When I did my taxes this year after adding up all of the sales and all of the expenses I made $119 last year.
Dave I am planning to tap the fisrt weekend in March. It looks like that is when this cold spell should break.
Russ
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When I did my taxes this year after adding up all of the sales and all of the expenses I made $119 last year.
Dave I am planning to tap the fisrt weekend in March. It looks like that is when this cold spell should break.
Russ
Russell, If you made $119 last year you likely forgot some expenses, that is way too high. Better look again!
Hi Russ!
Haven't even charged my drill yet. So if this business were separated into three components, raw material, production and sales and if you had a choice of finding an orchard producing 4% sap, or doubling your production efficency, or selling syrup for $6lb in bulk, which would you choose?
Bruce
I was fortunate enough to lose $2700 last year!!!
I think we would do fine if it was not for the price of the oil!!!! I know RO ! Will be looking into that for next season.
JIM L.
_______________
-4 THIS MORNING, no warm up in sight. most of us do this as a hobby so anything we get back usually goes for upgrades or more equipment. i own a boat and get no return on it.
RICH
Hey Theron, just curious what size cull trees you are tapping. Am planning on doing the same thing while slowly thinning/developing a new bush. How small of a diameter are you putting a tap in? Thanks
Those cull taps are probably running about as good as the others since you only have 1 tap per tree.
-24 below this morning.
Mark,
I hear ya... don't even want to think about tapping when it's this cold. Slight warm up for the weekend, so we'll go clean the sugar shack, dig some storage tanks from out of the snow, and walk the lines to take care of deadfalls. Not too concerned about not tapping in February at this point; I haven't seen or heard of any of the southern WI guys starting yet. A little worried about a fast season... or syruping into May, which is turkey hunting season.
Where are you located?
That's a very cool idea. Do you have any pics of the plastic sugar shack? How did you let the steam and stack vent?Quote:
Originally Posted by 3% Solution
Sorry to hijack the thread.
Thanks in advance,
Sean
Russ,
West of Menomonie, which is west of Eau Claire. I talked to you or your mother last spring on the phone.
I have been just putzing doing indoor items. Walked lines one day last week, but you really hate to go out when its only 5-10 degrees.
I will be checking lines in ernest this weekend. No real tapping weather in the short term here.
Bruce I would go for that stand of trees with the 4% sap. I already bought the machine to increase my efficiency by 400% and if the bulk prices get up to $6lb. I will sell most of my syrup bulk. The price increase to the customer would be too much for most people if my prices were adjusted to match. I love doing this and don't do it for the money. That $119 would have been $919 if I hadn't had to spend $800 to replace the stack on my evaporator and buy some repair parts for my RO machine.
Russ
So I have been working in the SH today and my little wood stove just doesn't put out the heat due to how small the firebox is.. so... I called up my brother in law for the old wood stove that was my " FIRST" evaporator... so ironically it now sits in the sugarhouse as supplemental heat, I will have a picture of it as an evap near it for ha-ha's ;)
http://www.desjardinsmaple.com/__hr_..._maple_rig.jpg
Began tapping on Saturday and spent alot of time slipping and slidding even with ice traction on my boots.
Keith
Well, I had a busy weekend. On Saturday afternoon I tapped about 40 more on tubing that was already up, then hung 50 buckets. That should put me at about 600 taps. I still have 200 more on tubing that need repaired/ tapped. I also finished a bucket stand / marcland drawoff stand. Yesterday I repaired some squirrel damage, spent 5 hrs running mainline that should get me 50 more taps and hooked up the drawoff unit. Hopefully we'll get a run today, though it was 18 degrees at the farm this morning, about 8 degrees colder than I would've liked to see!
Andy,
Your are well into it, but as you said, the weather is just not syrup weather yet!
If there is not much mud you probably wont get much sap. So we wait.
I am going to make some value added maple products while the weather is cold. Maple Mustard (std and HOT), Maple barbecue sauce, maple coated peanuts.
Need to get the shelves stocked for our NWPA Maple Taste and Tour, March 15 and 16.
By the way they (weather folks) did say that Lake Erie is completely froze over! Anyone for hard water fishing while waiting for syrup season to arrive? Go for IT!
Chris
Here's a nice pan on ebay that would make a good starter pan for someone. It would probably boil off 30 to 40 gph with a good homemade setup. Whatever warping it had wouldn't hurt anything and the sugar would like seal off the leaking fitting.
http://cgi.ebay.com/maple-syrup-evap...ayphotohosting
I have a old king float , box, and valve I would sell reasonable if someone gets this or another pan and needs one..
Andy
Guys- Almost filled my second barrell last night. Just looked at the forecast and looks like spring is coming to Pa bigtime. I put out more taps and I think ive got the hang of things. Just got to finetune in the sugarhouse. It think there is SERIOUS BIG SAP on the way. Im going to see if I can make that bernard double dump every 30 seconds. Wish me luck. Hope your seasons kick in soon. Theeeeron
Theron,
What forecast are you looking at? My 15 day may have 1or 2 sap days 3 at
the most. I have been twidling my thumbs for almost 2 weeks now since I have tapped. I sure hope your forecast is right!
