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Thread: Downsizing for 2019 (well, sort of)

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Albion PA
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    5,099

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    Quote Originally Posted by heus View Post
    Thanks Chris. I'll have time to come see you boil next year.
    Jason,
    Looking forward to having you stop by. That is one thing I enjoy: going to other's sugarhouse's, visiting and or helping a little. BTW. I was boiling on your old rig today. Bob made at least 5 gallons with it this afternoon. The A&A rigs are good I boiled on their pans for 15 years.
    Regards,
    Chris
    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

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    Lake County Ohio
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    I get it. At just over 200 taps; this is manageable. A normal boil is 4 hours spent loading wood into the arch, checking temps throughout the pan with temp probes and drawing off about every 45 minutes.
    The highest tech device is the Marchland temp monitor. One for the stack and two for the syrup pan. Makes no noise at all. After that it’s a preheater in a steam hood. All add up to making good product- none make a sound. Loudest thing in there is an occasional Neil Young or Grand Funk Railroad track, via Blue tooth, playing off my phone....and the occasional snap of a pull tab...it’s all good.
    John Allin

    14x18 Hemlock Timber Frame Sugar House 2009
    Leader 2x6 w/Patriot Raised Flue Pan 2009
    Leader Steam Hood 2014 - Clear Filter Press 2015
    Leader Revolution Pan and SS Pre-Heater 2016
    CDL Hobby RO & Air Tech L25 Hi Vac Pump 2019
    06' Gator HPX to collect wood & sap
    14' Ski-Doo Tundra for winter work in the woods
    Great Family 3 grown kids+spouses and 7 grand kids who like the woods
    7th Gen Born in Canada - Raised in Chardon Ohio - Maple Capital of the World..<grin>.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Beaver Falls,NY
    Posts
    249

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    Hey I know where your coming from, considering the exact move my self and for nearly all the same reasons.
    4x12 arch
    new custom flues
    New custom front pan
    600 buckets town trees
    1500 3/16 taps
    D&G filterpress
    16x32 3rdgen canner
    member NYMPA
    Director American Maple Museum
    Director NNYMP COOP
    Asst. Chief BFFD
    Retired(now working for free)
    2015 Mahindra 70hp

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Oneida NY
    Posts
    11,547

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    I understand too, in fact I recently only had 225 gal of 2% sap to boil and I didn't even use the RO. I also didn't run the H.P AOF/AUF, I just opened the draft door and listened, and enjoyed the time. It was so quite, both the RO and the HP blower are loud.
    Now I don't plan to do that when I have a lot of sap, but it was relaxing and reminiscent of simpler times. I did still use the auto draw, which is more relaxing than monitoring the temp all the time.
    Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
    Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
    Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
    After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    428

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    Welcome to my world heues.024 (3).jpg368.jpg376.jpg381.jpg
    1960 - 1970s 70 taps on galvanized buckets with Dad and Grandpa.
    1970s - 1985 Acted crazy!
    1986 - 2005 20-30 buckets.
    2006- 2017 70 buckets and bags
    2017-2019 100 bags and buckets
    2020 Finally retired!!! 75 buckets, 50-75 on tubing. RO Bucket, New 12 X 16 Shack and a 42X42 flat pan.
    2021-Adding another 125 taps along with a second RO bucket.
    2022- Shooting for 350 taps, with 100 on lines.
    Lots of Family and Friends and dogs named Skyy and Nessy!

