January Journal

[3rdgen.maple]

Today was a cold windy day but had alot of fun aside from that. Got the sleds out and went trail riding with my daughter in the morning then ran a 400foot mainline in one sugarbush. Just need to side tie and put in the laterals. Excited about this, will get me 150-200 taps on vac and is in a section that I could not get the tractor in so it was always a long haul carrying sap back to the gathering tank. Best running trees I have as well. So at this point Im thinking I will put out 800 taps 600 on buckets 200 on vac. Possible I might just drop to 500 on buckets and start a mainline in another section and just start it with 100 on gravity but next year I can expand that alot and run vac there as well. I have a personal deal that I dont spend anymore many than I made the previous years syrup sales so I never have any out of pocket expenses so if that cash box doesnt run out I will get that section going. Funny how we think or atleast I do. Adding taps with tubing but I still have to put out all my buckets. Plenty of trees to hang them. I think If this year is any good I might be a little overwhelmed but overwhelmed is how I like it. Times running out.

[maple flats]

hey any of you guys useing CVs if you want to sell some of your old ones from last year let me know

I'm using them again.I had about 150 left from last year, but am using them this year, along with 400 of the "new and improved version". I was on gravity last year and don't think they helped. This year I am using them only on my vacuum bush.

[maple flats]

I got a similar SS sink, counter unit. The sink is one std bowl and one shaped with a 20-25 degree tilt towards the other and a opening into the other. I have no idea why it's shaped this way. The overall length is about just over 11 feet. I'll be installing it in my addition/kitchen/with ro room when I build it. I got it included in the package deal when I bought my 3x8 grimm evaporator with one season's use on it for $4500 a few years back.

[Amber Gold]

Things are coming together for maple season. The RO room is built and mostly done. Big thing left to do is plumb the RO. The LR pump is plumbed and its enclosure is mostly built. Should have that wrapped up and on-site this weekend. I'll also get the releaser plumbed and test the pump out. Bill's working on my new hood w/ preheater and it should be done soon. It's looking I'll be ready to go Feb. 1st. The next two weekends are busy with maple seminars in Middlebury and Bellows Falls and the NHMPA annual meeting.

[ennismaple]

We got all our tubing finished on the weekend. All the laterals are done, droplines cut in and saddle manifolds installed. All 4,000 taps have now been switched over to semi-rigid! No more old green and purple PVC tubing for us anymore!!! Blue semi-rigid looks so pretty against new snow...

Had to fix 4 sections of mainline where limbs took the line down. The beauty of the 1/4" guy steel we use is it never breaks. It pulls out of the end tree or a drive hook on a side tie first. All we had to do was cut off the limb, re-tension and side tie and we're back in business.

We also got half our main bush converted over to stubbies so we can use CV's this year. We cut off old 5/16" spouts and added stubbies to 625+ taps and culled an additional 110 taps from trees that had 3 or 4 taps each (about a 15% reduction in taps). The goal is to have no more than 2 taps per tree by the time we've got only stubbies out in the bush. We went with the rule of thumb that if you can get your arms around it it only gets 1 tap. That works out to roughly a 24" dia tree before we use a 2nd tap. Hopefully, this pays off in the long run - when my grandchildren are tapping the same trees.

[peacemaker]

no we rent and the landlord switched insurance companys and the inspector found the sugar house in the garage and has made us remove it

[Randy Brutkoski]

That blows.

[red maples]

Sorry peace maker that does blow.

Finally got all the tubing redone. all the T's are replaced most laterals are 5 taps or less still have one with 7 and 1 with a bunch on it but that one runs behind the house and I aint puttin up bucket there I will still get more sap from vac on those.

Still need to put in 3 more saddles and finish putting about 125 or so more drops. and that project will be done. lost a few taps (ash thought they were red maples oops!!) and lost a few to the wind storm. Also picked up a few more that I didn't get last year. so hopefully even out.

I'll finish those up tomorrow, and should be able to finish my star sap ladder and get my 2 pipe ladder at least hung up. we'll see. Gettin there times runnin out!!!

[waysidemaple]

The Evaporator is in the new sugar shack. The standard door is hung and the sliding door is built, picking up the rail for that tomorrow. Ordered the roof jack today...should be here next week. That should mean ill be ready for a test boil by the first week in february. Still need to plumb the head tank in but other than that I think ill have it all ready for when its time to tap. Fingers crossed Ill have 250 taps this year unless I feel the need to string more tubing haha

[twobears1224]

sunday afternoon i ran to the city/lowes and picked up some pipe and fittings and tonight i,ve been out in the sugarhouse plumbing the head tank.
i,ve desided to use whats called a thur hull fitting to drain my head tank..there used on boats.it won,t drain the tank 100% but it,ll be close enough.

delbert