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Matt from Traverse City. no end in sight to the cold in the 10 day forecast.

Did it flow for anyone today near TC?

I've had the good fortune of having a friend with a great 30-acre wood lot full of nice sugar maples to tap.
My back yard has a giant Norway Maple in it and it never occurred to me to tap it. Can...

Setting 40 taps this Sunday. Looks like the second half of next week looks good. Mother Nature owes us a good season after last year.

I'm not really ready, but I think I'll start tapping on Sunday.

Shane, do yo know if they're flowing at all?

i'd suggest using firebrick and/or refractory insulation - especially if you're going to be forcing any air into it. you'd hate to warp your arch.

if you google "stanley blower fan" you'll see a nice yellow, multi-speed fan. I bought this on a recommendation from someone last year on this site last year. Best $39 ever spent on maple...

Brian,
Where are you located?
Matt in Traverse City

Had a great year so far - 15 gallons off of 35 taps. Thinking of calling it a season given the weather, but don't want to pull out too early. I'm 5 mi west of TC and don't have a sap hydrometer. ...

Sap has been running strong for 2 weeks, but what can we expect from this cold snap? After it thaws, will we flow again and with as good of sugar content?

Where is it?

Anything flowing near TC?

Do a search for refractory supplies in your area - most will sell firebricks and ceramic blanket material. One in Michigan sent me their ceramic blanket leftovers from there large rolls (enough to...

I just cut ~2" strips of ceramic blanket and lay in on the arch before I put my pan down. It was pretty shot by the end of the season, but it's cheap.

Do you guys use the cord-type of insulation,...

not sure what your set up will look like, but when I used a turkey fryer on propane, I built up a fire brick wall all around the base of the fryer up to the bottom of the pan (think lighthouse) and...

you can always use the drum liners, too. There cheap.

I bottled/canned about 8 gallons last year all in mason jars and had a hard time avoiding sugar sand. I tried everything to avoid it, but every single pint and quart had some in it. To answer your...

Looks great! Very nice work. I built one last year, similar dimensions, but not as nice! You will want to insulate that door with a ceramic blanket - I attached mine with SS bolts that will glow...

There's a whole slew of Scherer's in Dowagiac, Sister Lakes, and Bloomingdale area - all related.

I'm going to tap about 20 tomorrow. About 5 miles west of TC. Where are you?
Matt

I'll probably set about 20 of my 60 taps tomorrow. Anyone else near Traverse City tapping yet? I'll hopefully set the rest on the 4th. I'm only into my third year and this will be the earliest...

I've got a very little, very loud, but pretty powerful fan that I blow under my fire. My firebox has a grate that I stack fire bricks onto and leave about 1" gaps in between the bricks. Then I blow...

I'm seeing some guys are using small squirrel cage fans. Where would find one of those?

where'd you get that blower fan?

I'm starting from scratch and building a new arch. my pan is 2x4 w/ no dividers. I planned on designing it much like Brian Ks. what size angle iron and sheet metal do you recommend? I was...