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Thread: Southeast Ohio 2018

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Southern Ohio
    Posts
    1,349

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    My first thought this morning when I went to check tanks......ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! My main collection tank was sitting about an inch over the 150 gallon mark. That is three 3/16 lines with a total of 48 taps. My other two barrels were full as well ....over 250 gallons off 107 taps. I cooked 125 and quit from exhaustion. I just let the lines run on the ground today until I could get tanks back under them. I hope the sap I'm holding keeps. If I had someone making syrup near me I'd give it away, but I don't know anyone within 30-40 miles. Note to self, back off the taps on 3/16th next year.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    troy, ohio
    Posts
    224

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    I hear ya buckeye. Having a sap flood here too. Let things yesterday and lastnight. Ro will be busy this afternoon. Made 6 gal Wed night.
    2021
    2x8 CDL raised flue w/ hoods
    SMOKY LAKE SS filter press
    825i JD gator
    400 taps and growing
    SL steam bottler
    250 CDL RO

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    McConnelsville, ohio
    Posts
    8

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    Yep it is sweet to see homemade stuff work as it should, Sap flowing here like crazy should have approx. 500 gal to process on sat. I have a full 275 in the woods that I cant get to the mud here is incredible this year. Might have to take the CAT down there n collect that lol. Cant wait to see the whole process work from adding sap at one end and bottling on the other continuously sounds like a good plan but I will give an update later on.
    150 taps on gravity
    6' x 3 1/2' homemade pan
    wood fired homemade evaporator out of 500 gal propane tank
    2018 ranger sap collector

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Lawrence County Ohio
    Posts
    350

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    How is your sap holding up in the heat?
    I RO'd and boiled 600 gallon Wed afternoon- didn't finish until 0500 yesterday- got about 3 hours sleep. We had to go to town yesterday morning- got back about 1 pm and my 330 collection tank was running over- I pumped it up to the sugar house and started the RO- got the fire lit- Boiled about an hour before near disaster. Before I started I had re-arranged some of the fire brick "diffusers" on my grate- I have a home made arch, home made AUF- trying to get some more heat for a more consistent boil in my flue pan- whatever I did worked for my syrup pan anyway- in between stacking wood, putting new filters in the filter tank, checking RO, checking head tank valve, level and float valve- I neglected my syrup pan- she bubbled up and scorched- I had my OS bucket- started dumping in, scared to DEATH my an was goin to warp. I got the arch shut down, cooled down and inspected my pan, just a small scorched area about 1 sq ft, it peeled right off with a plastic scraper- I am extremely thankful it wasn't worse but pretty disappointed to lose all that sweet and I figure the concentrate was toast by this morning. My pans hold about 14 gallon, had 45 gallon of 5% concentrate in the head tank. I've got 18 gallon of syrup made so far, and my customers are knocking down my door for more more more- I'm wore slap out. Thankfully it's raining cats and dogs and windy out right now I'm sittin my butt on the couch takin it easy- for another hour, then it's out to scrub & soak the pans, the tanks, the filters, pits and pans, everything- I am looking forward to the freeze tonight to maybe recharge the trees. Glad to hear you all having plenty of sap too.
    '12 15 jugs - Steam pans
    '17 125 3/16 - 18" x 72" drop flue on homemade arch
    '18 240 3/16 - Deer Run 125
    '19 450 3/16 - Converted RO to electric/added a membrane
    '20 600 3/16 - Maple Pro 2x6 Raised Flue, added AOF/AUF
    '21 570 3/16 - Built steam hood, Smoky Lake filter press
    '22 800 3/16 - Upgraded RO to 4 4x40
    '23 500 3/16 - Re-plumbed RO, new "Guzzler"
    '24 500 3/16 - Steam Away, DIY 8x40 RO

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Southern Ohio
    Posts
    1,349

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    I feel your pain Ben. I just came in from finally catching up. All sap is cooked, and the shack cleaned up, and I scrubbed the head tank. I still have to bottle two days worth. I don't know how much sap I missed, but Wednesday I just couldn't handle any more sap and I let the lines run on the ground all day. I kid you not it was practically squirting out of those 3/16th lines. I guess I must have them set up about right.

    with a small rig and no RO I just can't handle those tsunamis. I cooked the last of the hold over sap today. It was a bit cloudy, but still good. I had it stashed in shaded woods gully. I made all dark syrup today because of it, but the chief and high commander has already confiscated it. You know they have all the different "cuts" of bourbon, well the dark rich syrup is Mom-ma's cut in this household. I was really afraid it was gonna spoil. It was close as the sap had a slight musty smell cooking, but we chilled the syrup and tasted it and it's very good. Sure was full of sugar sand though. I had to triple filter, but I got it sharp and clear.

