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Thread: Schenectady-Albany-Saratoga Counties

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Rotterdam NY
    Posts
    1

    Default Schenectady-Albany-Saratoga Counties

    Hi all,
    I'm just curious who else is tapping around the capitol region ? Ive seen reports that some out in western NY are tapping and sap is flowing already ! I always come here to see what others are doing before I pull the trigger and start our season. The temps do look favorable to tap , even though I'm no where near ready . We are out on the western edge of Rotterdam , up in the hills, and with that we have a little temp difference than those in the valley areas.

    This will be our third year doing Maple syrup. We're up to about 50 taps this year , which is plenty for the wife and me. we do it on a homemade arch with 3 steam tray pans . It seems to work very well .

    I'm excited for another Maple season , and hopefully it'll be a good one .

    -John VanDenburgh

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Corinth, New York, United States
    Posts
    557

    Default

    I'm not sure what everyone is doing. I'm in northern Saratoga county similar to you in the foothills of the Adirondacks and the weather is strange to say the least. I went for a ride this morning to talk to a larger producer just north of me and didn't find anyone around. I also didn't see much sign of anything going on at his sugar shack so I'm sure he is waiting. I'm pretty sure it's going to get pretty cold around here again before it's all over. Last year was super warm here and then a Feb cold snap and still didn't start getting SAP until March 1. I'm small enough I can get everything in in a day or two so I'm not concerned.
    2021 230 Taps on vacuum
    Smokylake 2X6 pan set with auto drawoff
    Homebuilt 2 4x40 membrane RO
    Homebuilt filter press
    Rebuilt arch with under and over the fire air we have named V 2.0
    Smokylake steam bottler
    Hoods and preheater
    500 gallon vertical polytank to store sap for RO
    Adding a laser eye to my bottler for autofill/stop

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Corinth, New York, United States
    Posts
    557

    Default

    Im still holding on even though everything looks right. Today kind of put a pitt in my stomach as the ice and snow has turned to that granular variety that you usually get right as sugar season starts. Im just putting the evaporator back together after shortening for the new pans and addition of air over fire. I hope to get this done the next few mornings then have to add the second membrane to the RO. It looks like the paint in the boiling room is going to have to wait for next year i feel im running out of time.
    2021 230 Taps on vacuum
    Smokylake 2X6 pan set with auto drawoff
    Homebuilt 2 4x40 membrane RO
    Homebuilt filter press
    Rebuilt arch with under and over the fire air we have named V 2.0
    Smokylake steam bottler
    Hoods and preheater
    500 gallon vertical polytank to store sap for RO
    Adding a laser eye to my bottler for autofill/stop

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Saratoga, NY
    Posts
    426

    Default

    Heard an acquaintance across the border in VT with a much more sizable sugar bush has tapped and started boiling, that's my starting gun to give it a run. Think I'll haul out the bricks for an arch setup down by the house and see how much i can make before it shuts back off..by the way, anyone waiting for "normal winter" I think you might be waiting a bit.

    Meanwhile the West Coast is buried in snow and single digits for the last month...if only they had a term for this strange weather inversion.
    --
    2015: 8 bucket taps (7 red, 1 sugar) on DIY barrel evaporator
    2016: 13 taps (bucket and tube) on block arch and hotel pans
    2017: SAME
    2018: 25 taps on 2x3 flat pan and resurrected barrel arch
    2019: 25 taps...same setup plus DIY 3x150gpd RO filter
    2020: 50 taps, all buckets..."new" oil tank arch setup
    2021: 100 taps (50/50 buckets/3-16 tubing) on 2x4 divided pan
    2022: 150 taps (50/100 b/t) on 2x4 pan with sap warmer pan
    2023: SAME
    2024: 150 taps, added single-post 4x40 RO system

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Saratoga, NY
    Posts
    426

    Default Countdown to tap...

    Buckets are clean, tubing is rinsed, sanitizing the spiles as I type and tapping when my daughter wakes up to come along. Here we go!
    --
    2015: 8 bucket taps (7 red, 1 sugar) on DIY barrel evaporator
    2016: 13 taps (bucket and tube) on block arch and hotel pans
    2017: SAME
    2018: 25 taps on 2x3 flat pan and resurrected barrel arch
    2019: 25 taps...same setup plus DIY 3x150gpd RO filter
    2020: 50 taps, all buckets..."new" oil tank arch setup
    2021: 100 taps (50/50 buckets/3-16 tubing) on 2x4 divided pan
    2022: 150 taps (50/100 b/t) on 2x4 pan with sap warmer pan
    2023: SAME
    2024: 150 taps, added single-post 4x40 RO system

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Saratoga, NY
    Posts
    426

    Default

    Well, my paltry two dozen or so taps are in for a test run - would say 2/3 were running strong, about what I'd expect in early March.
    --
    2015: 8 bucket taps (7 red, 1 sugar) on DIY barrel evaporator
    2016: 13 taps (bucket and tube) on block arch and hotel pans
    2017: SAME
    2018: 25 taps on 2x3 flat pan and resurrected barrel arch
    2019: 25 taps...same setup plus DIY 3x150gpd RO filter
    2020: 50 taps, all buckets..."new" oil tank arch setup
    2021: 100 taps (50/50 buckets/3-16 tubing) on 2x4 divided pan
    2022: 150 taps (50/100 b/t) on 2x4 pan with sap warmer pan
    2023: SAME
    2024: 150 taps, added single-post 4x40 RO system

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Corinth, New York, United States
    Posts
    557

    Default

    Holeinthetree my family is all from Cambridge . They live off turnpike road on Brownell corners. The old farm has a nice size sugar bush on the other side of turnpike that I think gets leased out. Jeff
    2021 230 Taps on vacuum
    Smokylake 2X6 pan set with auto drawoff
    Homebuilt 2 4x40 membrane RO
    Homebuilt filter press
    Rebuilt arch with under and over the fire air we have named V 2.0
    Smokylake steam bottler
    Hoods and preheater
    500 gallon vertical polytank to store sap for RO
    Adding a laser eye to my bottler for autofill/stop

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Corinth, New York, United States
    Posts
    557

    Default

    Adk xj what part of Saratoga are you in? I work at quad and pass quite a few buckets on the way in to work.
    2021 230 Taps on vacuum
    Smokylake 2X6 pan set with auto drawoff
    Homebuilt 2 4x40 membrane RO
    Homebuilt filter press
    Rebuilt arch with under and over the fire air we have named V 2.0
    Smokylake steam bottler
    Hoods and preheater
    500 gallon vertical polytank to store sap for RO
    Adding a laser eye to my bottler for autofill/stop

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Ballston Lake, NY
    Posts
    182

    Default

    Good morning - new to the forum, fairly new to sugaring as well. This will be my third season of tapping in Charlton, NY. Have had the trees tapped for a few weeks so far and have boiled around 100 gallons of sap, hoping for a good run this weekend!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Northville
    Posts
    357

    Default

    stop in,we are in ephratah on Mud Road,got 50 yrs of surg'in

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