Tubing Newbie

[Fleman202]

I am going to be putting about 90 trees on a line this season and have no idea how to do it, I only have experience with buckets. Are there any good instructional tubing resources out there?

The ground is flat, so is using a vac a better choice than starting higher on the trees?
How long of run can you do?

I would love any advice people could offer!

[BreezyHill]

YOu will need 2% slope for the tubing to work well. Depending on the actual distance you may be surprised to find how much slope you really have. 2' of elevation drop in 100' is not much.

There are a few books that will explain tubing instulation verywell. One from Cornell is very good and explains more than just tubing. The name slips my mind right now but I use it in our 4-H club to get new tappers up and running.

I am sure that another producer will chime in with the books name.

Ben

[maple flats]

I believe Ben is referring to "Tubing Notebook" by Steve Childs, Cornell Maple Specialist. That will give you everything you need to properly install tubing. It seems to address all the challenges you may have.

[unc23win]

Here is the link to Cornell http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/ on the left click publications and you can then purchase The New York State Maple Tubing and Vacuum System Notebook then there is a link for an order form where there is directions for online purchasing.

[BreezyHill]

Thanks guys for the resource source.

No matter if it is gravity or vacuum you will need slope. With vacuum you can make negative slope to positive slope by use of sap ladder(s). A ladder will elevate sap up one foot for every inch of vacuum; but the tallest ladder I suggest is 18'. Past this point it becomes inefficient in lifting due to the amount of sap that will slip around the air bubble that the vacuum is pulling faster than the sap.

My longest run is 2800'. I like to have no less than 2% slope. This is to keep the sap from pooling in a dip that will limit vac transfer.

I have trees on a brook bank that I tap at 10' as this is the height of the main line that runs past these trees. So tapping higher is a good alternative to get slope working in your favor.

Ben

[rayi]

After you read every thing you can find 5-6 people around you that know about tubing and take a look at their system. Better yet if you know some one who is setting up a new system offer to help. No matter what go with a bigger main line and set it up for vacuum right away even if you don't plan on vacuum.