Slow run of only 14ish litres today. Thank gawd. Still working my way down through batch #2 which should make around 4l.
Slow run of only 14ish litres today. Thank gawd. Still working my way down through batch #2 which should make around 4l.
Been tapping since 2008.
2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup
Oh I'm grateful for the slow down. Getting caught up. Should be close to even tomorrow. Hardly any sap ran today. Hoping the trees are keeping the sap sweet througn this heat wave.....
^^ Exactly..that's my fear is that the warm weather causes the trees to bud.. My silvers usually bud by the 3rd-4th week of the season in a normal year (whereas my sugars tend to keep going for a few more weeks..although that didn't happen last year.. they all just shut down around the same time).Originally Posted by Coatesy
Boiled off my last approx 150L last night and had two new experiences: 1) I've never boiled syrup while getting bit by mosquitoes, and 2) due to the warm outside temps, the uninsulated exhaust port on my arch got so hot the wood around the pass through caught fire! Thankfully I always keep a bucket of water nearby.. but it smouldered several times that I had to douse it with a few cups of water!! At least it looks like I have some time this weekend to try and modify that area with some kind of heat shield.. Be careful out there everyone... don't pull a Paul and set fire to your setups!
Now back to cutting up the remaining pallets to get ready for the next boil..nice to have a bit of a break.. Boiled three times in 4 days..About 450L I think so far...2/3 of that collected over the past 4 days..
So.. does anyone watch the Discovery channel show "Gold rush" ? I'm think we should all film ourselves during the pre-season and during the boils, put it all together and make a show called "Liquid Gold Rush".. Who's with me?
______________________________
2023 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,845 L sap; Syrup count: 49.25L
2022 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,530 L sap; Syrup count: 48.65L
2021 -29 trees -23 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1240 L sap; 34.5L of syrup
2020 -30 trees 32 taps. ~900 L sap; 27.1L Syrup.
2019 -27 trees 31 taps. ~725 L sap; 22.2L Syrup.
2018 -19 Trees 20 taps. ~750 L sap; 18 L Syrup
2017 -4 trees 4 taps. ~60 L sap; 1.5 L Syrup
I want to play the role of tony beets always cursing and making the camera crew chase him like a bunch of lost little puppiesSo.. does anyone watch the Discovery channel show "Gold rush" ? I'm think we should all film ourselves during the pre-season and during the boils, put it all together and make a show called "Liquid Gold Rush".. Who's with me?
2019 - Barrel evaporator 2 steam pans 44 taps 13 Liters syrup
2020 - Barrel evaporator 2 steam pans 51 taps 21 Liters syrup
2021- New homemade 2x3 evaporator and flat pan 80 drop lines to buckets
2022- (•,•)1350L naturally ROd sap 44L syrup
2023- "\_(°•°)_/" 1100L sap 30L syrup not accurate due to natural RO
2024 { ';' }1862L sap 52L syrup 52 drop lines to buckets
Eek a stove or shack fire can be a scary thing! I have always had a heat shield in Shack Whacky as it is made of pallets and sheet metal. A friend just hinged together a couple pieces of sheet metal and it works perfectly.
No sap here today, trying to get batch #2 finished. Later!
Been tapping since 2008.
2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup
Done! LOL
______________________________
2023 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,845 L sap; Syrup count: 49.25L
2022 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,530 L sap; Syrup count: 48.65L
2021 -29 trees -23 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1240 L sap; 34.5L of syrup
2020 -30 trees 32 taps. ~900 L sap; 27.1L Syrup.
2019 -27 trees 31 taps. ~725 L sap; 22.2L Syrup.
2018 -19 Trees 20 taps. ~750 L sap; 18 L Syrup
2017 -4 trees 4 taps. ~60 L sap; 1.5 L Syrup
Yes I should have thought of a heat shield before..although I've never boiled in 20 Deg weather before so I think this is an isolated incident.. but at least I have time to put in a heat shield before the next boil.. don't anticipated any sap until the cooler temps start.. left the pump running all night to see if it would pull the sap out of the trees but nothing to speak of (actually left it running mostly to clear the lines during the next few days).
______________________________
2023 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,845 L sap; Syrup count: 49.25L
2022 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,530 L sap; Syrup count: 48.65L
2021 -29 trees -23 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1240 L sap; 34.5L of syrup
2020 -30 trees 32 taps. ~900 L sap; 27.1L Syrup.
2019 -27 trees 31 taps. ~725 L sap; 22.2L Syrup.
2018 -19 Trees 20 taps. ~750 L sap; 18 L Syrup
2017 -4 trees 4 taps. ~60 L sap; 1.5 L Syrup
Buckets all about quarter full but cloudy yellow looking. Dumped em. I'm trying to finish off my storage (20g) but it's got a bit of a cloud look to it. Annoying... Smells fine on the stove.... Gonna pull my pails and storage and give all a clean and rinse on the weekend. Hope for next week to run again. Looks below zero starting Sunday til about Apr. 3rdish
Sap can be cloudy but still be ok to use. Just smell and/or taste it first. It's when it starts to get a thick ropey texture and smells awful that it's time to dump it.
Been tapping since 2008.
2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup
Just letting the pans cool down on the last of my sap. Going to try to take the whole front pan to syrup over the coals. Not sure when we might get our next sap, so might as well get everything I can out in case what's left in the pans spoils.
Have boiled all day every day since Friday, so I won't complain too loudly about not having anything to boil tomorrow. 600 gallons or so at 12-15gph.
Big_Eddy
Eastern Ontario (Quinte)
20+ years on a 2x3 block arch,
Homemade 20"x64" drop flue since 2011
Build a Block Arch
Build a Flat Pan
Build a Flue Pan
Sweetening the Pans
Build a Bending Brake
Using a Hydrotherm
How much Sap to Sweeten?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote