Anyone making sugar or put in any taps yet?

[Brad_S.]

I actually ended up buying that off of ebay. The lining isn't brick, it's a product called "Insboard 2300", a fiber like material and isn't rally attacched, it is just cut so well it stays up against the sides. The smoke vent is located on the top at the rear, behind the pan. I can get you more photos if you like but it will be a bit as I am working in Maine at the moment.

[SPIKER]

Hi All:

Been really bad this week, I'm glad I got my taps in early and got a good run but I still need to can the stuff I have boiled down.   I have close to 20 gallons that is probably 85~90% in cold storage.  Was planning of finishing it and canning it today but raining out here in Ohio.  I will be up and out to can tomorrow and pull my taps for the year & get ready to clean every thing up.

BBTom sounds like you got going late The weather is not gonna cooperate this year :(

I put up a retaining wall block fire pit last spring and use that to boil over, I fired it 3 or 4 times last year for BBQ and have burnt for sap probably 6 or 8 times this year.   The standard concrete basement type blocks seem to hold up better than the retaining wall block.   The Sap boiling with all day HOT fire is cracking them pretty bad.  The are good for maybe just a year or two now.  I had 7 or 8 years out of standard Block...   When I rebuild I think i'm going to have to line the next one with some Clay Brick which is fired at or above 2300 degrees F.   If I was still working up in my old fab shop I would make up a nice steel one with a wood load door.  Maybe I can still get them to make me one up cheap...

Mark M.

[SwampDonkey]

Best sap season in years in these parts. Been sun and moon around the clock, freezing good at night and into to 30's-40's in day. Cousin is putting in larger diameter hose this year to carry more volume.  ;D 8)

[SPIKER]

Well I finally gave up today, I pulled the taps about 12noon for the year.   I only ended up with 3 gallons & a bit. Hopefully enough to last me till next season.   We had about 10 gallons of sap left in the bags that ants got into and flys were heavy into the buckets so I gave up & dumped what was in there & basically said too much work for the syrup ...   I had one good fire left in there with the nearly done sap I had in cold storage which was all good I had some nice clear VERY sweet candy left in the pan when we had all the S 8)yrup canned up.  we enjoyed the candied sugar for sure...   Dinner tomorrow is going to be waffles and hot sausage maybe some good bacon as well;)   I took a pic on my phone of one of the 8oz jelly jar size we plan on putting into x-mas baskets this year IF we still have them left by then;) ;D :D

Mark M

[bill m]

I just finished up my winter logging job and was going to start tapping today but with the forecast I am having second thoughts about this season. My sugarbush is on a north face and will run later in the season but there is no freeze predicted for the next 7 days with highs in the upper fifties. Doesn't look good for this year :(

[SwampDonkey]

Climbed to over 50F today and going to approach 60F the next couple days, then a little rain shower coming for Thursday. Was 30F this morning.

[kevinlt15]

  The weather has not been good for sap runs, in the 40/60 deg. range here in western wis :(. I'm not given up hope for A cool down yet it is still early.


                                        kevin

[RSteiner]

Here in Southwestern New Hampshire I think the season is over.  We had several days of rain and the temps at night were too warm.  Looks like this season is going to be a little below average in yeild.  The syrup is already turning dark, unless we get some cold weather this may be it.

Randy

[evergreen]

check out my photos of my sap boiler, it's the only one that looks like the johnny cash song psychedelic cadilac.
it works really sweet, the boiler pan is the bottom part of a food grade steel drum the fire pot has a draft door from a old oil furnace. the bracing on the pan is from an old gas grill, the fire door is part of lawn mower discharge shoot, there is even bracing from an old film drying rack.
it took my partner two days to make, it's awesome -j-

[LAZERDAN]

Nice  Job      How bout some action photo's when the fire is cookin            lazerdan

[evergreen]

when i do the next cook off i'll take more pics, ended up with almost a gallon of nice med. amber not bad for my first time.
-j-

[kevinlt15]

   Well I boiled down sap yesterday  ;D in the partialy completed sap shak. the weather looks like good sap runs this week hope to have500 gal. by this weekend to boil that wood be the most ever for me hope I can boil that much down ;) ???

  Icut my finger with Ahand saw yesterday 9 stiches so no bricklayin for me today, i'll go back to work tomorro.

here are some pics ???

[evergreen]

i am having an awesome sap run unfortunetly i'm running out of storage my question is when exactaly should taps be removed?

[kevinlt15]

 hello evergreen,

     what I do is take the taps out when the trees start to bud out.
      This will be the only week I will be geting sap from the looks of it :-\
hopefuly the weather man is wrong.

[isawlogs]

When the sap run is over the sap becomes cloudy. That is time to pull them. Actually you can pull them any time , we used to plug the hole , we dont any more sap will continue to run out of the hole just like it will from a broken branch.

[kevinlt15]

I am A slow learner because I cann't post pics from my album to this thread still (cool steamin shak from boilin sap). :'(
could some one explain to me one more time how to do this?

[nas]

Open the picture in you photo gallery.  Scroll down to where it says "Click here to copy this photo code directly to your Forestry Forum post window"
like this

[evergreen]

my sap is still clear, a couple of the trees seem to be budding but are still running hard, had one i had to change from a gallon jug to a 5 gallon jug.  
thanks for all the help!!
now if i could just get someone to carrie jugs ...................... :-\
-j-

[Don_Papenburg]

We got 300 gal of syrup this year .  Were hoping for more . May expand to 2000 taps for next season  .Now on to honey bees and veggiees and  other farm chores.

[nas]

Looks like it might be a good weekend here 8)

Nick

[SwampDonkey]

It'll probably freeze up at the spout, going down cold Friday night.  ;D

[nas]

That's what we need to get it going again.

[evergreen]

I will be pulling taps this weekend, trees are starting to bud and sap is slowing down. end of the season for me. had just 20 taps and got about 150 gallons not bad for a first time, sounds pretty small compared to some but was fun
-j-

[kevinlt15]

  well it looks like the sap season is coming to an end  I'll be pullin taps on saturday




looks like I did it 8)  with the pics that is ;D

[twobears]

385 gallons of syrup so far this year from 1400 taps and it should run today.

delbert