While I’ve been away on a fishing trip, my buddy got things ready to go. He said he’ll start tapping this afternoon. I’ll join him when I get home or finish it tomorrow. Good luck everyone, hopefully get a run this week.
While I’ve been away on a fishing trip, my buddy got things ready to go. He said he’ll start tapping this afternoon. I’ll join him when I get home or finish it tomorrow. Good luck everyone, hopefully get a run this week.
Going to deploy my buckes today -- about 100 of them. The weather looks good for 3 days, and then a question mark about next weekend. I just read a science-based article that suggests there is less of a gamble going early than late. Alwasy a tough call for us bucket-types.
Nothing to speak of yesterday. I finished tapping by 1pm, fired up the vacuum pump around 2 to look for leaks. Some taps were running, but nothing on the shady side of the tree for sure. Today it started around 10 am. I ran sap on the ground until 11:30 to flush the lines, then rinsed the tank and closed the valve. It's looking like I'll get about 1/2 gallon sap/tap. Tomorrow should be a solid run... and first boil of the season!
Interested to hear how the 3/16 do.
Buttoned up a few items at the sugarhouse this morning. Checked the 3/16 lines around noon and they were flowing, not hard but sap was moving. We had a issue with the new snow on top of our tanks holding ice in the lines entering them. Once we cleaned the snow and thawed the lines things were going nice.
About 80 taps in Lewiston on 5/16 hooked to a Shurflo produced about 40 gallons as of dark and the pump was still going. We will have out first boil this weekend coming up.
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
I agree. I'd rather be early than late. I can keep sap cold/frozen if need be in the event a run turns out not enough to boil, but you get sap on the front end of things. I tapped barely a week ago and have 26 gallons in the snowbank. Couple more days like today and it will be boil time. I'm planning on Saturday if all goes as planned.
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
Really good run yesterday. Cranked through 1000 gallons of sap today and made 24 gallons of syrup. I had sweetened the pans yesterday, but not drawn off. No freeze last night, so not a lot of sap today. Should be just a short boil tomorrow.
I told myself I would replace all the lines before tapping but I couldn't stand it needed to see some sap. I got 225 in on Monday between 10:00 and 5:00. It was running pretty good no freeze Monday night , Tuesday morning sap still running and lines still pulling vacuum and 140 gallons in the tank. Got another 100 in Tuesday and hope to finish line replacement and tapping today. Got a couple vacuum gauges to install to see what they are pulling.
2 1/2 x 10 with steam away leader drop flue inferno arch.
550 in gravity
Not much of a run in Peru on gravity. Lines dried up pretty quickly with no freeze and some trees definitely still not running. Got enough to clean the lines out. We'll be all plugged in and collecting for the next run which may not be until next week.
We're all tapped, and the lines are cleaned out, so it's going to be a little while before good sap flow. Looks like next Tuesday is good. We'll see...
Checked it out and even with the nice slush storm, still nothing to speak of. Maybe next week. Ok by me.