Hi fellow maple lovers. This is our 1st year tapping our maple trees. We started tapping this morning, total of 20 taps with buckets to start. We brought our 2 boys out with us, it was fun watching them get involved (actually they watched from the sleds - they are 20 months and 4 months old). We are excited and optimistic for our first batch of liquid gold.
Will keep you posted on progress and looking forward to hearing how everyone else does!
Lesley
2 acres of sugar maples. Woodburning arch with small evaporator and propane burners with steamer pans Year 5.
2015 - 35 taps on 30 trees. 1556 L sap and 44L syrup!
2016 - 42 taps on 40 trees. 2274 L sap and 64L syrup!
2017 - 37 taps on 36 trees. 1573 L sap and 47L syrup!
2018 - 33 taps on 32 trees. 2314 L sap and 53L syrup!
2019 - 30 taps on 29 trees. 1640L sap and 51 L syrup!
2020 - 31 taps on 30 trees. 760 L + stopped counting sap and 25 L syrup!
Hi Lesley! Welcome to the hobby! I am sure you will enjoy! All the best!
Dave
2011 35 taps
2012 50 taps
2013 80 taps maybe to 100
2014 80 taps
2015 New sugar shack, 50 taps on buckets and 100 on 3-16 gravity tubing.
A tolerating wife and a 14 years old not so helper.
2016 New evaporator and 150 taps all on 3/16 high vacuum gravity.
Welcome to the craziness of sugaring, Lesley! You may want to read the *advice* I gave BrutemanAl a few posts down, so those boys can be useful during this season in the future :-) Looking forward to your posts!
Been tapping since 2008.
2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup
Well I put up about 100 pails today before I ran out of battery in the drill, so it's a start. Nothing was dripping yet but hopefull for this week. I had to work on the trail to get to the Bush for about eight or so hours with the tractor but for the first time this year I can drive my truck from door to Bush. Still have lots to do for this week maybe anouther twenty pails and I have to get my new boiler ready, (which reminds me I have a 2x4 flat evaporater for sale of anybody knows any one). All in all a good day and had good fun with the whole family in the Bush three generations for the first time this year and that's really what it's all about!
Hi guys,
So.. No sap yet... Well actually that's not true because about 3 of my buckets had drops in them. It did get up to +1 today but only for like half an hour... Hope I didn't get over eager and tap too early; supposed to have higher temps this week.. I am nervous as I'm a virgin to this art! Will keep u posted.
2 acres of sugar maples. Woodburning arch with small evaporator and propane burners with steamer pans Year 5.
2015 - 35 taps on 30 trees. 1556 L sap and 44L syrup!
2016 - 42 taps on 40 trees. 2274 L sap and 64L syrup!
2017 - 37 taps on 36 trees. 1573 L sap and 47L syrup!
2018 - 33 taps on 32 trees. 2314 L sap and 53L syrup!
2019 - 30 taps on 29 trees. 1640L sap and 51 L syrup!
2020 - 31 taps on 30 trees. 760 L + stopped counting sap and 25 L syrup!
LOL rekax, you've just got noobieitis, the anxiety that comes with the first time you do anything and worry that you might be doing things wrong. The weather will warm, the sap will flow (and may flow like crazy) and you may soon be posting 'Ahhhh! I have boatloads of sap! Help!'Originally Posted by Lespetras
I also set my spiles yesterday, as I wanted to make sure this warming trend was here to stay. At least you didn't tap last week, which I saw some people had done, when it was still far, far too cold to get anything yet....and not too good for the tree either :-/
Also something you may want to consider as you have a small bush too (ignore my puns)...I've found it invaluable to put my OCD to work and keep track of how much sap I get from each tree each time I collect. Thanks to having done this for a few years now, I know which trees are going to start producing first, and which may take a little longer to start, but REALLY produce once they do.
So relax, while you can...I think this could be another crazy year...last year I got had 3 days where I got 33l of sap!!
Well have fun
Been tapping since 2008.
2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup
Thanks for the advice Galena, it's reassuring to hear this from experienced tapper; supposed to be good weather for sap production all week in Inverary so I am pumped!
Lesley
2 acres of sugar maples. Woodburning arch with small evaporator and propane burners with steamer pans Year 5.
2015 - 35 taps on 30 trees. 1556 L sap and 44L syrup!
2016 - 42 taps on 40 trees. 2274 L sap and 64L syrup!
2017 - 37 taps on 36 trees. 1573 L sap and 47L syrup!
2018 - 33 taps on 32 trees. 2314 L sap and 53L syrup!
2019 - 30 taps on 29 trees. 1640L sap and 51 L syrup!
2020 - 31 taps on 30 trees. 760 L + stopped counting sap and 25 L syrup!
I have 150 trees tapped now. 95 with 5/16 blue taps, and 55 with 7/16 cast. I've been phasing over to the health spiles.
I had one hole where the blue spile just would not stay in, even after replacing it with a second, so drilled that out to 7/16".
Went back around later and had a few sapsicles, but nothing to speak of in any pails. I'm expecting there will be some flow today and more each day over the week.
Sugar Shack is organized (emptied of bicycles, lawn mowers, summer tires etc - thank goodness we emptied several bays in the woodshed over the winter), smoke stack is up, tanks are washed and ready. I still need to build a new grate for the arch - last year's had a melt down. Other than that - I'm ready for sap. Bring it on.
Big_Eddy
Eastern Ontario (Quinte)
20+ years on a 2x3 block arch,
Homemade 20"x64" drop flue since 2011
Build a Block Arch
Build a Flat Pan
Build a Flue Pan
Sweetening the Pans
Build a Bending Brake
Using a Hydrotherm
How much Sap to Sweeten?
109 trees tapped
Happy i was able to tap 109 trees yesterday with my kids. It was -5 and had about 10 trees running so should be a good mild week. So happy the season is started.
With just my brother and I drilling and a hammer-man with each of us, we got 3000+ taps done in 2 days. I feel like I've been driven over by a truck today!
Only a few tapholes were even semi-moist yesterday and our one 400 tap woods that's been tapped for a week didn't produce a drop out of the mainline yesterday. Lots of deer damage to fix (I have a .308 solution I'll use in November) plus a lot of branches and limbs down on laterals and mainlines. Walking is tough because the snow is so deep but it's light and fluffy so the snowshoes are useless. I don't expect it will run much this week as a lot of our taps are north facing. Should be enough to flush the lines so we're ready to go when the weather is right.
4,600 Taps on vacuum
9,400 gallons storage
3 tower CDL RO
3.5'x14' Lapierre Force 5
Twitter & Instagram: @ennismaple
www.ennismaple.com
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