Alternative Sources for Fittings

[Welikit Farm]

We are starting a market garden next year. A couple of the PA irrigation and produce supply catalogs have a new years sale that ends on Friday (8-10% off), so while going through the catalogs looking at vegetable irrigation supplies, we noticed that many of the fittings that we need for sugaring are available for significantly less money from these folks than the maple supply catalogs. For example a reducing tee 1 1/2" to 3/4" is $2.64 in Rain Flo.

Any reason why a fitting meant for irrigating produce can't be used for collecting sap?

Here are the companies that we are buying from

http://noltsproducesupplies.net/

http://www.rainfloirrigation.com/

[mapleack]

Perfectly fine. All the plastic mainline fittings sold are from the water /irrigation market. You've just discovered what I call the maple leaf mark up!

[Welikit Farm]

Thanks,

That is what we thought. We have found all sorts of ways to cut costs in fencing supply catalogs and now irrigation companies too. We have also been fabricating some tools oursleves when we can. I don't want to deny the Maple equipment people from making a living, but cash flow is $0 until the sap flows and the garden grows, so we are finding other ways to afford our new enterprises.

We are so thankful for the cold weather and snow, we hope that it kills the rampent garden pests and makes for a good sap run this year.

[lastwoodsman]

Try buyfittingsonline.com.
Good prices and delivery.

[Thad Blaisdell]

make sure the fittings are the longer kind. You will have the barbs, then a flat space an inch or so long before the stopper, then the same on the other side. If you just have barbs and then the stopper, you risk the lines pulling apart at that spot. That space is where I put my clamp to hold.

[markcasper]

Thad, I gather that you do not use SS mainline fittings?