sap stuck in lines

[500592]

i have 20 or so taps on gravity and all the saps seems to build up even though its on a good slope

[PerryW]

i have 20 or so taps on gravity and all the saps seems to build up even though its on a good slope

Try pulling the spout out of the uppermost taphole. If the sap that is trapped in the lines starts flowing downhill then everything if fine. This little test proved that there are no obstructions in the line. You just need to wait for a sap run.

If on the other hand, sap starts squirting out of the spout you pulled, then you have a clog or a frozen section in the line.

[500592]

i pullled the top tap oout today and the sap was still stuck in the lines and i got only a couple of pints of sap i get more sap from one bucket and really need to fix this problem bofore the sap goes bad

[steve J]

Are your lines good and tight?

[500592]

the line is quite tite and some of the tap lines that rune into my maine line (5/16) should be tightened a little

[TapME]

you need to check the fittings to make sure that nothing is stoping the flow. Sometimes a little peice of wood will make down to the first fitting and stop the flow. Tight lines and good slope are a good thing to have if possible.

[gmcooper]

If sap isn't running its pretty difficult to get any out of tubing. Everything I have has just barely been weeping out if anything. Unless you have a blockage I really think sap is just not running. I don't know of anyone getting enough sap to boil at all.

[500592]

i can see the sap in the tubes and i am going to check for blockages and i was wondering if i put some food coloring that woould show up well in the tube would be ok to see if it is getting stuck somewere

[500592]

i checked again today and it was dripping a little and i had hardly anything in the barrel and was seeing air bubbles starting to zoom down the line so is there anything i should do or just wait and be paitent

[PerryW]

Even the folks in extreme southeastern NH have not gathered enough sap this season to make any syrup, so I doubt it's running anywhere in Maine.

ALso, it is common for a bucket-tree in an open field to run early, while the woods taps are completely dry.

If the sap was running AND you did have a blockage in a 5/16" line; then as soon as you pulled any upstream tap, sap would start squirting out (yes, the running sap will develop pressure if there is a blockage downstream)

Also, you would see the sap dripping out of the taphole of the spout you just pulled.

[500592]

thanks for the response i want to know if the amount of snow matters cause some trees have 1 ft or more covering

[TapME]

i checked again today and it was dripping a little and i had hardly anything in the barrel and was seeing air bubbles starting to zoom down the line so is there anything i should do or just wait and be paitent

bubbles in the tube are a good thing it means the sap is starting to flow at the tree well enough to push it down the line. Mine was doing the same as yours until yesterday and then it started to give a little and fill the pail. still early here and cold for a good run. These little runs are just teazing us.

[500592]

From the whole system I have pulled probaly 3 or 4 gallons

[TapME]

From the whole system I have pulled probaly 3 or 4 gallons

I have 50 on one line and 30 on another and yeasterday was the first day with sap. 5 gallons from the 50 and 2 fro mthe 30. Just not ready for the trees to run good.

[500592]

i hardly got any sap less than a gallon and i am in southern maine i got twice that from one bucket

[chefchap]

i have same thing my field buckets are running like mad and my line in the woods not so much no blockage just is to early for woods to run
boiled off 65 gallons today to try out new arch worked real nice

[Timber Juice]

I assume your collecton container has a vent so no backpressure is occuring.

Other than that--patience.:rolleyes:

[500592]

no but even when i bring the tube out still doesnt run

[500592]

tody was the first day that i really pulled some sap out of my lines and one tree with buckets put out about 5 gallons with 3 taps

[TapME]

i have same thing my field buckets are running like mad and my line in the woods not so much no blockage just is to early for woods to run
boiled off 65 gallons today to try out new arch worked real nice

woods trees usually start at a later date because of location and the line thawing. Road side trees and or feild trees have more exposure to sun and wind and react quicker than those in the woods. It should let loose this week for somew good sap runs. Be ready

[500592]

today i pulled 10 gallons so it is atarting to run a little bit

[PerryW]

today i pulled 10 gallons so it is atarting to run a little bit

Glad to see your tubing is running.

Another reason NOT to vent your tubing is that:

If you do vent the tubing (at the uppermost tap), you are allowing more air to flow through your tubing. More air means less room for sap.

