Getting Ready

Although there have been days when the weather felt like it was time to make syrup, the long-range forecast doesn't really show a stretch of good sugaring weather yet, so we're forced to wait.  While we wait it's been a perfect chance to work on some projects to enhance this year's season.  One of our big projects is working on a vacuum pump to put up at the new trees we're tapping (an area we call the "snowmobile trail" because...wait for it...it's a snowmobile trail that runs through the middle of our woods).  This vacuum pump is a fairly old Surge Alamo vacuum pump that was originally designed for a dairy milking system.  We've retrofitted it with a gas engine (since there's no electric service near the woods) and made a few other adjustments to get it ready for a new life as a maple sap vacuum pump.  We're excited to see what this will do to increase our production!