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Thread: Casbohm Maple and Honey 2020 and beyond......

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

    Default Casbohm Maple and Honey 2020 and beyond......

    Folks,
    I have been considering starting a thread that is mostly about our sugaring operation and the folks who make syrup around us. This is an attempt to not clog up the Pennsylvania tapping thread. I tend to post a bunch of pictures and a lot of talk too.
    We will see where this goes.
    My view looking south from in front of the old King arch. In the bottom row are the samples from the 19 boils during the 2020 season.

    Keep boiling!
    Regards,
    Chris
    Last edited by Sugarmaker; 03-24-2020 at 09:22 AM.
    Casbohm Maple and Honey
    625 roadside taps + Neighbors bring some sap too!
    3x10 King, WRU, AOF and AUF
    12" SIRO Filter Press.
    2015 Ford F250 PSD sap hauler
    One Golden named Maggie, Norwegian Forest Cat named Lucy
    Too many Cub Cadets
    Ford Jubilee and several Allis WD's, and IH tractors
    1932 Ford AAB ton and a half, dump truck

    www.mapleandhoney.com

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Ashtabula County, Ohio
    Posts
    1,792

    Default

    Nice, Chris. I'll definitely follow it.
    1000 taps on vac down to 100+ buckets 99% sugars
    2x5 SL Hi-Output Raised Flue Corsair evaporator
    SL Short bank press with CDL diaphragm pump
    Leader Micro 1 RO for 2024
    Constantly changing
    2010:36 gal 2011:126 gal 2012:81 gal 2013:248 gal 2014: 329.5 gal 2015:305 gal 2016:316 gal 2017:258 gal 2018:147 gal 2019:91 gal 2020:30 gal 2021:30 gal 2023:50 gal Total since 2010: 2047.5 gal
    Tapping the same trees my great, great and great grandfathers tapped.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

    Default

    Jason,
    Thanks. On the trader there is not a general section as per sugarhouse. As an example on the truck forum I chat in there are "Build threads that are truck specific".
    Some additional pictures:


    Do you know that if you write on a marshmallow with blue marker then eat it you get blue lips? Ask Cooper


    Rhett and Cooper took advantage of the fire while cleaning the pans, to roast some mallows.


    Picked up another freezer for syrup storage. Thanks to friend Matt another sugarmaker near by:


    Regards,
    Chris
    Casbohm Maple and Honey
    625 roadside taps + Neighbors bring some sap too!
    3x10 King, WRU, AOF and AUF
    12" SIRO Filter Press.
    2015 Ford F250 PSD sap hauler
    One Golden named Maggie, Norwegian Forest Cat named Lucy
    Too many Cub Cadets
    Ford Jubilee and several Allis WD's, and IH tractors
    1932 Ford AAB ton and a half, dump truck

    www.mapleandhoney.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,391

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Sugarmaker View Post
    In the bottom row are the samples from the 19 boils during the 2020 season.
    Looks like a lot of light syrup this year Chris. Your grass is a lot greener than ours (which is covered by 4" of new snow).
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

    Default

    Folks, Dr. Tim,
    Yes spring seems to be here as we are now alternating between rain and drizzle then back to rain!
    50% of the 2020 syrup was in the Golden Delicate category. We stopped making syrup at 183.5 gallons and 98 was light. If we would have boiled all the sap that we gathered and a little we missed the first and last runs we would have been close to 200 gallons. A good season for us.
    Yesterday I began taking down the roadside tubing systems The "green" loop. I need to come up with improved tags as the magic marker, on the tags, gets faded out in the sun.


    About 10 of the short run tubing systems (200 taps ish) fill the truck:


    Up into the sugarhouse rafters for storage till next spring:


    Regards,
    Chris
    Last edited by Sugarmaker; 03-25-2020 at 07:40 AM.
    Casbohm Maple and Honey
    625 roadside taps + Neighbors bring some sap too!
    3x10 King, WRU, AOF and AUF
    12" SIRO Filter Press.
    2015 Ford F250 PSD sap hauler
    One Golden named Maggie, Norwegian Forest Cat named Lucy
    Too many Cub Cadets
    Ford Jubilee and several Allis WD's, and IH tractors
    1932 Ford AAB ton and a half, dump truck

    www.mapleandhoney.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

    Default

    Folks,
    I had the opportunity to visit Jim (Father and Son) for their last boil of the season.
    Jim was enjoying running his rig which he calls the "Mutt" since it has several manufactures components used to make a custom one of a kind rig. I boils real well and the Amber to Dark, end of season syrup was very good!
    He plans to do some additional tuning with the burner but was running a steady 50ish gallons of raw sap per hour on the 2 x 8. Since this year was a system test for Jim just boiling raw sap he will be ready for 2021 season. More sap, fire up the R.O. and more syrup too.
    Very organized and well thought out draw off station on the right side of the rig. Unique single side draw with the ability to easily change syrup draw off position in the front pan.




