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Thread: taps are in!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    north smithfield. RI
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    272

    Default taps are in!

    we got about 70 in this afternoon. flowing very nicely by the time I got back down to the tank. snow up past my knees. an hour tomorrow and I should be all tapped in and then I can check for leaks and maybe add a new line.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    RI
    Posts
    31

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    I have 14 taps in on 3 lines so far. Once the hole was drilled and the spile in, sap was dripping visibly, but I get no visible flow on the line, maybe 4oz of sap in total all day long.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    north smithfield. RI
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    same here. got a little surge and then it slowed up. the trees are just loosening up and its hard to be patient. last night didn't get below freezing either so that didn't help.

    finished tapping today and checked for any leaks. its not flowing hard so I will have to check again. with all the snow, I cant haul the sap out with the skidsteer as usual so I have to get a new pump and pump it to a tank in the truck through a neighbors property. a big PIA but its the only way till some snow melts.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Chepachet, Rhode Island
    Posts
    40

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    I donned the snowshoes and got most of my taps in and bags hung over the weekend. Looks like we got some good flow today. I could only see a few as I drove by in the dark, but the bags were bulging. Today's temps helped with the snowpack. I still won't be able to collect until I can get the quad through the woods. Maybe next week. Once I manage to get the quad through once, I'm good. Still too deep now. Glad I got most of my taps in though. My trees can be stingy. I hate to miss any amount of sap run. Long range forecasts are predicting nice sap run weather for us through all of March. Could be a good year. Some more rain and a few more sunny warm days and I might be operational.
    2011 15 taps.
    2012 40 taps.
    2013 100 taps, all sap sacks. Custom built 2x6 wood fired evaporator and sugar shack.
    2014 125 taps.
    2015 145 taps
    2020 175 taps
    2021 70 on 3/16 gravity lines 70 on sap saks
    2022 100 on 3/16 gravity lines. 40 on saks

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    north smithfield. RI
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    I was just reading dr tims explanation of a possible slow start even though the weather is right. at least where I am, the bottom 2' of the tree trunk is still covered with snow preventing sun and warm air from getting to that part of the tree. cant have a good flow with part of the tree still frozen. yes? as it warms up, a well will form around the base of the tree letting her flow as it should. gives me more time to continue preparations.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    north smithfield. RI
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    collected about 100 gallons of sap yesterday and very little today. will start to cook tomorrow afternoon and see how far I get.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    north smithfield. RI
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    as I approached my tank, I was disappointed today because I couldnt see any air bubbles moving in the lines. ...................that's because they were full of sap! what a great run I had here today. I was able to add another short line with 10 taps on it.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    RI
    Posts
    31

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    Got 2 gallon from 14 taps, dumped it all out because it tastes like tubing.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    north smithfield. RI
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    that tubing taste goes away before it gets bottled. I did the same thing you did when I first stated tubing and it wasn't till later, someone told me not to worry about it. I wasted lot of sap. I try to do things as pure as I can so it was hard to boil the sap that tasted like tubes. you can do a search on this site and see that most deal with the same situation when adding new tube. this week looks good for us here.
    Quote Originally Posted by RIFoster View Post
    Got 2 gallon from 14 taps, dumped it all out because it tastes like tubing.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    RI
    Posts
    31

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    Still getting basically nothing, but what I do tastes like crap. Where does that taste "go" when boiling? Creeps me out tasting like chemicals.

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