Tapping questions

[Peabbles]

Very new to this hobby, but the kids and I find it a lot of fun. I do have a couple questions on tapping our 2nd year. The kids got a new book this year called "sugarbush spring". A children's picture book that mentions a tree being too big/old to tap. It was the first I'd ever seen mention of a tree being too old. Is there such a thing as too old or too big when tapping a tree?

2. What are the guidelines for tapping year after year? I've seen min. 6" horizontal separation from old tap holes and min. 24" vertical separation. I'm not sure how this pattern is sustainable for generations. Does this only apply if you can still see the old tap holes? Does anyone have a tapping pattern that they follow or a recommended resource to look at?

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Only trees too old to tap are dying, rotten or hollow. A sound tree of any age is tappable.

Over a period of years, new wood will overgrow an old Tap wound. If you tap at the recommended 1 and1/2 inches in depth, you will be able to tap over that tap wound. I generally try to tap at least 2" to the side of an old tap and about a foot above or below. With old 7/16 spouts the wound and walled off area will be bigger than with 5/16 or 1/4 inch taps.

[Galena]

Hehe one of my most consistent high-producers is the biggest tree here, I'm guessing around 150 yrs old. But my next-best trees are probably only about 100 yrs old. The others are all around 60-80 yrs old. This is based partly on basic math but also historical records, as my house is a former schoolhouse, and things like tree planting were recorded, so I try to extrapolate which trees are referred to!

In terms of tapping patterns I wing it, but try to stagger the pattern so not too close to recent and/or not quite healed holes from previous years. Personally I like to tap a bit low on the trunk, mostly to make full buckets easier to lift (esp as snowpack melts) but also to ensure that I'm not using up all the easy-to-access areas.