MapleAcres

21 overnight.  38 and sunny.  The forecast called for partly cloudy today.  With the exception of a short period around sunrise, it was clear all day.  With no wind today’s 38 felt warmer then yesterday’s 38.

We were concerned the buckets would be full of ice from yesterday’s run.  The trees dripped into the late evening before freezing.  That frequently causes big ice chunks.  By 10:00 AM it was above freezing.  The sun did its magic and melted the bucket ice.  By 11:00 the trees were dripping.   PSI rose to 15.

We when out collecting at 3:00 PM.  Took sips of sap from several buckets to quench our thirst.  Picked up 410 gallons.  Still had problems with our new pump.  We think now the extension cord is bad restricting the voltage the pump needs to start.    After collecting we tried the pump on different outlets and it worked.

Cook tomorrow.  Forecast is 23 overnight and 40 tomorrow.  Hoping we can collect on Tuesday again.

25 overnight.  Sunny and 37 today, but a cold North West wind made it feel cold.  Around 2:00 PM the taps started dripping.  They are running now and will run until they freeze tonight.  Forecast calls for low 20’s overnight.  We will get ice.  Tomorrow partly cloudy with high 38.    With luck we get ice melt and can collect in the afternoon.

Tree pressure went from 1 PSI this morning when it was below freezing to 13 PSI this afternoon when the taps started dripping.  Although its limited data, it looks like tree pressure increases as the trees start to drip.  It will be interesting to watch if higher pressures correspond to better sap runs.  And could we start to predict from tree pressure how much sap to except.

Found a leak in the R/O.  During the wash cycle yesterday the wash tank lost water.  It should be a closed loop during the wash cycle that circulates water through the membrane.  We use about 17 gallons in the wash tank.  About half was lost.  During the rinse cycle today we looked for the leak.   We could see drips under the 220 volt motor and a pump seal.  Its unlikely two separate places could leak at the same time.  As we continued to investigate we noticed two fine sprays from a pump drain valve.  One stream went to the 220 volt motor.  We loosened and tightened the valve several times and got it to reseal.    Most likely there was a particle – tree bark, twig, small grain of sand, etc – that prevented a good seal.  R/O pressure seemed a little off yesterday during concentration:  it approached 500 PSI.  The R/O automatically stops at 500 PSI to avoid damage.  The floor around the R/O was also unexpectedly wet.  We’ll see if the leak fix helps with R/O pressure too.

38 overnight.  Cloudy with snow showers all day.  Temperature up to 40 so the snow showers were unexpected.  Must have been colder at higher altitude.  No accumulation.

In the woods by 6:00 AM.  Needed extra time to assemble and prepare the R/O.  Got the evaporate pans washed out.  Filled the evaporator with sap and got the fire going by 7:00 AM.  Turned the focus to the R/O.  Connected all the hoses.    Inserted the membrane then ran 200 gallons of water through it to prepare it from siting idol during the off season.  Started concentrating at 10:30 AM.  Took the sap to 7° Brix (12:1).  R/O completed by 3:00 PM.  Done cooking and back to the farmhouse by 5:30 PM.

When starting from fresh sap it takes several hours to get going.  It was 1:15 PM before the first batch was ready.  But after that we took off batches about every hour.  Four batches into the milk can.     No sugar sand or nitre but the syrup was darker then expected for the beginning of the season.

Forecast is 25 overnight.  Connected the heating tape to the R/O water tank hose to protect it from freezing.  Tomorrow 40 and partly sunny.  Hoping for sap.

44 overnight.  Drizzle.  Continues to melt.  Water everywhere.  It was cloudy, misty, foggy, drizzly until 3:00 PM.  The sun came out.  Looked like we’d have good weather for collecting.

Into the woods by 9:00 to prepare for collecting.  Setup the tank pipes.  Wash the tanks.  Setup the pipes to the evaporator.

Started collecting at 3:00 PM.  Got a tank full by 4:00 PM.  We setup the new quick connect hose to the  collecting tank.  When we opened the value the pump primed from the flow of sap into it.  We were excited to see that.   But when we plugged in the pump, it didn’t start.  It was getting power, but was seized.  Disappointment.   The pump was stored in the house off season so it should have worked.  We reverted to the old pump.

As we went back out collecting, lite rain started.    Just as we were finishing we go a down pour.  But within 30 minutes the sun was out.

We collected 375 gallons at 2.5 Brix.  Tomorrow we start cooking.

35 overnight. A week ago it was -16 overnight.  March weather changes quickly.  We got rain, but not as much as predicted.  Still, its messy.  38 and cloudy today.  The rain and melt water on the ice makes it very slippery.  We walk carefully so we don’t fall.   The trees did drip overnight.  We plan to collect tomorrow.

Into the woods this afternoon to prepare.  Got a tank of water.  We need that to flush the R/O membrane.  We use the  collecting tank to haul the water so had to get that over before we filled the collecting tank.   The R/O holding tank is setup and filled with the water to flush the membrane.

Tomorrow we setup pipes to the tanks and maybe connect the pipes to the R/O.

Tree pressure:  5 PSI.

18 overnight.  Sunny and 32 today, but little melting.  Nothing happening with the trees.

Got fittings to complete the fix on our tank pipes.  Turned over the evaporator pans.

Big weather change forecast.  Rain on Wednesday and low 50s on Thursday.

Rain and ice followed by 1 1/2” of snow overnight.  Low around 28.  Up to 45 today.  A little melting is starting.  Tonight’s forecast is 18.

On Saturday we worked on another tank plumbing project.  Replaced the PVC butterfly values with brass ball values that have a lever type handle.  When we thaw out the  PVC butterfly with the heat-gun, the PVC expands and causes the value to stick.  Its a challenge to open.   The brass should respond better to the heat and the handle is a lever.

But we did not follow the golden rule:  measure twice, cut one.  The piping is shaped like a big Y with the joint abutting the outside wall.  The new bass values add about 5 1/4” more length on the outside.  Without thinking or measuring we cut off that 5 1/4” from the stem pipe inside the building.    The ends of the Y outside now extended past the tank fittings.

Today we fixed that.  The pipes had an unneeded drain value.  We wanted to remove them anyway.  As it turns out, those values were about 5 1/4” on the outside.  We disassembled the pipes to remove the values.  Checked the fit.  We should be good.  We need to replace the inside stem pipe because its too short.  Planning to get PVC for that in place of the iron pipe that was used.

6 overnight.  We had hora frost this morning.  Everything was white.  Looked pretty.  It warmed up to 42 but there wasn’t much melting.  It was sunny until Noon.  Its gets windy with 1”-2” of snow forecast tonight.

Started tapping at 8:00 AM.  Slight delay because we misplaced the drill bits.  While preparing everything the drill bits ended up under some new buckets.    We had a crew of 7.   The snow is deep.  Went over the of the boots which are 14”.  The snow melted resulting in wet shoes but feet stayed warm.

By 12:30 PM we had 500 taps out.:  135, 100, 100, 100, 65

Also worked on some plumbing for the collecting tank.  Added a value with a quick connect which should make connecting to the pump easier and faster.

So we are ready once the weather breaks.