Tying together plastic barrels

[SevenCreeksSap]

I picked up 4 plastic FG blue barrels and the plan is to tie them all together for the tank to drain into the evap. I can build a frame to hold them all and want to make a free flowing system so when sap goes into the top tank or first tank(however I get it set up) it will keep draining thru all 4 to the spigot/valve. when all 4 are full I should have about 200-215 gal stored up for a boil. Has anyone here connected that many barrels together before and what might be the best way?
The barrels are the standard type with 2 threaded openings in each. I'm thinking of just plumbing the openings together from one to the next, bottom hole in tank 1 to top hole in tank 2, ect. is there a better way or some kind of connectors for this?

[Airstreamnut]

I'm thinking of doing the same thing. I've picked up some barrels too from our local yogurt dairy for free. So, I'm torn between using these for my sap collecting or for storage in the shack. If storage in the shack, I want to hear about the best way to do this as well. Thanks for inquiring.

[Ausable]

Hi SevenCreeksSap --- So are these interconnected drums going to be a combination - Holding and Feed tank setup? Or just for a Feed tank? Will these tanks be located outside your Sugar Shack or inside? Reason I ask is - I also use 25 and 50 gal drums for holding tanks and use a submersable sump pump to move my sap from them to a 30 gal feed tank and I do a lot of back and forth during a boil. Ya know how Mother Nature and Mrs. March can be in the early season freezing everything up --- that would be my worry. Interested in what You come up with ----Mike-----

[maple flats]

My concern is what access you will have to clean them. They should be cleaned regularly. If that part is addressed I would just lay them all down with the 2" bung hole at the bottom and slightly lower that the other end. Then plumb all 4 at the 2" bung together. The last one will finish with a tee and feed the evaporator. Make sure the support is hefty enough because each gal will weigh just over 8# with the sugar in it. Whatever you do make allowance for a vent or they won't fill up.

[red maples]

Cleaning is the biggest issue istead of tying them together(which I was originally going to do) I use just 1, I have a potable water transfer pump with a float switch rigged up backwards with a light hooked onto it the light is yellow so when the pump is on then I the light is on. the tank is set to stay very full to increase pressure I have a return line so it is easy to empty when I need to clean it. I rigged it to lay on its side and put a bulk head fitting on the side so I can have 100% drain. it takes up less space and and is easier to clean. because I the hole is on the side and my popsap filter is right there as well. so I can reach all part of the drum easy when wiping it out. I clean my feed tank al least every other day. When its warmer I try to clean it everyday. that one seems to get funky the fastest.

If you are going to set them up like that I would stand them upside down and make sure you have vavle and some sort of coupler between each tank so that they can be removed for easy cleaning or you can just fill 1, 2, or 3 at a time depnding on sap flow. and then it will save time on cleaning later. I would put a hole in the top and make a hinged cover on the stand so it can lifted for easy cleaning and removal.

Hope that helps.

[SevenCreeksSap]

Hi SevenCreeksSap --- So are these interconnected drums going to be a combination - Holding and Feed tank setup? Or just for a Feed tank? Will these tanks be located outside your Sugar Shack or inside? Reason I ask is - I also use 25 and 50 gal drums for holding tanks and use a submersable sump pump to move my sap from them to a 30 gal feed tank and I do a lot of back and forth during a boil. Ya know how Mother Nature and Mrs. March can be in the early season freezing everything up --- that would be my worry. Interested in what You come up with ----Mike-----


I guess my not fully formed idea is to connect all 4 and use them as a holding tank -feed tank combination. I didnt know they should be separate ?? should they be? I know it would be better to have a large stainless tank but that isnt in the budget this year. So, I'm planning to have these outside the shack with a feed line coming in thru the wall. They'll be mounted up just higher than the evap so I can get to them. I'm sure I can build a sturdy enough rack with enough 4x4s and bolts. also planning to roof and enclose rack to avoid sunlight on the tanks. I'm thinking if I use at least 2 or 2 1/2 in piping to connect these it might help avoid some of the freezing issues, but we'll see. I think smaller pipe between the barrels would freeze faster.

The bigger plan is due to limited tubing (1500 ft),to have my tubing all running to a steel FG drum(s) I'll have up on the hill, and that free flowing from the drum thru 1 line to these storage tanks. 95% of my trees are up a hill thats not very accessible with much snow on the ground.

