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Thread: Central Ohio

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Marysville, Ohio
    Posts
    663

    Default Central Ohio

    I just finished my 2020 season. This year did not go very smoothly but I made plenty of syrup. I tapped my trees on February 16. I was coming down with the flu so I didn't get to run the buckets for another week. I only collected two runs this year but they were both massive. I pulled my taps around March 10th. Sugar content averaged about 2.3% so I had my best yield ever at this location. I made 19.75 gallons of syrup on 740 gallons of sap. I don't sell it anymore so I shoot for 15-20 gallons. My RO worked great again this year and I ran it maxed out on pressure to minimize the amount of wood burned. I routinely ran 9-10% sugar and processed about 25 gallons per hour. I did two soap or lye washes at the end of the season and followed that with a 6 hour citric acid wash. My membrane tested above the rated capacity when I was finished cleaning and it has shown almost no loss in performance since it was new. Filtering was much better this year as I worked to keep my draw from getting plugged with sugar. I also decided to filter at 200 F or less and that worked much better. I believe I was making niter when I was heating to filter. I'm starting to debate how much longer I'm going to make syrup. I'll be 70 this fall and this year was miserable as I didn't feel well and I had to gather sap over 3 long days in the rain and snow. The mud and water in the woods was over the axels of my Kawasaki Mule. I don't have the option of using a vacuum or a gravity vacuum as my trees are scattered and the property is essentially flat. So I'll have to use buckets or bags as long as I continue.
    Leader 1/2 pint - Kawasaki Mule - Smoky Lake Filter Bottler
    24 GPH RO, 2 1/2 x 40 NF3 (NF270), 140 GPH (Brass with no relief valve ) ProCon pump
    2013 - 44 taps - 16 gallons syrup, 2014 - 109 taps - 26 gallons syrup
    2015 - 71 taps - 13.5 gallons syrup, 2016 - 125 taps - 24.25 gallons syrup
    2017 - 129 taps - 17.5 gallons syrup, 2018 - 128 taps- 18 gallons syrup
    2019 -130 taps - 18.5 gallons syrup, 2020 ~125 taps-19.75 gallons syrup

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Putnam County, Ohio
    Posts
    377

    Default

    Glad your season was a productive one. Too bad about the not very smoothly part. It seems most of the early season, I wasn't feeling great either. Being out in the sugarhouse is usually what I look forward to most. I still had a grin though, just maybe not ear to ear. I debated when to pull my taps. I was waiting to see what the last couple nights did. Friday and Saturday night did not get below freezing according to the thermometer. This morning, I am showing 29 degrees. We'll see if that is enough to get a run started. I know the forecast shows next weekends overnight lows are even lower, but if they don't run today, I think I am done. It's still been a great year.
    RC Maple

    14X14 sugarhouse - new for 2012
    RO Bucket - RB10 - New for 2019
    2x3 barrel evaporator with continuous flow pan
    55 taps - most on buckets
    This is next year!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Central Ohio
    Posts
    318

    Default

    A fairly good season here in Champaign County near Urbana. 39 gallons from 100 buckets. Some of my runs were huge--too huge, close to 400 gallons. I got way behind in boiling and bottling. I'm thinking about RO for next year. I tapped on 2/16 like Bowhunter and had my last boil on 3/10. Didn't pull the taps until today and I found that we've had a run over the past several days. Probably could have boiled another 200 gallons or more, although much was cloudy.

    I made more golden than I ever have, 17 gallons.
    Central Ohio
    Leader WSE 2x6
    Old metal corn crib converted to "The Shack"
    Smoky Lake 6 gallon water jacket canner
    Daryl 5" filter press with air pump
    Deer Run 125 RO

    2023: 140 taps, buckets, 32 gallons
    2019: 100 taps, buckets, 45 gallons
    2018: 100 taps, buckets, 31 gallons
    2017: 100 taps, buckets, 15 gallons
    2015: 100 taps, buckets, 34 gallons
    2014: 100 taps, buckets, 30 gallons
    2013: 100 taps, buckets, 52 gallons

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Central Ohio
    Posts
    318

    Default

    143 buckets thisyear. Off to a great start. Collected more than 400 gallons of sap in first week. Perfect freeze-thaw cycles here between Dayton and Columbus. First syrup is delicious gold. More on the way. Hoping for a good season for a change.

    Need another freeze and here it is this morning, 20F Sugar has dropped from 2.3 to 1.5. Weird this early.
    Central Ohio
    Leader WSE 2x6
    Old metal corn crib converted to "The Shack"
    Smoky Lake 6 gallon water jacket canner
    Daryl 5" filter press with air pump
    Deer Run 125 RO

    2023: 140 taps, buckets, 32 gallons
    2019: 100 taps, buckets, 45 gallons
    2018: 100 taps, buckets, 31 gallons
    2017: 100 taps, buckets, 15 gallons
    2015: 100 taps, buckets, 34 gallons
    2014: 100 taps, buckets, 30 gallons
    2013: 100 taps, buckets, 52 gallons

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