Steep ground

[western mainer]

I will be running 3 mains up a Mt. 15-20 percent pitch. Do I need to put up a wire for the tubing?
Thanks Brian

[madmapler]

I'm actually doing the same thing right now. I considered going that route but I decided to run wire to reduce turbulence. I'm using vacuum without a dryline because I dont have that many taps to grab and it is'nt worth the 2 lines.

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

I noticed your signature mentions you are going to 2,000 someday. I suggest doing this once. Running a wet dry up the steep slope, then a couple mains off that to catch the taps you want for this year. Will the entire 2,000 be able to be added if you set up a system like this? If not, this may be overkill. But if the 2,000 is within reach of your sugarhouse. I would go this route. Speaking from someone that has done it twice.

[Meaford Maples]

I'm interested in this too as I am in a similar situation with a very steep slope down to my planned sugarhouse from a relatively flat bush. How many taps do you think it would take to justify a wet dry system? I will likely be starting with about 500 taps. I only want to do this once.
Thanks,
Steve

[unc23win]

I have some similar grade. Basically what I do in woods like that is run it with the grade of the hill I use wire. I basically run it 2-3' off the ground the wire helps with snow. Plus chances are there will be a few holes or dips in the hill the wire will help with them also.

Wet and dry is worth it when you consider the potential increase in sap production by having higher vacuum levels. 1" of vacuum over 20" is 1 gallon more sap per tap for 2000 thats roughly 40-50 more gallons of syrup well worth one more line.

[western mainer]

I noticed your signature mentions you are going to 2,000 someday. I suggest doing this once. Running a wet dry up the steep slope, then a couple mains off that to catch the taps you want for this year. Will the entire 2,000 be able to be added if you set up a system like this? If not, this may be overkill. But if the 2,000 is within reach of your sugarhouse. I would go this route. Speaking from someone that has done it twice.

In this area I will have about 350 taps I will be running a wet dry line.
Brian

[BreezyHill]

Grades of this steepness almost demand a W/D due to the point at witch the saddle entries there will be a blockage point of the flow. This will cause a decrease of vacuum in the line above the blockage. On the other hand if there is sufficient elevation drop this blockage could increase vacuum due to the line being blocked and a slug of sap rushing down the Mtn while it is also being pulled by the vac pump to the bottom. This can create an interesting situation where saddles will loosen due to the constant vibration. A wire will unfortunately worsen this as it will propitiate the harmonic disturbances down the tubing and across each saddle contacting the wire. The use of saddles with the bolt tightener is strongly advised to reduce the risk of leaks. One leaky saddle will greatly reduce your vacuum due to the severe slope of the mains.
I too would recommend wire support, W/D, bolted saddles, and lateral lines tied of to the mains to reduce the chance of lateral leakage due to the vibration factor. Take the extra time to get a good 3% max stretch on the tubing to reduce turbulence. A nice straight mains will allow the sap to settle to the bottom and not act like a bob sled run where the sap is climbing the side walls on every minor twist and deviation.
Check out CDLs new black plastic fittings if you are not using ss. They are nearly the same ID as ss.

Good Luck!

[PerryFamily]

Breezy thank you for the info on the CDL plastic fittings will have to check into that