Southwest PA Tapping 2024

[HowardR]

The last relevant frost of the year, according to the forecast, will be tonight. From Friday to Sunday I'll collect the end-of-season sap. On Sunday, I'll bottle it up, and by Monday my season should be done. I started late (on February 16) after the first runs of the season had ended. My red maples were already starting to bud. But the weather has been cooperating and I'll end up with about half the syrup that I would have gotten during a normal year.

[DRoseum]

I plan to wrap it all up by Sunday as well! Slightly down again this year - the weather just isn't cooperating.

[SRM]

Pulled all 155 taps today. I still have 60 gallons to boil, and have no idea on how much sap i got and how much syrup I have. I have several stock pots in the refrigerator waiting to be bottled, and my divided pan is still full. I hope to get it all done on Monday and Tuesday. I got most of my sap the last two weeks. The first two weeks I tapped, I wasn't getting much and thought I did something. wrong then all hell broke loose and I was up at 3am running the RO and boiling all day for about 4 days.

[HowardR]

Based upon a changing long-term forecast, I've changed my mind about packing in everything tomorrow. The warm weather from Monday through Thursday this week could heal my tap holes and cause the sugar maples to bud, but I'm hoping for one more nice run this season. Where I live (near Rural Valley PA), weather.com predicts that the low on Thursday will be 33 while Accuweather predicts it will be 28, so a frost on Thursday night is likely. And freezing nights are predicted by both services for next Sunday and Monday.

[DRoseum]

Pulled all 112 taps today and cleaned my lines. I think I'll end up with about 1 quart of syrup per tap once I boil down all the sweet in my pan.

Just not worth waiting over a week for one night of a light freeze. Those multiple 70 F days wreak havoc on tubing systems.

Will clean the ROs this week, soak the pan and call it a year!

[SRM]

D. Roseum,

I noticed you have a SL SS filter press. I am going to get one, but I'm not sure which one I should buy. Can you let me know how you like yours and the durability of the one you have. I will buy either the CDL or Smokey Lake 7-9 plate filter press. I currently have the CDL vacuum filter (9"), but it just isn't big enough for what I have and plan to have in the future. I don't know if I should buy the 10 plate and remove plates that I don't need. I want to make at least 25 gallons of syrup in the next year. Your input would be appreciated.

[DRoseum]

I love the SL press. It's stainlesss and not aluminum, and not much different in price. I average around 28 gallons of syrup per year and batch sizes vary from 1 gallon to 3 gallons that I run through it. I have the short press (3 window plates) and normally use 1 window for 1 gallon, 2 for up to 3 gallons using the shortener insert. I have never used all 3 plates for that volume of syrup. I think they said you can do 10 - 15 gallons on the 3 plate short press in a single session. I think that greatly depends on how much niter is in the syrup. Early in the season, sure. Late in the year with heavy niter, it gets tougher to push that through.