The temps are rising, TAP! TAP! TAP! Just kidding. Theron
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The temps are rising, TAP! TAP! TAP! Just kidding. Theron
No seriously they are rising!
We are sitting in the middle of an ice storm this morning. There is already an 1/8 of an inch of ice on everything , and it just started. I hate to see the end results. I hope to string some more pipe in the next few days I have a field that is a coupe hundred yds long. looking to put pipe on it and save some steps. got to go iI have ice to clean up. We have a 2hrs delay at school already and I expect them to close for the day. Got to get things cleared up just in case they do come to school.
DaveY- Presidents day weekend?
Valentines Day!
St. Pattrick's day up here in Ontario, that's when the full moon is in March.
town meeting day isnt suppose to be in VT
Superbowl weekend in RI! I was at a 12,000 tap sugarbush in Quebec 2 weeks ago-- they tapped Thanksgiving!
I like your prediction for Ontario because I need more time! The foot of snow we're getting today won't make stringing the mile of mainline and three miles of lateral lines we still have left to do any easier.Quote:
Originally Posted by H. Walker
Guys- Tomarrow morning Im the proud owner of a brand new cdl 600 gph ro. Now sure whether to be excited or not. Im a little apprehensive about running the thing but If the rest of you genetic defects can do it I guess I can too. I should have pretty much everything hooked up and done this weekend I think. I might even be able to fire up the vac pump on sunday I think. I think Ive got it figured out how to get some sap to the sugarhouse now im going to have to figure out how to make syrup with it. I think Im going to have a pretty easy fix just have to learn everything at once. Once I get the hang of things hopefully Ill be good. Keep you guys posted and hopefully I can get some pics of the finished product next week. Theeeron
Theron,
Last spring I watched a freind of ours running his 600gph CDL RO just in case I thought I wanted one. It seemed really simple and I would have to say it was the least complicated looking one I have seen. Your going to need a fork truck to move all those drums of syrup your going to make!
Mark
Mark- I think I might make some syrup. We'll have to see what happens. Im starting to go into freak out mode I think now that its about done. I go up in the woods and all I see is blue. Im starting to think maybe I got a little carried away. Oh well, it looks like im doing a hell of a stroke. Ill probly learn what im doing. Hows your pump coming along. I might fire mine up pretty soon. Theeeeron
Congrates on the ro. Good luck for the season.
Theron - I hope your 600GPH CDL RO comes with a better instruction manual than the franglais gibberish we got with ours. We made the CDL rep come back 2 days later to show us how to do it properly and not how the piece-of-crap 4 sheets of paper we got with the machine said. If the rep delivers your machine get him to show you everything - how to concentrate, do your daily wash and your end of season wash and WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN!!!! It might help to write it down with a Sharpie on the wall beside the machine and number every single valve. I still find it somewhat overwhelming sometimes.
Enjoy your new toy!!!! I'd say you'll wonder how you ever managed without it but you went straight to the easy life and never had to boil for 40 straight hours! Softie... ;-)
Ennismaple- I think this is going to be pretty user friendly. There really isnt any external valves to operate I dont think. The machine kind of does it for you. Im kind of lucky becouse I bought the machine from Richard (sugarmaster) and he lives near me and his man is installing it and Richard said he'd have him come over first run and operate it for me so Ill know what im doing. Ill study it all out too. I wont have any lack of support with Richard. I talked to Matt about it and I know usually there is a bunch of valves to operate externally but with this one I think its all done on the face of it for the most part. I did cheat big time. I feel a little overwhelmed with the technology but once I figure out what im doing I should have it pretty easy like you say. Mountainvan- Thanks for the congrads.
Theron-As a former service tech for those machines you will not have a hard time figuring it out. The biggest thing most people have is fear of doing something wrong and blowing the thing up. About the only thing you can do wrong if they are made the same way is plugging the recirc pumps in before you get 20 lbs of operating pressure. If they start before 20lbs are reached it can ruin the mechanical seal. This is only on the first start of the season. I haven't looked at these machines in 2 years so they may have changed that as they were the only company that didn't have a pressure relay switch to protect them on start up. If you can't get ahold of Richard for some strange reason you can call me and I will talk you thru it.