[archerybs]

I'm thinking of switching to tubing next year so I've been watching this thread with lots of interest. Can someone give me the easy answer...Will a gravity tubing system produce as much as buckets?

[adk1]

I'm thinking of switching to tubing next year so I've been watching this thread with lots of interest. Can someone give me the easy answer...Will a gravity tubing system produce as much as buckets?

I have been told that it will produce more, if the system is setup right because of the "natural vacume" that is created. Check out the UVM website, I beleive that they did a study on this compared to buckets

[PerryW]

So, is that sap running okay now?

[500592]

Acuttaly no it hasn't done much

[western mainer]

I to have gravity tubing and it's been running ok it's just a late start each morning as it doesn't warm up very fast. Today one line is running fast but two other lines the sap backed up the drop lines almost to the tree why is this? I cut the up hill drop and the sap ran down the lines fine, this is the first time I've seen this.
Brian

[TapME]

Brain, I have some lines that back up but they do run fine. That whole line of sap is pulling on the taps as it passes by making more sap come out of the tree. If you feel its not right then loosen the top tap so you here it bleeding air in the line. It may be the fitting at the end that is causing the problem. I have had a few that the hole was not just right and that stoped the flow some. Call if you have any questions I may be able to help.

[western mainer]

I did take the top drop line off and I could here the vac. I have 10 on that line.It just started to run about 1:00 here with the wind blowing hard.
Brian

[PerryW]

If you are hearing the natural vacuum sound, then everything is fine.

[adk1]

I have the same thing going on right now. my lats are full of sap, saddles frozen. the sap goes up the line from the saddle and is about within 3-4 inches of my tap..And I have mainly 30" drops.

[Pete's Sugar House]

You might have a blockage. You have to make sure that you haven't got mud daubers in the line during the off season. They can plug stuff up. Even if a glob of crap goes down through the line, it can still get hung up at a tee or a connector.

[Madman1]

I am running into the same thing as well. Yesterday should have been a real good day here in Southern Ontario but we had less than expected in our collection tank at the end of the day. Just as a test to ensure we there was no blockage in the lines I tried to blow in the vent at the end of each lateral line. I could blow into it by mounth if I tried real hard but it was quite difficult.

First year with lines...they are brand new....Has anyone else tried this and do you think this is normal or do I have a blockage somewhere?

[PerryW]

I don't think most people vent the ends of laterals. There's been quite a bit of discussion on this board about the subject.

[Madman1]

Thanks for the reply, and yes, I see many different opinions on it. I had an old timer coaching me and this was his suggestion to vent the laterals. Can I ask your opinion on this matter?

Jeff

[PerryW]

When you vent the laterals you:

1) eliminate the potential of natural vacuum

2) You laterals have less liquid carrying capacity because you are pulling additional air into your lines. More air in the lines means less room for sap.

3) You allow the introduction of bacteria into your laterals instead of the closed system you have with non-venter laterals

4) If the line freezes up downstream, sap can get forced uphill and out the vent. In a non-vented system, this pressure helps push sap towarn the mainline and melt out the ice quicker.

The only possible advantage to venting, is the laterals may drain more at the end of the run so there's less sap to spoil in the lines during a warm spell, but venting laterals pretty much ended in the 1960's. The old spouts even had 2 nipples on them and each spout had a candy-cane snorkel on them for venting purposes.

[Madman1]

Thanks for the reply, I haven't had a chance to get back on here until today. What you have said makes sense, do you run your lateral and main lines completely closed with no vents? We are finished for this year but am always open for suggestions to try next year!

Jeff

[PerryW]

Thanks for the reply, I haven't had a chance to get back on here until today. What you have said makes sense, do you run your lateral and main lines completely closed with no vents? We are finished for this year but am always open for suggestions to try next year!

Jeff

RIght No venting on mainlines, no venting on laterals. Only one way for sap to go and that's out the bottom end of the big pipe.

[Madman1]

Thanks for the sound advice. Easily done so we will try this next year for sure!

Jeff

[PerryW]

just for the record, there's guys that used to post on this website who would swear up and down that the sap ran better with vented laterals. I guess it would be nice if you could push a button that would allow all your laterals to drain for these heat waves.