38 taps in today as well. A few were starting to seep a little bit so no doubt once the trees thaw we'll be cooking in no time. Perfect weather in the forecast for the next week or more. Looking forward to boiling again!
38 taps in today as well. A few were starting to seep a little bit so no doubt once the trees thaw we'll be cooking in no time. Perfect weather in the forecast for the next week or more. Looking forward to boiling again!
All my life I wanted to make my own syrup. Now I'm livin' the dream!
Got 100 taps in in the Newberry area. Started to run pretty good. Looks promising for the next 10 days.
2006 - 12 taps on open fire
2011 - 50 taps new 2 x 4 flat pan + warmer
2012 - 65 taps new 16 x 16 sugar shack
2013- 75 taps and no more, well maybe 85 now
2016-97 taps
1 Lab and my wife's Springer
170 buckets, 70 on pipeline just a dribble and short term forecast isn’t great. This season is SLOW starting…
Latitude location: 45° 51' 48.0" N
2013 - 48 taps and a home made arch / pan = 19 gallons
2014 - 74 taps and counting, upgrades to Arch
2015 - 98 taps and counting, NEW custom made Arch, 30hp New Holland tractor
2016 - 0 taps :-( had to skip this year
2017 - 100 taps and back in the game
2018 - 145 taps, NEW Sugar Shack & family and friends to help.
2019 - 170 taps, 30 gallons of Sticky Bush syrup
2020 - planning on retailing some Sticky Bush
2021 - adding gravity pipeline with 60 taps
Season started slow but now...
Sheesh, I had bought a 275g food grade tote this year with anticipation of filling it and then doing a boil, it started slow but now I'm getting 50 gallons a day out of 45 taps. Now it looks like the tote will be over filling by tomorrow (Tuesday 4/5) and rain forecasted for Wednesday. I don't have an enclosed shack so I'll have to power wash out one of my 55 gallon drums to store the rest of the sap so I can start the boil Thursday. These photos are really cool as you can see where there's a 2" layer of ice in the bottom of the tote when we got real cold again. You can see how I've gotten an insane amount of sap in the two warm days post freeze, (4/2 and 4/3) with the ice layer staying and showing a clear line! photo_2022-04-04_11-03-24.jpgphoto_2022-04-04_11-03-21.jpgphoto_2022-04-04_11-03-08.jpg
Last edited by GanaSugar; 04-04-2022 at 10:08 AM.
Oh yeah, every day now is a bumper sap crop. Gotta get it while the going is good! Hopefully it doesn't get too warm before you can boil off that tote so your sap stays fresh enough.
All my life I wanted to make my own syrup. Now I'm livin' the dream!
I'm not doing that big of a boil again.... 330 gallons in a batch and I had to boil over Thursday and Friday night, finished Saturday morning. Syrup is dark from the extended boil but tastes great. I'm doing another 100gallon boil just from what was in the buckets from the weekend and it will be interesting to see how light the syrup turns out even though its a later boil. (one day vs 2.5 of boiling)
I put in 15 taps on 2/11 just because I can't wait... 90% of the trees were running while I tapped. I'm thinking this will be a good starter to the season, do one small boil based on what I got this weekend through Wednesday.
With this weather I installed 8 taps on 2/10 and like you most are producing 1gal/24hrs with two putting out about 1.5-2gals. Could be a great season if mother nature cooperates.
2017 First year late start 18 taps. Produced 2 gallons syrup. Hooked for life.
2018 2nd Year early start 26 taps In Jan increased to 86 taps March. Upgraded outdoor boiler concrete block & 2 20"x30"x5" Stainless pans. Swimming in sap this March! 100% disconnected all taps 3-27-18. Syrup produced 15 gallons!
2019 Season late to start only a week before spring break. Season total syrup 1.5 gallons. Enjoyed every drop.
2023 2/10/23 8 taps producing 1-1.5gal/24hrs.
Majority of Taps Installed
Posted a longer post in backyarder forum, but I put out 47 taps this weekend and started to upgrade my shed! Long story short I think we'll be running hard in Chassell MI in about 2 weeks and the wife is 36 weeks pregnant. Making hay while the sun shines so to speakI collected about 25 gallons of sap after tapping Saturday and collecting late Sunday (47 taps).
Congrats on the new almost baby. Hope you have some help lined up to do your boiling while you are away.
2004 - 2012 2x3 flat pan 25 to 60 taps
2012 2x3 new divided pan w/draw off 55 taps
2018 - didn't boil surgery - bought new evaporator
2019 new SML 2x4 raised flue high output evap. 65 taps
made 17 gal. syrup
2020 - only put out 53 taps - made 16.25 ga.l syrup
2021 - Didn't work out
2022 - 25 taps on bags / 8 taps on 3/16's line - late start
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