Tapping in Effie, Mn 3/3/2018

Started tapping Saturday 3/3/2018
Slow process as we are new to this 3/16. Got the first two runs tapped which was painfull looking like the three stuges but lots of fun. Will continue today the 4th of March.
Initial observation on the first run was sap running building up in tube however noticed 2 5/16 drops halfway down had back pressure and filled right up. Can any one give me something I should be looking for or is it that maybe there just is not enough flow to create the vacuum yet?


First year with 3/16. With 6 runs of 25 and 200 taps on buckets (not all parties buying into 3/16) where is the faith.

The only place I have used tubes was first time last year where I have 2 huge producing trees next to each other. I run 4 taps into a 5 gal container. I was thinking the same as you and got impatient last year as it seemed they were vapor locking. I drilled small holes in the tops of the plastic taps. Not sure if it made any difference though. Sap ran into the bucket eventually so all was well.

Do you have 6 lines of 25 each or 6 lines with 25 total? If it's only 25 total you won't have enough sap to fill each line. We have at least 20 taps on each line and they work great. It could also be to early and the sap isn't running great.

25 taps per line. Tapped another line yesterday and the same thing. Flowing sap half way up then nothing. Not a fast flow yet gas sap gas sap gas sap which would potentially mean no air leak. I guess before I get too hung up on it we need a good flow and do not think it is here yet.

I hope you do not have enough flow yet! We are south of Aitkin and have not started tapping.

I started tapping Saturday. I’m in Worthington. I’m about as far south as you can be and still be a Minnesotan. I putout 60 taps and about a third of we’re starting to run. We just had a blizzard for two days so I will gather tonight and see if anything ran for two days. Tomorrow more tapping.


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Finished tapping. Ten lines of 3/16 ~ 225 taps and ~ 75 buckets. Temps this week look to be ideal. We are ready.

Hopeful that snow hardens up a little so I'm able to walk on top of it. 25 inches in the last 3 weeks. Tried the atv in the woods and it is tough. Lot of hills to gather on. May try tapping a few today. Motley, Mn.

75 taps in. was ruff going with hills and hard snow in AM and rotten snow in PM. Most are starting to drip but not until latter in the day. Maybe we will be boiling by the weekend. Located between Marcell and Bigfork.

Lines flowing but only at a good drip. Buckets are really doing nothing. As it is our first year of 3/16 we figured we would gauge the system off the buckets to let us know if it is working. Think temps are dipping to low at night as it takes until noon or so to thaw out. Wait for it......

New guy from Brimson.
I just tapped ~80 trees today. I want to tap at least 160 more. This is my third year. I hoping the sap will start running this weekend. I may be still a week too early. We still have 18" of snow. I'm hoping to make 20 gallons of syrup this year.

I use the 1 quart of syrup per tap forecast - varies year to year, but at 10 gallons of sap per tap you get 1 quart. At that rate, with 240 taps you should get 60 gallons !!!!!

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Originally Posted by BigPine

I use the 1 quart of syrup per tap forecast - varies year to year, but at 10 gallons of sap per tap you get 1 quart. At that rate, with 240 taps you should get 60 gallons !!!!!

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I would be so happy with 60 gallons.
Lurking through this forum I notice the more South people are located, the more sap they get. The last two years because of the temps, it was tough to get a quart per tree per day. The next thing I know, nature flipped a switch and 60-70 weather was here. I was emptying bags everyday to make sure it didn't go rancid. I had to boil for the same reason. I ended up doing 8 small batches for a total of 13 gallons. I live off grid 1/2 hour North of Two Harbors so refrigerating or freezing the sap wasn't an option.

collected 22 gallons yesterday. First big run. We will see what the next few day brings. 75 bags with only about half producing.

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Originally Posted by billschi

I would be so happy with 60 gallons.
Lurking through this forum I notice the more South people are located, the more sap they get. The last two years because of the temps, it was tough to get a quart per tree per day. The next thing I know, nature flipped a switch and 60-70 weather was here. I was emptying bags everyday to make sure it didn't go rancid. I had to boil for the same reason. I ended up doing 8 small batches for a total of 13 gallons. I live off grid 1/2 hour North of Two Harbors so refrigerating or freezing the sap wasn't an option.

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Billschi - Push / shovel / pile as much snow as you can into the woods or to the north side (shade) of a structure during the winter. Come Spring, you should have some left to keep stored sap cool while waiting to boil.

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Originally Posted by Austin351

Billschi - Push / shovel / pile as much snow as you can into the woods or to the north side (shade) of a structure during the winter. Come Spring, you should have some left to keep stored sap cool while waiting to boil.

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I have a few of feet of snow on the back side of the garage which is close to where I'm boiling and gets no sun. I should be good for storage.
How long is it good for in a snowbank? 5 days?

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Originally Posted by billschi

I have a few of feet of snow on the back side of the garage which is close to where I'm boiling and gets no sun. I should be good for storage.
How long is it good for in a snowbank? 5 days?

