Brrrrr. -10c on the thermometer this morning. Late start for sure. Last year by this time I had 140 L put away. This year I have 19L in bottles. Looks good on the forecast tho....
Brrrrr. -10c on the thermometer this morning. Late start for sure. Last year by this time I had 140 L put away. This year I have 19L in bottles. Looks good on the forecast tho....
I am doing my first boil this weekend in the blizzard with high winds. At least the wind may help draw the steam out of the shack.Originally Posted by northwood
2021 - Year one. 15 taps using 5/16" and drop tube into buckets. Homemade barrel evaporator with 2 steam trays.
2022. 32 taps. Added AUF.
2023. 51 taps. Ditched the steam pans for an 18x22 flat pan.
2024. 56 taps. Built a proper evaporator to fit the 18x22 flat pan and 1 steam pan.
2025. 62 taps.
-11° this morning and likely no flow today. The next two following days will be interesting. On Friday if the forecast holds, the sap will start to flow at noon. The weather actually warms overnight, so the sap could flow all night and into Saturday. Lots of rain during that time. The temperature then starts to drop just after noon on Saturday. My plan if the rain slows, is to start boiling by 7 or 8 am with my stored 65 gallons of sap and then start collecting around 11 am and boil until the weather stops me.
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
Well the weatherman got that wrong. Yesterday around noon time it was supposed to warm up and the snow turn to rain. It barely warmed up and we received 8 to 10 cms of heavy wet snow. It did warm enough eventually for the snow to turn to rain, but not near as much as forecasted and not enough to make the fresh snow disappear. It also did not warm up near as much as forecasted. Sap flow was not what was expected.
I did boil today with sap I had stored, then in the afternoon the winds changed and strong, cold and snowy north winds came, cutting off my plans to boil longer.
Next boil will be Tuesday.
7 L of syrup made today. I have collected 81% of the sap I had collected last year. I am ahead in L of syrup made, but last year I made a lot in the first week of April, so it will be a battle to stay ahead.
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
I did my first boil today. I'm glad I was in my shack, freezing rain, snow and ice pellets.
I couldn't finish on the propane since for that I'm outside and the winds were crazy this afternoon. I will finish tomorrow morning.
2021 - Year one. 15 taps using 5/16" and drop tube into buckets. Homemade barrel evaporator with 2 steam trays.
2022. 32 taps. Added AUF.
2023. 51 taps. Ditched the steam pans for an 18x22 flat pan.
2024. 56 taps. Built a proper evaporator to fit the 18x22 flat pan and 1 steam pan.
2025. 62 taps.
I was in Sudbury yesterday and drove home despite warnings the roads would be bad, which they were not. This is a picture of my daughter’s neighbour’s driveway today. It was bare yesterday. I am sure glad we came home when we did.
I was thinking about how your boil went.
IMG_6505.jpg
https://share.icloud.com/photos/040A...HVBx0agaYQd46A
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
We didn't get that kind of snow. The first boil in the pan went great. Didn't need to laddle between pans. I just had to occasionally adjust the sap flow in the pan.
2021 - Year one. 15 taps using 5/16" and drop tube into buckets. Homemade barrel evaporator with 2 steam trays.
2022. 32 taps. Added AUF.
2023. 51 taps. Ditched the steam pans for an 18x22 flat pan.
2024. 56 taps. Built a proper evaporator to fit the 18x22 flat pan and 1 steam pan.
2025. 62 taps.
Yikes I hope this changes!
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ddt...3r9uC9_y10wdBw
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
Could be a hard stop without cool nights to hold the sap over
2010 40 buckets- 4 gals finished
2011 80 buckets- 14 gals finished
2012 105 buckets- 8 gals finished
2013 maxed at 130 buckets- 24 gals finished
2014 new max at 240 buckets- 18 gals finished
2015 newest max 240 buckets-+48 taps on 3/16 gravity- 22.5 gals finished
2016 150 taps on 3/16 gravity- 23 gals finished
2020 250 taps on 3/16 gravity- 22 gals finished
2021 385 taps on 3/16 gravity 25 gals finished
2022 385 taps on 3/16 gravity- 26 gals finished
Collected by far the most sap after a slow day yesterday and a big day today. Collected 106 gallons. Tomorrow will be a big boil day with 156 gallons of sap available to boil. I only see three boils left including tomorrow’s.
2022 - 5 pan block arch - 109 taps, 73 on 3/16 lines, 36 on drops into 5 gallon pails.
930 gallons boiled, 109 L (28.8 gals) of delicious syrup made.
DYI Vacuum Filter
2023 - 170 taps, mostly on lines, 1153 gallons boiled, 130 L (34.34 gals) of delicious syrup made, on a 2x4 divided pan and base stack, 8” pipe, on a block arch that boiled at a rate of 13 gallons per hour.
2024 - made 48 L, December to March, primarily over two fire bowls.
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