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Thread: Tapped trees on Friday 1/16

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Goggleeye View Post
    I can't believe you haven't been getting the cold nights being 100 miles further north. We do, though, live in an area that tends to drop about 5 degrees more than the surrounding areas. Hope you get those better temperatures. It'll hit at one point or another.
    I'm near St. Louis, and our low temps are always about 5 degrees below the city's. So we've been getting good freezes on most nights.

    By the way, Goggleeye, are you a commercial producer? If not, you must eat maple syrup for every meal all year to go through 200 gallons.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray_Nagle View Post
    I'm near St. Louis, and our low temps are always about 5 degrees below the city's. So we've been getting good freezes on most nights.

    By the way, Goggleeye, are you a commercial producer? If not, you must eat maple syrup for every meal all year to go through 200 gallons.
    To say commercial producer might be a bit of a stretch. We do, however, sell quite a bit at local farmers' markets and through word of mouth. And we do eat quite a bit of it as well! We should have our commercial (production) kitchen completed by next year.

    On those temps, NOAA forecast is 33 tonight, and when I came in a few minutes ago, the ground already had a frozen layer. Probably another good sap flow tomorrow.
    Have you been getting sap all these days? I tapped 5 trees with one of my classes today at about 11:30, and by 5 already had over 5 gallons of sap! Kids love it - I just don't know how I'm going to do a cooking demo at school. Guess I could use a turkey fryer.
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  3. #13
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    Do you have any pictures of your setup Goggleeyes?
    Crazy River Sap
    55 sugar maple, 15 walnut taps on plastic buckets and tubing
    Block arch on driveway

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Goggleeye View Post
    Have you been getting sap all these days?
    Pretty much. There have been a couple days when one or two trees laid an egg. But I've been getting at least some sap every day. Usually 2-3 gallons per day out of six taps.

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by RiverSap View Post
    Do you have any pictures of your setup Goggleeyes?
    Here are a few pics.100_4269.jpg02-18-2012 024.jpg02-18-2012 034.jpg100_4287.jpg100_4281.jpg
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  6. #16
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    Florissant Missouri
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    Very nice setup. So the raw sap comes in with that white PVC pipe into a large pre-warmer pan. Then the Arch is on the left and the hot exhaust air runs horizontal under the warmer pan to the stove pipe on the right. Looks like you have quite a work crew there.
    Crazy River Sap
    55 sugar maple, 15 walnut taps on plastic buckets and tubing
    Block arch on driveway

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by RiverSap View Post
    Very nice setup. So the raw sap comes in with that white PVC pipe into a large pre-warmer pan. Then the Arch is on the left and the hot exhaust air runs horizontal under the warmer pan to the stove pipe on the right. Looks like you have quite a work crew there.
    For the most part. You can see the bottom of the bulk tank in the top of the picture, the sap comes down the PVC. There is no "preheater," though. The sap runs into the float box, which flows into the back pan, which is the flue pan. It's boiling throughout the length of the flue pan despite the cold sap coming in. There's just that much heat. The flames make it all the way from under the syrup pan on the left into the stove pipe.

    If I can get time, I want to make a short video summarizing the process.
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Goggleeye View Post

    If I can get time, I want to make a short video summarizing the process.
    I hope you do, because I have no idea about the function of all the different pans. Nice looking setup, even though I don't quite understand all the components.

  9. #19
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    Goggleeyes. So that long pan that the raw sap first flows into from the PVC pipe is a flue pan? Then from there a float controls flow from the large flue pan into the shiny pan on the left in your picture. What kind of pan is that shiny pan? From the shiny pan you draw off sap that is pretty close to syrup and then you have a finishing setup somewhere in the house? Just trying to learn how these larger setups work. Thanks for your help.
    Crazy River Sap
    55 sugar maple, 15 walnut taps on plastic buckets and tubing
    Block arch on driveway

  10. #20
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    SE Missouri
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    Quote Originally Posted by RiverSap View Post
    Goggleeyes. So that long pan that the raw sap first flows into from the PVC pipe is a flue pan? Then from there a float controls flow from the large flue pan into the shiny pan on the left in your picture. What kind of pan is that shiny pan? From the shiny pan you draw off sap that is pretty close to syrup and then you have a finishing setup somewhere in the house? Just trying to learn how these larger setups work. Thanks for your help.
    The float box only controls the sap coming into the flue pan. The fluid level in the flue pan and the syrup pan is the same. As evaporation occurs in the syrup pan (pan on the left), gravity brings sap from the flue pan and keeps the level constant. The syrup comes off the front pan is very close to being finished. However, we take that syrup into the kitchen to finish it at precisely the right density. Then we filter it and can it.

    If you're ever towards Cape or Perryville, we're about 2 hours from you just off I-55, you'll have to check out the operation.
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

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