Still froze up here. Sitting on all of 5 gallons sap which i collected one day last week.
Still froze up here. Sitting on all of 5 gallons sap which i collected one day last week.
Last edited by woodsy; 03-17-2019 at 08:41 AM.
Backyard Sugarin' since 1991
Concrete block wood burner
24 taps on gallon jugs
2' x 2' x 6" SS pan
5 gal. SS steamer pan for preheating
89 Arctic Cat Panther sap hauler
Making a few gallons syrup most years.
Maple Baked Beans
Maple Oat Sourdough Bread
Maple Wine
It sounds like your weather conditions are quite a bit different than ours. I've got 32 taps and with the cold winter\spring will be lucky to get 3 gallons. Will take a look at your RO build. Always looking to improve the operation. Congratulations on your good season.Originally Posted by DRoseum
Two 2x4 concrete block arches with three steam trays each
Tapping in Mount Vernon since 2016, 30 to 70 taps, 5/16" tube to 1.5 to 3.5 gallon buckets, some trees on collective gravity tubing to 5 gallon buckets.
Mostly sugar maples, a few reds on 200 year old homestead
Hang in there Woodsy-the thaw will work it's way up the road. In the past few days I've seen several trees that were slow starters give up some decent sap volume. I collected 12 + gallons today which defied expectations given the weather.
The first boil of the year netted 1.5 gallons of 50 gallons sap so a 3% sugar content. I used sap that I have had on ice for three weeks but all tasted great. Hopefully this week wil be a good run!
Two 2x4 concrete block arches with three steam trays each
Tapping in Mount Vernon since 2016, 30 to 70 taps, 5/16" tube to 1.5 to 3.5 gallon buckets, some trees on collective gravity tubing to 5 gallon buckets.
Mostly sugar maples, a few reds on 200 year old homestead
I put in 12 taps on Thursday evening and I've collected 41 gallons of sap since then. Boiled for a couple of hours today. Reduced about 12 gallons down to around 4. I'm planning to boil for a while every evening this week. Only have a couple of hours of daylight after work so I'll have to try to get a good boil going as soon as I can after work.
2016-First year
17 Taps
Block arch & steam pans
About 1 1/2 gallons
2017-20 taps
About 3 gallons
2018-13 taps
Same Block arch & steam pans (modified arch & pans)
2019-12 taps (keep losing trees)
2020-Brand new Smokey Lake StarCat evaporator, about 15 taps.
43.62N 87.78W
First year taping trees. I have 40 taps on downspouts. Collected about 8.5 gal this week and boiled that today. Got about 32oz but I think I should have boiled longer, it is pretty watery but still delicious. After boiling I went down to check my buckets and got another 8.5 gal from just today. Best day yet by far. Hooked!
How sweet it is. Just finished off the first boil and got 1.75 gallons. Also added another 15 gallons of 3.5% sap today with the short run. Let's see what this week brings...
Last edited by Peeper; 03-17-2019 at 08:18 PM.
Maine Moonshine
117 Sugar maples & 60 red maples on 9 acres, buckets, Leader 1/2 pint arch w/36x24 pan
No shack (...yet??)
When you start to hear the spring peepers, you know your taps have overstayed their welcome.
I've boiled twice. Once this past Saturday, 17.5 gals yielded 28oz. The week prior 17 gal yielded 40oz. Because of the weather, I was able to take advantage of discarding ice in my buckets to help reduce my boil. Yesterday, I calculated 4 gals. This is all from 12 taps on 11 trees. My sap runs have never been as high as others speak of here, but I still like my gold.
~Janet
2019 - 6th year sugarin'. 2nd year using propane. 13 taps. Just over 3/4 gal syrup. Light in color and flavor.
Intent to build a new barrel evaporator with my son this summer. Still don't weld. We'll see how it goes.
Still dumping small amounts sap from gallon jugs daily. Not enough to collect.
Looks like Wednesday things might turn around and start running good.
Backyard Sugarin' since 1991
Concrete block wood burner
24 taps on gallon jugs
2' x 2' x 6" SS pan
5 gal. SS steamer pan for preheating
89 Arctic Cat Panther sap hauler
Making a few gallons syrup most years.
Maple Baked Beans
Maple Oat Sourdough Bread
Maple Wine
Had a good run today on our Lewiston run. 65 taps gave up almost 35 gallons. One run of 25 taps was filling a 5 gallon bucket ever 90 minutes.
West Sumner Sugar House
West Sumner, ME
500 +/- Taps - 2 x 8 CDL Venturi - 3 Shurflo Solar Systems - MES Dolly 300
https://www.facebook.com/WestSumnerSugarHouse
Welcome to a great spring hobby/pastime/ritual/obsession (it fits in many categories). I'm still perfecting the final boiling process with the equipment I use. I boil on the large evaporator to 216/217 then dump the pan into a pot and bring it inside for final boiling on the kitchen stove where I can control the temperature in a more "delicate" fashion. I found it takes perhaps another 30 to 45 minutes to finish boil. I've started to boil to 220 and as soon as it hits 220.5 pull it off and filter. It gives us a syrup with a viscosity we enjoy.
Also a comment to JRM from the Boston area: you are fortunate that you have that many trees to tap in an urban area. I started tapping while living in a subdivision where I had limited trees and they were all red maples, but the syrup was great. If I stayed I think I would have started tapping neighbors trees! (with permission of course).Enjoy the fruits of your labor!
Two 2x4 concrete block arches with three steam trays each
Tapping in Mount Vernon since 2016, 30 to 70 taps, 5/16" tube to 1.5 to 3.5 gallon buckets, some trees on collective gravity tubing to 5 gallon buckets.
Mostly sugar maples, a few reds on 200 year old homestead
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