Do I need to sanitize tubing?

[rookie]

i've only used pails to collect but am thinking of trying of doing a few more trees on tubing that would not be fun, on a hill in the snow, so i wanted to know do you have to sanitize your tubing lines from season to season or are they fine, any thing special i should know before I give it a try?

[Greenwich Maple Man]

i've only used pails to collect but am thinking of trying of doing a few more trees on tubing that would not be fun, on a hill in the snow, so i wanted to know do you have to sanitize your tubing lines from season to season or are they fine, any thing special i should know before I give it a try?

Some people do some don't. If you can wash it easly then it would probebly be better. But I wouldn't go throught to much to try and get them washed. Try and keep your tubing as straight and tight as possible. You will get better flow that way.

[red maples]

with tubing I run water through it. At the end of the season then button everything up. come the first run of the season its usually not too much but thats the cleaning part. the first few gallons get dumped!!! it usually is nasty after you see whats in there you wouldn't want to use it anyway!!

[rookie]

thanks for your coments

[3rdgen.maple]

I just turn on the vac pump when I pull taps and carry a bucket of hot water and suck some through the tap then put the tap on the plug and move to the next. First small run goes on the ground.

[Maple Ridge]

I was fixing some of my lines and noticed mold in some of my latterials. Some of my main lines are too far from the house to run flush water through. Will running the first run to ground help flush this out, of should I replace the section of line.

[3rdgen.maple]

I was fixing some of my lines and noticed mold in some of my latterials. Some of my main lines are too far from the house to run flush water through. Will running the first run to ground help flush this out, of should I replace the section of line.

Well thats a loaded question. How old is it? As you probably know there is a percentage drop every year the tubing gets older hence the invention of the CV's. I would not replace it unless its old stuff. You will see alot of it flush out.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I pull taps under vacuum and tap under vacuum and dump the snots. Now I wonder if you get more mold in the system with water and mold spores OR with sap that will mold and turn to vinegar and stop the formation of mold. I think water will make real stinky moldy crud. Like syrup the mold dies out quickly and stops completely.

[adk1]

that is interesting. i think i will be taking down my lats anyways to flush. i can pump water with pressure washer up my mainline pretty easily.

[Maple Ridge]

3RDGEN
My tubing is only a year old. What happened, is I developed a sag in my latteril, and was unable to backflush it. I was able to run water down the main line only. I am sure the mold will die off when it gets cold, I just wont to see if it will clean itself.
I also found some of my taps that didn't stay in the T's that had insect nests in them. I am sure that is comman. I think I will change them out.
Thanks for replying to my question.

[adk1]

I had a thought today about cleaning tubing. I have 800' of 3/4" mainline, and roughly 25 laterals that are 100' in length. 120 taps total. Very good grade. Was thinking that if I were to attach my shopvac to the end othe mainline and then go around with 5 gallon buckets of water (of course with the spouts capped and mainline plugged) would there be enough suction to pull some water from thebucket via the spouts? Maybe I am crazy...I do this with my 3/4" CPVC waterline that goes from my house to my saphouse, as it is underground and then elbows up the side of the saphouse and stubs through the wall, works great. thoughts?>

[3rdgen.maple]

That should work ADK. Shop vacs have a real high cfm but cant handle being on for long periods without failure.

[adk1]

good point. I dont want to ruin my shopvac.

[Haynes Forest Products]

adk1 isnt it on vacuum why the shop vac. If you think a dairy pump over heats with low CFM try a shop vac.

[Goggleeye]

Rather than start a new thread, I thought this question would best go here.

I use BME stainless spouts. I boil them to sanitize them. As I've been putting my line up, though, I've noticed that it's nearly impossible to keep the end of the drops clean until tapping time. Would it work to dip 6-10 inches of the drop in a fairly concentrated bleach solution as I'm going through tapping and connecting the drops to the spout? Does bleach have any negative effects on the tree?

Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks, Mark

[ClarkFarmMapleSyrup]

this year i got a small 2.1gpm pump from the tractor supply, and we modified it to go onto the 12v on our Mule3010. With the different fittings on it that it accepts i have one for a 5/16. I will go to the end of the lateral, or where the collection part is, and just plug in the tube to the pump. If i pump out and undo the drops from their t's and circulate, im hoping that will clean my lines okay.

[adk1]

I hear yeah. I need to figure mine out as well for this spring. Luckliy I have water to my sugarhouse I jsut need to come up with a pump now

[jdill]

I'm running 6700 taps all Leader tubing with check valves. I vacuumed the system last spring and left the check valves on the stubbies. The old sap was 95% out of my secondaries when I finished. I'm pulling the check valves off now and repairing squirrel damage etc. I am very pleased with the condition of the tubing. Less squirrel damage, lines are clean, any cell of old sap turned to clear water. I have backflushed and vacuum rinsed with permeate 20+ years. This is the best 1st time through my system I have ever seen. This year I will vacuum clean the mainlines. They are good, but could be better. They will look like new after I suck some ice through them.

[stoweski]

I have two, 400' lines that are not attached as they flow in opposite directions. I have a new earthquake 35 gpm water pump to transfer sap from the tanks to my transport tank and then into the head tank. I was thinking of hooking up an adapter to the end of the mainline so I could attach the pump to it at the end of the season and flush with water. One person control the throttle (thus the gpm rate) and another person pull taps in the trees. I thought this would be the best way for me to flush my lines... especially since they're only 400' each.

Anyone try a 2 cycle water pump for flushing the lines?

[Daren]

I've heard from several posts that bleach solutions are a bad idea. Salty dried residue increases the incidence of rodent chewing and raises heck with RO membranes if you ever plan to get one or sell sap to anyone who does. Straight water is the safest I think other then waiting for snotty sap to run out with the first run.