Hop Kiln Road 2024

[Hop Kiln Road]

Nailed it. Tapped about 600 on 2/8 and 2/9. As of last night I'm at 3 gal/tap and have filled a keg with light. Today looks perfect. Will tap out the rest during the break in the weather.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Perfect mid March day, in February! Brilliant blue sky, mid 40's and sap's running well. Trying to crunch the 700 gal into the sugarhouse before the pipe freezes. Then boil during the storm tomorrow.

[red maples]

Hey Bruce, I think the storm is going south. Looks like you are off to a good start!!! Good luck on your season!!!

[BAP]

Great to hear that you are off to a good start. It’s a good start for me here in Walpole too. Boil On!

[Hop Kiln Road]

Thanks guys. One start up glitch. Membrane canisters had lost all their fluid. New MES membranes last year and built new canisters and kept the older H2Os. Guess I didn't get the endcaps glued very good. Did a normal start up and the flows were down 20%. But after a wash, flows were back to normal but the operating pressures were down 5%, but I guess there is nothing wrong with that, I can just crank the concentrate down more, right Red Roof?

[Hop Kiln Road]

20F and a windchill of 0F this morning so that officially ends the first run. 2500 gal from 600 taps. No sap weather in the forecast for 8 days. Drained all the pumps and opened all the valves. A little sap stored here and there in the field tanks. Got 2 bushes left to crank up while we wait. One I'm 3X the solar array to increase the charging power for the shurflos. The other is getting a pump to move the sap uphill to a closer road tank location. It’s going to be a 110V system. But it requires adjusting some of the lines to the new low point, but only 60 taps total on the system.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Using this freeze time to redo and simplify several sap pump stations. I also tapped a new section after several years of thinning and fertilizing. It runs down along a brook and then the (3) 3/16 lines cut across a flat field for 300 feet to a garage. I put a 110v shurflo there and discharge it into a 5/16 line which goes up 12 feet to the peak of the garage then up another 3 feet over 150 feet to a tree limb before running 300 feet down to a road tank. After I tapped I was undecided how to prime the dry shurflo so I tapped another section. Three hours later when I checked, sap was being pushed through the pump, up the combined 15 feet and into the road tank...and at a remarkable flow!!! So I turned on the pump and it increased the flow some, but not a lot. I am still stunned by the results.
Also found a new 12v temperature switch to run the other shurflos. Hoping it will save on battery charge. Also added a 2nd solar panel to try to help.
Still no sap weather until the end of the week anyway.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Going to tap the last 200 today for the 2nd run coming up. The heavy 1st run, 2/9-2/12 was 25% of an average season, and from only 3/4 of my taps. Pretty happy to have that since the season feels a lot like last year and will probably be over by mid-March.

[Hop Kiln Road]

A couple spots got to 38F yesterday and the sap dripped, a little. trees still frozen. Should unthaw by noon today. Big week coming up! Got to clean the syrup pans once the sugarhouse warms up a little.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Temps got up to 38F again yesterday but it wasn't enough to unthaw the trees. This is actually more typical weather for late February, slightly too warm but far more typical than what we've been seeing. Did clean the syrup pans. Wasn't really necessary but I had boiled 2500 gals with only reversing and no swapping out. Lazy! Won't be able to get away with that next week. 32F this morning with 2" of new snow. Going to hit 40F this afternoon and then freeze tight for the weekend. If it is a weak flow may let it freeze in the field tanks.