sorry Nate!! 'tis th e season to be hunting !!!!
Its finally over the pressures off. the dry spell over got 110 lb 4 pointer.:D
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sorry Nate!! 'tis th e season to be hunting !!!!
Its finally over the pressures off. the dry spell over got 110 lb 4 pointer.:D
It is the season to be hunting, i been hunting too still got nothing yet maybe next week when it starts to cool down again hope to have one by thanksgiving but who knows
Problem with squirrels it that they travel great distances to find food. Nuts were scarce here this fall and there have been thousands of them killed on the highways because they are moving such great distances. I have heard they can move up to 100 miles in a year, don't know if it is true, but they have been moving a lot here earlier this fall and never saw anything like it. As long as there are hickory in that area, you may kill another 40 or 50 from the same stump.Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Brutkoski
Congrats to all you succeful deer hunters. I just got done bow hunting 36 out of a possible 37 days. A mixed season. First year I never saw a legal (4 points on one side) buck from a tree stand:( . For 4 seasons I have done most of my bowhunting with a longbow. I had yet to shoot at a deer. I figued I needed to get this accomplished. I shot a button buck last Monday. No doe hunting here. Were trying to grow the herd. I now have an expensive piece of wood for sale;) . I'm going back to training wheels full time. A week from now we bear hunt. A week after that we rifle hunt deer. I don't think I'll ever move to tubing. Too much hunting to do.
I'm ready to tap. 2 1/2 months to go.
I picked up a 2X5 gas finisher from a fellow trader over the weekend and a plastic tank to be used as a permiate tank. Good day to travel on Sat as it was a total wash out to do anything outside at home.
Keith
Gary, I was talking to a friend in PA last night. He has see over 20 bucks this year. Not one was a legal buck for his area. Antler restriction is working real good??? Were are all the little ones from last year. That montain he is on should be screaming with big two and tree year old deer!!! I don't see twenty buck in five years of hunting. But when I do see one it's legal. Land of presure here in Central New York.
My father was over to give me hell about not having any wood cut. Till he looked in the sugar house and saw it was 3/4 full. So he moved on to another topic, I guess I better get my pre heater project going next.
We got more stuff off the "To Do" list this weekend. First and foremost I took my 5-year old son out for his 1st deer hunt. He was so excited he jumped out of bed at 5:45 a.m. when I woke him! The little guy lasted for over 2 hours the first morning and 1.5 hours yesterday. We didn't see anything - but that's to be expected because he talked the entire time! I've planted the seed and before too long I'll have my huntin' buddy for life!
We got the forms stripped off the knee wall, the subdrain with filter sock placed and the knee wall backfilled with clear stone. The materials are there ready to be turned into a building a couple of weeks time. I'll post pictures of the concrete when I get a chance.
We also got what lines are not semi-rigid back into the bush and stretched. We've got so few of them it took only about 5 hours - a big change from the 5 days it used to take! We even found time to stretch some new semi-rigid that replaces the old purple Lamb lines we got rid of. We'll get about 500 taps onto new semi-rigid this winter and the rest we'll replace next season. I'd much rather stretch new tube than old ones!
We filled the last of our syrup for some Christmas basket orders - that's nice to be done with. We also managed to get some trees cleaned up that had fallen and a bunch of other misc work that needed to be done before the ground is white. 4 months from now there should be steam roaring out of the Force 5!!!
Had a friend that spends the time sugering with me for a few weeks out of the year spend the weekend at my cabin. He walked the woods fixing downed lines and cutting dead falls. Moved the 500 tap bulk tank to end of the paved road so we can stay out of the mud. Because the sap ladder worked so well and the elec Gast vane pump worked fine for my 600+ taps on the other section Im going with another elec oiless vane pump. I spent more money and time on keeping the gas Beast going PLUS the smell of spilled gas.
After thinking about the ball check spouts and the sap backwashing my trees after the pump runs out of gas I think this will help slightly.
Man did underestimate how much 5/16 tubing you use for laterals!!! I ran out again used up another 2000 ft today and I still need some more. I am getting 1000 more and thats it;)
My daughter is 7 goes hunting with me sometimes till she get bored. helped me skin out the one last night then it was bed time for her I finished quatering it up and hung it up in the basement fridge. I showed my son who is 4 the fridge and he was grossed out I told him it was just meat. He said he liked the deer better when it was alive!!! oh man!!! I think I might have a vegetarian on my hands someday:( ...I guess my daughter will have to be my hunting buddy. I hope he grows out of it!!!
Start out with sausage and when he eats pepperoni pizza with it on it he will come around....slowly
oh no... he loves to eat all types of meat, chicken, hamburger, loves bacon and sausage. especially when I smoke my own. I just think he may become one in the future.
Took the 9 year old boy out twice last year. First time turkey hunting. Turkey comes in I get ready and he stands up and starts yelling run bird run. Second time was deer hunting I had a doe tag to fill and had 6 of them in front of me and the kid does the same thing. He loves eating venison though just wants no part of hunting them. 12 year old loves to hunt with me and my 15 year old daughter will sit there all day rattling and grunting in deer for me. 2 out of 3 I will take it.
