Are you using buckets on the red maples? If so, just to let you know they perform much better on a tubing system with vacuum.
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Are you using buckets on the red maples? If so, just to let you know they perform much better on a tubing system with vacuum.
I used buckets my first year, on a mix of reds and sugars. The reds did flow less but they flowed.
On vac they are essential equal (in volume, not % sugar).
My trees were slow yesterday when I tapped, but by the end of today things picked up.
I put about half my taps in yesterday, a little over 50 - Second half in today. Hard to believe it was 10 below a few days ago, sap was running yesterday - Looks like good weather ahead, for how long, who knows?
I have a mix of bags and buckets. I got three buckets and lids for free, so I purchased the bigger spiles for them. Interestingly, those bigger spiles were leaking yesterday after the subfreezing temps. They were running better yesterday. I don't think I'll ever produce enough to justify a vacuum system. Plus our trees are very far apart. We'll see how it goes. I think I'll be switching to all bags next year. There have been so many bugs in the buckets and now leaking sap.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pdiamond
What kind of buckets? I have 5 gal buckets with 5/16 tubing going into a hole drilled in the lids. The tubing is a tight fit in the hole through the lid, so I have pretty clean sap, no bugs.Quote:
Originally Posted by TapNewbieCT
I tapped the trees I have on tubing only, that go to my main tank Sunday and yesterday (about 40 ish taps). I hope to get the bucketed trees tapped today.
got 65 taps in so far, yesterday quite a few were dripping at a good pace, today only a couple were a slow drip
gonna finish up one property tomorrow and have a new one to check out this weekend
Tapped 88 today. All were running. The sap from the 35 on gravity 3/16 tubing was zooming through the tubing. I have 30 more taps to put out tomorrow.
I've got a little over 100 in, some full buckets this afternoon. Probably making some steam later tomorrow -
I collected my first 70 gallons of sap today. Sugar content was 2.6! I had to zero out the refractometer and check it again. 2.6! Once I run it through the RO I'll double that. What is everybody else getting with their sap sugar levels?
I boiled off about 150 gal. of 2% sap yesterday AM, then collected another 100 for Sat. What a crazy start, about 10 am a honeybee flies into the barn. With whats forecast for next week, expect to see buds on the trees, maybe mow the lawn in March this year. I miss the older weather. Several years ago there was a Feb. I had no sap, 0, for the whole month. It was just too cold to run.