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Hows your maple season going.

Started by Cguignard, March 23, 2015, 08:13:54 AM

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Cguignard

Hey, just wanted to know how your maple sugaring season has gone so far?  I have about 200 taps in and all I have to show for it is 1/2 gal of syrup.  My little 2x3 pan is ready to go but this cold in central Maine has got to break at some point.
I know 1/2 gallon is nothing much to speak of but it tastes so good.

bhall

Good Morning Cguignard, in NW PA the sugaring is going fair, tomorrow and Wednesday should be a real good run on the sap. Check the posts on the General Board, a few there on the sugaring. Bob
97 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic/Lombardini
Life is good on the Catawba path

Chuck White

Here it's hit-n-miss, runs ok for a while then freezes up again.

Made 14 gallons so far!

Kind of slow!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Cguignard

I have about 150 gal in my buckets waiting to be collected, if it ever thaws out. 

millwright

It runs like mad one day then nothing the next have made about 12gals so far, am about ready to wrap things up and start chasing turkey's.

Chuck White

We thought it would run like crazy yesterday, through the night, and today.

We expected to get over 1,000 gallons of sap through this run, but this afternoon everythin froze up again.

What a flop, only got about 375 gallons of sap and with that and what we had, we made 8½ gallons of syrup today!

We'll bottle it up tomorrow.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

bhall

Just about the same here as what Chuck has, thought it would run crazy but did not. Gathered 135 gallons today so that it will not freeze in the next couple of days, calling for 15°F and 10°F next couple of nights. Might run again on Sunday. Have to take things one day at a time. This sap should yield about 3 gallons of syrup so that is good. Bob
97 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic/Lombardini
Life is good on the Catawba path

Magicman

OK, just a question from non-Maple syrup land.  How long do you have between gathering and boiling?  How long can you store the sap?
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

bhall

Lynn, if the temperatures stay in the 20's & 30's I have kept it for as long as 2 days in the shack out of the sun. But most times I will start to boil within 24 hours.
Chances are that if the temperatures stay low & it's not warmed by the sun it can probably set for longer than 2 days but I have never did that. You will most likely get a better answer from some of these more experienced folks on here. Bob
97 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic/Lombardini
Life is good on the Catawba path

Magicman

Sounds like a commitment.  Once you start gathering you are in it until you finish.  Day, night, sleep, or no sleep.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

SwampDonkey

My cousin often boils sap into the night almost around the clock when the sap runs good. It's only recently got warm. I think it's going cold again by Monday and low 30's for highs all week. Not good for a good run of sap unless there is lots of bright sun.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

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Chuck White

Quote from: Magicman on March 26, 2015, 08:55:14 PM
OK, just a question from non-Maple syrup land.  How long do you have between gathering and boiling?  How long can you store the sap?

Good question Lynn!

When we get a run, we have 3 guys that gather, My Brother, his SIL, and Me.
If we go to the sugar house and the line barrels are over half full, we usually start right in gathering.
Gathering takes a little over 3 hours.
When we get it mostly gathered (one trip left) we usually leave one guy at the sugar house to start boiling.
Then we boil until we're almost out of sap, none left in the storage tanks and very little bit left in the feeder tank that flows into the float box on the back of the evaporator!

We usually bottle-up the next day.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

thecfarm

Chunk,you got one of those that just about does it all by itself? Oil,gas,wood heated?
On a small scale,like I was doing it,you have to watch what is going on. Yes,I can walk off and leave it,but not for a ½ hour at a time either.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Chuck White

Ray, when the sap runs, it flows in the lines down hill to a catch barrel.

When we get enough in the barrels, we'll go out and gather.

We drop a 12v sump pump into the barrel and pump the sap into the gathering tanks on the trailer!

When the gathering tanks get full, we go to the sugar house and pump the sap into the storage tanks, inside of the sugar house!

From the storage tanks the sap is pumped into the feeder tank and from there it is piped into the float box on the back end of the evaporator!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

millwright

Magic man, to answer your ? Sap is a lot like sweet corn, the sooner it processed the better the result's. in fact I am finishing a batch as I am writing this.

bhall

millwright I like that comparison, and I sure agree with you. Bob
97 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic/Lombardini
Life is good on the Catawba path

Magicman

Now that I can understand.   :D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Cguignard

Sorry to make a post and not post back, but the sap was running and had to get it boiled. We ended up having a good year. 17 gallons jarred up and put in the basement. Just got everything pulled and cleaned up this weekend.  I think that I could have gone a few days longer but the daytime temps are going to be too warm to hold the sap.  I already had a few empty barrels that started to smell sour. 
Now all that is left is to boil the last 30 or so gallons of sap of the 230 we collected Saturday, quite a feet for a small hobby pan.  Then we get to clean the pan and put everything back into the garden shed. Been a good season.
 

Chuck White

We cleaned the evaporator, arch and the sugarhouse pails, dippers, etc. yesterday, so that end is all set until next Spring.

Now we have to gather, clean & store the buckets spouts and barrels!

Next we'll clean and sanitize the pipelines.

Lastly, we need to refill the woodshed and close the door!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Magicman

Following along and reading about you "sap guys" has been interesting to those of us that have never seen the Maple Syrup process in action.  It was a bit hectic trying to follow about 3-4 different threads.   ::)

Thank you for sharing the experience.   :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Chuck White

You and all others following this thread are quite welcome, Lynn.

When I get onto a thread like this, I always get into it in hopes that I might be able to help others, but I also learn in the process.

It's been a nice thread, thanks everyone.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

bill m

Emptied everything out of the evaporator today and put it into the finishing unit. It should make about another 30 gallons and then I am done.
NH tc55da Metavic 4x4 trailer Stihl and Husky saws

bhall

Lynn this is mainly for you with regards to your comment on the "Birds" as to lessons to learn from nature, but I put it here in case any syrup folks might find it interesting.
To determine where to tap for a spile I look up at the crown for the largest amount of limbs, follow the twist of the trunk down and that usually leads to a major root. So I know to tap above that root but also I learned to observe what the woodpeckers have showed me. The sap sucker holes are just about always located in a sweet area of the trunk and when I tap below them I typically get good flow.  I suspect the woodpeckers have a much better knowledge than me about the sap in the different species of trees. Bob

Here are some holes from last year


 

here are some holes from the year before last


  
97 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic/Lombardini
Life is good on the Catawba path

Magicman

I assume that you drive a plug in when you pull the tap?
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

bhall

Yes Sir Lynn, I do plug my holes but the sapsucker does not need to. Bob
97 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic/Lombardini
Life is good on the Catawba path

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