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Record Sap Flow! (And that is no April Fool's Joke)

by Peter 4/1/2009 12:26:00 AM

The season started out slowly, but the past three days have been the perfect combination of trees that are waking up to the spring thaw and cooperating temperature and pressure changes.  We have collected nearly 3000 gallons of sap in the past three days, pushing us to the limit with sap storage.  The sap was flowing into the tank at a rate of 120 gallons per hour, which is the same rate that we are capable of processing the sap into syrup.  This has meant late nights and early mornings to keep up with the sap.  A nearly constant cloud has been rising upward out of the cupula.

The sap is about 2.7% to 3.0% sugar, which is above average.  This concentration means that it takes about 30 gallons of sap to make one gallon of pure maple syrup.  In the past two days, we have made 55 gallons of light and medium amber syrup, meaning that we have evaporated nearly 1600 gallons of water!  Today should be a great day out in the sugar shack, as we have 1700 gallons of sap that will be processed.  This should reduce to 55 gallons of syrup, bringing our yearly total to 160 gallons.