    I hear ya on the mud dugan55. I have totally destroyed my back field and road into it. This has to be the sloppiest mess of a season I have ever had. Next year I may run lines clear to the driveway, just to avoid this.

    If I had good sugar content I would have the most syrup I ever made, but it has been averaging 1.3. Today it bumped up to 1.6.

    I do not think I will be boiling much longer. We have daffodils coming up.

    John B has been coming over and keeping me company in the shack, Ben. He asked about you and said if he knew where you lived he'd drive down. He was wondering how your getting along with the tanks.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    McConnelsville, ohio
    Posts
    8

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    Cooked all weekend ran approx 650 through it and ended up with 12 gal finished. The whole bottling idea didn't work out this time to busy running around collecting as much as I could before the temps climbed up to swimming weather. Syrup is chilled like you buckeye mine was a lil bit cloudy and turned out on the dark side as well. cleaned up everything and have my lines dumping onto the ground to help sweeten the flooding water down river. last two days been close to 70 hope the trees don't bud and the peepers go away for a bit longer
    150 taps on gravity
    6' x 3 1/2' homemade pan
    wood fired homemade evaporator out of 500 gal propane tank
    2018 ranger sap collector

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    McConnelsville, ohio
    Posts
    8

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    Trees are producing again, should be good rest of this week, processed 200 gal last night and again lots of sand in the bottom seems to be pretty dark as well, doesn't look like any amber/light syrup going to get produced
    150 taps on gravity
    6' x 3 1/2' homemade pan
    wood fired homemade evaporator out of 500 gal propane tank
    2018 ranger sap collector

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Southern Ohio
    Posts
    1,349

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    Better smell when that is boiling and taste the syrup.....I would be worried about off flavor after all that warm. I have seen it do this before, but I washed everything up when it got warm and I am not dirtying it all again so I pulled taps. I tried making syrup one year on a run that came after it looked like season was over....it was not good tasting syrup.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Rockport,WV
    Posts
    107

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    Sounds like me,I tried to push it one time..Maybe I missed the last week ,last Monday was it for me, had some reds I think somewhere in there hiding ! Sap looked good made decent color ,slight taste but the smell !!! I am near Parkersburg WV , where are you ? just wondered if you had any reds and when they may have went south. my blacks and sugars are still not budding.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Marysville, Ohio
    Posts
    663

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    This season has been another disappointing one here. I got decent sap runs the last three weeks of February but the sugar content is low again this year. It's taking about 60 gallons to make a gallon of syrup. My production per tap has gone down every year since 2013. It started at slightly more than 1 quart per tap. It's now down to about a pint per tap. I check my permeate tank sugar content every day and it's right on zero with the refractometer. I check the zero of the refractometer every day as well. I don't think we have much season left here. By March 1st about 15% of my trees had stopped producing while about 15% were going bonkers during the last run. I haven't had any kind of a run in over a week. It looks like I might get a run on Sunday and there might be one more run in March before the weather warms up.
    Leader 1/2 pint - Kawasaki Mule - Smoky Lake Filter Bottler
    24 GPH RO, 2 1/2 x 40 NF3 (NF270), 140 GPH (Brass with no relief valve ) ProCon pump
    2013 - 44 taps - 16 gallons syrup, 2014 - 109 taps - 26 gallons syrup
    2015 - 71 taps - 13.5 gallons syrup, 2016 - 125 taps - 24.25 gallons syrup
    2017 - 129 taps - 17.5 gallons syrup, 2018 - 128 taps- 18 gallons syrup
    2019 -130 taps - 18.5 gallons syrup, 2020 ~125 taps-19.75 gallons syrup

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