MapleAcres

Maple Syrup: Nature's Spring Tonic. -- Since 1918

15 Again

15 overnight.  Again.  Sunny and mid to upper 30s but it takes so long to warm.  Checked at 1:00 PM.  Trees starting to drip and ice melting.   But we were not sure we should collect or wait another day.  Looked further in the woods and found some pails mostly full.  Decided to collect at 3:00 PM knowing the sun would help us for two hours yet.

By 3:00 PM the trees were dripping moderately with more ice melted.  Found some full and overflowing pails.  Ended up with 325 gallons of sap.  And that is after dumping ice.  Without dumping ice would have been close to 2 tanks, 450 gallons.  Glad we collected.  Now we have room for another run.

We have to change the hoses on the new pump.  They are too stiff making them hard  to work with.  If the pump gets air is looses flow.  Its hard to keep the stiff hose in the liquid because it wants to curl up and pop out of the liquid sap.

Forecast for 28/29 overnight and low 40s with sun tomorrow.   Into the woods at 2:15.  Back to the farmhouse by 7:15 PM.

Bottled 38 Quarts

15 overnight again.  Sunny and up to 38 by late afternoon.  But it takes so long to warm up when its cold overnight.  Trees started to drip slowly around 2:00 PM.  Still lots of ice in the buckets.  We need some nights with low in the upper 20s to give us a chance.

Into the woods by 3:30 PM to put syrup on the finishing pan.  Working again with   an over dense milk can that needed sap added back to it.  Returned it proper density and finished it.  The filter aid dissolved properly.  Went through the filter press properly.  Ended up with 38 quarts.  Back to the farmhouse by 7:30 PM.

We did get another stainless steel milk can.

Bottling And Cooking

34 on the thermometer at 4:30 AM.  But the it froze at some point overnight because the snow was crunchy and the puddles had ice.  Up to 40.  Cloudy until 1:30 PM.  Cold north wind.  Trees are not responding.

Into the woods by 8:00 AM to start the fishing pan.  Bottled at 10:00 AM.  Done by 11:00 AM.  Started the evaporator to cook yesterday’s 200 gallons.  Finished by 3:30 PM.  Four batches into the milk can.

The R/O makes it possible to bottle first then start cooking at 11:00 AM and still be done by 3:30 PM and to the farmhouse by 4:00 PM.

Waiting for another good freeze so we get another sap run.

Faulty Hydrometer

We had a faulty hydrometer.  That explains the problems we had problems boiling from so much nitre and the over dense batch of syrup.  And why it took 2+ hours between batches when last year it was about an hour.  It also explains why we had problems getting syrup through the filter press: it was too thick from being over dense.

We bottled today.  When the milk can was emptied into the finishing pan it was a thick as molasses.  We couldn’t get all the syrup out of the milk can.  This raised a red flag.  We could tell it was too dense and added sap into the finishing pan to reduce it before we started the burners.  We ordered a new hydrometer yesterday and it arrived today.  When the syrup came to a boil we tested it.  It was still over dense.  Cut back with more sap to reach 31.  Then boiled a little longer to reach proper density.  It went through the filer press without problems.

By adding sap back we made the batch bigger.  Bottled 9 ½ gallons, one of the largest batches we can recall.

With faulty instruments the results are faulty too.  We now wonder how much of the previous batches are over dense.

26 overnight.  Partly cloudy.  Tried to reach 33 for a little while then dropped again.  Trees tried to drip: the sun warmed them but it never got warm enough to drip much.

Forecast is 20 tonight and 43 tomorrow.

Everything Frozen

26 overnight.  Cloudy all day.  A cold North East wind.   33 for a brief period today.  Sap in the buckets is frozen.   Forecast is better for later this week.

River ice starting out go out.  Last weekend’s high 40s and low 50s helped.

505

That’s the number of gallons cooked through today.  Almost too much as the pan gets coated with nitre by the end of the day making it harder to cook.  Into the woods by 6:45 AM.  Back to the farmhouse by 6:45 PM.  R/O from 7:20 AM to 1:40 PM.  6° Brix.  Seven batches into milk cans.  Filled one milk can with five batches and two into another can.

28 overnight.  Sunny and nice most of the day. After 4:00 PM a cold North East wind picked up. Temperature up to 36.  Trees dripped some.  We could have collected maybe a tank full, but wouldn’t have finished cooking if we stopped to go out collecting.  We made cooking the priority.  We might have ice in the buckets tomorrow and not be able to collect.  Forecast high is 33.

