Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

[GiddingsHill]

only managed to get down to about 30 here last night but it seems to have been enough to wake the woods up and get my test a hair higher (up to 1.4 from 1.2)
sap is running ok, a bit over 200 gal/hr. another light freeze possible tonight if it stays clear. lower woods are hammering, upper woods are not as good. we keep limping on...

[tcross]

sap is coming in hard right now (125-130 gallons since 9 this a.m on 330 taps... good job cv spouts!)... but testing a measly 1.2% and clouding up. looking like a slight freeze tonight but a better one tomorrow night. probably going to see what the sap quality looks like after that... the end is very much in sight for me... Thinking this weekend clean up will begin. i don't find it fun boiling 1.2% sap!!

[DrTimPerkins]

Crew made another 350 gal of AR syrup today from what came in late last week and over the weekend. At 0.66 gpt before boil-out. Flavor still good. Sap coming in is milky, 1.4 Brix, and slow. No good cold weather in the forecast until maybe Fri and Sat. Wade will decide in the morning based on flow and flavor whether to continue or not. I'm thinking it'll probably be over and they will just boil out the pans. Hate to quit, but we don't like to bother making commercial syrup or include it in our totals. Lots of final measurements to do before pulling spouts.

[spud]

I got about 1000 gallons since yesterday. The sun today and tomorrow should probably end it for me. It’s been a real good season and I passed last years numbers. Sap was testing 1.2% yesterday. I did freeze up last night but not for long. The west side of my woods is what’s running the most.

Spud

[tcross]

i got a gpt run yesterday... like spud, mainly my west and north facing bush. testing 1.3%. thermometer read 28 this a.m at 530, so hoping to have a decent run today and tomorrow, then i'm tossing in the towel! syrup still tastes good, but it's getting a more robust maple flavor each boil.

[DrTimPerkins]

Got about 1,500 gallons of 1.4 Brix sap since yesterday afternoon. Flow just stopped around 9:30-10pm...wasn't due to a freeze...just stopped. Sap wasn't sour or buddy. Temps just got too high yesterday with the sun and shut it down. No solid freezes coming soon enough to juice things up again...the tapholes are just done.

So...we called it. Crew is boiling what came in and will be boiling out the pans today. We'll end up right around 0.68 gpt for the season, with sap sugar content just slightly below normal for us. After that they'll do the rounds of all the final measurements and the data analysis will begin.

One study we did this year is to look at whether there is any difference drilling straight-in versus drilling at an angle. Recommendations these days are to tap straight in, but there hasn't been any study that I know of actually looking at it. We have two different studies testing it. Second year of number of taps in red maple to follow up on the work we did last year. A third year on taphole depth in sugar maple. A third and final year on tapping date (Oct, Jan, Feb) and taphole rejuvenation. Sixth year of effects of long-term tapping on growth. Some preliminary work on several different spout types. More on differences in yield from sugar maple and red maple. A student project on vacuum propagation into stems. A final year of 3/16" vs 5/16" cleaning methods. One study on evaporator efficiency with and without a concentrate preheater. Lots of data to crunch and figure out. Plus a good deal of editing on the new maple manual (3rd edition) this summer/fall.

[GiddingsHill]

Question for you, Dr. Perkins.
Have you done tests on yield off different tap diameters? Is that a variation included in the preliminary work you are doing on different tap types?
I'm trying 1/4" signatures this year...the jury is still out on production vs. 5/16" signatures but anticipating it will be lower... could very likely just be the season though, not very scientific...
Why i'm trying 1/4":
We bought an adjacent property last year to add on some taps (haven't added anything yet). It came "set-up" which actually means I have two generations of junk pipeline and 5/16" to remove and dispose of at my expense. quite a mess. About 15 acres of this lot was old pasture which came back to soft maple, most of which is 6" to 16" diameter. prior sugar maker had probably at least 2000 taps in this zone and tapped pretty much everything regardless of diameter. he had tapped this area for 11 years with 5/16" spouts. I've started pulling out old pipeline and thinning out some dead/diseased trees. since most all of the wood i've pulled out is suitable only for firewood I've been seeing a lot of cross sections as i block it up to split. pretty impressive the damage 11 years of tapping these trees did. Some literally tapped right to death (i think). That was the impetus for dropping tap diameter, I might lose a little on production but damage to tree ought to be less. Time will tell.

Sap flow still close to 1gpt in last 24hrs. another light freeze this morning. test around 1.3

[DrTimPerkins]

Question for you, Dr. Perkins.
Have you done tests on yield off different tap diameters?

Not a subject of study this year. We have done that in the past as has Centre Acer.

Sap Yield vs Spout Diameter.jpg

In both studies (UVM and Centre Acer) there was a 10-11% reduction in sap yield with 1/4" spouts compared to 5/16" or 19/64" spouts (both studies were done under vacuum). However, as you note, there may be a reason to use them if you have trees on the small side or trees that have been overtapped and you wish to be a little more gentle. You will take a hit on yield however.

Full article can be found at https://www.themaplenews.com/story/u...sap-yield/262/

1/4" spouts were developed originally to solve the problem of a syrup shortage. Back in 2008 (I think) there was no syrup left in the strategic reserve, two poor seasons in a row, and syrup prices spiked to $4.00/lb. One of the equipment manufacturers came up with the idea of tapping with 1/4" spouts in the fall and reaming to 5/16" in the spring. Unfortunately, although it was a reasonable thing to try, it doesn't work (the taphole even if reamed won't produce well in the spring). A few tried it -- most didn't. Production turned out to be great the next year all around, and syrup prices dropped again. But the manufacturers already had made the molds...so they kept producing 1/4" spouts and are still selling them. They are just touted as producing nearly the same amount of syrup but producing a smaller wound.

Have you tried tapping below the lateral line to find good wood?

[spud]

Sap stopped today so I shut off the pump. I had a good season and did better then last year. I thank everyone who contributed to this thread throughout the season. It’s a lot of fun for me to read how others are doing. It’s time to switch gears and prepare for planting more apple trees. Those that are still making syrup I wish you the best. I will post some production numbers in the next week. Until then I hope all Traders stay safe and healthy.

Spud

[ToadHill]

Dr. Perkins, I thought (maybe just assumed) that tapping straight into the tree (level) was recommended by the manufacturer for the check valves to allow the ball to move more freely, i.e. taking gravity out of the equation. Any validity to that?