Assembling a Small Pipeline

[Flatfoot95]

I am brand new to maple production. Made 15 Gallons last year with some turkey fryers and enjoyed every minute. I am hooked and now would like to start expanding.
My question is how to assemble a pipeline. My trees are all large and will have 2 to 4 taps per tree. Each line will take in about 5 to 10 trees. Land is very flat. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[maple flats]

I can help if you give the avg tree spacing and diam. of trees. Usually it is rare to get 4 taps in a tree with today's rec's. It would be about 3' diam or even more. I however do have 2 trees with 4. I can make mainline recs or mini set up's for the flat land as I have the same, just indicate typical tree spacing to know what you are dealing with. And how many trees do you have plus how big you want to grow on the next step.
Maple Flats (that means my land is flat too)

[Flatfoot95]

I am looking at about 50 - 75 taps this year. My trees are spread out all over in small groups. One group is 7 trees in my front lawn dia of 18inch to 2 1/2 foot spacing is about 20-25 foot between trees. The largest group I have is a clump of about a dozen and they run about the same diameter and the spacing may be a tad smaller.

[maple flats]

I happen to have a section like you describe. I took a star fitting (1/2" IPT on one end and either 4 or 6 5/16" connections on the other.) I positioned a collection vessel on the lowest spot I could find that was also convenient to empty when needed (I used a plastic trash can, but some other plastics are rated for food) I ran the 1/2" end into the trash can thru a hole in the lid and held it in place by putting a coupling on the inside screwed to the fitting. I then planned how many runs I was going to have and which routing would use the least amount of tubing. I have from 4 to 10 taps on a line. I use a sight level like the ones shown in the Leader catalog (and others) however I went on line and did a search for the item by name, found someone selling them for about $20 instead of $32 in the catalog, not sure what they are now) Using this hadheld sighter I get the pitch (or rise) constant and just keep going up higher on the trees as I branch out til I get to the end of each line (many are then tapped with a step ladder) I try to keep a min of 1 1/2" per hundred or steeper, 2'rise/100' is even better if you can. The setup sort of looks like an octopus but it works good. I found that in a situation like this a pipeline main was not practical. On other spots I have main lines of 3/4" with the branch lines going to the main. Just remember that the pitch should be the greatest you can get, the main and all branch lines need to have pitch and tension helps keep the sags out. On a mainline I string up a wire (some are 9 Ga and the newer ones are 12 1/2 Ga high tension wire. Anchor the main fron a sturdy tree at the lower end at a height you can drain your main into the collection tank and keeping a steady rise angle go as straight as possible to the high end and anchor to a tree at that end too. As you string the wire install a tension takeup (a ratchet type device) to tighten the wire, protect the anchor tree by putting something to protect the bark such as pieces of old hose or scraps of wood, I use the wood. After the season loosen the tension and retighten before the next season (better for the anchor trees) It is better for pitch or rise to keep the runs shorter and straighter, if you have an incline in areas you can go longer because the contour will help. When working the flat sections with trees too far apart that is where the lines end up higher in the trees. You do not need to tap at 3-6" above the ground, it is just easier, where there is a will there is a way. On the sections where i used the octopus approach there are no tension wires. When the support wire is up you suspend the main line from it by using twist wire hangers(like what they use for connecting rebar together before pouring concrete except these are galvanized wires instead of rust prone wire. A simple little tool twists them to hold the pipeline. I try to use one about every ft. For my main lines I use regular black poly pipe but there is official pipe available at a much greater price. When the tubing is new you do not need to clean it but after the season it should be cleaned. I am using food grade hydrogen peroxide because you need no rinsing, can safely discharge it onto the ground by the trees and any residue breaks down in very short order to water and oxygen. If interested in this look for a post under tubing from this Jan. about a new method of washing tubing. To collect the sap from the tanks I got a sap pump for just under $200 and made a cleaning rig for it by plumbing an air line into a fitting on the outlet side of the pump so I pump water and inject air into the water which gets great agitation. If I haven't confused you enough by now just let me know and I can try harder. Any questions just ask. Warning, THIS MAPLE THINGY IS ADDICTIVE, but we all love it!