Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

[wiam]

Hey Flats what is Thad up to? I have not seen him on Trader for a while. I hope when the sap starts running we will hear from Thad, Randy and yourself more often.

Parker Maple it looks like I will have 9000 this year. Once the tapping is done I am adding a mainline in hopes of getting a few hundred more. The snow is very deep 20-24 inches so everything takes longer to do. I too like to look back a year ago to see what we all were doing. I just hope I did not upset General. I have always enjoyed reading his post. He is a great asset to the Trader.

Spud

Talked to Thad. I think Sunday. He was going to start tapping Monday.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

iv been doing a little stuff but dont want to turn this into a FB posting:today i woke up started the coffee had to go to bathroom to drop a duece, wiped , went back out coffee was done opened computer sat down, had to get back up to let dogs out. went back to sit down, GF said she couldnt move blue containers out of bath tub:
I put up the ceiling joists in sugar house yesterday, going to insulate today then plywood for now. I insulted the arch to good have to wear insulated coveralls and long johns to boil.
randys bush in Benson got hit really hard I heard he lost a lot of tops of his trees. I havent talked to him since deer season, texted a couple times

[spud]

Hey Flats if you add a little Sarah Lee Pound cake to your day then your day would be a lot like mine. Plan on tapping today once it hits 15 degrees. I think the wife wants me out of the house because she is outside the window blowing on the thermometer stem. If it was really 70 outside there would be no snow We only got one inch of snow last night so that's good. Got to go for now.

Spud

[wsugar]

All tapped now. Install a high brix expansion for the RO. Put in a new vacuum pump with twice the CFM as the old one. Just adding a few more taps and waiting for the sap to run. It's going to be a while by the forecast. Snow continues to get deeper I had to retire the four wheeler and use the snowmobile.

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

Starting to get everything together for the season. It's been a long off season with some big changes happening here in Duxbury. Not really adding any taps this yr. Just trying to get all the equipment installed so I can add more next year. Last year I was at the max of my re-leaser, tanks, filter press and RO. Now I will have a new re-leaser, RO and filter press I still need to pick up. I'm cutting it close. I still need to set everything up, insulate a room, and install a few tanks. What is that saying, I may have bit off more than I can chew. There is a reason for the madness. I hope to add many more taps in the years to come and the equipment I am installing now will allow that to happen.

For this year, I think we are a month or more away before things really start happening on my dark corner of the humpy mountain. The snow is DEEP. It is no fun to blaze trail with snow shoes in 3-4 ft of fluffy snow, not at all. Even worse is when it fills back in the next day and you do it all over again. I know tracks for the wheeler are in my future.

Ben

[spud]

Good luck to you Ben. Lets hope we all have a great season.

Spud

[syrup2nv]

Still working on my new Sugarwoods. The lot will have about 7000ish taps when all done. Trying to get 1750 for this season. Started installing the second week of November. 2 men, afternoons and weekends. Started cutting in drops last weekend. I have about 900 left to go. Still need to install whips (30) and 3 boosters. 500' of double 2" to where the tank will be. Set tank when it arrives (5000gal). Build a enclosure for my new vac pump and electric releaser. Went with a AtlasCompCo GV150 w/106CFM's. Running with a VFD. Purchased from MES. New RO is about 2 weeks out. D&G Prestige 8post fully automatic with auto tank valves and concentrate high limit shut-off. Its a beast! When it arrives, it will need to be plumbed. It has a 3" intake!! All of the old plumbing is only 2". Figures. Set tank and pump in my other bush. Put up some aerial wet/dry. Then....Tap! Just over 5000. Going to be a busy couple of weeks, despite the cold temps. Waist deep snow is making it a slow process this week. Guess I will order some new snowshoes.

[PARKER MAPLE]

Still working on my new Sugarwoods. The lot will have about 7000ish taps when all done. Trying to get 1750 for this season. Started installing the second week of November. 2 men, afternoons and weekends. Started cutting in drops last weekend. I have about 900 left to go. Still need to install whips (30) and 3 boosters. 500' of double 2" to where the tank will be. Set tank when it arrives (5000gal). Build a enclosure for my new vac pump and electric releaser. Went with a AtlasCompCo GV150 w/106CFM's. Running with a VFD. Purchased from MES. New RO is about 2 weeks out. D&G Prestige 8post fully automatic with auto tank valves and concentrate high limit shut-off. Its a beast! When it arrives, it will need to be plumbed. It has a 3" intake!! All of the old plumbing is only 2". Figures. Set tank and pump in my other bush. Put up some aerial wet/dry. Then....Tap! Just over 5000. Going to be a busy couple of weeks, despite the cold temps. Waist deep snow is making it a slow process this week. Guess I will order some new snowshoes.

Syrup2nv sounds like you will be scrambling. Are you the operation at the sugar shack, on old rte 7?

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

Thanks Spud, I hope we all have another good crop.

syrup2nv, good luck to you as well. It sounds like we are in the same boat. All the hard work will be worth it when the sap is running and you get that beast RO working. You will miss boiling.

Ben

[spud]

Syrupn2v- Wow sounds like you have some big money tied up in your operation. In time you might want to be the sap buyer of the South. Put that 8 post to work. Best of luck on your season.

Spud