Time to Find your new Trees

[Aaron Roy]

I am in full swing finding new trees for tapping, way easier than in February like last year. I found a couple that I missed last winter and my neighbor is letting me check her trees. I found like 25 new ones. I would like to find get another 20 more or so. It may make for very busy boiling weekends. I may have to upgrade my setup

[unc23win]

Good luck!

[morningstarfarm]

Finding more taps...and so it begins...lol...good luck

[Revi]

I love finding new trees. We keep finding new ones that were too small to tap when we did a cut. They are growing rapidly, and moving into the ten inch class. I especially like it when we get new bucket trees near the sugarhouse. We now have about 30 trees right near the sugarhouse for people to collect. (By people I mean me except on the weekends) It's okay. Some of the ones that get tapped too far from the sugarhouse have their taps fall out during the week. Funny how that happens...

[NhShaun]

It's such a good feeling to come across one that you missed. Where are you located in southern Maine?

[Biz]

I know the feeling, been doing the same! I knew I didn't have any more sugar maples but went out into the woods on my 20 acres last weekend looking for red maples down towards the swamp.... and I found probably 150 more taps that I could set out! Now the problem is cost and gathering. Too spread out and not enough of them to do vacuum.... not quite enough pitch to do 3/16 gravity effectively.... too expensive and far into the woods to do buckets for all.

What I'd really like is a small diaphragm pump like the Bosworth Guzzler but smaller size and lower cost, like under $200, handles 50-100 taps. It has to be able to run dry, and possibly run on a 12V battery and solar charger. Am I asking too much?

Dave

[Super Sapper]

You can look at the shurflo pumps. I am looking at trying a couple this spring. Do a search there are some good threads on them.

[Biz]

Hmmm, this could be exactly what I am looking for, thanks. Doesn't say much about vacuum capabilities but it is cheap enough to pick one up and do some testing.

[Revi]

We are in Central Maine, right between north and southern Maine. In the second district, but we can practically see the first. I think we are going to do a timber cruise during X-mas vacation, and see what has grown since we cut over 10 years ago.