Longest stretch?

[tonka]

I will be working on rigging up my woods with a bunch of tubing. I am working with a subtle slope, I am thinking of running about 2000 feet of 1 inch mainline that will have ruffly 200-400 taps running into the main line. From the highest point to the lowest point my guess will be about a 20 foot difference in slope. Will I be able to pull this off or will I need a bigger mainline? 1 1/4? 1 1/2?

[maple flats]

Running a mainline at 1% (20' rise in 2000') is very difficult but possible. The difficult part is keeping the line straight enough to not have any dips, very hard to do. Will you be having vacuum? If yes, I would use a sap ladder or maybe 2, but each sap ladder uses up vacuum too. Are you planning to start a little high at the outer end and as low as possible on the low end? That can gain you a few feet of rise. If you do that 2 times (1 sap ladder) you can gain 5-6-7' rise before and after the ladder which could get you another 1/2% or better. Generally 2% is sort of a benchmark, but many successful mains have been run flatter.

[tonka]

No I will not be using a vacuum on the lines and yes I will be starting as low as possible on the outlet end and as high as need be on the high end. There is a lane cleared for deer hunting and when you stand on the south end of the lane you can see visibly there is a good gradual slope to the woods, my guess is about 20 feet but then it could be 30 foot also. The main line will be in the shape of an L laying on it's back with laterals running into it the whole length of the line. I had a 750 foot stretch of 5/16 tubing in the one part of the woods very close to where I am planning on running the main line that had about 50 taps on and I thought it performed very well. The lay of the land is high in the North East corner of the woods and the lowest is in the South West corner of the woods. I might have to take the transit out and see how great the grade is.

[maple flats]

You may not need the transit, try this website http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/elevation While I have a site level, hi end clinometer and 2 rotating laser levels (an auto level and a manual adjust capable of slopes up to 4%) I use this tool and it works well for planning. Just find your location on the max. expanded topo map and go from there. I view it in sat. view and I can find enough landmarks to tell where I am. On my biggest bush I can see stone walls (or at least dense tree lines growing along them. I find it a great tool. Once you find the location you can click on any spot and get the elevation. I plot mine with a series of spots for the greatest accuracy. Enjoy, I even find it fun to use, and it's free! Once you have the slope, you will be best off using a simple handheld site level. These are offered by the maple companies, but I bought 2 from here http://www.homedepot.com/p/CST-Berger-Pocket-Sight-Level-17-620A/203392261?cm_mmc=Shopping|Base&gclid=CPz2u5WancICFZAF7AodWjAAGA&gclsrc=aw.ds
They are held to your eye, thru the level you see a level bubble and 5 stadia lines, the center one is level, each line above and below are 2% rise or drop. Very quick and easy to use. This is what I use in the field when installing mains. If possible try to get as close to 2% as you can if possible.

[BreezyHill]

At 1% I would only use a level. Gravity on 1% will work fine as long as you don't have any flat spots...thus the level and mark trees. If it were high vac then you would need to increase the size due to the max flow at 1% would be too high of a flow for the last part at 400 taps.

The addition of a Dry line would remedy the situation for vac in the future...if so desired

[tonka]

I am planning on getting a wired strung up that will help prevent any sags or flat spots in the line. I do plan on using lapierre end fittings that hook on the wire. Still trying to decide which manifolds I want to use yet. Thanks for the input!

[maple flats]

Just remember, with 1" pipe a sag of just 1" is a low spot that will cause a pool. Try to eliminate spots that pool. You may need extra posts to help hold the line level.

[BreezyHill]

I am planning on getting a wired strung up that will help prevent any sags or flat spots in the line. I do plan on using lapierre end fittings that hook on the wire. Still trying to decide which manifolds I want to use yet.

I would strongly suggest a support wire on 1% slope. The wire will spread out your support posts or rapid tie to tree points.

Another trick I found last season is Rapid Tie from CDL. A length of just 36" will attach your hook connector to the mainline and give you the ability to tighten a lateral all season long with ease. When you are at the end of the length of tie you can cut out 30" of lateral tubing and start stretching again.

The saddle/manifold I have moved up to is the CDL max-seal with the bolt anchor. Some, I don't use the bolt anchor to eliminate leaks but where I have had repeat issues I install one of those and junk the old Lap. saddles. Have not had a single problem with the max seal units. Better seal design. More than happy to give away any left in stock and those that come off.

[lpakiz]

On 1 % slope, you need supports at least every 25 feet. I used a clear vinyl tube filled almost full of water to set the elevation of each 25 foot section. If you lay it out without accurate measurement, you will never get it corrected. When you raise one sag to solve a dip, you will create another one, worse than the first. The first thing you should do is determine the total amount of fall that you have, divide the distance by the fall to get the amount it has to fall on each 25 foot section.
I chased my tail for 3 years before I moved to this system. Definitely worth the time to do it right.
If you have 3 or 4 %, yes, you can lay it out with an eye level. 1 %, good luck!

[maple flats]

I agree, less than 2% is real difficult using an eye level. When I set my flatter areas I made a cradle with adjustment screw for fine tuning to hold the eye level that attached to a light wt. camera tripod. On the flat section it can not be hand held. At 2% or greater I don't need to use the tripod.

[tonka]

Thanks for the information guys!! and thanks BreezyHill for the suggesting a manifold that works, wasn't really sure which one to go with but after checking them out I just might have to try them out!!!! Thanks again! and if anymore tips or advise, it is always welcome.

[lpakiz]

Tonka,
I have one more tip that most folks on this forum would agree with: Go visit a tubing set-up near you. Look for someone who has a relatively flat woods. There you will learn more in an hour than you could discover in 6 months of reading here......

[tonka]

I would if I knew of a producer who has a woods rigged with tubing. I know of a handful of syrup makers in an hour distance and that I know of none have gravity lines, all buckets or vacuum I am assuming. The landscape varies in a half hour drive distance but thank you for the advice. I have ran gravity lines of 5/16 tubing for a couple years and holy crap on what I learned thus far and the time it helps save during the season, gets a little too hectic when I work on the farm full time, work a part time job and in combo of doing syrup.

[BreezyHill]

Tonka, I know the feeling, part time Angus beef farm, full time feed mill, three sons that play soccer 12 months a year.

Check out the vacuum system. To get vac thru the system, lines need to be well placed and maintained. You just don't need a dry line or releaser, over sized manifolds... and any other vacuum related equipment.