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My storage barrels usually have ice in them from sitting in the snow and out of the sun. I would say at least 7 days. (the sap I boiled today was 8 days)

Collected 125 gallons on 3/24 and boiled down to 3.3 gallons on 3/25. Taps on buckets froze solid with not much to talk about. Sap collected was from the 3/16 lines.
Fresh snow today (6-8”) and temp did not get above 34. Maybe a short run tomorrow and Wednesday and then back to sub freezing for at least a week. What an odd year.

Still nothing. Everything froze solid. Ice fishing is great though. :lol:

I just looked up Effie. You are really out there!

Still waiting patiently. Thought we would have a couple days prior to sub freezing temps through the weekend but not producing. 15 day forecast starting on the 15th looks to be the real thing this time. Get ready!!!!!

God I hope so Jukenjer!

Jukenjer,
I'm still new at this- 3rd year, we still have 12" of snow on the ground with another 3" that fell this AM. I really thought the trees would start flowing this week. I was sadly mistaken. I'm a little bit south of you, near Brimson. We've had pretty decent weather this week,I really thought the sap would start flowing. Some taps I've had had out for 3 weeks due to the forecast I seen and then it changed as the days approached. When do you put out taps? I fear that I put them out too early and when the sap starts to really flow, the tree will be in it's healing process and my volume will be limited.

I have some small maple trees of which I pruned branches back in November when the trees were dormant. The wounds started weeping sap yesterday for the first time, 5 months after pruning, and it is a flood soaking the trunks of the trees. I am no expert but I think the healing process only occurs after most if not all of the sap run has occurred in springtime (which is ultimately how I know when to pull taps knowing the season has ended), so I do not feel there is a time limit regarding installing taps too early and having them "close up" or heal before the sap run. How would they heal during wintertime when the trees are dormant and the wood is frozen? I bet I could tap a dormant tree in November and the tap would produce sap 5 months later during the spring run.

Billschi by no means are we experts either. Last year we tapped March 3rd and finished April 16th with the biggest runs the last three weeks. We tapped again the first weekend of March and here we are mid April with only 3 1/2 gallons in the bank. I just tapped 40 trees last Monday here at my house near Nashwauk and they are dry today. May take a couple days to get primed. I would think there is some healing going on but insignificant to the run, however I am sure the big sugar bushes watch that close as 1% decrease affects there bottom line.

Jukenjer did the trees start running for you also yesterday?

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Originally Posted by TooManyIrons...

I have some small maple trees of which I pruned branches back in November when the trees were dormant. The wounds started weeping sap yesterday for the first time, 5 months after pruning, and it is a flood soaking the trunks of the trees. I am no expert but I think the healing process only occurs after most if not all of the sap run has occurred in springtime (which is ultimately how I know when to pull taps knowing the season has ended), so I do not feel there is a time limit regarding installing taps too early and having them "close up" or heal before the sap run. How would they heal during wintertime when the trees are dormant and the wood is frozen? I bet I could tap a dormant tree in November and the tap would produce sap 5 months later during the spring run.

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Too many irons..
Others may weight in but it's not necessarily the Tre healing but the bacteria plugging the holes. I've had it happen when we tap too soon, like more than six weeks before prime runs. I had tapped half my trees in February once and I finished the other half about a month later. All trees tapped in February barely ran when the rush came.

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Originally Posted by MN Jake

Too many irons..
Others may weight in but it's not necessarily the Tre healing but the bacteria plugging the holes. I've had it happen when we tap too soon, like more than six weeks before prime runs. I had tapped half my trees in February once and I finished the other half about a month later. All trees tapped in February barely ran when the rush came.

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Thanks for the explanation. Do the bacteria thrive only during above freezing winter/spring thaws or do they continue to multiply/colonize in below freezing temps? I am curious, is the bacteria that causes the problem anaerobic? Is bacteria a problem because folks are not sanitizing their taps properly or sanitizing the drill bit before drilling the next hole on the next tree? Sure seems risky to not sanitize the drill bit before drilling the next hole, especially when it is such a simple thing to do.

Read the first part of this patent.
https://patents.google.com/patent/CA2819730A1/en

Toomanyirons..
As soon as some sap comes out of that hole aerobic bacteria have food to grow and thrive. The activity of bacteria would be very low during the cold part of the winter, which is why the trimmed spots on the trees would run during the season.
As far as anaerobic goes I'm not sure. There may be some but if there was you would have to think trees would never survive in the first place. That's just a guess.

Bill, there's a lot of words in there for a laymen!

Billschi. Yes but very short lived. I put a vacuum on 6 lines as An experiment and it only pulled 24 gallons from about 150 taps in 4 hrs. Giving it another shot with vacuum on all 11 lines tomorrow then calling it quits. Only 9 gallons of finished syrup this year.

Sorry to hear that.
I've had three boils, all 1 gallon finished each time. 235 taps in 235 trees. Basically just boiling the sap before it goes bad.
Pretty sad considering I'm now set up to boil at 20 gallons per hour this year. I will leave my taps in until I know the sap is no good. I really want as much syrup I can get to sell at the farmer's markets we sell at.
Today we got about 4" of snow.

Done for 2018, pulled taps and nothing but the cleanup now.
Not a great year but not a total loss.
120 taps on buckets
240 taps on 3/16 ( all on vacuum last weekend)
Finished with 14 gallons of finished syrup.