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I'm done. My reds quit running last weekend. Clean-up this weekend.
Made almost 3 gallons of maple walnut syrup this year.

That's my sign to switch from maple to trout. Trout season opens in 2 weeks here in PA, so I need to get the maple stuff cleaned and stowed, then start doing some creek and tackle maintenance.

Buckets were practically empty this afternoon. If they're still empty tomorrow, I'm pulling my taps and cleaning-up.

Yeah, it was hot down here end of last week as well. Got some mold in the bottom of some of the empty buckets on Friday, so I pulled those buckets, did some switching around so now I only have...

I boiled 20 gallons of BW sap, added the liquid pectic enzyme last night and NO jelly at all!! Never had to change the pre-filter I used to pre-filter right off the evaporator. Usually I've had to...

I'm not really looking to expand much. I want to stay at around 50 taps, but next year will opt for a higher ratio of maples:black walnuts.
With my current steam pan set-up, I boil about 6gph, but...

I've got a similar situation where I want to upgrade to a divided pan. To fit on my evaporator, the pan needs to be 14" x 50" (700 sq in).
What I'm wondering is how long, or how many gallons of...

Thanks Dr Tim.
That's what I assumed. I knew that vapor pressure and temperature are directly proportional, probably not linearly, but wasn't sure if there was something "magical" that happens...

Does the tree actually have to "freeze" to pull the sap up? I assume this is created somehow by negative pressure in trunk, but how critical/specific is it to actually reach 32 deg to pull sap up...

Thanks.
You should publish your findings. It may be original research.

That's pretty fast activity. What volume of sap are you adding the enzyme to?
Do you stir/agitate after adding enzyme?
I store my BW sap in 5 gallon water bottles and plan on adding 50 drops of...

The powdered pectic enzyme worked after pre-mixing in warm water before adding to walnut sap. About 90% less walnut jelly during pre-filtering. My liquid enzyme from BSG should be arriving...

Another question for the steam-panners: Regarding normal, full-size steam pans, does anyone know what the actual volume of liquid is in the pan when it's 1" deep? 2" deep? 3" deep? I know what the...

Thanks for the reassurance, Paddy. I'm south of you just across the river from Harrisburg; only 5 miles west of the Susquehanna but our temp is usually at least 5 degrees cooler than the east side...

When you "re-tapped", did you drill new holes, or just ream-out the same holes?

Ok, I saw some pix of bubblers and see how they operate. I just don't understand how/why blowing bubbles into hot sap creates more/faster evaporation.

Don't know what a "steam-way" is; and I've only used aerators when fermenting mash for beer. I guess I'll have to do some research on these upgrades. I'll attempt anything once if it's free.

Any thoughts on this forecast? Our season isn't ending already next week, is it?
22118

Thanks for that suggestion Johnny.
After I mixed it up last weekend, I thought about liquefying the powder next time before adding to the cold sap, and I figured it would have to be mixed with...

Hey Turtle Ck. I'm hoping for a good week as well. I thought after the freezing temps Sunday and Monday night that Monday and Tuesday would produce a decent amount of sap, but my buckets barely had...

If I had a tractor and brush hog, it would already be cleared out. It's a travel route and bedding spot for deer. Always lots of tracks and rubbed-up trees. The lower field on the far side is...

I've got some similar questions about divided pans. I'm currently a steam-panner, but would like to get a divided pan to put on my evaporator which has a top opening of 12" x 48" which I'd assume is...

I've got plenty of trees; the problem is just the blood, sweat and tears getting to them. I have this one stand of red maples (see pic), about 2-3 acres, at least 1/2 of them are tapping size but...

Yeah, we boiled the maple and walnut together. started with 77 gallons of sap (22g walnut and 55g maple).
It's pretty dark and rich syrup, but I'm already getting tired of trying to filter the...

Made alot of improvements yesterday boiling 48 gallons of sap (77gal before RO). Going from 4" to 6" deep pans definitely allowed us to boil harder/faster w/o worrying about the boil-overs and the...