Maple sugaring 2021

[trimguy]

So, do you pull these lines every summer? Or do you leave them hanging and flush them out? If you pull them, can you reuse them again the next year? Very interesting.

[Corley5]

  It's a permanent system.  We don't flush them.  We cut the spiles off at the end of the season and let the drops hang open air to dry the lines out.  The first run of the new season we run on the ground to flush.  Some operations fill the system with peroxide and cap it.  One guy I know leaves the sap in the lines to become vinegar then flushes with freshwater before the cold sets in in the fall.  Some pull taps with the vacuum on and plug the drop onto the tee after the spile is cut off.  Isopropyl alcohol is used in Canada but is illegal in the US.  Flushing the first run works for us just fine.  The sap is filtered twice before going into the RO, it literally has the $h17 boiled out of it in the evaporator, and is filtered pressed HOT.  Way better than bugs, worms, bark, leaves, rain and snow etc. that gets into buckets ;D
 We install new spiles every year and drops at five years.  Next year we start replacing drops.  A system as a whole should have a 10 year life span.

[Mike W]

In a couple pics you'll see Brad.  He's a neighbor and helps out when needed in the bush or firewood.  Helluva a worker

I'm still looking for Brad, want to see what a "Helluva worker" looks like these days, been too many years since I have been able to find one, want to be able to keep a look out, just in case:D 

[mike_belben]

.  

[Corley5]

He's a helluva worker...  But nothing technical.  Simple tools no sharp edges ;) ;D ;D  Although he has mastered the Twister firewood bundler 8) 8)

[Chuck White]

We got our evaporator reassembled and ready to go yesterday, but it'll still be a while before we tap any trees!

[mudfarmer]

Very cool stuff! I wish our production would buy a tractor  ;D Last year started selling raw sap for the first time and the sap sold paid for an expansion that doubled our tap count to 300. All 3/16" tubing on gravity, natural vacuum due to the intense slopes. Still boiling on 2x4 flat pan and home built arch so that is why I sold sap. Do have another 2x4 continuous flow pan and would like to rebuild the arch into a 2x8.

 Celliot the setups you show here are amazing. The guys I sell sap to have "only" about 3k taps but massively upgraded their evaporator and RO, this is why they buy sap can't keep the big beast fed.

Happy sugaring everybody!!

[Corley5]

  This is Brad 8)   We got the last two main lines done today along with the wet/dry extension.  1,000' feet of 3/4" and 400' of 1 1/4".  He finished tying the wet/dry and one of the mains today too.  He'll be back in the morning to finish tying the rest of the mains.  
  The last picture is where the new wet/dry meets last years addition.  I bought black 1 1/4" line from HD this time.  This section is the end of the system so excess heat from solar heating won't be an issue, it's in a shady spot over the hill, and it's cheaper than blue maple tubing 8)  Most of these components can be sourced cheaper from places other than maple equipment suppliers.  
  We'll start pulling laterals next week 8) 8)  I've got ball valves and fittings on the way to build the manifolds for the wet/dry entrances.  It's coming together




 


 

[Gearbox]

We found out the hard way that Woodpeckers love black tube . 1 or 2 years of patching holes and it was replaced .

[Corley5]

Woodpeckers and tubing...  That's new.  Squirrels, porkies, deer, carnivores have all chewed on and crashed through lines.  There's never been bird damage.  Yet ;D  We have some black line entering it's third season.

[SwampDonkey]

Deer will probably play nicer than moose though. :D

[Corley5]

We don't have as many elk in the neighborhood as we did a few years ago.  That's a good thing ;) ;D

[celliott]

Busy week, busy week.
We're up to 35,000 tapped before the new year hit. Over Christmas we got 30,000 gallons of sap!
Our new steam evaporator is here, but not ready to go. So, we have concentrated the sap and it's sitting in our refrigerated bulk tank at 35 degrees. It will keep for weeks like this. Raw sap should be processed as soon as possible, sugar makes bacteria, and can turn sap quickly when temps are too high. Concentrated sap is even worse, higher sugar. We concentrate to 30-35% which is why we use the bulk tank.

Our woods is probably a mixture of 1/3 red maple and 2/3 sugar maple. We've really started liking red maple (or soft maple, swamp maple, etc. it's all Acer rubrum). Not as many issues (tent caterpillars avoid them) smooth bark makes for easy finding of old tapholes, and in overgrown pastures, the density can be awesome with multi stem clusters.

We're hoping to get the boiler and rig ready to go soon. COVID shipping delays have plagued us all fall. Been waiting a month on a flange and air filter for a vacuum pump... electricians delayed, boiler stuff delayed, early on we had some issues getting maple supplies.
We have a few pallets of filter aid and filter papers, pan acid and RO soap, we should be ok.

January is going to be a big month for us tapping. We need to drill at least 60,000 this month. Should be doable if we don't get a huge dumping of snow. We haven't worn snowshoes yet and have been driving pickups to the woods. I think that changes next week though.

[mike_belben]

So what makes a good spile and what makes a bad one?  If you had to talk  your wife through tapping her first tree, what would ya tell her?  

