Originally Posted by
Southtowns27
Where in NY are you? Here in Western NY it's been froze up hard for the last week and a half and the trees haven't even thought about budding yet.
Leave your tap(s) in until a)it stops running b)the sap turns into a cloudy snotty yellow mess c)the tree(s) starts to bud out.
I'm anticipating at least another 2 weeks to go here which is very late compared to other years. The weather decides what we do!
Riley 04 I'm with Southtowns quote, But to add to (c) sometimes ,(a) and (b) don't happen, and when the buds swell up the sap, taste bitter, not sweet .Time to quite if any or all above ....but the (b) may not be the end ,if your contaners (sap)gets to warm/sunny / old or (rain water in it - yellow), three days with temps in high 40' s can turn sap bad, I just wash out the contaners/holding tanks after every draw off of that tank ,exp. when warm out more than three days.I maybe to picky but I do love making light amber syrup!!!! and any milky sap, I dump, some would say comerchel/grade B....whatever, I sad Sh_t and back to Mother earth it gose!! good luck ,ED
2009 50 taps,outside barrow stove, 2 1/2 gals
2010 75 taps 12x12 w/upstairs Scrap made sugar shack,barrow stove 4 1/2 gals
2011 200+ taps,tubeing gravty feed shack,scrap oil/wood furnace homemade into a 2x6 arch upstairs holding tank and a new pump(thanks to my son Brian)Sap&wood hauler-4 g-kids model A front end,fram, spoked rims, and a tractor trailer rearend (just don't get in her way), lol, speaking of that,she now thinks "I've gone over the edge",that is (otherhaft) Total 35 gals.