My daughter would never have made noise well hunting. I think she only got to go hunting with me once when she was little if I remember right. She didn't think to much of pig butchering time at first or when rabbits were ready for the freezer but seemed to have got over it. Now she hunts boyfreinds and hangs their scalps on the wall instead.
I got a few pics of the concrete for the new sap building posted plus one of my Force 5 smokestack where it goes through the roof. They are here:
http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/g...-%20Force%205/
put in about 70 more T's on the laterals I put in yesterday. and stretched and pitched the tubing too. man my hands are a little sore.
I poured concrete today for my RO. Now my back is sore. The pain was worth it though.
Keith
Had to give a presentation in French today on maple syrup. Man that's hard to do. The dumbest guestion I got was why 1 liter of syrup was worth 12 bucks but 4 liters was worth 40 bucks. Had to expalin that the cost of the bottles goes down with bigger bottles. I have no idea if they believe me or not. One fellow asked to buy a 4 liter jug and several wanted smaller ones.
Replaced spark plugs on the wife's car tonight. 2005 Ford 500 v-6. I began by taking off the rear license plate and working forward until I got to the three plugs at the back of the engine!:( What a pain in the but. Never had to take off a intake manifold before to change plugs! Engine light is still on but car seems to run strong now. Probably needs electronic fault cleared?
Absolutely no maple news today I didn't even make it out to the sugar house. That's rare. Spending way to much time on the couch.:)
Could someone start a Maple Rehab Program (MRP)?
Regards,
Chris
I've been working on the half pint. The barrel needed to be patched up before the season. I just got the ceramic blanket today, Mcmaster carr has a good price on it if your in the market. Still have to paint brick and test fire the bad boy. Not to mention I have to cut wood, this is the first year with this evaporator so I have no idea how much wood to cut, so I guess I'll just cut until I get tired of cutting and splitting.
Can you disconnect the battery post to clear the fault.
Found a sorce for some SS today. The local hall and community bar had did some up dates and threw all the old stuff in a heap in the bush. Lots of odds and ends plus a couple of peices of flat stock of a good size plus some copper tubeing and SS tubes. Will get this evaporator made yet.
All I have been doing is working on Maple stuff. I have been putting up more wood and hoping I dont need it. Started the wiring in the sugar house. Need to run 220 for the new rig,plus I am adding a new circit for lights. I still have lots of woods work to do. Need to run a 11/2 line to the tanks off of 1000 taps. and set up a vacuum pump and releaser for 1600 taps and the add anther 400. I dont think I'll do much deer hunting this year. I still need to put the stacks up for the force 5 too. I am waiting on the correct roof jacks. I probably wont trap this year either. Oh well!
Dave - Make sure you get a good sharp drill bit for the pilot holes through the SS roof jacks. I darn near wore out my shoulders trying to push roofing screws through the jacks!
On a related note - how much fun was it cutting the hole in your steam hood for the steam stack base? It didn't feel right to cut a big hole in a perfectly good, brand new, big $$$ evaporator! Since we've got a pre-heater we had to be really careful not to hit the pipes as they are only a few inches below the top of the hood. The SS is so tough we burned through 2 blades for the reciprocating saw to get the hole cut! Make sure you put 3 or 4 SS metal screws through the 2 ends of the base or else you'll get water running down the length of the channel along the top of the hood. The screws will make sure the condensation ends up in the drip tray below.
Marty,
I have not cut a hole in the steam hood yet. I am waiting till I get the correct roof jacks before I do any cutting. I bought a nibbler for on my drill I am not sure how well it will work. Thanks for the tip on the stack bases
You guys and your new shiny evaporators!:)
I have cut and hacked some stainless too. These tips might help someone. t A sawszall will leave a mark on the new stainless as the foot scuffs along during the cut. some tape or cardboard may help eliminate the scuff marks.
On straight cuts I have used a 7-1/4 circular saw with the blade turned around backwards. Wear ear protection and take your time. I have made some nice cuts. Now this throws a big burr on the bottom of the cut and a small burr on the top which have to be removed. Be careful handling pieces with these burrs they are very sharp!
FYI: I have a extra hole in my hood :) that was put in the wrong place during fabrication ( By someone) and had to be covered due to required location of pipe through the roof. :(
DaveY, I think several of us are planning to come down for your test run.
Regards,
Chris
the blue painting tape works best it comes off really easy!!! just don't leave it on too long or it won't come off easy!!
tapped 2 cull trees yesterday because we have had some cold nights around 24-25F but got more drips from the frost melting off the lid of the buckets, than sap...not a drop. nedd a good cold snap I think.
Put in some more drops today. Had to return some T's to bascom's I ordered the wrong ones so I am waiting for the replacements. their computer was down so my order didn't get shipped I thought it was taking too long!!! They always have great customer service.
My son had his first venison(he had some before but he was too little to remember) and for not liking to see the dead deer he loved the meat...with ketchup!!! :D
That should work better as long as it can take the heavy gauge stainless. I figured my cut didn't need to be perfect because it all gets covered by the base plate and won't be seen again unless I need to relocate the evaporator. For the steam hood over the front pans I'll just cut it while it's on the floor and with no pre-heater to worry about it'll be far less stressful!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Y
Chris,
Glad to hear some of you are planning on coming down. I talked to Matt Williams from Lapierre today and he confirmed he would be there also. I am trying to talk Rejean Laverdiere into coming also. But I doubt that he will be able to make it.
Ennis, The hole was already cut in the front hood and guess where it falls right on a rafter. Oh well there are remedies for that
Sugarmaker I don't recomend disconnecting the battery on the wifes car. It will not reset the pcm. You can either drive it and it will reset after something like 300 miles if you corrected the problem or just run down to an autozone or another parts store and they will reset it for free and tell you exacally what the problem is. I had a chevy that you had to take the motor mount bolts out and use a prybar to lift the motor enough to pull the plugs. Asked the dealer how they do it and that is exaxally how they did theres as well. Nothing like modern technology sometimes.
Well today I began on making cream and coated nuts getting ready for the holidays and Christmas fairs. It seems like more and more are moving the dates to earlier dates. I wish more were after Thanksgiving since I don't like to make my candy to early.
Keith
when i cut the holes in my hood found drilling hard bought carbide tip drill bits 3 bucks each. as for the main holes two of us on a pair of sheers cut the holes for steam stacks. worked great that way nice clean holes.was nice the plate covers any mistakes
I've been told mine won't be pre-cut so I can avoid that problem. My rafters are on 24" centres so there's not much play in a 17" stack to fit it through!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Y
3rdgen.
You were right on!, the car engine light corrected its self yesterday after about 100 miles. Thanks
I am working in Google Sketch up on the sketches for the WRU components. Couple more years and I may get the hang of it:)
Chris
Ennis,
I was told mine wouldn't be precut either, But it was. :(
Today was a good day. I made it out in the woods with a level and was able to see if I could get a sap ladder to work at the bottom of the hill to get everything over the crest and down to the sugar house. It looks like it'll work, but it's going to be tall. If I clear the crest of the hill w/ 3+ feet and run a 2% slope 500' to the bottom of the hill, I'll be 27.5' in the air. Now if I clear the crest with less than that and run less than 2% I can bring that 27.5' down a bit...maybe in the 20' range. One sap line comes in around 5.5' off the ground so I'd be looking at a sap ladder less than 22'. The others can be up to 10' off the ground. My new vac. pump should pull 25". I'm going to sketch my woods up next week and post it on the trader to get input on how best to set the sap ladders up, whether I go for one big one, one for each mainline, or something else.
I've also found trying to set mainline by eye can be very deceiving. You really need a level when setting it. I ran through all my mainline and found the flat one I had, really was flat and the lower half of it is going to come up about 2', and the upper end is actually going to drop a couple of feet and get down to waist height. I also found the upper end of another mainline is going to drop down to waist level and I can remove that short sap ladder and extend it through the flatter areas w/out any problems w/ pitch.
Overall a very good day. Should be starting woods work in the next couple of weeks, once I get the sugar wood done...
When I installed the mainline I used a site level. but I think messed up right in the begininng. before I started to put in saddles I put 1 gallon of water in 1 section of the mainline to see if all the water would come out and I was pleased I got back 3/4 of a gallon but I knew there was a quart still in there somewhere. So my flat spot was about 30 ft in when I drilled a hole for the saddle, water came out. So I fixed it up ran the test gallon again and got just shy of the full gallon which I would contribute to fittings and what not. So even with a level I still had a dip. after I get all the saddles on and all the laterals tight I will go back and check things out again just to be sure!!!
Today was a day to get a bunch of things wrapped up.
I now have te one bender milk releaser mounted next to the dairy tank and works great.
I also go the other Bender mounted to a skid platform that I made up for the lower part of my system. It is just a small pallet with a 50 gal rubbermaid container and a pole that the Bender is mounted to. Once the season is over it will be moved back up to the sugarshack.
I made a bench to hold my coffee maker for bottling syrup.
Slowly I am getting things done.
She who must be obeyed insisted that I do real work today instead of maple stuff. So I had to repair the rotted out floor in the office of the greenhouse. The OSB was completly rotted and turns out the beams under neath were gone also. Weeeeeeeeee such fun. Now I can go back to doing something worth while.
Went to a auction couple of miles away. Nothing maple there but chatted with several producers, neighbors, and friends.
After I stopped at Gary R's Cousin and picked his brain on tig welding stainless for the WRU. Sounds feasible and Kurt gave me some good tips on joint design to make welding simpler and ideas on welding equipment. He stopped over and looked at the plans that I have and the materials and helped me with some brainstorming.
Puttered in the sugar house tonight and helped the neighbor with a small restoration of a bench vice. I think we saved it!
Regards,
Hope all maple families are well.
Chris
Sitting here watching MNF and waiting for another batch of candy to be ready to make. My first Christmas fair is this Sat. Syrup sales this year have been good so I'm wondering how maple products will sell this Christmas?
I will know in a few weeks.
Keith