Sorry, that was 480 gallons and it gave me 14.75 gallons of syrup. Boy if would only do that every day.
Sorry, that was 480 gallons and it gave me 14.75 gallons of syrup. Boy if would only do that every day.
End near
I did 30 gallons today. First of the year. . Nobody ever knows when the season will end. I usually stop when the bugs come out. I've always been done by April 10th. Next week looks great. But weathermen are unpredictable. Keep doing what you are doing and hope for the best. Way I look at it is if you get one day of boiling and one drop of syrup while having fun it was worth it. Why I'll never be for profit. Good luck mate!
2017:150 taps
Hauled by me my dog and a Yamaha. Blaster, no buckets next year.
Trees sucked most the seasons sap back up. Live and learn.
14 gallons syrup.
2016: New 10x16' sugar shack, new leader 2x4 evaporator
150+ taps gravity to buckets=13 gal. Burnt roof off shack lost 3-4 gallons of syrup in pan and draw off pale didn't eat fire extinguisher
IH 584 sap hauler
2015: Homemade oil tank arch with 3 steam table pans
35 taps gravity to buckets=1 gal.
1 human sap hauler
I've had some amazing big runs this week, and plenty of boiling to do again tomorrow. My sap is coming in at 4% so production is high.
It has shaped up to be good season for us considering the late start. Looks like another couple of freezing nights ahead and then things may be getting close to the end. We should end up above what we did last year. All in all we are happy at this point. I hope the same for everyone else. Sugar has gone down to 1.4 today.
Last edited by MT Pockets Producer; 04-03-2019 at 07:34 PM. Reason: Added sugar content.
12 x 16 shack with 8 x 16 addition
2 x 6 D&G raised flue with hood
Homebuilt releasers
220 taps on vac
100 plus taps on buckets
Gast 1550 on gas engine
HF vac pump on generator
I'm seeing one more cold night, and then it's warm for several days. This could be it. I'll be short of last year's total but it was an easy year. High sugar content sure makes a difference.
Ended my season tonight. Pulled my taps at noon today and just finished boiling all the sap I had. Small operation this year - 27 taps and 12-3/4 gallons of syrup. Had a great year, all my family and friends are enjoying the sweet stuff from my hobby.
My half-pint pan is in a vinegar soak right now. Clean-up day tomorrow and Monday.
2016 - helped at afriend with a small operation, 300+ taps. = hooked
2017 - 20 taps @ home, 1 gal @ home on propane, then hauled to friends operation
Bought a whole shack locally, with a Leader 1/2 Pint, moved it home
2018 - 50 taps, 9 on 3/16 gravity and 41 pails -14 gallons of good sweet stuff
2019 - 27 taps, 17 on 3/16 gravity and 10 on pails - 12-3/4 gallons of good sweet stuff (most fun I've had with this hobby)
I've got one more tank to boil through tomorrow morning and then drain and boil the rest tomorrow afternoon. Over the last few days we watched the sugar content drop from 4% down to 3% and on down to 2.5% this morning. There's one more cold night coming, but I'm done. Made almost 100 gallons of beautiful syrup, filled all my orders, an nobody got hurt. That's a success.
We called it a season here today also. We have given up trying to figure out why things happen the way they do. Our first few gallons today were well into robust and the rest of it finished just into Amber. Other years we have struggled for good grade at the end. It’s a crazy sport. We should be around 90 gallons by the time we finish what we have in the pans. Our sugar was 1.5 this morning.
12 x 16 shack with 8 x 16 addition
2 x 6 D&G raised flue with hood
Homebuilt releasers
220 taps on vac
100 plus taps on buckets
Gast 1550 on gas engine
HF vac pump on generator
Sap at one percent,hopefully this freeze will recharge the Bush.
3,100 taps
60 cfm flood
HC2
5 by 14 oil
Brian
OK. Here we are at the beginning of a new season. I'll be out to sweep up the sugarhouse, set up my electricity, and build the pipeline that fills my holding tanks. The weather looks...interesting. Will it be warm enough to begin? or will it be kinda borderline...just not quite warm enough?? Everyone's got the itch, but what does Mother Nature say?
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