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Thread: When to stop collecting?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Central Pennsylvania
    Posts
    228

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    Quote Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins View Post
    I could add another....

    - fishing season is starting
    That's my sign to switch from maple to trout. Trout season opens in 2 weeks here in PA, so I need to get the maple stuff cleaned and stowed, then start doing some creek and tackle maintenance.
    2020 - 1st year - 13 black walnut taps - 4 bottles syrup
    2021 - 50 taps, 22 black walnuts/28 red maples - 4 gallons syrup
    2022 - 54 taps, 11 black walnuts/41 red maples, 20 on solar shurflo vacuum - 8.5 gallons syrup
    2023 - 47 taps on 45 red maples, 43 on solar shurflo vacuum

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Stirling ontario
    Posts
    217

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    Totally up to you.
    My neighbour has 330 taps and as soon as he gets 200 litres of syrup he's done. I think he only
    gathered sap 4 times last year!
    Last year i boiled until the sugar content was lo.After i stopped my trees
    ran for another ten days.
    Last edited by ir3333; 03-18-2021 at 07:14 PM.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Presque Isle, WI
    Posts
    22

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    I've never run to the end of the season. We are a boutique, high quality operation. AKA small potatoes. We run between 30-50 taps, and cook until we don't feel like it. Could be 2 batches, could be 4. Just tapped last weekend in far northern WI. We'll start cooking tomorrow. First batch will be about 200 gallons of sap.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Harvard, MA
    Posts
    240

    Default How about the sugar % factor

    Sugar content declines toward the end of the season, and and when it declines to a certain point, do you stop due to the much longer boil / RO times? I’ll using a refractometer this year first time, so I’m testing sap much more frequently, and I’ve noticed some trees / patches are showing <1%, while others are still at or above 2%. I’m considering whether to stop collecting from the low sugar trees, although with RO it’s just more electricity cost. The sugar %s are different enough from patch to patch that I’ve wondered about the reliability of the refractometer. But it’s been consistent in the same patches.
    2022 is season 7
    2016: 20 taps on buckets, 4 gallons on a borrowed 2x3.
    2017: 32 taps on buckets, 8 gallons of syrup, on a "loaner" Lapierre 19x48.
    2018: 80 taps. First time tubing. New 10x12 sugar shack, Lapierre 2x5. Made 17 gallons
    2019: 100 taps. 22 gallons. Added a small RO 50 gph.
    2020: 145 taps, 30 gallons, sold half. Murphy cup is a great addition.
    2021: tapped Feb 23, 150 taps, 35 gallons.
    2022: 200 taps. I lost 50, added 100. Having fun but short season?

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    VT
    Posts
    29

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    I pulled my buckets last night. My one Red maple had turned sour and the others just dried up a bit after this last warm weekend.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,391

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    Quote Originally Posted by tgormley358 View Post
    The sugar %s are different enough from patch to patch that I’ve wondered about the reliability of the refractometer.
    Trees can vary considerably in their SSC% due to genetics and environment (crown position, nutrition, growth rates, stress etc.). Not at all surprising.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Bennington Vt
    Posts
    1

    Default When to stop collecting?

    I end my season due to lack of sap more than anything. I have a north facing sugarbush that thaws out later than many. I've got 108 taps with 90+ of those on 3/16 in lines. This year was strange with many days in the high 60s and even 70s. My sap started to get a little cloudy yesterday but I made 2 gals of real nice amber syrup. Today (3/23) there is no sap running at my sugarbush neither in the buckets or lines on the hill. I didn't make as much as I usually do and I missed the first good run we had here in SW Vt a few weeks ago. Time to pull the taps, clean up and plan for next year...

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Middleburgh NY
    Posts
    118

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    We end it when we see sap quality diminish, and when I get tired. Did a final boil last night of 120 gallons, walked out of the shack, the peepers were singing and the worms were scurrying.
    My wife and I will finish bottling this weekend.
    2014 6 Taps Block Arch and momas canning pot, 3 gallons YIKES

    2019 100 taps and a new adventure with a home built arch.

    2020 90 taps, my wife and I and a Bucket RO...

    2021 112 taps and a modified Bucket RO.

    2022 120 taps, modified Bucket RO a Wife, Son and Springer

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    vermont
    Posts
    73

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    when I fulfill my orders for the family and I have 2 gal for myself.
    then if I feel like making more... I do.
    yes trout fishing and golf are some motivators to stop.
    Trees really tell the story. Once sap goes below 2 brix I don't process or the trees bud.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Stirling ontario
    Posts
    217

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    had a long boil late in the season this year with the usual darker syrup result.Checked the sap in my trees and the sugar content in the smaller trees
    was 1% or less but my bigger trees were still 2% and higher.
    The next time i collected sap i dumped full pails from the smaller trees and just collected from the big trees. My barrels were above 2% sugar and I
    had shorter boils with nice amber syrup.

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