Tube/bucket questions

[Kilroy]

I'm planning on using plastic 5/16 tap with tubing to a 5 gallon bucket arrangement for my first go at gathering sap.
I'm looking at Bascom's site, and have the taps pretty much sorted out.
There's 9 different 5/16 tubing to choose from.
The taps I'm looking at have barbs to retain the tubing, so I'm guessing that a "rigid" type is not a good choice.
Advice for tubing and/or tap combination?

[Chicopee Sap Shack]

Use leader check valves well worth it in a gravity system


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[dblact38]

Hey Kilroy, I use a drop line system in 5 gal jugs also. I purchase taps and tubing from sugar bush supplies, which the taps are plastic & barbed, which hold the tubing in place. It stinks to go collect and find your tubing fell off the tap from ice build up etc, with no sap in bucket. My taps are Item#0079 and tubing is Item#0033. Good luck I hope this helps you

[psparr]

Semi rigid will work well. That's what most use for drops. One note about Bascom's. You wont know how much the shipping is when you buy. It's reasonable though.

[adk1]

Yes semi rigid so it's flexiable enough for bends etc

[Ausable]

Kilroy - I do the same thing and Your question has been well answered. But - To keep the wind or critters from knocking and empty 4 or 5 gallon bucket out from under the lid - I weight the lid and bucket with about a 2 foot piece of slab wood. I drill my hole or holes in the lid and the OD of the tube fits snugly in the lid and I have no problem with snow melt or rain getting in the pail. I tried drilling into the top edge of the bucket and didn't like that idea. You will figure what works out for You as You experiment with it. I prefer this to the Grimm Spiles and hanging pails - the sap stays cleaner of bugs, bark and other debris.

[adk1]

I agree with a usable, I drilled a few buckets in the top edge and from time to time they seem to pop out. I would then attach a clothes pin to the tubing once it was inside. It worked. Now I do the same as a usable and drill my hole in the top of the bucket lid. It doesn't come out, you get extra capacity and you just pop the lid off and dump the bucket and put it back on rather than poking the tubing back in the side hole and adding the clothes pin etc

[buckeye gold]

I go in the side of the rim. I use 5/16 treesaver taps and never have a tube come off. I cut my tubes around 6-8 inches into the bucket and insert so they point up. I very rarely have one come out. The hole size is important and you need a tight fit. with the tube pointed up it traps about an inch of sap in the tube and works as a check valve in theory. I don't pull the tubes to empty. with the extra tubing I can remove the lid and dump fairly easily.

[n8hutch]

I agree with everyone else, run the tube through the lid, semi rigid works great I like the Green lappirre cause it sticks out well & you can tell lots of times just by driving bye if there is an issue. I wouldn't bother with the check valve taps, your going to have new drops/ tubing so you will have nothing to gain from a check valve this season, might want to consider them next year. I personally haven't tried a check valve tap on a gravity drop to a bucket so I can't say weather it would be worth the investment or not , good luck

[Sugarmaker]

I am not sure the check valves help much on gravity tubing systems? 5/16 spouts, and good drop line tubing of any brand should work.
Good luck with your season,
Regards,
Chris

[Kilroy]

Thanks for the input everyone.
I've been back & forth about hole placement, but now I think I've got it all sorted out.
Here's my plan - move snow out of the way on the north side of the tree. Place bucket on shady side & heap snow around it, making sure bucket is slightly pitched in a manner so as to shed water away from the hole (it will be in lid).
The whole idea of keeping the bucket in snow on the shady side comes in to play because I may not be able to get to these for up to 3 days.

[Kilroy]

Dblact38 - I'm checking out sugar bush supplies, thanks. They're closer (lower shipping?) and their prices are comparable. I think I initially passed by their website, as I had to download their catalog pdf... I've downloaded it now, and it's quite interesting.

[Shawn]

Have used Bascom's since we started ten years ago and they are fair and will help you in any way

[buckeye gold]

Kilroy, I have had nothing but good experiences with sugar bush supply. They ship fast and accurately, they will address problems promptly.

[Sweet Shady Lane]

Hey Kilroy, I know you are just getting started in this but here is my 2 cents worth, the first few years that's what I did, I used tubing from the taps into the buckets it works but on the cold days the sap in the tubing freezes like a brick and its a pain to get it out , you loose a lot of time getting the ice out of the lines, so if you can get some kind of bottle that can hang on the tap or if money is no object buy some sap sack holders and bags the bags are cheap but the holders run about 6.00 bucks a pop. gook luck and have fun with it.

[bowhunter]

I've had excellent service from Sugar Bush supply. I order by phone and have also been to their store several times. Great prices and very fair on shipping and handling costs.

[fishman]

I drill the bucket top also with a real tight fit and it doesn't leak but as an added measure I drill the hole off to one side of the top and set the bucket at a slight angle with the hole on the high side so if it rains the the tube hole would be out of the water anyway.

[Pibster]

I drill the bucket top also with a real tight fit and it doesn't leak but as an added measure I drill the hole off to one side of the top and set the bucket at a slight angle with the hole on the high side so if it rains the the tube hole would be out of the water anyway.
That's how I do it also. Never had a problem with leaking.