Mid/southern Ohio 2023

[buckeye gold]

It's getting that time of year to start working on prep for syrup season. It has been early seasons for us southern Ohio guys the last couple years. I just finished installing a new air manifold in the firebox for A/O and A/U blower. Replaced some burnt out bricks and resurfaced with refractory. Will start line work soon and probably be ready to tap a few right after Christmas. What's everyone else doing?

[bmbmkr]

Busy busy down here in Lawrence County. I've upgraded my 4x40 RO to a single 8x40- got a recirculation pump from Leader. I've spent most of the last three months hunting down unicorn teeth, 1 1/2" Victaulic fittings. I've got it all plumbed up, waiting on a new pressure pump motor and a few frame modifications and she'll be ready for a test run with last years permeate.

I picked up a used steam away in June. As usual no plumbing or float included and the SA float box is on the opposite side of my flue pan float and head tank, so 10' of SS plumbing procured and installed. I fabbed the float and float inlet and float valve. My cousin gave me a used water heater to use for condensate "storage". I'm plumbing it into the wash sink. Will be nice not to have to use propane for the tankless water heater. and it'll be gravity fed. Hot water from the steam away, cold water from permeate tank. My sugar shack is an old sawmill shed. I finally have four walls and a door. The rafters won't hold the steam away, so I built a "gantry" out of 3" I beams to suspend the SA. boat winch with 1/4" cable to raise and lower it over the flue pan. I had to cut up and re work the steam hood we built a couple years ago. Now I have two steam hoods, one for SA and one for the syrup pan.

I decided to build an auto draw, have the PID, thermo couple and bellimo valve controller. Wired it all up and tested it with a voltage generator this past weekend. Just have to cut everything into the box and do some permanent wiring. My wife is welding a shaft extension to the buttery fly valve, hopefully this weekend. I'm looking forward to having time to filter and bottle while the auto draw keeps my pans happy.

Last year I only tapped 500 here at my place, this year I'm tapping my Dad's woods again, about 350 taps in up there. I'm starting cleanup in that woods tomorrow. Lots of limbs and a few trees down. Probably take a week. I MAY run a couple more laterals and pick up another 100 or so taps, I think I can manage 900 with the bigger RO and increase the steam away will provide.

Dad told me he nicked a box elder with his back hoe the other day and sap poured out of it. Looking forward to the season. I shoot for tapping the first week of January down here.

[buckeye gold]

I always tap an early sugar bush that's separate from my main bush. I tapped those 50 yesterday and the sap is running a full line in two 3/16 laterals today. I already had enough to start a fire and begin sweetening the pan. Hopefully tomorrow will be a full boil. I'm in Ross county. I anticipate my main tapping to be between January 20th and 31st. Good luck to all.

[bmbmkr]

Sounds good Buckeye. I'm still wrapping up the RO. I got my pump lines, mainlines and tubing flushed and most of the leaks fixed. I did a test boil last week with the steam away, got about 60 gph steady with tap water. I hope to squeeze a little more out of her with a bigger blower. I used my ol trusty 650 cfm the other night. The gate valve leaks like a sieve, it's made for wood shop dust collection, I used it to regulate the air in the steam away. I've been thinkin of a few ways to take off the gate valve and just restrict the 3" hose thats feeding it, neck it down to 1 1/2" maybe, I got the best bubble rate with the gate half shut. I traded your neighbor in Frankfort for a 1500 cfm blower back in August, just have to wire in another 220V outlet for it. Most of that increase will go to the AOF nozzles. Still have some work to do on my steam hood. I boiled the other night without the hood over the syrup pan and it quickly reminded me why we built a steam hood. I should be ready to tao here at the house by this weekend.

Walk

[buckeye gold]

Ben, This seems to be a hard year to decipher so far. I tapped these early taps sooner the last two years, but that's because it's been too warm. I have a sneaky suspicion we're going to get a good hard cold spell and the traditional tapping time may be true this year. The problem is those dang warm February days just make everything slimy. It makes for a bunch of extra cleaning and eventually kills the sap flow. Let's hope we don't see 70 degrees this February again.

[bmbmkr]

Weather will always be weather, the one thing we cannot count on no matter what the calendar says. I guess we just have to use experience and a bit of judgement and get er done to the best of our ability. After my bust season in 2022, I'll take anything I can get as long as I don't tear up any joints like I did my shoulder while trying to fall off the earth walking my tubing on a steep muddy hill side. I have a few loose ends in the sugar house, a coupe new vapor proof LED lights, a little work on my front steam hood, plumbing my sink from the steam away condensation outflow. Maybe re arranging some of my furniture- an 8' SS counter I picked up in Waverly last year and some of my shelves/cabinets. Lookin at a couple days in the 50's this coming week, so I'm shooting for after that to get my first 500 taps in. I have another 400 at my Dad's place up the road, but not sure I'll even get those in this year. We'll see.

[buckeye gold]

I tapped my early 50 last Tuesday and Had a good run Wednesday and cooked off 75 gallons of sap Thursday. Made Just shy of a half gallon of syrup and left a bunch of sweet in the pan. Had another run over night and had 60 gallons today and boiled that this afternoon. Made 3 quarts of really nice syrup. I think this week will have a couple crazy runs. Good luck Ben and everyone else. I think I will put the 100 taps in my main woods in the last week of January.

[buckeye gold]

Update, THis cold spell shut things down for a while. To date I collected approx. 300 gallons off my early taps and made a little shy of 3.5 gallons of syrup. I have about 7 gallons of super sweet to start back with next week. Right now I plan to tap the main bush (100 taps) on Monday or Tuesday January 22/23, 2024. With this cold reset It should be game on late next week. In the mean time the pan and tanks get cleaned. I know one other producer in Ross county has tapped and boiled a couple times. I think next week should be our start in southern Ohio.

[buckeye gold]

Tapped all my remaining trees today. I had so much squirrel damage it took me most of the day to do. I bet I replaced half my new drops and probably 200 ft of tubing and 40 spouts out of 100 taps. I have never seen it this bad. I had over a thousand feet of new tubing up and a lot of it now has repair couplers in it and has never seen sap. I hate to just start killing them but I can't stand this damage. I think the pellet gun is going in the side by side. Sap was just starting to run so tonight I will let it flush and tomorrow chase leaks, I know there will be a bunch. It's enough to make a man want to quit. If I can keep my lines intact this week should provide some good runs. Have I ever mentioned I hate squirrels.

[Iwantsyrup]

Hey Buckeye Gold, I’ve got an itchy trigger finger to tap but am dealing with some rookie indecision. I’ve read that it’s imperative to get a freeze at night for flow so I’ve held off tapping my 12 trees so far, but you said you should get some decent runs this week (minus the dang squirrel issues). Are you getting any night time freezes this week or is there some other variable that I am missing? I really appreciate your posts by the way! I’m in southern Clermont county for reference. Thanks brother!