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Ashtabula County, Ohio
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    Just revisiting my thread from last spring. Although the bulk sap selling is still a possibility, I think I am going to keep my evaporator and boil next year. I have worked out a deal with a fellow maple trader. He is getting my oil fired arch and I am getting his wood fired arch. I have sold my 600 RO and filter press. I am thinking that I will cut back from 1000 taps on vac to around 200 or so on vac. Make just enough to keep my retail customers and family happy. My 200 taps will be only the best sugar maples in my woods, and mostly all can run on gravity if for some reason my vacuum is not working. Hopefully I can get my average sugar content up to 2% from the terrible average of 1.3-1.4% when I tapped lots of telephone pole sugar maples. One regret is selling my filter press, though. I may be looking for a short bank one in the near future.
    1000 taps on vac down to 100+ buckets 99% sugars
    2x5 SL Hi-Output Raised Flue Corsair evaporator
    SL Short bank press with CDL diaphragm pump
    Leader Micro 1 RO for 2024
    Constantly changing
    2010:36 gal 2011:126 gal 2012:81 gal 2013:248 gal 2014: 329.5 gal 2015:305 gal 2016:316 gal 2017:258 gal 2018:147 gal 2019:91 gal 2020:30 gal 2021:30 gal 2023:50 gal Total since 2010: 2047.5 gal
    Tapping the same trees my great, great and great grandfathers tapped.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Ashtabula County, Ohio
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    Not gonna lie, I am getting pleasure from seeing my tubing come down in my woods. Never really got used to its appearance. Excited to use my new toy (2019 Kawasaki Mule Pro MX) to gather sap this coming season. Going to pick up my 2x7 evaporator at A&A Metal Shop in a couple of weeks. Ordered a 9" CDL vacuum filter. Looking forward to seeing how well it works. I guess I am one of the few that went from high tech (ro, filter press, vacuum, fuel oil fired, etc) back to low tech. Call my crazy but I am excited about maple again.
    1000 taps on vac down to 100+ buckets 99% sugars
    2x5 SL Hi-Output Raised Flue Corsair evaporator
    SL Short bank press with CDL diaphragm pump
    Leader Micro 1 RO for 2024
    Constantly changing
    2010:36 gal 2011:126 gal 2012:81 gal 2013:248 gal 2014: 329.5 gal 2015:305 gal 2016:316 gal 2017:258 gal 2018:147 gal 2019:91 gal 2020:30 gal 2021:30 gal 2023:50 gal Total since 2010: 2047.5 gal
    Tapping the same trees my great, great and great grandfathers tapped.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

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    Jason,
    Change is good! Keeps things fresh! We are not far away from syrup season too. Looking forward to your updates!
    Regards,
    Chris
    Last edited by Sugarmaker; 12-14-2019 at 02:24 PM.
    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

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Lake County Ohio
    Posts
    1,628

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    Quote Originally Posted by heus View Post
    Not gonna lie, I am getting pleasure from seeing my tubing come down in my woods. Never really got used to its appearance. Excited to use my new toy (2019 Kawasaki Mule Pro MX) to gather sap this coming season. Going to pick up my 2x7 evaporator at A&A Metal Shop in a couple of weeks. Ordered a 9" CDL vacuum filter. Looking forward to seeing how well it works. I guess I am one of the few that went from high tech (ro, filter press, vacuum, fuel oil fired, etc) back to low tech. Call my crazy but I am excited about maple again.
    You're not crazy Jason, you're going to make some really good tasting old-fashioned syrup again...that's what you're going to do. I never got to your level of tech and have always been wood fired, but after only a year with vacuum, air injection and an RO, I'm also beginning to think about doing a 180 before it's too late.
    John Allin

    14x18 Hemlock Timber Frame Sugar House 2009
    Leader 2x6 w/Patriot Raised Flue Pan 2009
    Leader Steam Hood 2014 - Clear Filter Press 2015
    Leader Revolution Pan and SS Pre-Heater 2016
    CDL Hobby RO & Air Tech L25 Hi Vac Pump 2019
    06' Gator HPX to collect wood & sap
    14' Ski-Doo Tundra for winter work in the woods
    Great Family 3 grown kids+spouses and 7 grand kids who like the woods
    7th Gen Born in Canada - Raised in Chardon Ohio - Maple Capital of the World..<grin>.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Ashtabula County, Ohio
    Posts
    1,792

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    Chris and John, Its going to be weird going back to boiling raw sap. Good luck in your seasons.
    1000 taps on vac down to 100+ buckets 99% sugars
    2x5 SL Hi-Output Raised Flue Corsair evaporator
    SL Short bank press with CDL diaphragm pump
    Leader Micro 1 RO for 2024
    Constantly changing
    2010:36 gal 2011:126 gal 2012:81 gal 2013:248 gal 2014: 329.5 gal 2015:305 gal 2016:316 gal 2017:258 gal 2018:147 gal 2019:91 gal 2020:30 gal 2021:30 gal 2023:50 gal Total since 2010: 2047.5 gal
    Tapping the same trees my great, great and great grandfathers tapped.

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