2019 Tapping Season - Connecticut

[Kjsdime]

Oh, ok. It just seems like guys talk about a stream coming out of trees but I guess that's on a line system where I'm using buckets. Is that a good assumption?

[aviboy97]

I think I may have a problem. All my taps are leaking. Not sure if I drilled too deep into the tree or not. Had some sap collection today, but not a lot. The trees are soaked underneath the tap.

Will the trees heal around the tap? Just the sight of it makes me worried that I’m wasting so much and not collecting what i should be.

Thoughts?

I’ll upload pics in the morning.

[Cjadamec]

Quick question, I am fairly new to this and did ok last year. I have 18 trees tapped but I never really get a good run. Like today, I feel like I should have 30 or 40 gallons but I might have 10. Granted I only have one sugar maple and the rest are red or silver. Is that the reason or am I doing something wrong?

When I was doing buckets I was thrilled with a 10 gallon day on 25 taps.

If you see people with high gallons per tap per day they are on vacuum. Either they have a vacuum pump or are running a 3/16 tubing with excellent slope. Or possibly it's a "fish story."

I'm running 3/16 tubing on about 75 feet of elevation drop. I have two top to bottom runs and each run has 25-30 taps. My property is ideal for maximizing natural gravity.

[Mike Van]

I think I may have a problem. All my taps are leaking. Not sure if I drilled too deep into the tree or not. Had some sap collection today, but not a lot. The trees are soaked underneath the tap.

Will the trees heal around the tap? Just the sight of it makes me worried that I’m wasting so much and not collecting what i should be.

Thoughts?

I’ll upload pics in the morning.

You may have driven them in to far, too hard & split the tree? Or, they are not in tight enough, you can try to wiggle a few, if they pull right out, they were too loose and need just a bit more on the hammer. Or lastly, if you holes are egg shape from not holding the drill steady, they will leak longer. Most all will stop leaking in time, unless they are too loose.

[markgm]

I think I may have a problem. All my taps are leaking. Not sure if I drilled too deep into the tree or not. Had some sap collection today, but not a lot. The trees are soaked underneath the tap.

Will the trees heal around the tap? Just the sight of it makes me worried that I’m wasting so much and not collecting what i should be.

Thoughts?

I’ll upload pics in the morning.

I'd give the taps a few days before worrying. It might be some sap from the tree around the tap, which you wouldn't capture anyway with a tap .

[Cjadamec]

What a nice way to spend a 60 degree February afternoon.

[Kjsdime]

What a nice way to spend a 60 degree February afternoon.

very nice!!

[DrTimPerkins]

I'd give the taps a few days before worrying. It might be some sap from the tree around the tap, which you wouldn't capture anyway with a tap .

Good advice. From the Dec 2017 "Ask Proctor" article in the Maple Digest about leaking tapholes....

When tapping a tree, producers are creating a wound. During subsequent thaws, the natural process of sap exudation results in pressure building up in the wood tissue around the wound, and sap flows out. Typically, such flow will occur through a spout that has been inserted in the taphole because it is the path of least resistance. However, for a brief period of time after tapping producers may notice a disconcerting wetness on the bark around the wound and sap running down the stem of trees from the area around the outside of the taphole. While producers may feel the desire to take immediate corrective action, it is actually a very normal wound response. The injured area of wood on the outside of the spout barrel will naturally weep sap. Since this sap cannot move into the taphole due to the blockage of the spout body, it migrates to the wounded surface of the taphole along the wound edge and comes out. If the temperature is cold or windy, the wetness might dry out quickly and go unnoticed. If the sap is running well during or soon after tapping, this wetness will be more prominent. Often if let alone, within a few days the wood tissue in this area along the outer edge of the spout/taphole interface will dry out and the seepage will cease.

In short, leave them alone for a few days. If they're still leaking after that, then look for other causes/solutions. Anything you do now has the potential to just make any problem (real or imagined) worse.

The two Maple Digest "Ask Proctor" articles about leaking tapholes can be found at: https://mapleresearch.org/search/?_s...ing%20tapholes

[aviboy97]

Thanks for the input about leaking taps. I’ll let them be. It much I could do anyway.

Today I collected a good amount. Currently have 9 gallons of sap. Again, being a very small operation, I usually boil when I have 15-18 gallons. I have two propane burners and two stainless steel “lobster” pots I boil in and then transfer to my cook top inside.

Tomorrow’s forecast is similar to today. I expect a good amount collected when I get home from work.

[Cjadamec]

As long as we get another freeze tonight, and it looks like we should, tomorrow will be another good day. I got about 100 gallons of sap in the last 2 days.