to have the ground/snow freezing up after all that snow and slush and mud underneath on the weekend. Got everything stuck gathering sap!

Collected approx 1200 litres of sap today and ran through RO. Starting boiling at 2:30 pm today and boiled to 5:00pm and called it for the day. Will pickup where I left off tomorrow,
Despite temps around 0 degrees today - sun was shinning and sap was flowing. Hoping to collect another 800-1000 litres tomorrow.

Did my first boil of the year on Monday. New pans and evaporator worked fantastic. Had a hard boil going right to the back. Was my first boil on it so plays it safe and ran it at 2 inches deep for most the day. Without a sap pre heater I wasn’t sure how that first divided section in my flue pan would boil but it boiled pretty good till maybe 10-12 inches from the float box entrance.
Running the sap collected this week through the ro last night and today and will be boiling again tomorrow. 2023 now officially feels like it’s started for me and it sure tastes sweet

Attachment 23021
Finished with some light amber today. First time using the CDL vacuum filter and was pleased with the results.

Great labels and name.

Thanks! PURE BS (Pure Bennett Maple Syrup). We have some fun with it.

Nice little break for me to be able to clean pans and tanks in prep for our next runs. Think I’m gonna do some bulk 20l/5g jugs this year so I can bottle when I'm almost out of a size or have a request for a larger size kinda thing. Every year I seem to run out of one size first and not always the same size. I have had years I run outa 500ml bottles and some people just don’t want the bigger size. Other years I run outa the 1l or 4l jugs and people ask for a deal on buying 2x500ml bottles. I’ll do it but some people don’t ask and just don’t want the 500ml price. I have a retail store at my business and it just shows better with multiple sizes also. I don’t mind having to reheat and bottle during the year. No clue on what I want to use for bulk storage. I love the ss kegs but not the price lol.

Things were running today pretty good with the sunshine. Not gonna drop below freezing so pumps will probably run all night.

Good run here as well, collected 850L and left the frozen sap in the buckets. Looks like it will run all night, and likely need two gatherings tomorrow. I’ve now collected as much so far this year as I ever have in an entire season, and we are just getting into the “normal” season. Next week looks really good.

Same here. Sap running well this aft. Pulled 500L out of the bush and ran through RO.

Just finished another boil yesterday. Boiled 300g down in 8.5hrs. I wasn’t able to run it all through the ro so some first few head tanks were concentrated sap and then I was back to pure sap. Could really tell the times between draw off change as I moved to the unconcentrated sap. Hopefully next boil I’ll be able to run all concentrated sap and see what this 2x6 can do. This week is looking like a good one for weather.

weather looks decent this week so will be heading north to the cottage for a week of boiling. Currently have 600L sitting in concentrate tank and 2 tanks in bush are showing to be approx 50% but anticipate both tanks to be close to 100% when I arrive tomorrow.

Pretty good flow today. Still pretty windy but sunny for the most part. Both my pumps were running strong by 10am I’m sure your storage will be full. Happy boiling

Sugar sand seems high this year for me. I’ve seen others talking about it also. Nothing the filters don’t catch but just more then I usually get. Bottled some of the lightest syrup I’ve ever made tonight. Looks great and tastes great but I do prefer my dark. I can always make dark but I can’t always make light so keep it coming. Be nice to have more then just one grade this year on the shelves. So glad I pulled the trigger on the new set of pans. Much more enjoyable to operate and so much more efficient.

The earlier syrup was much clearer than the latest syrup using the same processes. Not sure why. If I let it drip through my vacuum filter it's a little better, but once the vacuum goes on, it's cloudy again.

Are you using filter aid/Diatomaceous earth with your vacuum filter?

I tried using DE once with the vacuum filter but I was probably using the wrong type of DE and wasn't successful.

First year using DE with my vacuum filter and found so far that using a cup of DE mixed into 5 gallons of syrup worked well for me. Results were crystal clear.

Dave how much syrup can you run through your vacuum filter before it’s time to clean and put new filters in?
Also is it a home built one or store bought? I’m really on the fence as to either get a press or vacuum press. I’ve been watching for used presses for a few seasons and haven’t seen anything that’s to great of a deal.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sugarmaker Dave

First year using DE with my vacuum filter and found so far that using a cup of DE mixed into 5 gallons of syrup worked well for me. Results were crystal clear.

---

Which brand of DE?

