Tapped 1 tree 4 days ago,yesterday when the sun came out it was 1 drop per second. No snow, no frost and extended forecast no big changes.
Tapped 1 tree 4 days ago,yesterday when the sun came out it was 1 drop per second. No snow, no frost and extended forecast no big changes.
5th generation
2 1/2 Buckets
815 gravity
2 new flat pans. Back pan now has 16 V's
Rebuilt the block arch 3x12
Homemade pre-heater,steamhood
MES Dolly RO
What are your thoughts about tapping?
2004 - 2012 2x3 flat pan 25 to 60 taps
2012 2x3 new divided pan w/draw off 55 taps
2018 - didn't boil surgery - bought new evaporator
2019 new SML 2x4 raised flue high output evap. 65 taps
made 17 gal. syrup
2020 - only put out 53 taps - made 16.25 ga.l syrup
2021 - Didn't work out
2022 - 25 taps on bags / 8 taps on 3/16's line - late start
The rookie in me sees two weeks of potential tapping and who knows what weeks three and four hold.The rookie in me sees the bird in the hand and says tap, tap, tap. However what I have learned are three things, the weather is unpredictable, your ability to start up quickly and pause can be a big factor in your decision and the clock starts ticking.
What is your ability to pause your operation, because whether you get two weeks or maybe three weeks of this weather, it is only January, so some winter will return? If you are boiling on flat pans, steam pans or pots, your ability to pause is much easier than if you are using a divided pan.
The other concern is that the clock on your taps starts ticking. My guess is you normally tap about 7 weeks from now. If you tap now, there is the potential for your taps to close or slow just as your regular season is starting.
That is the big gamble, will there be a regular sap season this year and if so for how long. Maybe you get sap now and maybe the season starts early and you get the early flows as well. Or the weather corrects itself and there is a regular spring and you miss out on some of the later sap flows.
The weather is always the unknown and even the two week forecast could change and not be conducive to sap flowing.
The bird in the hand.
DC005470-0713-469C-8C21-511E1A593117.jpg
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
If it would stay cloudy I would feel better. But as soon as that one tap I put in catches that sun about noon,drip,drip drip. Is this the new normal? Looking back at past issues of The Maple news there sure is alot of articles about early tapping.I know most of those guys are on vacuum and I am gravity, but?
5th generation
2 1/2 Buckets
815 gravity
2 new flat pans. Back pan now has 16 V's
Rebuilt the block arch 3x12
Homemade pre-heater,steamhood
MES Dolly RO
I'm not ready yet to tap, although I do agree it feels like sugaring weather. I think it's too early to tap for my operation but I'm all on buckets. I think there's still winter left to come. My father-in-law says usually the weather goes through a two week pattern-gets a little warmer for two weeks, then a little cooler.
Daniel & Eleanor Bliese
Heritage Woods, LLC
SW Michigan
Smoky Lake 2x4 raised flue on Corsair arch
The RO Bucket 80gph Single Post
100 taps on buckets
AS much as one side of me is saying go, the smarter side is saying wait until mid-February. That's going to be my plan as of right now, even with the temps. being what they are. I can always throw out a test bag to see what kind of flow is happening.
2004 - 2012 2x3 flat pan 25 to 60 taps
2012 2x3 new divided pan w/draw off 55 taps
2018 - didn't boil surgery - bought new evaporator
2019 new SML 2x4 raised flue high output evap. 65 taps
made 17 gal. syrup
2020 - only put out 53 taps - made 16.25 ga.l syrup
2021 - Didn't work out
2022 - 25 taps on bags / 8 taps on 3/16's line - late start
There has been a lot of discussion about the wisdom of early tapping.
You might want to take a look at this study from a few years back which our Dr. Tim participated in.
http://157.245.92.171/wp-content/upl...juvenation.pdf
Those folks tapping early also tend to have TENS OF THOUSANDS of taps (or more)...so they NEED to start in January to get all their spouts in by the normal season (late-February to early-March in those areas). I can guarantee you that they would prefer to tap a little later if they could...but given the huge number of taps they need to drill they have to start early.
The other folks tapping now are from WV, NJ, VI, KY, southern Ohio, IL, IA. If you're not in that area (or some other place that is warm)...you probably should be holding off...especially if you're on gravity (buckets, bags, etc.).
They WILL also experience some loss in yield from the early-tapped trees due to the start of taphole drying (compartmentalization), but not in the trees that were tapped later. This is an acceptable loss given the need to start early to finish in time.
As nhdog suggested...read http://157.245.92.171/wp-content/upl...juvenation.pdf
Last edited by DrTimPerkins; 01-10-2023 at 01:38 PM.
Dr. Tim Perkins
UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
https://mapleresearch.org
Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu
I should have said early tappers are making syrup earlier. Sugarmaker in Vermont 12/23,Sugarmaker in New York 1/15/20. The next 10 days and the last 4 have been good days for sap flow in S.W. Michigan. Sugar is a little low,1.7%
5th generation
2 1/2 Buckets
815 gravity
2 new flat pans. Back pan now has 16 V's
Rebuilt the block arch 3x12
Homemade pre-heater,steamhood
MES Dolly RO
Surprise the weather forecast changed for Michigan and despite the mild spell there are a lot fewer flow days as compared to a few days ago.
8BAD1232-A122-4934-BD14-D8BA15D4A0AE.jpg
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.