Heating trees through a cold snap...

[JeffB]

WOW
With great fear and backlash im going to post ....
What I thought was funny post at first turned ugly fast lol
Let the guy do what he wants he is going to do it anyway , their his trees.
Nobody in thier right mind is going to attempt that kind of thing . Does that even seem remotely logical.
Has anyone thought he might have posted that to see what kind of reaction he would get.
I would bet he got the reaction he was looking for out of all of you especially Glenda.

Glenda seek anger management class or get some anti snap pills you went from 0 to 100 in 1 post flat , the new hip kids would call that a "Snap Show"
Calm down girl we all have far greater problems in life then worring about a guy that wants to torch his trees

[Galena]

The name's Galena, not Glenda.... JerryB. If you can't even read and spell a name right, don't bother posting.

[Marshall Maples]

Not sure if this is the right part of MapleTrader for this one... And, this may be an ill-thought-out plan... but...

Our farm is in Columbia County, NY, right in the Berkshires and Taconics. My daughter and I have been tapping our trees for 3 years now, but the kicker is that we have to be in Los Angeles most of the year (her for school, my wife and I for work). This year, we can only come back for five days starting this Thursday (3/9/17) and the forecast looks like this:

WED: HI 59º LOW 31º
THU: HI 43º LOW 23º
FRI: HI 33º LOW 7º
SAT: HI 20º LOW 6º
SUN: HI 28º LOW 8º

Obviously, if we could get there on Wednesday, we'd might get 2 days of at least SOMETHING. But as it stands, it looks like Thursday is just about the only day with decent chances of sap running. UNLESS... I try something. I have about 5-6 outdoor propane tank heaters, the kind that screw on top of a normal 20-pound gas cylinder. I also have some thick silver poly tarps. If I were to wrap the tarp around the tree about 12 feet high and flare it out to the ground, creating a sort of "teepee" with the gas cylinder heating within, I could essentially "warm up" 5 or 6 of my huge maples, at least the bottom 12 feet of them (and the ground close by).

I've had to do something similar with fruit trees in years past, and I can lock both cylinder and tarps down, even in high winds, so I know - and heed - all the warnings not to burn everything to the ground. But my question is this: if I were to keep things around the tree warm starting Thursday night, is there a chance I can eke out another tapping day on Friday? I had read that sap flows upwards due to the pressure changes caused by temperature, and if I can possibly "trick" some of our trees, even for a few hours, I can make my little girl very, very happy.

I don't pretend I can do anything about 7-degree weather. But if I can buy a few more hours on this very short trip, this trip will be a success. Thoughts?

I would worry that the trees would be harmed.

[MN Jake]

Wow, live and let live. It's a short season and very enjoyable for many family's. There's two things nothing will get in the way of in my life, that's deer hunting and maple season. I get it, I understand the op's wish for it to work. Personal experience is king. If tarped properly it wouldn't take that much propane at all, granted there's a good thermostat to hold it at 50 or so. It's just a solution to a problem in his eyes.

Spellcheck could have changed your name without jeffb noticing.

[JeffB]

Galena... Glenda.. Snap Show ! all the same to me ! :lol
LMFAO
You mean JEFFb not Jerryb ,, if your going to correct ones spell check errors maybe you should turn yours on or even read then copy and paste so you get it right !

[upsmapleman]

I say let the guy go for it. I'm sure he won't get much and don't think he will hurt the trees any. I have a half dozen trees right next to my sugar house and on days when it is froze up and the steam is blowing that way they will start to run and will do so until I shut down. Having said that I'm putting over 2 million btus under my evaporator putting out a large cloud of steam. And guess what it hasn't hurt the trees in over 20 years. A propane heater on a day like today if you could keep it lit won't even keep your hands warm. Hope I spleleled everything correctly so I don't get banned from posting.

[VTnewguy]

Wouldn't be easier to try to find some sap to buy?

[mike103]

Wouldn't be easier to try to find some sap to buy?

Indeed, or pull a jug of syrup off the shelf at grocery, but then not much ( hobby labor ) involved at that point.... But, maybe the Mythbusters show would be interested in filming the attempt, and at the end they can fill the tent with raw gas and throw a match on the tree... Maple Flambe

[bigschuss]

Bravo, Galena. I too am fed up with people who have no respect for Mother Earth. When are people going to realize once the forest and trees are gone life stops. Thank you for your candidness.

Trying to figure out how the OP has no respect for Mother Earth? Because he's trying to make sap flow when it might not? Like operations on vacuum? Are they too Mother Earth terrorists? Or oil fired evaporators?

I don't want to start a peeing match, but they are his trees, and his choice.
Y

Couldn't agree more. I don't mind that the guy got grief for not listening to any advice as Dr. Perkins mentioned. But the childish name-calling and insults that followed were pathetic.

Glenda seek anger management class or get some anti snap pills

Had the same thought.

Wouldn't be easier to try to find some sap to buy?

That was all suggested. Lots of good ideas were suggested. The OP heard none of it. Which is fine. They are his trees..his waste of time....waste of propane...trying to conduct some experiment with baselines and control groups a Student T-Test. Have at it, I say, if that's what makes the OP happy. Doesn't affect me in the least. A few others though got their panties all bunched up in a knot over it though?

The name's Galena, not Glenda.... JerryB. If you can't even read and spell a name right, don't bother posting.

But nooo, he won't listen....that would be antiethical!! ;-)

The word is antithetical.

[Russell Lampron]

I think we all need some sap to boil! This thread is getting ugly....