195 taps out. The goal was 200 but the battery on the drill was getting weak and we didn’t want to have a bit stuck in a tree.
Sunny and 42 today. Yesterday the temperature was 50. Last week we had highs in the Teens and lows of 0 so this is a quick change in the weather pattern, but the pattern is forecast to stay favorable for sap so this is go time.
We put out the pressure gauge and one tap on Sunday, but no activity. On Monday when it warmed to 50 the pressure gauge recorded 12 PSI and the tap started to drip which signals it’s time to tap.
Into the woods by 6:30 AM. Discovered the Tanaka tapper wasn’t running well when we started it. It was serviced before the season with new spark plug, clean filters and greased bearings. But it wouldn’t rev up to full power and would sputter and stop when the choke was off. We acquired the Tanaka in 2007.
Fortunately we had a 20V electric drill. The drill wasn’t acquired for tapping, although electric drills are widely used in the maple syrup industry. We switched to the electric drill and discovered it works well. It weights less so it’s easier to carry around and allows us to tap in a wider band on the trees. Adjusted the torque settings a few times to find a setting where the bit wouldn’t get stuck in the tree. We don’t have a spare battery so we have to monitor the battery. We adjust our workflow to allow time to charge the battery.
Tomorrow is cloudy but 40’s again. We plan to finish tapping. The trees aren’t running strong because the frost is deep. That should give us time to set up equipment.