    Auto draw monitors the temps, alnog with a watchfull eye from the sugarmaker:


    Density checks:


    Today we will pick up another third of the roadside tubing, Hoping granddaughter Marly is going to help.

    Customers are calling for syrup, So folks need this product while locked down at home during this pandemic.
    Regards,
    Chris
    Last edited by Sugarmaker; 03-25-2020 at 07:45 AM.
    Casbohm Maple and Honey
    625 roadside taps + Neighbors bring some sap too!
    3x10 King, WRU, AOF and AUF
    12" SIRO Filter Press.
    2015 Ford F250 PSD sap hauler
    One Golden named Maggie, Norwegian Forest Cat named Lucy
    Too many Cub Cadets
    Ford Jubilee and several Allis WD's, and IH tractors
    1932 Ford AAB ton and a half, dump truck

    www.mapleandhoney.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

    Default

    Folks,
    Maybe should have stayed home but wanted to get this tubing home. Finished up this afternoon.


    Checked on Kelly's bees. One of the 7 colonies is active;


    I think I seen just about as many cars on the road as usual during our lock down stay at home orders.
    Regards,
    Chris
    Casbohm Maple and Honey
    625 roadside taps + Neighbors bring some sap too!
    3x10 King, WRU, AOF and AUF
    12" SIRO Filter Press.
    2015 Ford F250 PSD sap hauler
    One Golden named Maggie, Norwegian Forest Cat named Lucy
    Too many Cub Cadets
    Ford Jubilee and several Allis WD's, and IH tractors
    1932 Ford AAB ton and a half, dump truck

    www.mapleandhoney.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Lebanon, IN
    Posts
    291

    Default

    Chris, we use a label maker & wrap the label around the tube, then go over the top of that with clear tape. It's lasted us pretty well and it's way more readable than our handwriting in that small of a space
    Doug
    Maple Creations
    Coatesville, IN
    350 taps on 5/16 tubing & 4 Lunchbox pumps
    MemProTec Concentrator 300 RO
    Wood-fired 30"x8' D&G Model 500 raised-flue w/Steam hood & blower
    Smoky Lake finisher, D&G filter press,
    http://www.facebook.com/maplecreations

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Albion PA
    Posts
    5,099

    Default

    Doug,
    Excellent idea on the clear tape. I was doing everything except that. Thanks for the suggestion.

    Today was warm enough to look at the bees. Well whats left of the bees. Only one of the 7 hives remains.
    So I took the others apart and brought the remaining honey home. The bees that didnt make it had honey in the boxes. Not sure what happened.


    This hive had been ocupied by a swarm and was not easy to work but made some honey for several years. It had no frames in the bottom boxes. They built there own natural rows of comb.


    7 partially filled boxes taken home to be extracted.


    Regards,
    Chris
    Casbohm Maple and Honey
    625 roadside taps + Neighbors bring some sap too!
    3x10 King, WRU, AOF and AUF
    12" SIRO Filter Press.
    2015 Ford F250 PSD sap hauler
    One Golden named Maggie, Norwegian Forest Cat named Lucy
    Too many Cub Cadets
    Ford Jubilee and several Allis WD's, and IH tractors
    1932 Ford AAB ton and a half, dump truck

    www.mapleandhoney.com

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Covington Twp. Pa.
    Posts
    580

    Default

    Chris, losing 6 out of 7 sucks. I only have 2 and so far they have both made it. I feel mighty lucky!
    2x3 Patrick Phaneuf Divided Pan
    Homemade arch
    RB20 RO Bucket
    121 taps total
    Sugar Shack in future
    Wife into it as much as me
    Also do homebrew

    http://s928.photobucket.com/albums/ad121/ZMANSYRUP/

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