Finished

Donald Lehman · Mar 7, 2016

Finished tapping trees today. A bit over 1,000 taps. Got 136 on tubing. One line was running a steady stream of sap by around 4 pm. The other lines weren't up long enough to do anything. A few of the buckets had small amounts of sap. The weather just isn't quite right yet, but it's coming. We used the 3/16" tubing. The dealer told me it takes about 30 feet of drop to get any vacuum effect with the 3/16 line. Two of the three lines we have 50 feet or so. The third is all of 30 feet. The line with the most drop was running the best.

Brendon Warren · Mar 7, 2016

Awesome! I've got a 50 bucket stand of maples here but nobody wants to help. Big enough but still too small. When is the pancake breakfast at Whites?

Harold Hubbard · Mar 8, 2016

Got most of mine done yesterday. All my help disappeared for three days, so I called friend who had offered help, and we knocked it out in two afternoons. I still have about 100 left to tap.

Today I am going to boil out the pans and get the sugar house ready. It looks like it may be fast and furious for the next few days.

Donald Lehman · Mar 8, 2016

Brendon,

50 taps should make more than enough to supply the family for a year. Gathering 50 alone feels like it's a thousand, doesn't it?

Adirondack case guy · Mar 8, 2016

We came to a screaching hault last Wed. when the cold weather set in. We had all the buckets empty by Thursday. and boiled down all the sap in the storage tanks. It's taking a lot of sap to make a gal of syrup this year. The uncles and cousins decided to take out a hedgrow between two fields after harvest this fall for firewood. It had a lot of Basswood in it. I told them that all basswood made was smoke. I think they are beginning to agree. They boiled until 5:00am Thursday/Friday to enpty the storage tanks.
We went up yesterday, expecting to find sap in the buckets, but not enough to gather. It should have run good yesterday though and the buckets should be half or better full, so we're going to start gathering at 9:30 this morning.
We have only made 158 gal of medium amber syrup.
Loren

Bill in IL · Mar 8, 2016

My season here in the middle of illinois is finished. We are done with the freezing weather for the foreseeable future and today I plan to catch what should be the last of the run. Now the fun part of cleaning everything up.

I tried the 3/16 tubing this year and was very happy with it. I have about 100 taps on a northeast facing slope with about 70 foot of drop at the most. I had some taps on 5/16 tubing that I experimented with the last 3 seasons and have not been impressed with it. It was very nice this year to only have one collection point and my sap was much cleaner than using buckets.

I have not finished any syrup so I don't have the final syrup total or the sap concentration figures.

Finished

Donald Lehman

Well-known Member

Brendon Warren

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Harold Hubbard

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Donald Lehman

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Adirondack case guy

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Bill in IL

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