Originally Posted by
Swingpure
So if you had the option to either collect the sap in the morning or late afternoon, which is best?
As with most things, it depends. For example with buckets: If there's a little ice in the morning, it's great to toss it before collecting (fractional crystallization AKA nature's RO). But if there's a lot of ice, it's better to let some of it melt off during the day, rather than needing to put bucket-sized ice cubes onto your evaporator! And with lines, I imagine they'd freeze up at night, and then you'd get a lot more in the afternoon after they thaw.
Some of this stuff you just need to learn by doing.
GO
2016: Homemade arch from old wood stove; 2 steam tray pans; 6 taps; 1.1 gal
2017: Same setup. 15 taps; 4.5 gal
2018: Same setup. Limited time. 12 taps and short season; 2.2 gal
2019: Very limited time. 7 taps and a short season; 1.8 gals
2020: New Mason 2x3 XL halfway through season; 9 taps 2 gals
2021: Same 2x3, 18 taps, 4.5 gals
2022: 23 taps, 5.9 gals
2023: 23 taps. Added AUF, 13.2 gals
2024: 17 taps
All on buckets