Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

I pulled in about 300 gallons at 2.6% today at and yesterday with the bulk of it today. Didn't really get going until 2 pm and it just froze up. I didn't want an ice cube in my tank so I boiled it all off tonight. Drew off over 10 gallons and will filter it the next time I boil.

Spent the afternoon fixing some leaks and adding some mainline supports in some low slope areas where I had some sags. Two lateral mainlines weren't getting full vac transfer to the end due to ice from leaks. Things are pretty well sorted out in the woods and vac was at 27". Seems like more squirrel activity than usual so I may be busy this season chasing leaks.

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Originally Posted by spud

I only got about 700 gallons today. Never got real warm and the wind was blowing all day. I doubt I will get much tomorrow because it is going to get cooler by afternoon. Looks like next Wednesday is the next day it could run for me. I sure hope the sap runs right up to the end of April.

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Today was probably the closest I'll ever come to matching your sap flow, Spud. Pulled in a couple of hundred gallons, most of it after dark.

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Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins

The one good thing about all the cold weather we've been having here in northern Vermont is that it has allowed us to get the tubing system nice and tight. Three gauges below are from two different research sections (LR pump research pump on top, Busch research pump in middle) and the main bush production area (Busch pump on bottom....that gauge is actually reading about 0.8" Hg too low).

Crew is now headed out into another couple of sections of woods where the two Busch pumps are reading 23.5" and 25" Hg.

Still just a bit too cold for the sap to run.

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Earlier this year you talked about a device that counts gallons of sap. Can you give me info on them. I have a releaser with a pump built in and my wife starts the ro before I get home from work so I would like to know how many gallons of sap I'm getting.

Ty

This is what we use. www.watermeters.com


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I also have a DLJ meter that I got used from another sugarmaker. Mine is for 1" and seems to work very well. They're not 100% accurate, but close enough...

Had over 5,000 gallons come in yesterday, boiling up today since we'll probably not get any sap again until Wednesday. -2 on the thermometer this morning. Guess mother nature doesn't know it's spring.

made another 6 gal close to 29 total

Well that was a fun weekend (I think) started gathering sap Saturday night around 9:00pm did not want it to freeze up in the tanks with very cold temps forecasted for that night and sunday Had trouble getting it out of the two last loads around 2:00 am had to keep hot water on the outlet valve in order to get it out Then had a in line filter clog with ice slush and drain was froze getting water out of the bldg. Finally all sap RO'd and to bed at 6:00am up at 12 to get boiling a hose on the filter press was froze so when first running It hose blew off and syrup every where:cry: finally got it boiled and made 150 gals. from 4500 gals of sap That puts us around 550 gals. We made 650 gals. all of last March so I guess we are on par with last year
My son said we just have to get a little better with this cold weather sugaring if that's what mother nature is going to throw at us " Yeah" I like his attitude but I'm still looking forward to some temps a little warmer

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Originally Posted by Sugarmaker's dad

This is what we use.

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For more accurate results, it would be better to add about 1' of straight pipe going into and out of the meter. Any type of fittings close to the meter will cause turbulence which can results in measurement errors. Not sure about preferred orientation on that particular meter, but some water meters do best when they lay flat.

Glad to hear things are going well South of me. Nothing going on up here. Sarah Lee and I are justing sitting around waiting for the sun to come out.:)

Spud