I'm still cutting some firewood on days I'm bored, but it is for next year, this years has been done for a while
I'm still cutting some firewood on days I'm bored, but it is for next year, this years has been done for a while
Ran a splitter for about 9 hours on Sunday. Sore as heck. Another day like that and I'll be two years ahead on sugaring wood.
173 on 3/16 natural vac for 2023
36 buckets
2 x 5 Smoky Lake Hybrid pan on a custom arch
RB25 from RO Bucket
12x24 salvaged sugarhouse built by wife's grandpa
1965 Massey Ferguson 165 tractor to haul sap.
Lots of work to do, too little time to do it. I have an order of 3/16 coming in. On Christmas break I will be re-tubing one side hill, my only steep section. I'm trying 2000' of 3/16 to start. Likely to get about 150 taps on the 3/16. This should help the vacuum pump on the rest of that bush. I ordered a new HP R.O. pump, old one will be rebuilt for a spare, it needs a seal kit.
I'll be running a new tubing set up in the area around my sugarhouse. I finally got a vacuum pump and releaser to run vacuum there, will need some sap ladders to make the sap all run to the sugar house, but I figure that's better than not tapping those 160 +/- taps because gravity requires the bush to have 7 collection points (too much time to collect).
I'm hoping I can get my help back during Christmas break, they are in college and they are trained.
I've had decent sales and will need to bottle more for my Christmas sales. I still have 40 gal x2 in barrels.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
sugarwood all in. 69,4ft bundles of slabwood. Time to start on the house wood.
Paul & Serena
Sugaring for over 50 years.
4000+ taps on vacuum
4 Airtech Vacuum Pumps
4 X 12 Force 5 with D&G Pans
Lapierre 1200 GPH RO
www.paulssugarhouse.com
We've gotten 4 loads of gravel delivered over the last few weeks to fill in some rutted and potholed sections of bush road. The new Quick-Tach forks and bucket for the Massey should be here before winter.
We've pulled the 400 taps of semi-rigid that was installed 12+ years ago out of the woods and will replace it with new tubing before Christmas. I am soooooo looking forward to getting it installed properly. I hated how the tubing was done for the last 10 years!
Syrup is also flying off the shelves - we've been emptying a lot of drums lately.
Work safe everyone!
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
Kind of freaking out here at Pierce and Sons. Getting close to when I tap and things going good but everyday at work thinking about all the stuff want to do. Have the line maintainance done and am now putting the taps on the drops when its light and working on releasers, tanks, pumps and sugarhouse when its dark. Fixed a lot of stuff that gave me trouble last year which is the name of the game. Trying to improve vacuum setups pretty much everywhere. Usually I have always had a lot of distance between pumps and releasers and this year trying to set them up right at all the releasers with minimum plumbing. Put in some new boosters to make certain spots where I fan all my lines in better. Trying to cool liquid ring vacuum pumps better by installing radiators on them where cool water is hard to keep coming. Should be ready but always seems to be a lot to do. Six weeks to operation EXTREME TAPOFF 2016. Hard to believe. Working on my three larger woods, each one around three thousand taps Wanting them ready to go Jan 1. Tap them in fast for early runs hopefully then concentrate on the rest after that. Lots to do, wish I could stay home everyday but still need a paycheck. Always thinking about R.O. machines during day. Want to upgrade to one new machine but having hard time deciding whether to buy one or make one. Expensive to even make one with the price of all the pumps and such. I could definitely save money but not sure what will do. Want at least an eight post R.O. machine. Would like to match my evaporator with 15% which is pretty hard to do but working full time I don't have a lot of extra time so I need to be fast with everything. Hard to have it easy if your a cheapskate like me. Theron
Theron - I get tired just reading your posts! Wish I could see the 4" fire hose of sap that comes into your camp when the monsoon sap comes!
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
Marty- It is pretty busy and partly because Im pretty good size for being a side gig but a lot of it is Ive always hooked up as many trees as possible without being willing to go way deep in debt. Ive kind of done things on the cheap and then have to go back and make better as I can afford it. I have a lot of used equipment that let me do a lot of volume for not a lot of money. I figure if I spend so much I end up divorced that's expensive too. I never really know how much sap I get because we haul a lot of it and start hauling and roing as it is running. Plus the last two years since ive put more taps in it has been pretty froze up in my woods to really run right. Best run weve had was two years ago we waited and waited for the ground to thaw out and when it did I think we got 25000 gallons on around 10000 taps. That was pretty crazy but I think all the stars were aligned or something because that was way more than normal for a run during the day. My lines are ok but others get more sap per tap than me. I don't care because Im just going hook up however many trees I need to to make the syrup I want. My buddy Scott Pratt does bug me though because he consistently gets better averages than me so Im going to do what I have to do to beat him. This years strategy to do that, lie. Theron
Day number 2 on the framing of the new addition on the sugarhouse . Should be in the woods but gettin the new tanks enclosed and new ro room built is a touch more important. New addition is 20 by 28 with ten ft walls and metal roof . Two 2000 gallon round bottoms on the floor feeding the ro and a 1000 gallon round bottom up high to feed thru the wall to the evaporater. Be nice to not have to squeeze into them milk tanks anymore!!!! And also have it all under one roof
4 by 12 cdl
Cdl 3 post ro , 4th post waiting to get added
5 hp sihi vaccum pump, 3/4 hp airblo vaccum pump, gv60 atlas copco vaccum pump www.roundmountainsugarhouse.com.