Marty- I have been making 20-30 gals of syrup per year on my homeade flat pan for about 20 years believe of not. So Im due for a little cheating. I have never made a gallon of syrup on real evap in my life though with any kind of sap. Gonna learn everything at once. Parker says Im going to learn real quick or my season will be over real quick. What the heck I like to think big. Theeeeron
Jerry- I appreciate that a lot. I have a neighbor that has one too and he said hed run right up so I think ill be good. Im sure once I do it Ill get in the groove. Im going to finish up the plumbing and everything I think today so maybe tomarrow Ill fire up that vac pump and see what happens. No sense sitting around worrying once I get everything done I might as well go right at it as far as trying things. This ro is different I think than the ones ive seen. Usually there is a bunch of valves you have to operate externally but I dont believe this is like that at all. Everything is swapped around internally if I understand it right. Ill know more tonight. Theron
How many syrup barrels do you have Theron? :) I am going to try to get out in the sugarwoods today,,,been out straight logging,,,fun to read all the posts of other people getting ready,,,,,,this is the first winter I have not been doing a major expansion,,,just a littel fixing here and there,,,,pretty well maxed out on the # of taps that I can keep up with boiling,,,
Parker- I have access to all I need from Richard. Just have to go get them as I can fill them. I know what you mean its fun to hear about everybody expanding and everything becouse its always exciting to see what the woods does and how much sap you get etc. Ive got to go get dads tractor, talk to you later. Theron
Theron= you won't even think that you have sugared when you get done this spring compared to all the work that you used to go thru, believe me. When I used to make 8-900 gallons a year with raw sap I wasn't fun to be around at the end of the season. Then I went to making that much in 2 or 3 days sometimes and it didn't even feel like I had worked at all with all of the new technology.
Theron,
Boiling raw sap sucks. Once you are up and running try doing it without the RO and you will find out what you missed when you bypassed that step of the expansion. You're going to love it.
Russ
Russ and Jerry- Got the ro in and pretty much all hooked up. I think its going to be real nice. It has the directions on the front and Todds coming back first run to run it for me. It appears to be real user friendly. Only valves are two shutoff valves for the 1.5" lines. Everything thats swapped around is done by valves on the front of the panel. Below the pressure valves their are selector valves you can turn each way to select what you want to do. I think im going to love it once I run it. Very expensive but ive been up for days boiling before and im sick of it so thats that. Once its paid for Ill be glad I did it and it should last a long time. Still hooking things up everything takes for ever but almost done. Theeeeron
The Crows Are Cawing The Trees Are Thawing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.accuweather.com/forecast-...07826&metric=0
We're sinking some taps today in Sussex County, NJ. Depending on how sunny it is, the forecasted temps may give us a bit of an early flow . I have access to enough trees this year that I can take the chance on the early taps sealing up and still have more than enough sap from those I tap later.
Laughing, because we are soooo not ready. We did 10x the prep we did last year, but acquiring a little bit of knowledge is a terrible thing. I know just enough now to realize how much more we could do and how much more equipment we could use.
Wow- just looked at the 15 day forcast,,,might be time to start spending alot more time in the sugarwoods getting all things ready,,was thinking it was going to be a late start to the season,BUT,,,,,gonna run adaptors this year for the long haul,,last boil last year was april 23,,,the ground not being frozen coupled with some ideal looking temps just might tempt me,,,,,wonder where I left those tapping bits???off to the sugarhouse,,,,,, :)
Ran some tubing yesterday and put in about 80 taps. We have more tubing to run and another 220 taps to go. It made it into forties here today in s.w. pa. but it didn't run. The weather for this week looks good.Two days in the fourties and one day in the high fifties. Maybe we will have a sap flood. I wish all a super syrup season.
