Willow Creek Sugarhouse 2012

Well I guess it time for me to get one of these threads going for this year.

The Hood was a bust for this year. Got it all hooked up ready to go. Boiled some water and it started out good but before I even got to full boil the Fan was just simply not strong enough!!! I would say back to the drawing board, but with the 10 day forecast looking good I might as well get going. Besides I need to save my money for the summer with much goings on for the sugarhouse!!!

It has been a crazy winter that we never got. So with mon and tues hitting 40's wed 30's then thurs and friday back to 40's thats already the 10th of feb, 5 days earlier than I tapped the last 2 years. If the forecast changes by then which it can and probably will then we can re-evaluate beofer then. But until then I am a go for monday morning bright and early!!!

Hopefully I will be happy with a good turn out of the little game on sunday. None the less I will smoking a brisket and having some homemade keilbasa some nice frosty boiling sodas and enjoying my first HD superbowl!!! can't wait. GO PATS!!!!:)

Hi Brad, im surprised you held out this long. I thought you would tap in the same time Chris taped. Sorry to hear about the hood. Is there any way that you can set it down on the evaporater. If you can you wont need to have a fan. Keith

The weather here sounds like its gonna run...in the second week in feb. thats insane but i gotta make the syrup while you can. Hoping to start tapping sunday and see where it goes. still have a lot of logging left to do and its 3 weeks earlier than i was planning on. Don't make plans around mother nature, she'll f-you ever time. Pretty hard making a living on mother nature.

No the way I designed the hood was with the fan. I made the hood to be 6 inches over the sides. I will figure it out eventually. I need 2 air vents in the top and a stonger fan I also have a few 90's in it to help with getting out the coupula without going through the roof... which cutts down the CFM's considerably. IT needds to be a strait pipe all the way out. with more power. but since I am adding onto the sugar house this summer I don't wanna waste anymore time on the design and as will be punch through the roof when I move the evap back 6 feet and put in a new design and stronger fan for the hood. Just don't have the time to waste on it now. Just have to put the plastic back up on the one side of the roof and it will be fine.

Yeah sugarin' mam I was expecting to have a few another wekk and a 1/2 too 2 as well but I am very afraid with this being such a warm winter the trees are going to bud. Belive it or not Even though chris's place is about a 15 minutes ride south/ east? of me I seem to be quite a bit colder than him. at least 5 degrees most of the time I still have a little snow on the ground he just has a few patches of ice.

Since monday looks so good for sap I might try to get in 200 taps starting early sunday morning then finish up the remainders on sunday. I think I am gonna wait just a little to get the gavity stuff tapped. they usually start running a little later although it is a strange year none the less.

Well spent a 3-4 hours getting stuff hooked up last minute conections...vac pump all set, I still have to clean out the releaser really good, but everything else is just about ready just a quick tank rinse and thats it. Tomorrow we'll walk the lines make any last minute adjustments and we are off and running!!!

Hoping to get in at least 150 taps tomorrow...man it just feels way to early...


wanna keep going to fay but I have to go to a stupid pot luck!!! don't really wanna go

Well ended up getting in about 175 taps sap is running pretty good up to about 40ish gallons of sap which isn't bad for the amount of time the taps have been in. and of those 175 taps about 50 are not online yet I have too much squirrel damage and need to replace a few more drops and tee's and a few saddles as well. I think since there were so little nuts this year they just went crazy on the tubing. I also lost about 1-1/2 hrs got a call from my Mom right after lunch she has cancer. So she has a few more tests to go this week and then she starts Chemo (sp?) next week.... SO I am not a biblical following guy but please keep her in your Prayer and thoughts for those who are.

Have to replum my transfer pump it won't pull right so we'll see I guess its a good thing to go a little early so we can work out the bugs right... Hopefully I can ge tthat sorted out tomorrow. and finish tapping.

Alright I am beat...and my knees are killing me!!! not used to wearing the heavy winter boots I hardly wore them all winter and then wore them all day!!!! BLAH..

Sorry to hear about your mother. Will keep her in our prayers.

Well just about all the taps are in!!!! Feb. 7th who would have thunk it!!! between what I got after I dumped yesterday...eeeewwww some nasty green stuff there!!! anyway, got close to 200 gallons of sap today have no idea what the % sugar is. It was really running good even my cold woods were running good Vacuum's running good holding at about 23-24" so sap was coming in really strong for a while it slacked off a little bit its about 38* right now. Still have to walk lines and find leaks and did find 2 hollow trees whan I was tapping so that should help!!! I put in all but about 30 taps which those are my lowest on the trees so the kids can help me tap those hopefully thursday after school.

Sweetening the pans tomorrow. supposed to be cooler tomorrow not expecting too much sap but thursday and friday look pretty good!!! then big freeze for the weekend then warm up again by mid next week. still working out some bugs out of my transfer pump set up. trying not to gush anymore $$$ into fittings and more tubing hopefully I can get it all figured out tomorrow and or thrusday!!!

But again good thing its going early so I can work out the those bugs..... I'll get it!!!

OK so was around 15 degrees or so last night, so of course it took forever for everything to thaw today. It only got to about 35-36* so very little sap only about 35-40 gallons. boiled a little once everything finally decided to get moving can't tranfer sap that is frozen in the lines. I have a heat wire on the pimp so that doesn't freeze I might get some more of those they work great!!!

Like I said I did boil a little just enough to get a a sugary flavor in the front pans, then had to go pick up my son from school. gonna need to get some one to drive home when sap is high!!! have to pay them off in syrup I guess!!!

But just working out the bugs and be ready for a decient amount of sap over the next 2 days really hoping to have 5 gallons of syrup by Friday night probably late late night. wanna get everything boiled off by friday night for the big feeze up sat, sun, mon, don't wanna have to wait for a block of sap to thaw!!!

Looks like you have to change your signature. Sugaring season is here. It's good to see that you are getting some sap and that you are getting the bugs worked out.