Opinion on seasonal spouts

[backyardsugarer]

I have been less than impressed with the check valves the last 2 years and I am tired of spending $350 every year on them. I have about 1000 taps and now I am thinking about trying the $.17 seasonal tomahawk spouts. Any input would be appreciated.

[sjdoyon]

We had three weeks additional production last spring while our neighbors seasonal spouts dried up. Worked out for us. Will see how this spring works out, just finished tapping.

[spencer11]

now you can get the best of them, a season spout with a CV :D

[red maples]

your spending $350 a year but you also have to think of your return on those(how much more syrup you making) . try the .17 ones and compare. if you make the same amount of syrup then its a no brainer. Your still using a seasonal spout just without the CV. but I also thought that they reccommend not only changing the spout every year but also changing the drop line every year!!! at least thats what the the Lappierre Rep told us for their seasonal spout. To me thats ALOT of work to change the drops every year. as far as price goes its the same factor in the labor...... not so good.

[ennismaple]

I agree that the CV2 is the best of both worlds. I loved the Lapierre tomahawk spouts and how they seated in the tree, but did not like the extra effort to install them compared to the CV's.

We're doing another test for the next 2 seasons. We have 2 sections of woods, each running off its own SP22 pump set at 20" Hg. One is 400 taps and a mix of south and north facing, the other 700 taps and mostly north facing. Both woods have wet/dry lines to keep the mainline lengths below 1000ft. For this year we're using Lapierre's central fit 5/16" seasonal spout on the 400 taps and CV's on the 700 taps. Next year we reverse them. We'll compare the sap/tap for each year compared to the rest of the woods and see if the results are comparable. It's not an ideal, scientific comparison but by comparing each system to each other and to the rest of the woods it should give us an idea if the extra $0.20/tap is worth it for the CV's. I'm not married to the CV's nor to Lapierre products - I just want what's best for us.

[Greenwich Maple Man]

I tried CV on one bush last year. Last ones to start and first ones to dry up. I love my CDL Smart Spouts. I like to have a clear passage and nothing blocking my spouts. My 2 cents. To each his own.

[unc23win]

That sounds like a good idea Ennis. I am like you not married to any one product line. Each has their own benefits. I want to use what is best for me. This is my first year with vacuum I have a lot of Lapierre spouts simply because they were the only ones who sold pre assembled drops in my area and I didn't have a 2 handed tool or the time to assembled drops plus I didn't have vac. This year all my new ones are Check Valves. My neighbors down the road seem to have done pretty well with either the Zap-Bac" Antimicrobial Spout or the Green 5/16" Microbial Health Spout not sure which one they have all I know is they are green. I haven't seen anything on here about either of them may be that's because of the price.

[backyardsugarer]

It is pretty even. Cutting off my cv's and stubbies. Going with the seasonal. Cv's have not worked well for me.

[Homestead Maple]

I first used the cv's two seasons ago. That year I made more syrup than ever in 6 years with the same amount of taps. I could have made more syrup because the cv's were still running but I had run out of fuel oil and just decided to call it a year. This past season was not a good year to make a lot of syrup because the weather did not cooperate. But just the same, the cv's kept running even though the sap was not good tasting. If I could have used the sap I would have had a good syrup season. So, all in all I don't think two years of use of the cv's here, is not a good test for them and maybe two years of use at your site is not a good test. If I was you I'd give them another year, hoping the weather cooperates in your area. I'm definitely going to use them this year, and the next, and the next probably, because I really think they are worth it. The only thing I have trouble with them is that they are two piece, (stubby, adapter) and don't always stay together. The new ones which are a single piece should make a big difference in not having vacuum leaks because the two piece separate during the season.

[Typical8]

The decision on what spout we use is dependent on the age of the system. The first 2 years we will use the cheap seasonal spouts. There is very little to gain with CV's especially on new tubing. As the the system ages and becomes more contaminated then we will use CV's. So anything over 2 years old will get a CV in them, about 85% of the trees we tap.

[TunbridgeDave]

Typical8, I think you've got it exactly right. If you have new tubing and you keep your vacuume on all the time, it doesn't seem like cv's would help as much.