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View Full Version : maple conference, new tubing washing method



Maple Flats
01-08-2006, 09:06 AM
At the winter maple conference I attended a session about washing tubing given by one of our own (but he has never posted yet). Chuck Winship told how he washes tubing. He says he designed his system to be washed and collecting sap was secondary. (?) Seems he has a single pipe system with vacuum with valves to isolate each section and a valve at the far end of each line. With this he washes the main trunk first, discharging onto the ground at the top of the hill, closes this valve and does each leg the same way and after that he does the 5/16" lines and blows out the taps. For this he uses hydrogen peroxide. Buys it form a lubricant dealer (?) as 35% hydrogen peroxide at about $35/gal. He mixes this at 1 gal/300 gal water ratio (which is more dilute than what you get in the drug store). He washes and does not even rinse. Claims he has done it for 3 years on a new pipeline system and has not seen any drop in sap or syrup produced. He was not selling anything and did not give the supplier name just that you could find it from distributors. The peroxide supposedly leaves NO residue what so ever, in the pipeline or on the ground as it breaks down very quickly with any exposure to uv rays of the sun. Says he had some tubing tested recently by cornell and that his (bugs) were 2000x less than tubing washed by more common methods. His readings were 500,000/ml and the normal is 1,000,000,000/ml for other wash methods. His tubing was washed in May 05 and the test was recent. He claims that he has not had any squirrel damage as there is no salts in this solution what so ever.
This year I had considerable damage using calcium chloride and last year was damage from sodium chloride (clorox). I think I will try his wash method. The times he stated were 10 minutes flow on the main trunk line, 10 again on the intermediate lines and 5 on the final lines. He then let it drain and eventually opened and drained the drops which always have a loop to hold some solution. Says if he had more time he would blow out the drops but that will wait til his grand kids are older to help. Except the solution his mothod sounds like mine the last 2 years except I double rinsed mine, still damaged by rodents. Almost forgot. He uses 90psi on the water and 80 psi on the air with check valves to make everything go where he wants it and not backflow.

WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER
01-08-2006, 01:52 PM
Interesting and sounds like it would work. This year I went to calcium chloride and has almost no damage. Squirrel population was lower, but there were considerable fox squirrels in one of the 3 sections and found almost no damage. :D I just simply hook up my Tanaka and pump water and calcium chloride thru mine. I don't have any air shooting them them and my lines are nice and clean. I did this the following Sat after pulling my taps the previous Sat and to me, that is the key, not waiting several weeks. :D

cropseyvillemark
01-08-2006, 07:25 PM
Brandon, are you using calcium chloride or calcium hypochlorite{dry pool chlorine}?

brookledge
01-08-2006, 07:41 PM
I use calcium hypoclorite, I have used it for 3 years and have had good results. I'm not a chemist but I don't think that calcium cloride will do any good as far as sanitizing.
Maybe someone else can help with this question.
Keith

WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER
01-08-2006, 08:26 PM
Sorry guys, it is the dry pool chemical calcium hypochlorite. I didn't mean any confusion as I am not a scientist by an stretch of the imaginatioon. :oops:

maplehound
01-11-2006, 08:08 PM
I bet it would also work with the vacuume down method. I tried that last year with clorox and it went well. Although I did have alot of coon damage to fix. But when you vacuume it down it takes less water and all the bad smelly suff ends up in the tank instead of at the spile where you sure dont want it.

mapleman3
01-11-2006, 08:52 PM
Hmm... Didn't realize Chuck was a lurker, Wish I would have known that and I would have introduced myself at his seminar, I found it interesting for sure and will try a few of his methods as I did with Kevins.