[celliott]

So what makes a good spile and what makes a bad one?  If you had to talk  your wife through tapping her first tree, what would ya tell her?  

Need some more context here Mike. 
For example, if you want to hang a few buckets, well, you need a spout that will be able to hold up a bucket. Metal ones work fine, there are some plastic that have bucket hooks. Another option is a regular plastic spout and a piece of tubing to a bucket on the ground. 
If you aren't running vacuum, it doesn't need to be complicated.
A high vacuum system get a bit more in depth. In order to run a high level of vacuum, you need a perfect tree to tap seal. Out of round holes don't seal and will leak at 27"+ of vacuum. We use the special drill attachments I showed earlier. We also use a thin wall polycarbonate spout that has a bit of give, they will conform to the hole, but not relax (which is important because ours need to stay tight in the tree for nearly 5 months). We have used in the past, and they are an excellent choice, a softer nylon spout. They seal the taphole exceptionally well, the issue for us is that they relax over a long period of time. For producers who tap a few weeks before the season starts, they are a great choice. 
Color has some affect too. If you have a warm woods, a dark colored spout can warm the taphole area and prematurely start bacteria growth. A colder woods (high elevation, north slope, etc) can use a dark or black spout effectively because it can help to thaw the taphole sooner. The jury is out on how much this really affects things, likely no one will ever notice. We choose colors simply to differentiate between years, in case we've missed some pulling in the spring. We don't like the clear ones because they can be hard to see against the tree. Last year we used translucent red. This year translucent yellow.

Clear as end of season sap, right? lol

To tap a tree- appropriate size drill bit (a real tapping bit makes a huge difference) find an appropriate spot on the tree. If using buckets, be sure you can reach the bucket. If using tubing, make sure your dropline can reach. Identify any wounds, seams, defect in the tree, old tapholes (3" each side and 2ft up and down) drill straight in (an upward angle has proven to be unnecessary) about 2-2.5" maximum. A drill stop is recommended. Can simply use an old piece of tubing. Full speed on the drill all the way in and all the way out to clear the shavings. Brace your elbow and get good footing. Try to go straight in and straight out.
Take your spout and lightly tap it in. Listen to the hammer for a tone change. Most spouts seat within an inch to 1.25". Don't overdrive it, not hammering a nail. Move on to the next tree. Wait. Reap the rewards.

My wife does come tapping with me on weekends sometimes. Sometimes I have her go ahead of me to pre install spouts on the droplines. Saves me a ton of time. She can get around better than me after I've been doing it for 5-6 days a week.

[mike_belben]

Thanks chris.  Context is, In a bit of a rush yesterday i whipped up 3 spiles from soft copper because it was what i had that fit the clear hose well.  Im just giving it a try to see if the juice is worth the squeeze and if the kids will help or whine and fuss.


Anyway my phone was on the charger and i dont know the dynamics of sap flow in a tree, wasnt sure if its in the cambium or sapwood or heartwood and was fearful id be plugging the flow if i went to the wrong depth so I put a long slash like a canoe top sorta.  They fit the 1/2 bores just right but i went too deep.  Probably 4" or so.  The spiles are in about 2" and on south side into buckets.  



If i like doing it i'll buy real stuff and make a continuous flow evaporator.  Finish on the propane turkey fryer maybe?  Just keep swapping pots.



What do you guys recommend for backyard filtering?  Filter the sap or the syrup?

[mudfarmer]

Yes to finish on propane turkey fryer! Works a treat. Filter your sap AND syrup especially if using buckets. You will get some bark, some moss, some moths in the sap :D

For syrup filtering I really hate the cone filters but they do work. Know another small scale setup that uses flat filters with seemingly few problems. Surface area is an issue with the cone filters, make one of the "optimizers" that inverts the bottom of the cone if you go that route so you get much more surface area out of it.

[mike_belben]

I have some new industrial sock filters.. 5 or 10 micron i think that will pass sap pretty fast.  For hot syrup i was thinking coffee filter or paper towel over a mason jar??  Thats how i filter the crisco out of frying bacon. 



I will be surprised if this produces more than a jar or two this year so efficiency is of no concern right now. 

[mike_belben]

[mudfarmer]

For real small batch the coffee filter will probably work fine, seems pretty close to the "real" prefilters. If you get some sediment in the syrup it will just add character and drive you crazy into filter presses and such for the future

[PoginyHill]

What do you guys recommend for backyard filtering?

Growing up, our backyard-made syrup was filtered with old T-shirts (washed preferably). Amazing the scum it would filter out.

[mike_belben]

Yeah ive done plenty of rag filtering in the garage too.  Actually my bar oil is usually just the best of whatever various machine oils are in a bucket.  Never the same blend twice 

:D

[Corley5]

Copper isn't good for trees.

[doc henderson]

i have read you can get a nylon/plastic male to male coupler and it works as a spile and attaches to tubing.  the spiles are about a buck apiece of you like it mike.  stainless steel, and reusable.  

[Corley5]

Clear 5/16" Disposable Spout (leaderevaporator.com)