I do small batches so only doing 6-8L at a time.

edit: And today's batch came out very clear. I couldn't tell you anything I've changed from the last batch that was cloudy.

https://i.ibb.co/N6FFfXh/20230322-153958.jpg

Left: couple days ago (twice filtered) Right: today

Hi Harold - i bought the CDL 9 gallon vacuum this year and so far with limited use I am pleased with it. I run felt filter and a pre-filter on top. Today we did two batches (approx 4.5 gallons each) through the vacuum filter and each time I changed out the pre-filter with a fresh one. And as mentioned I used 1 cup of DE to 5 gallons. Seemed to work well and end result was crystal clear.
I was also thinking a filter press before I bought the vacuum but ended up watching YouTube videos of guys using the CDL vacuum filter and it looked easy to use with minimal cleanup.

Has been a good week. 2.5 half days of boiling and 63.75 Litres of syrup. Sap did not run well yesterday because of previous warm night - however today is a different story with a cool night -5 and + temps today plus sunshine - sap is flowing well today. Plan to collect tomorrow and run thru RO and do another boil.
So far I am 80% of last years haul.

Collected 500L today and ran thru RO. Was able to pour off and bottle 15L of dark amber syrup today. Total for the year is 95.875L. Just shy of last year with opportunity to surpass.

Things have really slowed down here. Collected Friday, Saturday and today. All smaller runs. Looks like we may only have a few more nights below freezing in the next 2 weeks. However, it has been a record year for me, already 60% higher than any other year, first collection was Feb 13th, and I am ready for a break!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Willen

Things have really slowed down here. Collected Friday, Saturday and today. All smaller runs. Looks like we may only have a few more nights below freezing in the next 2 weeks. However, it has been a record year for me, already 60% higher than any other year, first collection was Feb 13th, and I am ready for a break!

---

Congrats! Your hard work paid off.

Pulled my 19 taps this morning in the freezing rain.

I had already collected more than I have any year due to the early start, so I dumped a bunch of sap that had collected in the bags over the last few days.

1300l of sap, 47.5 hours of boiling (not including finishing on kitchen stove), 31l of syrup.

South is pulling taps and some of my trees in the thicker canopy haven't thawed yet, thats interesting.
Since I tapped on March 21 I've collected 378L from 93 taps but I've been chucking the ice so the math from sap to syrup will not add up properly nor will the sap sugar content. I will measure sugar content to see how much of a difference pulling ice makes. My last collection sugar content was between 3 and 4% between buckets without ice.

Looking like the last days for me. Weather isn’t looking great plus it’s time for me to get some other stuff done this spring. Seems like it’s early but it’s not showing another freeze till Friday. Wednesday is looking like we could hit 20. I haven’t actually did a total on syrup produced but I will post it soon.
I’m also going to add a water/sap meter into my set up next year to calculate the sap collection. I always try to keep track but it’s not easy with my gathering system. I’ll add the meter so ever time I’m adding fresh collected sap to the main holding tank it’s tracking it. One between the head tank and evaporator would be pretty cool to track gph boil rate also. I might do this also.
My boil yesterday was absolutely full of sugar sand. Like handfuls and handfuls. I’ve never seen it this bad since I started doing maple. Glad it’s at the end and wasn’t like this all season.

The end is here for me as well, likely the last collection today. Some of my trees have quit, leaking out a dribble of yellow sap in the bucket, while others are still gushing overflowing buckets of sweet clear sap. But the temps are staying high, the turkeys are gobbling, the snow is almost gone ad I am ready for spring.

This year has been a gusher. A full 7 weeks as passed since my first collection. I’m 70% over my previous highest year, and not quite done. Over 100L/27G per tap, and lots wasted to overflow. I keep thinking this can’t be good for the trees.....

The biggest improvement this year was a walking beam, tandem axle atv trailer with a 125G tank for sap collection. Less ground pressure and it will roll over anything. Next experiment will be in filtration, but that’s not for a week or two when I get around to bottling....

Really thinking a larger evaporator needs to find a way into next season!

Not a gusher in my woods. Was an ok season considering the weather. My gravity lines didn’t really produce much this year. Only pulled ok numbers from the vac lines. Next year all my lines will be on vacuum.

That's it for me, I've finished the boils and pulled the taps & lines. A pretty weird season but I will consider it a win as I did better than last year.
Finished up with just over 18L from 883L of sap (~50:1) sugars were 1.0 to max 2.4. I'm pleased with both the mechanical vacuum system and the custom evaporator (I would have liked to have more sap though).
Next years plan includes finding some maple sap and doing a blend between the two.

Thanks for all the help and advice offered.

Dave