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Thread: Tapping Pennsylvania 2019

  1. #121
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Northeastern Pa
    Posts
    432

    Default

    No just good vacuum and woods management. Susquehanna county.

  2. #122
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    5

    Default Butler County, Pennsylvania tapping

    I tappend the trees on Feb. 1st and fired the evaporator up two days later. We pulled the taps on March 15, but probably could of gone another week.

  3. #123
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

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    Looks like maybe one more run after the freeze Sat night. May have sap Monday? We are getting tired. Gathered every day this week and boiled several times too. Have reached the .25 gal of syrup per tap average. 170 gallons of finished syrup. Grade has moved down to dark robust. Flavor is great and the hard maples still look good. Taps are about done. Still trying to keep up fixing things as we go. Replaced the SPA blower for the steam away. and got the old one fixed to have as a spare. The thick rubber heat shield had failed. Tore my Oberdorfer gear pump on the filter press apart and found the gears to be worn. It is very noisy! Just ordered a replacement set of gears. Received some new plastic hose from Bascom's for the suction and bypass lines on the filter press. 5/8 I/D, very nice product!

    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

  4. #124
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Millmont,Pa
    Posts
    563

    Default

    We pulled the plug on Thursday. No sap to speak of. Boiled out the evaporator, filtered and bottled some syrup made on the
    previous Thursday and Sunday. Evaporator is soaking in vinegar water. Concentrate from syrup pan is in 2 pots and a half full bucket.
    Worked all day yesterday and today flushing tubing. We have about 50 buckets to wash yet and finish cleaning up the evaporator.
    Looks like a little over 60 gallons for the season. Will know for certain syrup total after cooking down and bottling what's left out of the evaporator.
    Kind of thought my season would be better! Two things I think need done for next year.
    Putting buckets out earlier: Last year and this I tried to time my buckets for the perfect weather. I don't think that worked.
    Second: I need to change all my drops this year: Some have gone way too long, and I think I'm paying the price for it in lower production.
    Also: I am changing my 3/16 drops over to 5/16 . Some of my 3/16 bushes are less than 30 feet elevation change, and I believe the 5/16 drop on 3/16 tubing
    might not back up as much.
    Overall; Things went really smooth! No disasters, or massive sap dumps from not turning a valve.
    Already thinking about how to go about things more efficiently next year.
    115 red maples on vacuum
    100 taps on 5/16 gravity
    35 taps on 3/16 gravity
    50 taps on shurflo vacuum
    about 60 buckets on giant roadside sugars
    neighbor bringing from 45 taps
    30'x 8' Aof/Auf Evaporator
    Homemade 125gph Ro
    Lots of Homemade Equipment!

    http://s848.photobucket.com/albums/a...%20Sugarshack/

  5. #125
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Lightstreet, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    10

    Default

    Collected a couple of gallons yesterday. Hopefully we'll get a couple of more tomorrow after the last night of cold temperatures here in Columbia County. That's all folks. It's gotten very very buddy!

    Total sap this year: about 240 gallons
    Total taps: 12
    Finished syrup: about 6 gallons

  6. #126
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Murrysville, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    475

    Default

    Based in Murrysville outside of Pittsburgh and our season has been over for a solid week or more. My last boil was on the 20th. Already looking forward to next year and making improvements. Thinking about vacuum lines and scaling up the RO!

    But in the meantime... Maple Festivals!
    https://www.sugartree.run/2019/03/20...son-recap.html
    D. Roseum
    www.roseummaple.com
    ~100 taps on 3/16 custom temp controlled vacuum; shurflo vacuum #2; custom nat gas evap with auto-drawoff and tank level gas shut-off controller; homemade RO #1; homemade RO #2; SL SS filter press
    2021: 27.1 gallons
    2022: 35 gallons

  7. #127
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Granville, PA
    Posts
    403

    Default

    Finished the season at 5 taps per gallon of syrup. I had really low sugar content all season, averaging 1%.

    The RO, AOF and AUF, auto drawoff and front pan float box we're all great improvements. I want a on demand hot water heater for next year and to expand the RO. Planning to double my taps again next year if we can sell all of the syrup. And I am definitely going to start some thinning around my maple trees.

    Good luck to everyone still boiling, have a great rest until next season. I think that I'm going to try to make a few gallon of birch syrup and a couple batches of birch bear.
    Matt,
    Minehart Gap Maple

  8. #128
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Millmont,Pa
    Posts
    563

    Default

    Finished my syrup bottling tonight: 61 gallons 5 pint 3086 gallons of sap.
    115 red maples on vacuum
    100 taps on 5/16 gravity
    35 taps on 3/16 gravity
    50 taps on shurflo vacuum
    about 60 buckets on giant roadside sugars
    neighbor bringing from 45 taps
    30'x 8' Aof/Auf Evaporator
    Homemade 125gph Ro
    Lots of Homemade Equipment!

    http://s848.photobucket.com/albums/a...%20Sugarshack/

  9. #129
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

    Default

    Folks,
    No sap today, at least not yet. Still cold. Should have sap by Tuesday night! Everyone is invited to my place to watch sweet water boil!
    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

  10. #130
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

    Default

    Folks,
    Pulled the lines from the tubs. Gathered that last of the sap, !60 gallons of 1.8%. Will boil that in tonight and start to pick up the 30 gathering stations in the next few days. Then flush the short run tubing systems with water and bring them back to the sugarhouse till next year.
    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

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