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well theron if could have gone wrong it did yesterday. it started off at 10 degrees in the am. once the sap started even with the cold wind it ran great. spent a lot of time on one releaser just tighting leaks. was freezing in the releaser. different ball game with the high vac.gonna take totally apart today and and soft seal all threads and change and double clamp all fittings. found out yesterday the white connectors got to go.then to the sugar house. every line even tho i drained still were froze in a spot somewhere. got r/o going and started boiling. truck came in with load, could not unload frozen in the line to tank. got that going started to draw off and air compresser would not work to run filter press. both draw off tanks level full got that going just in time.then i broke my hydometer that left me looking for another that worked. every thing i touched from that point have a malfuntion. then the r/o started leaking out the top of one of the membranes. bad valve. had anew brass on hand and got that fixed. so all in all with all that said i think that with the next few days looking cold that should give me a good shot to make some product later this week. at 1400 so far
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Jeff- Weve been pretty much fighting the same battles. I guess thats sugaring. Once the early season passes it get a lot better. Its a miracle anyone makes any syrup really. I think Im about done. Hardly keep the syrup in the pans. Think I may hit 1100 today which Im pretty proud of the way the season is down here this year. Biggest thing I found with my vac this year is you have to keep the pump stone cold if you can. Its twice the pump literally and youll gain several inches of vac even with no leaks to speak of if the pump is cool. Good luck, hope you get your half gallon. Theron
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Update from BIGSAP central- Just about cought up finally from all the sap. Main bush behing the house is slowing down but still running. A lot of those taps were put in in january so it seems pretty remarkable but is pretty much closely following the study that proctor research did about the early tapping. Bush across the road still seems very much alive and last good run day ran the tanks over with over a gallon per tap. Struggling now to process the stuff through the evaperator. Foams terrable. Last night had to quit. Going to try tonight to work it through with the pans deep and the fire low. Making full blown mersh now and Im new to it becouse Ive never kept going to the end and if I can work it through I want to becouse a barrell of the stuff may pay my yearly electric bill for the shed. Im somewhere between 11 and 1200 gallons now and Im kind of hoping to hit 1200 but have to see. I have 3600 taps on the pump and that includes the cull tree stand Plus I have like a 150 buckets that we havent kept up on so if I hit the 1200 Id be close to a third which Im really happy with becouse it looks to me like the gravity guys have only had two real good runs. Whatever it is Ive tapped every tree readily available to me, tapped early to get it all, ran high vac all season, worked through the night and worked the equipment hard and mostly havent lost any of it on the ground. Dad and I have given it 100% all season and Im darn proud of what weve done and the syrup weve made and consider the season a big success. ( No matter what we do any year Im considering it a big success, your happier that way). Hope everyone is having fun. Ill soon be done. Theron
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Boil
Sap Czar,
I am having the same boil/foam problems. Front pan goes right over the top before I can get the flue pan boiling much at all. Took it off and cleaned it Monday but last night it was little better, De Foaming constantly and I don't like it. Hard freeze for the past several days and the pump lines have been a real head ache. Been hauling sap I should be pumping. Rest of week looks like lows near 30 so that problem should go away and then it will only be trying to keep my head above the sap. I need more storage space...can you send the milk truck up here?????????????
Doug
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The sap started flowing again here yesterday after a one day stoppage. This is the first time that I have gotten sap 13 days out of 14. Had some freeze ups Monday but everything thawed on its own yesterday. The thermometer said 41 but the cold north wind made it feel alot colder. I started to pull in sap around 11 am but it didn't really start flowing until 2 pm or so. Unlike Theron I pulled a bonehead move and pumped 600 gallons of 2.1% onto the ground. I really needed that to get my gallons of syrup per tap count up.
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Russ- Weve had some losses too from honest mistakes like that. Dont feel bad at all. All you can do is your best and its hard not to make mistakes when your tired all the time. Doug- Wish I could let you use it but I dont have a truck and it isnt actually my trailer yet. If it was I would let you use it. Keep plugging, That foam is terreble, Im going to try tonight deeper pans and less fire. Thats what Matt told me to do. Good luck buddy, Theron
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Monday was the first day I had no sap what so ever also for a while and yesterday the trees just stated to wake up again. Today is supposed to be near 50 degrees and that usaually gets the trees hopping. I have this feeling that I have a good couple of weeks coming finally.
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THERON with that late season stuff is where you will wear your press out. i would just direct dump into drum and send. as for the foam issue. put the defoamer in the float box a good shot every time you walk by. and a shot where the sap enters the the front pans from the flue. dont worry about too much it is commm any why. if youy get it real close and get dont think you can get it off with out burning it take it off put in drum and send marked low denisity. all by the pound
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Have been having the same problems as everyone else.
I am running my syrup pan at 2.5 inches and the foaming is better but still happening. I hesitate to defoam probably as much as it would take to knock it down but may try a little more tonight.
I also have been dumping right into a corny soda barrel for the last couple days. Still making B grade but boy is it full of crap. I figure, I'll let it settle out and then filter it without distrubing the sludge on the bottom.
Keep plugging away Theron, this is just icing on th cake and a little extra to pay the bills. Nice job this year.
Mike
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Just checking in and it is fun to see what is happening out east. We are waiting for the big month of April here in NW Wisconsin.
Have made a couple of barrels worth, but waiting on the big runs to come. I am still adding trees whenever I can. I just picked up some more tubing and want to get to 300 more trees before next week. Wish me luck!
Also, I bit the bullet and bought a Wes Fab 7" full bank. I hope to send it on its maden voyage tomorrow night.
All the syrup made so far is Dark Amber. We still have frost in the ground up here so the best is yet to come (I hope).
CDL RO is working great. It if really something fun to make syrup when you have to constantly watch the draw of pail because it may overflow in a matter of minutes!