New Pump

New Pump

New Pump

We replaced the transfer pump we use to empty the collecting tank.  The pump was about 10 years old.  While rated at 1450 GPH, it actually did about 700 GPH.  It could take 30-35 minutes to empty the collecting tank.  And if we didn’t get a good seal on the hoses, it can take 50 minutes.   It was slowing us up.  We researched different pumps and selected a pump from Podrello.   Its made in Italy.  Stainless steel.  1 HP motor.  Rated at 2800 GPH which should empty our 225 gallon collecting tank in 5 minutes.  We had a few getting to know it problems.  The intake hose was 20′ but that proved to be too long.  We reduced it to 10′.  Some of the fittings we not tight enough causing air leaks and flow problems.  The hoses are stiff too.  But we’ll get t worked out.    Even with the trail and error we emptied the first 225 gallons in less than 30 minutes.  The second time we pumped 200 gallons in under 5 minutes.  The pump has promise.  We’ll get the operational details worked out.

29 overnight.  Sunny and 51 today.  Good sap run today.  Continued the run that started yesterday.   By 9:00 AM the trees were dripping.  By Noon they were banging away.  We went out at 3:00 PM to collect.  Picked up 505 gallons of sap.

Tomorrow we cook.  The question is do we R/O and cook all 505 gallons tomorrow.  Will depend on the weather.  If there is new sap we will have to push it through.

Let The Trees Drip Into The Evening

18 overnight again.  Sunny and 47 today but when it starts so cold it takes the trees a long time to warm up.   Temperature up to 35 by 9:00 AM.  By Noon a few signs the trees would drip.  By 2:00 PM the trees were dripping slowly.  By 4:00 PM there was steady drip but it was too late to collect and not really enough sap yet in the buckets: we need more than two hours of a run.    Let the trees drip into the evening then collect tomorrow.  Forecast is for upper 20s tonight and 50 tomorrow.  Should be a good day.

The ground is still cold.  Ice doesn’t melt easily.  The ground is hard when we walk on it, not soft or muddy.  The ice is still in on the river.  With the cold nights it probably added ice again after the February warm spell.  The biggest sap runs usually coincide with the frost coming out.

Fixed a few taps.  Did a wash cycle on the R/O.

Started our bottling project at 10:00 AM.  A batch from last weekend was over density and starting to crystallize.  It poured like molasses.  Emptied the bottles.  Added sap to lower the density then reboiled to bring back to the proper density.   Its time consuming.  Finished at 4:00 PM.   Then started another batch.  The new propane burners finished it it less than an hour.  We have to adjust our planning for that.   Back to the farmhouse by 7:00 PM.

Lots of Nitre

Into the woods at 6:45 AM.  Even with the syrup pan washed and ready it still took an hour to prepare for cooking.  The storage tank pipes were frozen and needed the heat gun to thaw out.  The pipe into the evaporator was also frozen at the  outlet valve into the evaporator.  It was 9:00 AM before we could commence production firing.

R/O from 7:45 AM to 1:15 PM.  6 Brix.  Doing a soap wash to see if we can get back to 7 Brix.

From the first batch we had nitre on the bottom of syrup pan.  Lots of nitre.  Typically we get a nitre buildup by the end of the day and don’t have nitre most of the boiling day. Nitre disrupts the boiling causing very fine, golden bubbles.  It will boil over if not watched and stirred.  Stirring helps dissipate the heat.  This boiling pattern slows down the overall cooking time: we can not fire as hard and have to have deeper sap levels in the evaporator.    We still managed to finishing firing by 5:15 PM.  440 gallons processed.  Five batches into the milk can.  The batches were a little bigger so there was more than an hour between them.  But still filled the milk can.  Back to the farmhouse by 5:45 PM.

18 overnight again.  Sunny all day but the temperature barely got above freezing.   The sun was warm and sap is likely moving in the trees.  By 3:00 PM there was some slow dripping.  By 5:45 PM it was 28 already so that stopped any dripping.

A Good Run

22 overnight.  Partly sunny and cold in the morning.  At 11:30 AM everything frozen yet.  But 1:30 PM  sun warmed the trees.    Temperature 35.

The trees started dripping yesterday afternoon and ran into the evening.  It didn’t freeze until after 8:00 PM yesterday.  They resumed dripping from yesterday afternoon around Noon.  By 1:30 PM the ice melted enough to collect.  Headed out at 3:00 PM.  The weather was perfect for sap:  sunny, upper 30s.    Collected 440 gallons.  A Good Run.

Forecast for the next week looks like text book conditions for sap.

Got a new mop for cleaning the collection tank.  It fits through the opening on the tank allowing use to absorb all the wash water.  We had to reach in with a rag before to absorb water.  Cold on the hands.

Cleaned the syrup pan last night while waiting for the pump to empty the collecting tank.  That gives us a head start on the day tomorrow.  Also cleared ice from the hose feeding the R/O from the storage tank.  Should  be ready for a good day cooking.

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