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Show us your sugaring

How I collect sap. The bucket on the side has a hose that drains into the tank. Today I collected 120 gallons, almost a 1/2 tank.
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One thing I do...when I pull the taps I plug the hole with piece of 5/16" diameter oak dowel about 4" long. I do that to stop the sap flow and protect the tree from infection or disease from an "open wound". Does it work? Does it make a difference? I don't know, but it works for me. And the oak dowels don't rot, which makes me feel better. And the big benefit - each year I can look at the tree and easily see where I tapped it before, and space it out accordingly.
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One thing I do...when I pull the taps I plug the hole with piece of 5/16" diameter oak dowel about 4" long. I do that to stop the sap flow and protect the tree from infection or disease from an "open wound". Does it work? Does it make a difference? I don't know, but it works for me. And the oak dowels don't rot, which makes me feel better. And the big benefit - each year I can look at the tree and easily see where I tapped it before, and space it out accordingly.
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Love it danno!

The cheapest evaporator from Smoky is $1500 the last I looked. That's about the best deal around and they have a good reputation. It's what I'd get if my neighbor wasn't so easy.

He's retired, living the good life. Here's the yield he posted this AM.

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Flow almost stopped last week but the 20 degree temps on Friday and Saturday recharged things and I collected 175 gallons yesterday. That brings my sap collected total to over 1000 gallons. Supposed to get below freezing tonight and at the end of the week again so hopefully it'll keep flowing. Silver maple buds are moving but but sugar and norways are still tight.
 
Looks like things are over here for the year. The guy who i take the sap to is stopping. Some of my trees are still producing some sap but not a lot. It's been about 6 weeks and that's about all you can expect before the tap holes start healing. I collected almost 1500 gallons of sap from 105 taps, which isn't bad.
 
Looks like things are over here for the year. The guy who i take the sap to is stopping. Some of my trees are still producing some sap but not a lot. It's been about 6 weeks and that's about all you can expect before the tap holes start healing. I collected almost 1500 gallons of sap from 105 taps, which isn't bad.
How much will that yield?