We’re trying something new for the 2024 season on our 3000 tap Faust Road sugar bush. The spout on the top is what we typically use, a simple 90° polycarbonate design. The bottom spout has two new features. First, the actual part that goes into the tree is shorter and barbed. Sap diffuses slowly between horizontal rings, and the outside rings of the tree have the most sap/sugar. The shorter we hammer it in the more sugar we collect. Second, the 90° turn has a radius now, which should decrease turbulence and flow/pressure loss. Personally I think the first feature will result in large gains, however I’m not convinced that the flow rate coming out of a tree is high enough to see any benefits from a curved radius. The Proctor center at UVM has tested these spouts for three years now with promising results, hopefully we can replicate this year and switch over completely for 2025! We also have a few new elbows to try with the curved radius.

One of the many projects this summer is putting our name and address on all of our barrels. We have exactly 101 stainless drums and around 280 plastic ones. We’ll do a dozen or so at a time as we empty them, anything leftover we’ll do right as we fill them next season.

Nova Maple Syrup has three soccer teams this summer! Our adult team that Hailee and Jake play on has started out with two wins and play each Sunday in Hermitage, while the U6 and U8 teams play in Meadville every Monday/Wednesday.