I received 25 (new to me buckets and spiles). Should I go ahead and tap trees now? It seems like the next few days will be great. What is the rule of thumb for this and when is too late for the amount of sap you will get?
Is it too late?
I received 25 (new to me buckets and spiles). Should I go ahead and tap trees now? It seems like the next few days will be great. What is the rule of thumb for this and when is too late for the amount of sap you will get?
Go tap. Last year I didn't tap until 2/24 due to extremely cold weather. You will probably get a few good weeks right now.
D. Roseum
www.roseummaple.com
~100 taps on 3/16 custom temp controlled vacuum; shurflo vacuum #2; custom nat gas evap with auto-drawoff and tank level gas shut-off controller; homemade RO #1; homemade RO #2; SL SS filter press
2021: 27.1 gallons
2022: 35 gallons
Looking ahead at the forecast, it looks like a huge run will start on Tuesday.
680 5/16 taps on gravity
red and sugar maples
2 Homemade ROs
Stovetop evaporator
Filter press by Daryl
Star San Tube Pump
Drying rack for hydrometer
Loves tapping in snow
I am wondering what is the best way to save the contents of a divided pan at the end of the year. I need all the syrup I can get, so I don't want to let it sit in there at the end. I will clean the pan a different way. Is it best to get the sap to a boil and then start to drain the pan into a pot that I can finish over propane? Should I just drain it cold? How far down the sight glass can I go before I ruin my pan? This is the first year for me with the divided pan and I'm not quite sure what is the best method to use. I'm holding out this week to see what the weather will do, but I'm thinking I'm near the finish line. How is everyone's year so far? At this point I seem to be down on the final syrup count that I expected. How much syrup should a 2" depth 2x4 pan yield once it is boiled down without any more sap being introduced?
You probably only have about 10 gallons in that pan. I would finish it over propane for sure. We finish our pans in a 16 gallon turkey pot. We put about 10 gallons in to start and just slowly add the rest after it starts boiling. We can run the pans down low to 1” or less pretty easily being on oil….just hit the off switch. I would not push it with wood on your 2x4.
305 taps on 2 Shurflo's, 31 taps on 3/16" and 229 taps on gravity. 565 in all
Mountain Maple S3 controller for 145 of the vacuum taps
2x6 Darveau Mystique Oil Fired Evaporator w/ Smoky Lake Simplicity Auto Draw
Wesfab 7” filter press
Agreed. Be careful running too low on wood. I am on Nat Gas and run it fairly low then turn it off and drain into a full size steam pan (12 x 20) to finish on a gas cooktop.
Since its a divided pan, you could drain it into multiple different pots and boil each down separately and combine at the end. Will be a little more fuel/time efficient than trying to boil 10 gallons at once.
D. Roseum
www.roseummaple.com
~100 taps on 3/16 custom temp controlled vacuum; shurflo vacuum #2; custom nat gas evap with auto-drawoff and tank level gas shut-off controller; homemade RO #1; homemade RO #2; SL SS filter press
2021: 27.1 gallons
2022: 35 gallons
Does anyone put water/RO permeate into the headtank to chase the sweet left in the pan for the final boil? Then just stop drawing off once the water hits the drawoff port? Not even sure if this is possible, but I think I've read about it somewhere.
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
Well I got 20 more gallons today and went back in time to boil in 5 gallon stock pots with propane. After 3 1/2 hours I got it down to a small pot to finish tomorrow. Hard to believe that I was boiling close to that amount in one hour with the divided pan and forced air. I'm still hoping to get some more before Tuesday. I think that is the day I will pick up everything and call it for the year. I did get 3.8 gallons syrup from the remnants of my 2x4 divided pan. That worked out great, thanks for the suggestions and tips.
On another note, how do all of you place the section of information "like a footnote" in your posts. I haven't found out how to do that yet.
To add that "footnote" click on the top right part of the page where it says "settings". Then under settings, click on "signature".
Gabe O
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, 5.3 gals
All on buckets
One final run for me and I'll be calling it. I'll probably do my final collection Wednesday evening.
I'm currently at roughly 10 gallons. Hoping this final run gives me 3-4 more gallons. Sugar has been extremely low this year. I've been holding at 1% all season.
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