vacuum newbie questions

[morningstarfarm]

hey all..making the leap to vacuum this season...I am sure I will have a ton of questions before I get this done..

Question 1...is it ok to put saddles into your main line? mine is just under 1000' long..its 1 1/4" and will be handling just about 1000 taps..

Question 2...there is a 6' sap ladder i am going to have to put into the main to get it to the releaser..am thinking a 2 line setup...what size should the vertical lines be? was thinking 2 1" lines?

question 3 ...should i use an air injector or ball valve at the bottom of the ladder? pump is a 17cfm pump...

Thanks, All..I am sure there will be many more to follow...

[ennismaple]

Is there any way you can do an electric releaser at the low point? It will pump up to your tank and will work more efficiently than a sap ladder. As long as the room it's in is heated you're fine.

Sap ladders do work (we ahve a bunch) but should be avoided whenever possible.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

We used dual 1" pipes on a 1" line for ladders with a valve at the bottom. We kept the valve closed but did open it to start a line that seemed plugged once (closed it back up though once things had started). We had 26" before the ladder and 19" after and they worked well but that is a big hit on vacuum. I'm trying to figure out how best to replace them (lifts or reverse releasers) but haven't made the plunge yet.