5/16 versus 7/16

[Asthepotthickens]

I pulled my taps today. I recorded the harvest from the 20 5/16 taps that I used versus the 130 regular 7/16. The 5/16 were down about 25% on average. I threw them out

[Run Forest Run!]

That's a very thought provoking stat. . .

[fishman]

i'm beginning to think that I have the same problem. I haven't kept stats but a few years ago I switched from 7/16 to 5/16 with tubing and buckets and I just don't get the 4-5 gallon a day buckets that I used to. I still have 5 7/16 taps and they always have the most sap. Glad you posted this, I'll have to start keeping records.

[mapleack]

If you haven't read this study yet http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/smallspout.pdf it's very helpful. Yes under gravity/ buckets you may get up to 20% less sap with 5/16. However, you're creating a hole with 50% less area to damage the tree and only 80% of the wood staining/ damaged tree area. If you want to make syrup for many years it's imperative to have the healthiest trees possible instead of the most short term sap yield.

[PerryW]

I use mostly 7/16 taps on my gravity lines, though anything smaller than 12-13 inches DBH I use a 5/16 adapter. I think the 5/16' was really invented to make vacuum users feel better about sucking so much sap outta the tree.:o