How many taps on 5/16 tubing

[rubydog]

I have 30 trees to tap on a slope and wondered if they could all go on one 5/16 line .I was planing on starting on the top and run into collection tank.

[spencer11]

from what i have had others tell me yes you can. i wouldnt put any more than 30 on one line though.

spencer

[treehugger]

Over the years it seems that there are so many things to consider when it come to running lines and tapping. I get that there are scientific ways to measure trends and predict the best outcomes when it comes to this stuff. I recently upgraded to running mainline and laterals, while keeping in mind to limit the amount of taps per lateral and keeping overall length per lateral reasonable. It definitely makes it more difficult to run things as recommended by the professionals. Actually I'm glad people care that much about the industry to do so. Having said all that, for the past 6 years my only means of collecting sap has been from a long, gravity fed 5/16" line with 48 taps. I have kept a sap log for the past 4 years and saw that, quantity and quality has not changed from year to year. With those 48 taps on a good day (24 hours) I would collect around 60 gallons of sap. Run that line as long as you want. It sure beats carrying those buckets. Especially if there is a good slope to your hill. It will creat some natural vacuum and help sap output.

[spud]

I have 30 trees to tap on a slope and wondered if they could all go on one 5/16 line .I was planing on starting on the top and run into collection tank.

I just read a study saying that 30 taps with a 30 foot slope gives you the max natural vacuum. If i'm right on this then you should do very well in production. I thought the study said 15 inches of natural vac is what you will get.

Spud

[sweet willy]

My family just had a woods of 1600 taps restrung, we didn't put anymore than 6 taps per 5/16" lateral line.

[spencer11]

sweet willy, is your tubing on vac or is it gravity?

spencer

[Big John]

Mostly anything i build new now I am shooting for 3 per run.

[adk1]

has to be vac, would be crazy if he was only adding 6 per run on gravity

[sjdoyon]

has to be vac, would be crazy if he was only adding 6 per run on gravity

The rule on vacuum is "Strive for Five". So it must be on vacuum. We average a little over three taps per 5/16 line.


3x10 Inferno Arch
4,000+ Taps
7,5 HP Vacuum pump
Lapierre 600gph RO
3 SS 1500 gallon tanks
24x32 Sugarhouse

[Russell Lampron]

On gravity more taps = more sap. On vacuum fewer taps = more sap. I have heard of some having uwards of 50 taps on a 5/16" line with gravity. I run vacuum and use the strive for 5 rule.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Over the past 5 years I have been deceasing the number of taps per lateral and decreasing the lengths of my laterals and my sap per taps continue to rise. Specifically, my gpt from the gravity lines continues to grow closer to my gpt from buckets each year. My buckets always out produce my lines. This year I've got one 80 tap line down to an average of 3 taps per average 12' lateral and I think it will hit 20 gpt, if my buckets hit 24 gpt. I think the faster you get the sap from the tree to the mainline, the greater your seasonal yield.

[spencer11]

ive go a question for this thread, i am putting out some lines(5/16 on gravity) alot of my lines would be 100-150 feet long with only around 10-25 taps on it. any ideas what i should do? or ust use 5/16 and connect them all and go to collection tank? any ideas.

spencer

[Dave Puhl]

go ahead and use your 5/16 tubing ...try not to get too many taps on one line...just try it and see how it works for you...

[spencer11]

im not woried so much about to many taps(how many do you think?) but the length with slightly under that number of taps on it? but i'll try it.

spencer

[The Sweet Spot]

We are sitting up our first lat's on gravity. From what we have seen on this site, and some other information that I have gathered. We will be shooting for between 25 - 30 taps per lateral line. We have a good drop and will be recording the amount sap we collect. I will be looking for a gas powered vaccume for some of my future runs. From what we can see from our fellow sappers, that have gone before us, and were kind enough to collect information. I don't think that 25-30 will be too many taps for gravity with a decent drop.

[Dave Puhl]

spencer11...I am not sure what the question is...I run 5/16 mainline and I have 20-30' drop to the collection barrel ..I dont think I get the production off the lines like buckets...but I wouldnt want to carry the sap off that hill...

[spencer11]

my questin is , can i have 20 or so taps on 1-5/16 line that is about 150-200 feet ling then into a collection barrel? or is that to many taps for that length? sorry for the cinfusion. thanks

spencer

[B.D.L]

I have 50 or so on one and runs real good, the natural vac im getting really impressed me.

[PerryW]

my questin is , can i have 20 or so taps on 1-5/16 line that is about 150-200 feet ling then into a collection barrel? or is that to many taps for that length? sorry for the cinfusion. thanks

spencer

No problem. I have some barrels that have 25-30 taps in a group, then I run the 5/16" 250' across a field and into the tank.

[PerryW]

How to check is a gravity line is overloaded?

Wait till the sap is running real good. Then pull any of the taps and see what happens. If sap runs out of the spout, you are overloaded. If air sucks into the spout (natural vacuum), you are not overloaded.

s

[MainelyMaple]

PerryW I see you have a lot of taps on gravity, what is the most amount of taps you have on one lateral? I have One gravity run with 40 taps on it and it runs great, pulls a lot of natural vac. But how many is too many? I have about 20 more taps I could add to this run but is 60 overdoing it?

[holey_bucket]

How to check is a gravity line is overloaded?

Wait till the sap is running real good. Then pull any of the taps and see what happens. If sap runs out of the spout, you are overloaded. If air sucks into the spout (natural vacuum), you are not overloaded.

s

This is the most clear answer I have read so far. I have had many of the same questions. Thank you!

[Vermonner]

I don't see why you couldn't put that many on a gravity line. My thinking says the more flowing volume in a gravity system, the more natural vacuum you will yield, especially if you have good slope. Just got back from helping tap a 17,000 tap bush which has 2 year old lines on hi vac (last year they pulled 27-28" consistently) and that baby is state of the art. No more than 4 taps per lateral. Impressive setup.