I have 19 taps in at the moment, got 6L total. What the heck??? Colour me disappointed today.
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I have 19 taps in at the moment, got 6L total. What the heck??? Colour me disappointed today.
I'm using a mixture of spiles, some are the 7/16th with buckets hanging on them, but most are 5/16 plastic spiles with 5/16th tubing running down to pails on the ground. I think I know my mistake, definetly won't do it again, I don't know what I was thinking when I did it.....yes I put them in to far !!!! I think I was worried that after putting them in the cold snap we had last week pushed them out so I tapped them in a bit more just in case.Quote:
Originally Posted by Galena
*scratching head* 6l off of 19 taps on the first day? Why so disappointed? I'd be delighted to get that much on day one. Hey I'm happy with less than 1l on the first day! So long as the taps are active or at least showing signs of waking up.
We tapped a week ago and collected last Sunday and Monday before the freeze. Yesterday my stoker boiled off about 50 gallons of sap while my wife and I went for a long walk- that was everything he could get out of the main tank. It started with ~80 gallons, but the last 30 are still solid.:( At least we will have ice to keep sap fresh through the upcoming warm spell. :)
Nothing running on Saturday and nothing on Sunday. Both days were so nice though, we had to spend them in the bush. What are sugarmakers to do when there is no sap running? Tap more trees! So now I have another 45 trees tapped. :lol: When the flood starts, I'll be swamped.
Al - don't worry about it - a bit of damp on the bark around the hole is normal and nothing to worry about, especially in the cold. Lots of mine are "leaking" a bit too. They will seal up on their own as soon as it warms up a bit. Leave them alone for now - if you have a persistent leaker later, give it a couple of gentle taps. Occasionally sap behind the tap will freeze and expand, pushing the tap out.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrutemanAl
That's the plan Eddy, I'm just going to leave them,it's not just wet bark though on most, its actually leaking out and running down the tree, or in some cases leaking out and dripping to the ground.Quote:
Originally Posted by Big_Eddy
Same here! We've got lots of leaky taps. My husband went out today and reset many if them.. some of the taps (mostly ones I had done) had wood shavings at the end of the hole and so were even blocking the sap flow. But it's really good to hear that some leakage is normal.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrutemanAl
Started tapping around 13:00 yesterday. Had to pack down the trail through the bush on snowshoes first. Still lots of snow there compared to home. Only tapped a dozen. Family was all there and my wife wanted pictures. Tapped the ones that I knew would be running.
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Picked up a dozen 5/16 plastic spiles the other day. Wanted to give them a try. We'll see how they hold. I like the smaller hole but need to know they will hold a full 2 gallon bucket before I am convinced. I also have a huge skeptic, my dad. He's been doing it since the mid 70's. Why change, everything has worked just fine for 40 years........
Heading out to tap the rest this afternoon before work tonight. Not in any sort of rush. Rain and a NE wind for the next few days will certainly turn off the taps completely until Friday. I have no real choice but to tap though. I work this weekend.
I've switched completely over to the 5/16" plastic Health spiels from 7/16" stainless ones. I see no difference in hanging a 2 gallon pail off the 5/16" ones, even when it gets windy the buckets hang on.Quote:
Originally Posted by DrewCP
We ran the vacuum pumps yesterday, washed the tanks and got all the releasers re-washed. It barely ran despite being sunny. All we got was some slime coming out of the lines. Unless it pours today I doubt we'll have enough sap to fire up tomorrow. Wednesday looks like we'll be able to fire up.
We got the last 450 taps in yesterday morning. I need to be on the lookout for the ****ing deer that loves to chew tubing! It will taste good on the BBQ when I find it! Took me 2 hours to get 100 taps drilled because I spent most of my time replacing a dozen or more droplines, several laterals cut in half and buried beneath the crust plus a few trees over the lines. Sooooooo frustrating!!!