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Thread: November Journal

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Suamico, WI
    Posts
    1,175

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    Just a word of advise....don’t wait until summer is over and winter is back in full swing to clean your pans. Spent 5 hours with the pressure washer, oven off, and frozen hands.
    custom made 2x7 intensofire
    With SL pans
    250 deer run
    300 3/16 (new 2016)
    500 sacks around the neighborhood

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Oneida NY
    Posts
    11,544

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    Yesterday I got an email from my retail vender, best day ever, my fully stocked shelves totally sold out of pints and almost out of qts plus several half gal. and most of my BB syrup. Today I'll be restocking again. That was great news for sure. Most sales of regular syrup are still in jugs, but some glass is moving too. This may well end up my best Christmas tally ever (Nov+Dec sales) by quite a margin!
    Also, I had some good days with online sales too. I will need to pack more syrup again this week or maybe next and in a week or 2 my next batch of bourbon barrel aged syrup should be ready. Getting busy, and I haven't even taken time to go hunting yet.
    Last edited by maple flats; 11-25-2018 at 07:24 AM.
    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.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Lanark, ON
    Posts
    2,387

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    This early start to the winter has really messed with my plans to get work done in the bush!

    Saturday we got about 400ft of the 1200 foot vacuum line installed that we need to run from the new vacuum pump to the releaser. Sunday I stretched 6200 feet of lateral line tubing to replace some 10-year old tubing we ripped out during the summer. Had we not run out of pre-made droplines it would have been over 400 taps. I definitely lay out my mainlines much differently now because we needed to cut in a lot of new manifolds to hook the lines up to the mainline. It will be nice to get that finished this weekend.

    The To Do list is getting smaller and smaller! It would be nice to spend a few weekends in the woods doing some thinning rather than panicking right up to tapping time to get things cleaned up.
    4,600 Taps on vacuum
    9,400 gallons storage
    3 tower CDL RO
    3.5'x14' Lapierre Force 5
    Twitter & Instagram: @ennismaple
    www.ennismaple.com

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Ogdensburg, NY
    Posts
    113

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    Got all my wood, for this coming season and the 2020 season all set. I will be cutting and blocking wood this winter for the 2021 season. Did some work on the half pint, was able to get a door gasket on that I think will do the job. Thinking about remaking the latch mechanism for that door. Also giving some though to an AOF system. Been reading and studying some UVM documents - http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/Combustion.pdf interesting stuff.
    Also dreaming of a Smokey Lake Full Pint pan conversion. Put it on my XMAS list!
    2016 - helped at afriend with a small operation, 300+ taps. = hooked
    2017 - 20 taps @ home, 1 gal @ home on propane, then hauled to friends operation
    Bought a whole shack locally, with a Leader 1/2 Pint, moved it home
    2018 - 50 taps, 9 on 3/16 gravity and 41 pails -14 gallons of good sweet stuff
    2019 - 27 taps, 17 on 3/16 gravity and 10 on pails - 12-3/4 gallons of good sweet stuff (most fun I've had with this hobby)

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Southern Ohio
    Posts
    1,349

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    I ordered all my tubing and fittings to start repairing my lines and re-routing some. I need to have everything done by Mid December. I want to work some on the arch and AOF system as well. I have all my wood cut and dry, but need to move more to the shack. I will probably put some early taps out in mid to late December.

    Phil-T
    I ran a half pint for 6 years and spent many many hours boiling.

    I purchased a full pint pan in the spring of 2014. I like it, but the first year I had trouble keeping a hard boil in the front section. I have a float box on mine and consider it a must. If it were me I would get the custom hybrid pro pan in a 2x3 or 2x4 and modify the old half pint arch. I extended my arch and it made a big difference as I can keep a hot fire under all my pan. I average 12-15 GPH depending on my attention to firing ( I'm not real disciplined with my firing ). On slow days ( 40-50 gallons of sap) I will not burn my best wood or fire consistently I will get 8-10 GPH. I do have air over fire but I need to modify it for better spread. It was a huge upgrade from the old flat divided half pint and 4-6 GPH. You might look at leader's new pans to fit the half pint arch. Just offering a few thoughts that may help you decide. I have had good customer service from Jim and Angela.
    Last edited by buckeye gold; 11-28-2018 at 08:04 AM.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Northeast Vermont
    Posts
    648

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    i've only been in my bush to asses all the damage from wind and snow storms over the past 6 months. a few big poplar trees did quite a bit of damage. i wont' be getting to all that until our Muzzleloader season ends on the 9th. but when i do get to it, i'm not looking forward to the 24" - 30" of snow we currently have with a LOT more coming in the forecast! I've never seen this much weather and snow come in November in the 35 years of my existence! Nothing like old Ma nature to give you a challenge.
    Awfully thankful for an understanding wife!

    “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
    - Vincent “Vince” Lombardi

    Good luck to all!

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Ogdensburg, NY
    Posts
    113

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    Quote Originally Posted by buckeye gold View Post
    Phil-T
    I ran a half pint for 6 years and spent many many hours boiling.

    I purchased a full pint pan in the spring of 2014. I like it, but the first year I had trouble keeping a hard boil in the front section. I have a float box on mine and consider it a must. If it were me I would get the custom hybrid pro pan in a 2x3 or 2x4 and modify the old half pint arch. I extended my arch and it made a big difference as I can keep a hot fire under all my pan. I average 12-15 GPH depending on my attention to firing ( I'm not real disciplined with my firing ). On slow days ( 40-50 gallons of sap) I will not burn my best wood or fire consistently I will get 8-10 GPH. I do have air over fire but I need to modify it for better spread. It was a huge upgrade from the old flat divided half pint and 4-6 GPH. You might look at leader's new pans to fit the half pint arch. Just offering a few thoughts that may help you decide. I have had good customer service from Jim and Angela.
    Thanks for the input - I've been looking at the Leader Supreme Pan for my half pint as well. Decisions, decisions. If I can get a bit over 10 gph I'd be pretty satisfied. 5 or 6 hours of boiling is my goal. I'm in it for the enjoyment, not selling anything, so I just limit the taps and sap to my desires.

    Why do you think you had problems getting heat to the front of the pan? That seems to be where I have the most boiling action,there and at the brick wall towards the back.
    The guy I bought this from had built a frame and open top steel plate box that the half pint flue elbows up into and the stack exits the side. The half pint preheat pan sits on top of the box (like a small arch extention, if you will. I gravity my sap into this pan and use a float control to keep it full. So the sap I add is very near 200 F. I seem to get 8 gph now, with good wood and attentive firing (with a timer).
    2016 - helped at afriend with a small operation, 300+ taps. = hooked
    2017 - 20 taps @ home, 1 gal @ home on propane, then hauled to friends operation
    Bought a whole shack locally, with a Leader 1/2 Pint, moved it home
    2018 - 50 taps, 9 on 3/16 gravity and 41 pails -14 gallons of good sweet stuff
    2019 - 27 taps, 17 on 3/16 gravity and 10 on pails - 12-3/4 gallons of good sweet stuff (most fun I've had with this hobby)

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Southern Ohio
    Posts
    1,349

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    Why do you think you had problems getting heat to the front of the pan?
    Because of the cross sections and the standard half pint firebox was too difficult to keep the heat across the front edge. The old half pint pan with lengthwise channels heated along the entire length and it was hotter to start. Your doing pretty good to get 8gph out of a standard half pint. I never had preheated sap. I did fix a blower on it once and could do 6 to 7 GPH, but I had to stay on the firing. However with the full pint the flue section rips. If your preheating I bet you could an easily maintain 15 GPH

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Rutland, Vermont
    Posts
    326

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    Quote Originally Posted by tcross View Post
    i've only been in my bush to asses all the damage from wind and snow storms over the past 6 months. a few big poplar trees did quite a bit of damage. i wont' be getting to all that until our Muzzleloader season ends on the 9th. but when i do get to it, i'm not looking forward to the 24" - 30" of snow we currently have with a LOT more coming in the forecast! I've never seen this much weather and snow come in November in the 35 years of my existence! Nothing like old Ma nature to give you a challenge.
    I hear you on the mother nature challenges! 3ft of snow already and it's not even December! Going to have to bust out the snowshoes. After mz season first. Hoping for a thaw.
    CDL 2.5*8 Venturi with all the bells
    Leader Clear 5 bank filter press
    Memprotec 350H RO
    600ish taps and looking for more.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Peru, Maine
    Posts
    1,041

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    I've managed to get our lines off the ground and all downed trees for our 375 or so taps. Only 5400 more to go in the big bush Spent part of a day in there so far, weather hasn't cooperated too good on weekends and we have deer to cut up. And yes, we are now dealing with 2-3' of snow in western Maine as well. I'm curious to see how a year with no frost in the ground may affect things. Things may change but I don't see all of this early snow disappearing before maple season. Most of the ground should stay pretty well insulated in the woods and we had absolutely no frost before the snow.

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