If I remember Theron works with of for a power company. Wouldn't put it past Matt and Theron to put electric heat in the sugarbush! All that late night work sounds kind of suspicous to me. That might explain his two drums syrup to everyone elses icicles! LOL
Mark
Dave and Mark- Im not making things up. If you look at accu for my area its calling as of today for Id say 9 hard run days in the next 15. It just changed today. Also weather channel is saying it too. Its going to warm on sat then I think itll run good sunday. Monday total gulley washer. Tuesday still run. Then cold few days then 40s and 50s. I think its going to be BIGSAP bigtime. Matts weather up there is reflecting the same higher temps. Dave- Your going to have to tell Jack if he wants to buy syrup hes going to have a class A CDL just to haul the stuff out of here. Theeeron
Theron, I just Checked your weather and you ain't crazy. I also checked ours and your temps are 3-5 degs warmer than mine. If the forecast holds we should have 8 sap days in the next 15. That is a big change from this AM when the were only 2.
My forcast also looks like 8-9 days run in next 15. Looks like I will be tapping the rest of mine on Sat. and Sun.. Then look out, here it comes. I put in for Wed afternoons off thru March (except week leading into Easter where I have Thurs-Monday off already) to help keep up with it. Might be just in time. Yaba Daba Do!!!!
You guys better get ready. Springs here and the sap is going to flow. Im going to bet a pic of it coming into the releaser monday and Ill put it on the photobucket. Dave- know you busted butt this year, hope it runs hard for you. Theeron
I hope it does also. If not my ___ is in a ringer. I need to make a minimum of 200 gal this year. sure hope it happens. and soon. I normally am a patient man but i am starting to lose my patience.
Down here in lower PA it looks like come Friday or Sat things will start flowing again.
I collected enough the past two days to fire up the evap to boil everything down to about 2 gals, so another day or two worth of sap and I will have my 1st gal of syrup.
Dennis- I think down there youve probly had a little better weather which is probly normal. We really havent had much good here yet. Just a couple runs kind of spread out but nothing great. I think the weather is changing this weekend. Sounds like you rig is working real good for you. Theeron
Just read that post about Ohio banning wood fires. That would put a crimp in the syrup industry.
Cold and blustery here tonight. I broke down and ordered a tank of Propane. With all this talk about giant SAP coming I figured I wouldn't have time to get to the house and keep the fire going:)
Hope things are well in southern syrup land. Maybe this weekend will be the break we are looking for.
Just got a call to ship some syrup out west to a customer so the folks are ready!
Our son Eric just left on his 'new' sled a 1990 Arctic Cat with 1000 miles. He has about a 9 mile ride home and is now enjoying the snow he would normally complain about:)
Off to stir things up in some other posts.
Have to get my photobucket working again. For some reason it was taking folks to the sign in page or something. I must have had the wrong URL? I have too many pictures anyway!
Chris
Just checked the forcast here for the next 7-10 days. weather.gov has lower temps than intellicast for the same time frame. Neither are great but at least there is a hint of sap weather in the future! Hope to be tapped by weekend.
Funny how much difference a few hundred miles of latitude can make. In eastern Ontario: on Monday we'll get well above freezing with a bunch of rain. That's the only day in the next 2 weeks we're forecasted to get above freezing.
Doesn't that figure, I just checked the 15 day again and now they only show 4 days possible flow, with the warmest of those a lone 40 degrees. I think my grandmother used to forcast better than they can with all of the computor models they have.
Dave
yes the 10 day usually looks good then as it gets closer the temps keep dropping. hard to believe they can keep a job
RICH
Yeah Theron, the forecast is looking good for the up coming week. I figure Sun I will have enough to fire up evap again and it looks like the next 7 days after that will be runners. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
The local weather guy said the other day that Feb so far has been only .1 degrees below normal, we had a few days well above and alot of days only a few degrees below. So it works out that we are almost right on for Feb.
One thing to remember and I have said this several times before, the weather forecasters are almost always over optomistic this time of year. People want to see and hear happy things, not depressing things.
Two nights ago they forecasted a low of 24 above that evening, when I got home from work in the morning, it was -4 below. If I was that much off at something at work, I would have been suspended or terminated. LOL
Picked up the EEU, sink and filter / canner today.
Hope that EEU works!!!
Going to tap on Sunday, then see what happens.
Looks like a couple of days in the low 40's this week.
Next week should be ok.
Those weather guys use a number of models for predicting the weather and sometimes they have to go with a blend of the different models.
Also, keep in mind these prediction are for a large area and when you look at your weather condition you are looking at site specific.
There are little weather climates all over the place, so it's hard to always be right.
Just what's going on here and my view of the weather guys and their job.
I always use the National Weather Service Forecasts, they seem to be the best.
I also like to look at the discussions, that is interesting reading.
Dave
And there is a major change in the 15 day again. Now my 15 day shows 8 day good flow. They keep changing big time every few hours. I still would like to find a weather forcaster with a fairly good accuracy record. I am going to tap the rest this weekend if something doesn't come up to stop me. If time permits I will also add about 25-30 more taps in my new bush.
Mapleflats,
You're looking to far out and with confidence.
Once a forecaster gets out beyond 4 days, 5 at the most, they are really trying to look into a crystal ball. and they will tell you that
Like I said, go to the National Weather Service.
You may get your wx out of Albany, so, do a search for "National Weather Service, Albany".
Then find your county and watch your wx with them for a while.
Depending on how their home page is set up will depend on where you have to go.
I'll try to find it for you and get back with a link for you.
It must be a bear anyway with the lake effect stuff where you are.
I'll be back!!
Dave