Casbohm Maple and Honey
625 roadside taps + Neighbors bring some sap too!
3x10 King, WRU, AOF and AUF
12" SIRO Filter Press.
2015 Ford F250 PSD sap hauler
One Golden named Maggie, Norwegian Forest Cat named Lucy
Too many Cub Cadets
Ford Jubilee and several Allis WD's, and IH tractors
1932 Ford AAB ton and a half, dump truck
www.mapleandhoney.com
I am thinking I will have 30 gallons or so this week as well. No sap running today though, too cold.
Forecast just keeps going on forever for perfect temps.
Boiled last night. Our tiny little sugar bush produced 130oz. We have 18 taps so I'm disappointed. Been waiting for days for the temps to climb. Everything has been frozen up since Friday. Expected 3 gallons this year. Forecast had me hopeful. But it just hasn't been warming up enough during the days. Leaving the bags hanging until Saturday. Still hope for another run. This has been a very odd year.
I just got an indication that this long maple season, already 5 weeks old, still has a way to go. I just pressed 5½ gallons of syrup through my filter press and had no problem. At the end of the season, it's a struggle to press through even 4½ gallons, and examination of the filter aid afterwards shows it to be almost uniformly dark with nitre. But the filter aid in today's press was a mixture of tan and dark. I could have pressed 1 or 2 gallons more. This is not end-of-season sap!
Last edited by HowardR; 03-15-2018 at 07:21 PM.
680 5/16 taps on gravity
red and sugar maples
2 Homemade ROs
Stovetop evaporator
Filter press by Daryl
Star San Tube Pump
Drying rack for hydrometer
Loves tapping in snow
I hear ya. Not the same scale as you but Im seeing the same. My 3 lines are about done. I tapped early. Yesterday...not wanting to miss this great weather, I tapped a few hard to get to sugars and they are pouring. Clear 20 gallons of sap at slightly more than 2%. Ive been barely 1% all season. I wish these trees were easily accessible. Ive been boiling 120 gallons of 1% all season. Ill settle for some higher % but lower sap totals for this last wk or 2.
Still plugging along here in central Pa. It finally thawed out enough today to gather, first time since Monday.
Boiled about 225 gallons to night ,and looks like we made a little over 5 gallons. the amazing thing is it was only
3 draws! Oh Well we'll take it however it comes. Sap seemed to be running steady this afternoon, although it was very windy
and snow showers. We are getting close to having a pretty good season. Something I would not have said 3 weeks ago.
115 red maples on vacuum
100 taps on 5/16 gravity
35 taps on 3/16 gravity
50 taps on shurflo vacuum
about 60 buckets on giant roadside sugars
neighbor bringing from 45 taps
30'x 8' Aof/Auf Evaporator
Homemade 125gph Ro
Lots of Homemade Equipment!
http://s848.photobucket.com/albums/a...%20Sugarshack/
I've also been doing some new tapping during this season. I'm taking advantage of the cold day today (no sap running because below freezing all day) to do some last tapping in a section of mainline that is pretty far from the garage where I boil. Here's a photo which includes some of the new laterals that I put in this month. Also in the photo is my tapping companion:
NewTapLines.jpg
Last edited by HowardR; 03-16-2018 at 07:29 AM.
680 5/16 taps on gravity
red and sugar maples
2 Homemade ROs
Stovetop evaporator
Filter press by Daryl
Star San Tube Pump
Drying rack for hydrometer
Loves tapping in snow
Haden't checked my buckets since last Thursday but to my surprise a few buckets had some sap but I think my current taps are done. Managed to pick up a bad head cold this week and while I'd like to tap some of the trees I didn't get to, it'll all depend on how my head feels this weekend.
I hear you on not accessible trees, I've got a group of trees that I haven't looked through yet but it's down a steep hill. Will have to see how many maples are down there to determine if the exercise of hauling the buckets up the hill is worth it
Let me know if you need a hand.
I tapped a few trees at the old golf course like I did last year. Huge sugars. Once they convert it to a park I need to get permission to tap that place. Massive sugars bordering the fairways.
Broke out the old sap collection vehicle
61FABDD5-4D44-4E85-A983-F480957A2E1B.jpg
Here is my current bounty (excluding what i ser aside for my family and what i’ve given away/sold)
B85CB9D4-8C31-4351-9E58-35DA44B9A7E0.jpg
Have a gallon that needs bottled that i finished last night and maybe 2-3 gallons left in the season.