Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

[DrTimPerkins]

Sap has been running 550 GPH all afternoon. Testing 1.9%.

Dpud

Must be you're tuckered out Spud -- or is this your new nickname! Good thing you didn't forget either the "p" or the "d".

A good bit over 2 gal sap/tap over the past 24 hrs. Sugar at 2.2 Brix. RO is running now. We'll boil tomorrow, or maybe wait until Friday (only our third boil of the season, but we stockpile concentrate in the refrigerated bulk tank). Between syrup in the drums, concentrate in the bulk tank, and sap in the tanks, we're at about 72% of a minimum crop (0.5 gal syrup/tap). It's going to freeze tonight and Thurs night, so should be decent runs for a few days. After that, looks like no freezes for 5+ days, but fortunately no really hot weather either. End of next week we "might" get low enough temps for a freeze if we're lucky.

[spud]

Got to love it.

Spud

[WestfordSugarworks]

Yesterday was biggest run of the year for us I think. We have a new releaser in our 3k tap bush so it's hard to tell, but seemed like the hardest i've ever seen it run here. We've been pulling just about max vacuum in both of our woods but this morning it dropped about 0.2. Have others seen that? I am going to walk in a bit to see if there are actually leaks.

Dr. Tim, how long will you hold concentrate in your tank? Is there risk of spoilage even at that low temperature? We've only boiled 4 times I think, though have been tapped in since January 29.We have a very oversized rig and just hold sap and even hold concentrate a few days before boiling. Our boils only are 3 hours long at the most. We held concentrate from those early february runs all the way until mid March and still made table grade syrup from it (somehow).

[DrTimPerkins]

Yesterday was biggest run of the year for us I think. We have a new releaser in our 3k tap bush so it's hard to tell, but seemed like the hardest i've ever seen it run here. We've been pulling just about max vacuum in both of our woods but this morning it dropped about 0.2. Have others seen that? I am going to walk in a bit to see if there are actually leaks.

Yes, it was an excellent run...probably the best of the season so far. Vacuum will drop a little when it gets warm due to higher production of gases by the trees.

Dr. Tim, how long will you hold concentrate in your tank? Is there risk of spoilage even at that low temperature? We've only boiled 4 times I think, though have been tapped in since January 29.We have a very oversized rig and just hold sap and even hold concentrate a few days before boiling. Our boils only are 3 hours long at the most. We held concentrate from those early february runs all the way until mid March and still made table grade syrup from it (somehow).

We tapped starting mid-January as well. We will hold concentrate for a week or so at around 25 deg F (we can do that because we are concentrating to 35 Brix...freeze temp will vary with concentration level). There is almost no microbial activity at that temperature, so no apparent change in syrup quality. I wouldn't try to hold it for long (more than a day) without refrigerating it. Although we've had about 10-12 moderate-good sap runs and concentrated about that many times, we've only boiled 3 times (counting this Thurs or Friday). It is really nice to have the flexibility of when to boil....Friday seem to be our "boiling day" thus far. Those boils are 5-7 hrs long, but we sure make a lot of syrup on those days. I much prefer that than boiling for 30-60 min every day....saves a huge amount of time on cleaning up.

[tcross]

i've gotten well over 2 gallons per tap in the past 24 hours. certainly my best run of the year. i had a temp of 30 at my house this a.m at 5:15 with frozen over puddles... but the sap was still coming out well! still testing over 2%. i've never had this high of an average sugar content before!

[WestfordSugarworks]

Yes, it was an excellent run...probably the best of the season so far. Vacuum will drop a little when it gets warm due to higher production of gases by the trees.



We tapped starting mid-January as well. We will hold concentrate for a week or so at around 25 deg F (we can do that because we are concentrating to 35 Brix...freeze temp will vary with concentration level). There is almost no microbial activity at that temperature, so no apparent change in syrup quality. I wouldn't try to hold it for long (more than a day) without refrigerating it. Although we've had about 10-12 moderate-good sap runs and concentrated about that many times, we've only boiled 3 times (counting this Thurs or Friday). It is really nice to have the flexibility of when to boil....Friday seem to be our "boiling day" thus far. Those boils are 5-7 hrs long, but we sure make a lot of syrup on those days. I much prefer that than boiling for 30-60 min every day....saves a huge amount of time on cleaning up.

Thanks for the info. Yes, I really like the idea of having fewer boils that are longer. We spend almost as much time getting ready for and cleaning up from our boils as we actually do boiling.

[steve J]

Well my sap is at 1.7 but still coming in hard on the section that has shurflo pump. I scorch pan near draw off again today so had to shut it down early. I will catch up over next two days and than call it a season as I suspect trees will bud by end of next warm spell.

[DrTimPerkins]

Sap ran in really well Tues through Wed afternoon -- still around 2.2 Brix. RO ran for 17 hrs yesterday (we were squeezing it really hard). Cleaned the pans, did a few odd-ball things around the lab/sugarhouse, checked my research chambers. Vacuum still running 27.5" Hg or better. Sitting on a HUGE pile of refrigerated concentrate to boil tomorrow. Wind is blowing hard and it turned a good bit colder. Sap isn't going to run much (if any) today. Good day to sleep in and put the feet up a little, because it'll be a long day tomorrow and probably continue like that through the weekend. With some luck, we'll be at a full crop by the middle of next week...but pushing for more.

[BAP]

Sap ran in really well Tues through Wed afternoon -- still around 2.2 Brix. RO ran for 17 hrs yesterday (we were squeezing it really hard). Cleaned the pans, did a few odd-ball things around the lab/sugarhouse, checked my research chambers. Vacuum still running 27.5" Hg or better. Sitting on a HUGE pile of refrigerated concentrate to boil tomorrow. Wind is blowing hard and it turned a good bit colder. Sap isn't going to run much (if any) today. Good day to sleep in and put the feet up a little, because it'll be a long day tomorrow and probably continue like that through the weekend. With some luck, we'll be at a full crop by the middle of next week...but pushing for more.

Going so long between boiling, how do you keep the sap in the evaporator from turning on you?

[DrTimPerkins]

Going so long between boiling, how do you keep the sap in the evaporator from turning on you?

If we're going to clean pans (most of the time), we'll draw it off into a drawoff tank while hot, then keep it covered. With our pans (4' x 8' front-pan), most everything in the front-pan is very close to syrup, so doesn't spoil very fast.

If we're NOT cleaning pans, we'll fire up every 2-3 days and boil for 5 min to kill everything that might get a toe-hold.