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Thread: North Facing Sugarworks 2023

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Central NH
    Posts
    25

    Default North Facing Sugarworks 2023

    Been a member for a while and figured I should help contribute. Tapped in last Tuesday approximately 175 on two separate surflow setups and another 30 buckets. Gathered in 260 gallons of 2% on Thursday and boiled it all off between Thursday night and Friday evening. Bottled up today, 8 quarts and a pint plus a little for the "fridge jug" which serves to hold all of the remnants from bottling throughout the year and gets used for my own pancakes. Used the hanna meter for the first time, really like the precision 55% LT.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Barrington, NH
    Posts
    2,762

    Default

    It's nice to have another New Hampshirite posting on trader.

    Good luck this season!
    Josh

    2009 - 370 on vac. & 16 buckets
    2010 - 377 on vac.
    2011 - 590 on vac.
    2012 - 620 on high vac., 170 buckets, 110 on gravity tubing
    2013 - 830 mine + 800-1000 others
    2014 - 870 mine + 800-1000 others
    2017 - 920 mine + 500-700 others
    2018 - 902 mine + 500-700 others
    2019 - 902 mine + 700 others
    2020 - 902 mine + ???? others
    Atlas Copco Pump
    2.5'x8' 802maple Special with Dallaire pans
    H2O Innovation 600gph RO
    Spring Harvest Website

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Walpole, NH
    Posts
    1,363

    Default

    Great to hear. What are you boiling on? As Josh said, good to see more fellow New Hampshirites on here.
    Sugaring for 45+ years
    New Sugarhouse 14'x32'
    New to Me Algier 2'x8' wood fired evaporator
    2022 added a used RB25 RO Bucket
    250 mostly Sugar Maples, 15% Soft Maples. Currently,(110on 3/16" and 125 on Shurflo 4008 vacuum, 15 gravity), (16,000 before being disabled)
    1947 Farmall H and Wagon with gathering tank
    2012 Kubota with forks to move wood around

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Wakefield,New Hampshire
    Posts
    504

    Default

    Glad to see more people in NH posting on here, timing and weather are a little more relatable.
    How many years have you been running your shurflo set up?
    6th season solo sugar maker in a young sugar bush of mostly red maples
    320 taps
    2x6 self built arch, Flat pans w/ dividers
    New 12x16 sugar house
    CDL hobby 250 RO

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Central NH
    Posts
    25

    Default

    Boiling on a 2x4xl mason, first year on it (boiled on a friends 2x6 last year). Second year on the shurflo but I redid the entire tubing system this past year converting from 3/16 and 5/16 run direct to the pumps to a 3/4 mainline and 5/16 laterals. Seems like the pumps worked better last year but honestly haven't had enough flow to tell. Brought in about 80 gallons last night and sent it through the RO. Headed down to boil that off shortly. Got about 35-40 gallons in the tanks but I'm not sure if I'll get it pumped out before things freeze up.
    2X4 Mason XL
    4x40 RO Bucket kit
    338 on shurflows and 30 buckets

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Hudson NH
    Posts
    170

    Default

    Boil on NH! Sounds like a nice set up!

    19x48 mini pro oil fired, Nano R/O, CDL Vacuum Press,Mountain Maple Vacuum setup
    6x12 sugar house off back of shed
    2024-103 Taps Mostly Sugars, Dozen Reds
    "The days are long, but the years are short"

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Wilton, NH
    Posts
    89

    Default

    On my 5th year with the Mason 2x4XL. Love it, but have to really dial in my batches on the Mason and RO on big flow days. Processed 540 gallons the other day and found that if I crunch 100 gal. batches on my single post 40; I can match up fine with the 15ish gpm rate I'm getting on the 2x4.
    Right about 2,000 gal. of sap for the season as of today. Going to process everything in the tanks today and then hunker down for the big freeze.
    Hope everyone is having a good season. So glad I tapped early (Feb.5).

    Thanks, Bill
    2017 - 3 taps hanging buckets.
    2018 - 32 taps on 5 gal. buckets.
    2019 - New Mason 2x4 XL. 80 taps
    2020 - Barn / Sugarhouse finished. 125 taps. NextGen 1x40 RO
    2021 - 157 taps, 100 on 3/16 tubing w/two Shurflo set-ups, the rest on buckets
    2022 - 225 taps. 175 on 3/16 tubing, rest on buckets.
    2023 - 300 taps. 261 on tubing, 39 on 5 gal. buckets. Four Shurflo 12V set-ups.
    2024 - 340 taps. New SL 2x4 hybrid pan. Added second 1x40 membrane to RO

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Goffstown, NH
    Posts
    22

    Default

    What made you switch to 5/16 and 3/4 main? I did that method first then switched to 3/16 straight down to the manifold. I’m on low slope though. 25” no leaks, Only pulling 15” right now but I think there’s a leak I gotta chase down. As soon as I saw North Facing Sugarworks I assumed it was someone from NH! Good luck this season.
    Hillcrest Maples
    2024- 200 on Guzzler, new home built 2 post, SL vac filter
    2023-100 on Shurflo, new 2 Post 4x40 RO Bucket
    2022- 150 on Shurflo, new 16x36 Sugar House and 18x48 Vision, Dual RB 25's RO's
    2021- 150 on Shurflo, home made arch under 18x40 cdl pan, RB 20 RO
    2020- 99 On Shurflo home made arch under 18x40 cdl pan
    2019- 10 buckets, steam pan on grill
    2018- 5 spiles into milk jugs, stove top, caught the maple bug hard.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Central NH
    Posts
    25

    Default

    Brought in another 75 or so gallons last night and crunched it, worried about the freeze up so I wanted to get everything as empty as possible. Boiled up another 2-2.5 gallons that I will get filtered and bottled over the weekend. Honestly the impetus for the swap was a seminar that I sat through on tubing system design during the VT maple conference. I hope to swap from the shurflos to real vac in the next couple of years so that was also a consideration. As far as the name goes, my sugarbush faces almost perfectly north, so it just seemed natural. Makes for late starts to the season as I am backed into a hill so we don't get much sun during the day until late in the season. I keep telling folks that my next taps are going to face south. I have a lead on a property just down the road but it's just me in the sugarhouse most of the time and I still have a regular job.
    2X4 Mason XL
    4x40 RO Bucket kit
    338 on shurflows and 30 buckets

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Central NH
    Posts
    25

    Default

    Bottled up the last boil today, came out with a quart under 3 gallons, more than I thought. Lighter than the earlier stuff though 58%LT but I think part of that was a batching issue I ran into on the first boil of the year. Made syrup in the middle right channel of the pan and although nothing burned, drew off really heavy and had to be adjusted heavily to hit the desired density for bottling. Frozen up tight right now and seems to be snowing about every third day, looks like we may get a warm up this week but I don't much trust the weather guessers.
    2X4 Mason XL
    4x40 RO Bucket kit
    338 on shurflows and 30 buckets

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