+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Tapping sugars and silvers

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    MN
    Posts
    415

    Default Tapping sugars and silvers

    How many of you guys tap sugar and silver maples on tubing? Do you worry about your silvers budding out before the sugars?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Greenwood, Maine
    Posts
    466

    Default

    Not in my bush it ends the same time
    Velvet Hollow Sugarworks
    Greenwood, Maine
    900 taps
    CDL 2X6, leader RO

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Oneida NY
    Posts
    11,547

    Default

    I tap mostly sugars around the sugarhouse but there out of what was 225 taps for 2018 48 were reds and 2 were silvers. They do not end at the same time as the sugars for me. Last year the sugars went 21 days past the reds and silvers, this year they went 12 days past the reds and silvers. I have most laterals all sugars or all reds & Silvers, that way when the soft maples need to be removed, I just cut that lateral and plug the part going to the saddle. I have 2 exceptions, on one lateral it is all sugars on 3/16 except 1 large 2 tap tree. For that I pull those taps and plug them so the vacuum does not leak. On the other I have 2 softs on another 3/16, There I do the same, either pull the tap and cap it or clip the drop and plug it.
    In my lease there are no soft maples, only sugars so there I have no problem.
    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.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    315

    Default

    I tap everything on one and have seen no issues with bad sap.
    Remember to keep on ticking while the sap is dripping.
    2016- 50 buckets. Made 4 gallons.
    2022- 3900? taps + Smartrek! Made 1300 gallons.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    MN
    Posts
    415

    Default

    So it seems odds are one will not have to worry about having to pull taps early on soft maples due to budding out before hard maples.

    I currently have all sugar maples tapped, there are silver maples that can be tied into the tubing easily, would be an easier way to get more taps out and produce more syrup.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    South Colton, NY
    Posts
    642

    Default

    One third of our taps are young soft maples. Without question they impact the length of our season but overall we have more syrup with them then we would if we didn't tap them.
    3,100 taps
    60 cfm flood
    HC2
    5 by 14 oil

    Brian

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Rock Creek, NC
    Posts
    5,807

    Default

    Most of my trees are red maples and I have never made buddy syrup. My season is just as long as the season is for the guys that have all sugars around me. The reds just seem to stop running at the end. I have read here that the silvers bud earlier than the reds and sugars so keep an eye on them if you do decide to tap them. There are a lot of guys that make syrup with silvers.
    Russ

    "Red Roof Maples" Where the term "boiling soda" was first introduced to the maple world!

    1930 Ford Model AA Doodlebug tractor
    A couple of Honda 4 wheelers
    Four chainsaws and no chickens!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Howell, mi
    Posts
    820

    Default

    I tap both sugar and silvers on the same lines.
    First, realize that the silvers will flower.
    This often looks like they are budding out well ahead of the sugars, but I haven’t yet had buddy sap or off flavor syrup during this period.
    Normally, I pull all taps at the same time.

    Also, I have a single conductor line at the releaser. Main lines tee off from this conductor out in the woods.
    It just worked out for me that all of my silvers are on 2 main lines, sugars are on 4 others.
    Each main line has a ball valve.

    If things were to get really dicey, I can shut off the vacuum to the silvers and maintain it to the sugars.
    You can always set up your woods with the ability to isolate the silvers if you’re worried about it.

    The ball valves in my woods are really only there to help find vacuum leaks quickly.
    42.67N 84.02W


    350 taps- 300 on vacuum, 50 buckets
    JD gator 625i Sap hauler w/65 gal tank
    Leader 2X6 drop flue

    Homemade auto draw-off
    Homemade preheater
    Homebrew RO, 2- xle-4040's
    LaPierre double vertical releaser
    Kinney KC-8 vacuum pump

    12X24 shack
    Lots of chickens and a few cats.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Walpole, NH
    Posts
    1,363

    Default

    I have always tapped both soft and sugar maples over the last 40+ years I have been sugaring. Yes, there is a chance of the soft maples budding out enough to create buddy syrup, but I have found that usually the sugar maples are only behind by a very few days. I have more variation in sugar lots depending on how they face than in the species or trees. The benefits of the extra sap throughout the season outweigh the little lost sap at the end in my experience. There are days that the soft maples will run. when the sugars will not thaw out enough to do so. So in the end it all balances out.
    Sugaring for 45+ years
    New Sugarhouse 14'x32'
    New to Me Algier 2'x8' wood fired evaporator
    2022 added a used RB25 RO Bucket
    250 mostly Sugar Maples, 15% Soft Maples. Currently,(110on 3/16" and 125 on Shurflo 4008 vacuum, 15 gravity), (16,000 before being disabled)
    1947 Farmall H and Wagon with gathering tank
    2012 Kubota with forks to move wood around

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    MN
    Posts
    415

    Default

    I think I might tap some silvers next spring. I'm hesitant on tapping silvers because it seems like everyone loves my syrup, I hear it's the best they've ever had so it's kind 9f on the lines of "why fix what ain't broken" situation.

    I can easily incorporate a bunch of silvers in to my mainline since the silvers are scattered in amongst the sugars I have tapped already. Thanks for all your experience!

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts