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Thread: 2019 Missouri Tapping Season

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Florissant Missouri
    Posts
    137

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    Wonderful job John. Did you tap the rest of your trees?
    Crazy River Sap
    55 sugar maple, 15 walnut taps on plastic buckets and tubing
    Block arch on driveway

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Florissant Missouri
    Posts
    137

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    Maple Creek if you look in my gallery you can find a few pictures of block arches. They might help you out a bit.
    Crazy River Sap
    55 sugar maple, 15 walnut taps on plastic buckets and tubing
    Block arch on driveway

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    hills west of Jeff City Missouri
    Posts
    134

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    I tapped the remaining 60 or so trees today. Have a lot of sap in frozen bags, and need a couple moderate days to collect before the big freeze arrives. In the sunny afternoon at about 40 deg, the sap resumed flowing and some melt started in the bags. Our slopes are getting muddy so I may not be able to pull the trailer (that holds 24 totes) all the way up our hills, will have to haul sap out on the ATV, that only holds 5 totes. Will collect tomorrow and possibly again Monday with highs projected for mid 30's. Its a strange year, but we're getting enough sap to make it interesting. John
    Last edited by unclejohn; 01-27-2019 at 10:49 AM.
    2020: 220 trees, most smaller than 20" diameter, made 25 gallons
    remote location in western Cole County
    5/16" plastic spiles, drain into plastic buckets or sapsaks
    haul sap out of woods using atv & trailer
    wood-fired pans on concrete blocks
    one Leader Half Pint 24 x 33" plus 24 x 30 ss pan from a junkyard
    cook batch process then finish in the kitchen;
    we dont sell our syrup; its for family & friends
    see website www.mosyrup.com

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Holts Summit, MO
    Posts
    119

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    We are trying something new this year. Tapping trees on a friends place and giving 3/16 tubing a try. Currently, have 86 taps on 4 lines going to a 65-gallon tank. Collected 120 gallons of sap this weekend and cooked it down Monday night. Looking to get another 25 to 50 taps in yet this year. So far the tubing is working great and the weather looks promising!
    Matthew
    Highly modified Leader Half Pint with Smoky Lake 2 x 4 Raised Flue
    14' Grain Bin Sugar House
    152 taps on 3/16 tubing
    MES Dolly 100 RO
    Homemade filter/canning tank with an electric water jacket
    Kubota RTV 1100
    http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/j...Maple%20Syrup/

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    hills west of Jeff City Missouri
    Posts
    134

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    Nice going Matthew. I would like to come across the river and see the tubing sometime. We have a nice steep ridge with about 80 trees that would be great for tubing but we would need a big tractor to get in to a collection tank. And there are so many deer there I would be concerned about them busting the tubing. Our trees ran all night Sunday as the temps did not get below 35 deg. We are still an "all manual" operation with bags and buckets. I collected 180 gallons on Monday 1/28 (when the cold wind started to blow and trees stopped flowing) and we will finish the boil this morning. Speaking of wind, I guess that's another advantage of tubing; we had some buckets blow over and bags blow off the trees in that gale.

    I saw your ad on Craigslist looking for sap, hope you find some takers. I've been talking to other MO producers and found a guy with over 500 trees in the Ozarks who burns diesel fuel in his arch. If you ever get tired of chopping wood maybe we can go down there; he invited me to come take a look. John
    2020: 220 trees, most smaller than 20" diameter, made 25 gallons
    remote location in western Cole County
    5/16" plastic spiles, drain into plastic buckets or sapsaks
    haul sap out of woods using atv & trailer
    wood-fired pans on concrete blocks
    one Leader Half Pint 24 x 33" plus 24 x 30 ss pan from a junkyard
    cook batch process then finish in the kitchen;
    we dont sell our syrup; its for family & friends
    see website www.mosyrup.com

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Holts Summit, MO
    Posts
    119

    Default

    There are lots of deer in these woods also so this will be a test for this type of setup here. He feeds about 35 every evening. Sounds like you may have a good place for tubing also, I will let you know when I get it all up so you can come check it out. I just got a new Leader catalog and they are now selling oil fired half pint kits. The burner cost more than the evaporator though!
    Matthew
    Highly modified Leader Half Pint with Smoky Lake 2 x 4 Raised Flue
    14' Grain Bin Sugar House
    152 taps on 3/16 tubing
    MES Dolly 100 RO
    Homemade filter/canning tank with an electric water jacket
    Kubota RTV 1100
    http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/j...Maple%20Syrup/

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Southern Ohio
    Posts
    1,349

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    The deer won't cause you much trouble, they learn to duck under it. Now squirrels, those are the real devils of the sugar bush. I hate squirrels with a passion. I can't hardly get a week without them chewing a line. I use up an 800 foot roll of 3/16th tubing just fixing squirrel chews........ARGGGGGGG
    125-150 taps
    Smokey Lakes Full pint Hybrid pan
    Modified half pint arch
    Air over fire
    All 3/16 tubing
    Southern Ohio

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    SE Missouri
    Posts
    289

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by buckeye gold View Post
    The deer won't cause you much trouble, they learn to duck under it. Now squirrels, those are the real devils of the sugar bush. I hate squirrels with a passion. I can't hardly get a week without them chewing a line. I use up an 800 foot roll of 3/16th tubing just fixing squirrel chews........ARGGGGGGG
    Heard that. Little suckers are biting my line this year rather than gnawing through and shredding it, making it hard to find the leaks. I've had years without a single chew (450+ taps). Not this year, though. Now I did have a deer stumble through mine the other day - must have been moving full throttle because it popped the lines off several taps and left a chunk of fur on one of the tees/ trees that it hit.
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    203

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    Got 16 taps out down here Monday. Hoping for epic flow the next couple of days. Best of luck this season.

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Holts Summit, MO
    Posts
    119

    Default

    We got the 5th line in tonight with 21 taps on it, that brings us up to 107 taps going to one tank this year. Looking forward to a busy weekend!
    Matthew
    Highly modified Leader Half Pint with Smoky Lake 2 x 4 Raised Flue
    14' Grain Bin Sugar House
    152 taps on 3/16 tubing
    MES Dolly 100 RO
    Homemade filter/canning tank with an electric water jacket
    Kubota RTV 1100
    http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/j...Maple%20Syrup/

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