It was cold last night.  Thermometer said 18 this morning, but it must have been colder overnight as the evaporator had ice on it.  It was sunny, but cold all day.  Might have reached 34 late this afternoon as there was some melt.  Very glad we collected yesterday otherwise we would have solid ice in the buckets.

The tanks did have a thin layer of ice.  The concern was now the pipes.  The pipes were empty, but when you run liquid through cold pipes it can freeze up.  So we warmed the pipes before trying to open the valves.  Used the heating tape outside and the small propane touch inside to warm the pipes.  It worked: when we opened the values the sap flowed from the tanks.

Boiled all day.  Four batches of syrup into the milk can.  About every 2 ½ hours a batch was ready.  We boiled through 260 gallons in 12 hours so that’s 22 gallons an hour.

Tonight is cold again: forecast is for 8.   Friday we could get several inches of snow.