I like the idea of cutting lids for cleaning, and being able to put frozen sap bottles in. I can figure out a seal around the cut lids with rubber or maybe lengths of tubing. I havent had this much sap storage so didnt know it goes bad that fast. I know it probably depends on temp but how long does sap last in a tank?

[red maples]

mine gets boiled the next day. I boil during the day as soon as things thaw I boil and if it takes little longer to thaw everything out then I will start with buckets of sap and slowly add them into the float box. but anyway since I boil during the day then the my sap generally sits for 24hrs max. The main problem I find with plastic is you neeed to clean it more often it will get nasty faster than SS. can't wait til I can afford SS tanks!!!! I can't stress enough to keep your feed tank separate from you holding tanks. I have 3 -150 gallon poly tanks they are linked together with black water pipe water pipe has give to it and it won't break when it freezes. there are fittings and valves and openings on each tank so I can tansfer sap using my transfer pump from one tank to the next you run them in tandom withthe valves open this way I can keep older sap separate from the newer sap. sometimes during the season something will happen and you may miss a day of boing in that case things get backed up and long hours of boiling ahead but I have just enough room to keep things separated so I don't mix old and new sap!!! And Like I said before I have 1 55 gal plastic drum for a feed tank set up above the evap with a 1 1/4 PVC running into the evap works great. I wipe it out every morning!!! and remove the filter at night and put a new one on inthe morning they hold lots of bacteria and need to be changed daily or you will make lots of grade B or ropy syrup!!!

[C.Wilcox]

In regards to the cutting of lids for cleaning, I laid a drum on it's side and then used a magic marker to trace the bottom of a 3 gallon pail onto the side of the drum. Cut slightly to the inside of the line and test fit the 3 gallon bucket. Doing it this way allowed me to access the inside of the drum for cleaning and if I push the 3 gallon bucket into the drum as tight as it will go there's no leak around the edges. A lid on the pail keeps the rain out. Another Trader member, Rhino, gave me the idea and it's worked great. I would imagine you could use the same approach on the end of the drum.

[Airstreamnut]

C. Wilcox - could you please post a couple photos of what you did? Thanks.

[SevenCreeksSap]

mine gets boiled the next day. I boil during the day as soon as things thaw I boil and if it takes little longer to thaw everything out then I will start with buckets of sap and slowly add them into the float box. but anyway since I boil during the day then the my sap generally sits for 24hrs max. The main problem I find with plastic is you neeed to clean it more often it will get nasty faster than SS. can't wait til I can afford SS tanks!!!! I can't stress enough to keep your feed tank separate from you holding tanks. I have 3 -150 gallon poly tanks they are linked together with black water pipe water pipe has give to it and it won't break when it freezes. there are fittings and valves and openings on each tank so I can tansfer sap using my transfer pump from one tank to the next you run them in tandom withthe valves open this way I can keep older sap separate from the newer sap. sometimes during the season something will happen and you may miss a day of boing in that case things get backed up and long hours of boiling ahead but I have just enough room to keep things separated so I don't mix old and new sap!!! And Like I said before I have 1 55 gal plastic drum for a feed tank set up above the evap with a 1 1/4 PVC running into the evap works great. I wipe it out every morning!!! and remove the filter at night and put a new one on inthe morning they hold lots of bacteria and need to be changed daily or you will make lots of grade B or ropy syrup!!!

Okay so the way to set up is maybe 1 drum inside as a feed tank and maybe the others outside tied together. I see the point about the bacteria and cleaning and didn't know that. I'm trying to design this and get everything in one trip. ha ha.
Do you have to have a transfer pump? I was thinking if they're all plumbed together wouldnt the water seek its own level and have relatively the same amount of sap in my three barrels if they're tied together with free flowing pipes? I would put in valves to cut each off if needed. The only other way I could see to do it is try to have equal amounts of sap flow into each one but not sure how to plumb that trick above the barrels. Boy, one big tank would solve this problem.

[C.Wilcox]

C. Wilcox - could you please post a couple photos of what you did? Thanks.

Check out this thread by WoodButcher. He's got some photos of this exact same setup. http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?9497-55-gallon-food-grade-drums-for-sap-transportation-storage....-see-pic-!

[boblam]

4903
Here's my homemade modified drum for hauling sap. Cut hole in barrel and designed wooden box cover that is affixed to the barrel. As a removable screen and lid. Size is 14x12" . Barrel is placed in the ATV trailer on a rack and held down by strap.

Bob and Gilles
150 taps and growing
2x6 LS Bilodeau drop flue