vacuum leak

[maple flats]

I must have a vacuum leak. The pump is making 19" when I close the valve to the system but when I open it the vac only gets to 5-6". I walked the lines and haven't found it yet. I will look again tomorrow. Seems like it must either be a big leak or lots of little leaks. I walked the lines until 0 dark thirty and did not see any laterals entering the branch lines with the tell tale bubbles. I hope this is found soon.

[maple flats]

I forgot to mention, My pump should make 10 CFM at the rpm's I am running at 19" according to the Surge Dealer. I will speed the pump until I find the leak to help compensate some.

[Haynes Forest Products]

You will find the leak quicker by sound. Depending on the set up you have you can put in some valves that will isolate sections of the woods and get on the phone and call releaser centel and see what section is the culprit. I also recommend if possible you have more lines come into the releaser or tank from the woods so you can do the trobble shooting from the main collection point. You can start out buy walking the woods and listen to the lines and listen for the ones that are surging and making alot of air noise.

[danno]

MapleFlats - You're right to spend most of your time walking the mainline checking that 10" of lat between the saddle and the end hook. You want those bubbles barely moving. If you see no bubbles, look real carefully and you may see a steady stream of sap zipping though - that's a lat that needs some attention.

I started with 26" at the releaser and 5" in the woods last week. Ugh! Couple pulled taps, few leaking saddles and 20-30 squirel chews and I'm up to 23-24" in the woods. Spent today re-tapping most taps (not re-drilling, just tapping them back in). The cold of the last 10 days really pushed the taps back out.

[Maplewalnut]

Maple flats- same problem here this year. I have isolated a few laterals rushing into the saddles. I am figuring a couple hollow trees are the culprit. Worse these leaking taps because you cant hear them sucking air inside the tree!

[mapleack]

Sound can find some leaks, but you might as well be deaf to find all the small ones that add up. Use sight when the sap is running. As others have said, if it's shooting through the loop at the main there's a leak. Go just past the first tree, bend the lateral with your hand to make a loop. If it's shooting through here it's farther up, go past the next tree and repeat. If you go past a tree and no more shooting through, move just before the tree and repeat to confirm if its at the tree or in that section of lateral. If it's at the tree inspect for the normal chew marks, if none, put your ear to the tap. If it isn't seated properly you'll probably hear it hissing. Try tapping it in a little harder. If it's still leaking, pull the tap and plug it off. If this fixes the leak you've got a hollow tree. I found two hollow trees like this yesterday. When this happens I tape the tap onto the plug, removing it later. I also ribbon the tree for cutting so it won't happen again. Also, if you've got multiple mainlines at the releaser or branch mainlines in the woods, put a valve at each intersection or at each hole in the releaser manifold. Then put a vac gauge after the valve. You can close the valve and watch the gauge. If it drops quickly when the valve is shut you've got a leak in that system. If not you know it's not where the big leak is, allowing you to move on and find the big ones quicker. Hope this helps.

[wiam]

All my mainlines come off my wet/dry system with valves and a gauge at each manifold. Easier to isolate leaks. If I close a valve and the gauge goes up then I know to look at that line.

William

[danno]

When I'm walking laterals, I also run my hand along the lateral as I'm walking. Good way to find/feel the squirel chews.

[red maples]

a few tricks I have figured out to find leaks and hollow trees. I had a similar problem last year and found 2 hollow trees, 3 loose spouts in the tap holes, and actually had 2 missed missed drops all together.

1. where the laterals come into the mainline on the slack loop between the hook connector and the saddle, there should be a little pocket of sap if not you might have a leak on that lateral.

2. put you ear right up to the saddle if you even hear any kind of whisling or hiss at all bubbling anything. you have a leak on the lateral. or you might even have a plugged up saddle which I found 4 saddles plugged this year...the saddle should be perfectly quiet.

3. go through every connection on your mainline and wrap a littl electical tape on it.

4. If oyu have any PVC ball valves make sure you don't have any that are cracked. they like to freeze up and crack right along the seems so you can't see them.

Hope that helps I am sure some of these were mentioned all ready.

[Russell Lampron]

To check for a vacuum leak at a saddle or pipe connection spray a little water from a spray bottle on the manifold or joint. If it makes a whistling noise you found a leak. So far this year I have found a cracked ball valve, a mainline that had come apart at a joint, a couple of taps that were off and dozens of squirrel and deer chews. All of which helped get the vacuum from a low of 14" back up to 23". Now I just need some warm weather to get some sap.

[maple flats]

I found most of the problem. It was a faulty vacuum gauge. I tested it to see if it was still good by closing the main valve near the pump, after starting the pump I looked at the gauge maybe 2-3 minutes later and it had gone to 19". I thought , wow what are the chances I would not need to adjust the regulator! I then opened the valve and looked at the tank to find any vac leaks and then I started walking the lines to check. I found little flow, no fast bubbles and my sap ladders were just sitting there. I checked to make sure I had not left an end valve open. All was good except no movement. Then I went back to the pump and the gauge read about 5-6". I walked the lines again, no luck. Then I decided just for the heck of it, I'll put on a new gauge. Well, it turns out I only had about 3", so I turned the controller up. Now I have 16" and all is working good. I will go to 18" this weekend and recheck everything again. That old gauge was junk. I guess I shouldn't try to use a gauge that had set unused for over a year, just setting in a box full of dust from the barn where I bought it, in fact I don't know if it was retired a long time before that and just laid around. Lesson learned.