+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: SmellsLikeSyrupNH 2019 Year in Review

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Merrimack, NH
    Posts
    593

    Default SmellsLikeSyrupNH 2019 Year in Review

    After not being able to sugar last season because of work commitments, I came in to this season with renewed motivation and a boat load of new equipment.

    Equipment
    1. Smoky Lake 2x2 Syrup Pan
    2. Smoky Lake 2x4 Raised Flue Sap Pan
    3. 3 Shurflo Pump Setups for my 3 small sugar bushes
    4. Maple Guys Jet Press Filter Press
    5. Carlin 301 CRD Oil Burner with 4.0 70 nozzle
    6. Smoky Lake Murphy Cup
    7. Flow Meter from Amazon

    Details
    Tapped on Feb 3rd my 1st bush with 3/16 tubing, I'll admit it was a bit early, but I wanted to test my Shurflo pump setups and wanted to dial it in from the learning curve that was going to come from it. Learned right away that I needed a recirculation line and what to look for with leaks in the line. I never installed the vacuum gauges on any of my lines. I had them but after a lot of trial and error early on I didnt want to add to my frustration if I wasnt seeing the Hg I was hoping for. Once I got them dialed in I was happy with my sap flow. Next year as I rebuild my crates with the pumps in them I will add the gauges before i ever tap to not make that mistake again.

    Got my 1st collection on Feb 7th, 125 gallons and used it to sweeten the pans and test out the new oil burner. I switched from a 3.0 nozzle to a 4.0 after the 1st boil and got the rig to boil at about 50gph. Tapped my 2nd bush on Feb 12th and collected 235 gallons on the 23rd. Tapped my last bush that same day to have 275 taps total.

    Each pump setup ran off of a 12v 80AH Deep Cycle Marine battery. They are VERY heavy and took approximately 16 hours to full recharge them, during recharge cycles I would throw on small lawn mower batteries to keep the pumps going but they would only last about 6-10 hours each. Wish I had a better way to run electricity but no such luck.

    The new evaporator pans combined with the RO and the Oil Burner made my season an absolute breeze. Reducing the water by more than 50% on every collection made the evaporator just fly through the sap. The longest boils I had all season were 4-5 hours and that was only because I ran raw sap during Maple Weekend. An average night of boiling for me took no more than 2 hours.

    Summary
    Collected 3010 gallons of sap and made about 70 gallons of syrup. Dont have an exact amount yet because I havent bottled it all yet, but I have no complaints on my season yield. I was able to handle the amount of sap quite easily and wish I had gotten more.

    I have a flow and temp graph I made:
    Graph_2019.jpg
    Couldn't of been successful without my beautiful wife Puren.
    Wedding_Favor_1.jpg
    2022 4x40" RO, Welch 1397 Vac Pump, 3 Guzzler Pumps, Lapierre Releaser, 1100 taps
    2021 Twin Baby Boys, Close to 650 taps
    2020 Upgraded RO to 2 post and 7GBS Pump. 265 taps
    2019 Smoky Lake 2x6 raised flue, Autodraw system, Maple Jet Filter Press, a beautiful new bride to be my sugaring partner :-)
    2017 Expanded Sugar Shack, new 2x6 with float box, NEXTgen Maple RO, 250+ taps, still on sap sacks
    2016 Sugar Shack, 2x6 evaporator, 160 taps, all on Sap Sacks
    2014 110 taps
    2013 35 taps

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Wilton, NH
    Posts
    89

    Default

    Nice season Scott; and I love your graph. Sounds like you have everything pretty dialed in.
    Wrapping up my small operation this weekend here in Wilton. Collected just shy of 100 gal. (1.9%) last night for Mon-Tues.; but forecast is getting too warm with no freezes in sight. Buds starting to swell, haven't popped, but don't want to push it. Just under 20 gal. syrup for the season. Hope to gain 2-3 more with last boil this week.
    Too much fun.....short but sweet as my wife would say.
    Bill
    2017 - 3 taps hanging buckets.
    2018 - 32 taps on 5 gal. buckets.
    2019 - New Mason 2x4 XL. 80 taps
    2020 - Barn / Sugarhouse finished. 125 taps. NextGen 1x40 RO
    2021 - 157 taps, 100 on 3/16 tubing w/two Shurflo set-ups, the rest on buckets
    2022 - 225 taps. 175 on 3/16 tubing, rest on buckets.
    2023 - 300 taps. 261 on tubing, 39 on 5 gal. buckets. Four Shurflo 12V set-ups.
    2024 - 340 taps. New SL 2x4 hybrid pan. Added second 1x40 membrane to RO

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    east kingston, nh
    Posts
    4,148

    Default

    thats a nice graph. and very nice sugar content if it works out to be 70 gallons on 3000 gallons. about 43:1 sap/syrup you don't hear that too much. guess they were extra sweet since you didn't tap last year!!!
    may your sap be at 3%
    Brad

    www.willowcreeksugarhouse.com
    585 or so on Vacuum, about 35 on buckets/sap sacs
    Atlas Copco GVS 25A Rotary Vane vacuum pump
    MES horizontal electric releaser
    2x6 ss phaneuf Drop flue, Leader woodsaver blower, homemade hood
    300gph H2O RO
    husquvarna 562 XP
    Its Here!!! 2024 season is here get busy!!!

+ 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