Andyp
AndyP,
Push some steam! good luck in 08!
Chris
Guys- Worked all weekend and Im getting pretty close to ready. Im pretty postative Ill be ready to put my tools away and have everything done to make syrup by the end of this weekend. Thinking about running another 50 taps too. Just being done building is going to be heaven. I dont think ive had one day at home since last January that I wasnt working on this stuff. Sugarmasters man Todd brought over the ro the other day and hooked it all up and also helped me figure out my evap. If you guys have an equipment dealer thats half as professional as Richard your lucky. Hes helped me through every part of this process the whole year and its not like he isnt a busy man with 70,000 taps. Good luck to anyone tapping. Im thinking about maybe tapping this weekend but im not sure at all. Ill probly wait the one more week and tap the 16th but ill look at the forecast friday and see. Have a happy. Theron
Theron
Another 50 taps?!?!? Like the rest of us, you are a glutten for punishment. Good Luck, I am going to try and make it up this season to visit when you are in full swing.
Mike
Where's Mapleman3 and AL and the rest of the gang??????
They probably have another life, unlike the rest of us.
Mike- Stop in anytime, I like vistors. Ill be here if my wife doesnt log off my sugarmaples while im at work.
Theron, are you going to be ready to tap this weekend? If I were you I would rest up for a week before you tap. That way you will be fresh when it does start. then you will be ready for the all nighter's that are on the horizon.
Is it my imagination or are people tapping earlier and earlier each year. I understand the WV, NJ, S. PA guys, but traditionally isn't late Feb/March traditional sugaring season for the NE?
I'm not knocking it - hey, if the weathers right, go for it. It just seems that more peole are tapping earlier. Is it due to climate change, shock and awe from last season's ridiculous weather or an itchy trigger finger.
I remember reading a book where an old time sugarer from vermont I think had a tapping diary and compared the 1950's to the 1990's or something like that. It seemed way back when - he was generally tapping mid march and sometimes boiling into early May.
DaveY- If Im ready to tap this weekend itll be barely. It wont be after any rest. I probly ought to wait one more week. Ill have to see what I think. Matts coming down so we might tap. Im going to hang 3 buckets this morning and see if the trees thaw next two days. Im still setting up my stuff. It does still seem to be pretty early to me too but the weather is so crazy anymore if it starts running I might go for it. Theeeeron
Theron,
There is not much sap weather out there in the 15 day forecast. I was going to try to tap on sunday but It doesn't look like it will mean much if I wait a few more days.
Big 'ole Jet Airlina, carry me to PA. Wow-o-o.
Givin Theron a hand for a few days.
But for now it's Maine that I want to stay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guitar solo....
BIG SAP!!
I personally don't think the weather has changed that much up here. The mind set of people now is when we get a thaw in January it has never happened before, but where did the term January thaw come from, it has been around all of my life.If you look at our charts the sap still doesn't start to run for us until the 10th to the 15th of march, and our season still ends for us in late April, which is where it has been for years. Sure we could tap in January and we would get some sap, but the problems it creates is not worth the hassle. I know that there are large sugarmakers in Vermont that have made what seems like a lot of syrup to the small guy, but when you figure in how many trees they have tapped it is only a drop in the bucket as to what they will make, and at the end of the season they won't have anymore syrup then other sugarmakers do that start later. I just looked at the 15 day and there is not a speck of sugaring weather in it, yet there are sugarmakers with 35-40 buckets ( about a hour of tapping) that are afraid they might miss something if they don't start now. I know that it is hard to hold back because you are ready to tap and make steam, heck some of you have been ready for that since the 1st of May last year.
Happy sugaring and do what you have to do to satisfy your urge is what I say.
A lot of the issue with early tapping in my opinion is communication. Many years ago there were not things like maple newspapers, tv, internet/trader, phones and all the other modern conviences and vaccum to keep the holes open longer.
I think this has a lot more to do with it than most other things, and greed too!