need ideas for sap transfer down the hill with buckets

[sugaringcrazy]

Last year was my first year and I had 50 buckets. All the buckets are up on a hill above where I boil. It's a pain in the arse to walk up and down the hill with 5 gallon pails so I put up a couple trash cans, drilled holes in the bottom of them and attached 1/2" mainline down the hill to my storage container. This year I am doing 150 buckets, and now they are going to be even further up the hill. Anybody have any other good ideas for getting all that sap down the hill. I'm not a huge fan of the trash cans, but they are cheap. Yeah, yeah, most of you will ask why I don't just put up lines. Well, I have buckets, and I have already sunk too much money into a new pan and sugarhouse. So any suggestions for "sap transfer staions"?

[adk1]

well, what you have now is basically a dump station. maybe you need 2 or 3 dump stations, but heck, if your gonna do that, might as well buy tubing.

[wnybassman]

You're lucky with at least having the option of tubing. 90% of my buckets are downhill from where I boil. Talk about bass ackwards!

[red maples]

well if your spending all that time and money with buckets and mainline why not just go to tubing???? beleive me I sugar by my self and the tubing saves mucho time!!!

[jmp]

Wnybassman, I have some properties that I can tap but they are all like yours, bass ackwards! Ugh!

[Redmaple]

Extend a new line with 1" well line. Have the lines furthest up dump at the halfway point where you have the trash buckets. Than pour them by hand into your already set up 1/2'' line to the sugarhouse. Any trees on the line could be tapped into with 5/16 lats keeping the rest hard to reach trees on buckets.

[DrTimPerkins]

...so I put up a couple trash cans, drilled holes in the bottom of them ...

Don't use trash cans....they are for trash, not for sap, and will release a bunch of nasty things into your sap (especially phenolics and dye). You can make dump stations using 5-gallon buckets.

[Balsam Hills]

10 years ago I started out the same way. We ran 3/4" drinking-water grade poly tubing from the top of the hill to the tank at the bottom. We made some makeshift funnels by drilling holes in the bottom of 5-gallon buckets and connected them via a short hose to the 3/4" line. You'll need to get creative with your fittings to make it work but it can be done for cheap.

I'm guessing you'll eventually graduate to lateral lines and expand your operation. Trust me, it's a sickness and you can't help yourself:)

[dgp219]

Any mainline you put up consider the future. Set it up like you would for a tubing system so you don't have to do it over, and size it for growth if more taps are available. You could use food grade barrels 15, 30, 55 gal. You could also cut the 30 or 55 gal. ones in half, two for one! The top half would only need one or two reduction bushings to screw into the 2 in. hole already there and one threaded/barbed connector to connect to the mainline. 5 gal. buckets would work too. But if you have to wait while the bucket drains, the bigger containers might be better.

[smokeyamber]

I will have the same setup this year, and as you say if you already have the buckets you don't want to invest more money. I personally like my buckets and the dumpstations will just make it easier. I also have only around 40 trees available on my hill so expansion isn't happening. If you hate the walking I would do as other say and just go tubing next season. Buckets do sell really well to people like me so you will get your investiment back. Oh and find some food grade barrels they can be found cheap if you look around ... Barrelman in West Topsham is a good source, advertises in the World. Waiting on the season to start and trying to get ready !

[Michael Greer]

Find a copy of "The Maple Sugar Book" by Helen and Scott Nearing. Back in the fifties, they set up an entire mountainside with pipes and dumpstations, and had some very deeply organised labor saving ideas. It's a fun read.