We arrived at the sugarhouse to find the new Kawasaki Mule (Francis) all set up to collect sap and with a full tank - 135 gallons - that Michael & the boys had collected the night before in the rain.
We had massive amounts of rain the couple of days before and it was still raining so we did some final prep work before heading outside to set up the pump, connect the upper tank to the evaporator & dump our first load of sap for the year. Except for one hose we were able to find all the hoses we needed, so we were ready to start.
We did find one leaky valve when we filled the evaporator, but it was on the drain for the sap pan, so we plugged the pipe and hoped we wouldn't need it until the end of the season. Starting the burner was a little scary this time. The main burner went out & blew out the pilot, so there was still gas flowing and it apparently built up a little around the nozzle because when I put a torch up to it to re-light it there was a loud whoosh!! and flame went everywhere. Needless to say I jumped back a few feet, but kept my eyebrows & beard.
We had massive amounts of rain the couple of days before and it was still raining so we did some final prep work before heading outside to set up the pump, connect the upper tank to the evaporator & dump our first load of sap for the year. Except for one hose we were able to find all the hoses we needed, so we were ready to start.
We did find one leaky valve when we filled the evaporator, but it was on the drain for the sap pan, so we plugged the pipe and hoped we wouldn't need it until the end of the season. Starting the burner was a little scary this time. The main burner went out & blew out the pilot, so there was still gas flowing and it apparently built up a little around the nozzle because when I put a torch up to it to re-light it there was a loud whoosh!! and flame went everywhere. Needless to say I jumped back a few feet, but kept my eyebrows & beard.
We also added new "curtains" to the steam hood. In the past we had used whatever cheap plastic sheet we had around to keep most of the steam going out side, but Michael had come up with some pieces of plastic that they use for forklift doors to keep the air movement down. We mounted those with self-tapping screws and it seems like that is going to do a much better job. Plus they are clear, so you can see through them a little, better than the white plastic we had before.
This was a pretty uneventful day, mostly just waiting for the sap to condense in the front pans, and one trip around to collect. I have to say we were impressed with Francis; with 4WD, a locking differential and a low gear it seems to go anywhere, even in the deep mud we had from all the rain. It's an equal or better replacement for the Gator we used the past few years.
This was a pretty uneventful day, mostly just waiting for the sap to condense in the front pans, and one trip around to collect. I have to say we were impressed with Francis; with 4WD, a locking differential and a low gear it seems to go anywhere, even in the deep mud we had from all the rain. It's an equal or better replacement for the Gator we used the past few years.
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