Want to go tubing next year

[NirvanaFan]

A little background first...
This is my first year making syrup. I've tapped 24 trees and collected in gallon jugs attached to the spiles. I am making the syrup on my parent's land that is an hour away from where I live. My mother is kind enough to help out a bit, but she can't walk around the woods collecting gallon jugs all day. We are going to call it quits after boiling this weekend. We should finish after making between 5 and 6 gallons. That 5-6 gallons will be enough for my family, my parents, and Christmas presents for the year. This is good for us.

We've learned a lot. One of those things we learned is that carrying gallon (or 5 gallon) jugs around the woods is not fun. I have access to used, food grade, 55 gallon drums, for free. They contained sweetener for the local winery. So, the plan for next year is to plumb a couple of these together (or just use them) as storage containers.

Since I can't really make it down to my sugarbush during the week very easily, switching to tubing and 55 gallon drums will really make things easier for my mother (and me). If I get the wood around well before the season, she will even be able to boil during the week.


So......
I want to switch to tubing. Right now, I have no interest in going over 25 taps. 25 taps would provide plenty of syrup for our needs. Going with 3/4" (or 1/2") mainline is going to be expensive, and not something I really want to spend money on if I don't have to. I've read of people hooking up a bunch of taps to 5/16" and using that.

My sugarbush is pretty steep (20 degrees).

Would 5/16" tubing work for 25 taps on a pretty steep hill? I'm not 100% sure how far up the hill/mountain I would have to go to tap 25 trees, as I haven't walked that ridge in a few years. What would be the max length that 5/16" tubing should be run? I'm not opposed to running up 2 different ridges.

[TRAILGUY]

I use 55 gallon tank. You need over 1 gallon of storage per tap per day or 5 gallons per tap for 5 week days. 10 taps per 55 gallon tank would do most weeks. 5/16 tubing on 20% would handle 50 taps so 10 per 55 is no problem. how close to where you boil? how will you pump them ouy?

[NirvanaFan]

Thanks for the reply.

I would be boiling right next to the storage barrels, which are downhill from the trees. The plan was to either use a siphon or put a bulkhead (like used in aquariums) with a schedule 80 ball valve coming off it.

If neither of those worked well, I would resort to using a jug on a long stick. :D

[harrison6jd]

as stated earlier, you can use 5/16 for everything in your system. i have 55 on one line and 48 on anotherand they run really well. 5/16 mainline and laterals. dont hesitate. this is my first year on tubing and i wish i had done it sooner. i am fortunate enough to have a skidsteer so it takes me 3 minutes to collect those 100 taps on tubing.

[NirvanaFan]

Awesome. That makes me happy. It should make things much easier next year. Instead of going up and down the hill this year, I am going across the base of the hill.

I could probably find some way to collect 55 gallon drums with the tractor, but it doesn't have forks. It will be easier in the long run to just use tubing I think.

harrison6jd, how long did you collect buckets/jugs for? How do you stop the 55 gallon barrels from freezing?

[harrison6jd]

if the tractor has a 3pt hitch, there are fork attatchments to hook up back there. i did buckets for 7 years. last year was about 90 and alot of time collecting. i kept 25 buckets for my kids and nostalgia but moved on to tubing.now i use those 275 gallon plastic totes in the metal cages as collectors but that is only because of the number of taps. i wrap the collection containers with insulation. i use bubble wrap that is sandwiched between 2 mylar or foil layers. limits the freezing but more importantly, keeps it cooler on warm days. when the sun hits those white containers, the inside become like a greenhouse and can get warm quickly spoiling the sap. seems to work well for my situation.

[Lyle]

This is also my first year on tubing. By far the best thing I've done to improve my set up! I have 200 taps and run a 3/4" mainline but some of my 5/16" laterals have 35 or more taps and 2 are almost 500' in length. It works great. I'm getting more sap than when I hung buckets and my poor old back is thanking me every time I don't have to slog through the woods in the middle of the night lugging 5 gal. pails in each hand. I also have a lot more time to boil those extra gallons.

[NirvanaFan]

I definitely agree with the tired/sore bodies after a day of hauling sap. I've got a feeling if the sap is just sitting there, and I get the wood around during the summer, my parents are much more likely to start a fire and boil. It will make it easier on me, and instead of taking an hour to get started, I can get there and quickly get to boiling.

Now I just have to make sure there are suitable maple trees up the hill from my current boiling spot. Thank you for your responses.

[Gary R]

Check out this thread. http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?17418-High-vacuum-in-gravity-tubing-research

Using 3/16 tubing and 20 percent slope would give you excellent sap yield. You could run all 25 on one line. You will need multiple barrels for collection. I almost got 2 gal of sap per tap in 24 hours, today.

[wnybassman]

Wow, you're a quicker learner than me. I am switching to tubing next year and it only took me 15 years of crawling around on my hillside to figure that out. lol Already bought the 210 gallon truck tank for storage and the pump to pump it back to my barn (60 feet away and 22 feet up). All I need now is the tubing and fittings, but that is cheap compared to what I already bought.

[unc23win]

NirvanaFan

Normal tubing set ups are about 15-20' of 5/16" line per tap that puts you in the 375' to 500' range, but if you are going to run longer laterals you would most likely need more. You could also try pre assembled drops Lapierre offers them and you might find some in the classifieds as well. Gary R is really into the 3/16" it might be worth you looking into.

[rayi]

Make sure you use rigid tubing I did not do that and the semi rigid expands with the heat. I also put it up in the middle of winter. When sap season came I had to do alot of cut and strech

[NirvanaFan]

Thanks for the tips. Does tubing generally go on sale after the season is over with, or does it generally just stay the same price? Where is the best place to purchase it from?

[PerryW]

AS long as you are NOT using vacuum; 25 taps in a single 5/16 line is no problem, I have 30-40 on some lateral 5/16" lines and they are not overloaded.

There really is no limit to the length of 5/16" lateral lines as long as they are pitched downhill.

[MapleLady]

I've been hauling my sap in buckets up hill for 2 seasons to my storage and evaporator. Definitely moving my evaporator down-hill and out back this summer! Also, planning on adding some tubing to make this more manageable. Some good advice on this thread!