Aircraft Cable for Hangiing 3/4" Mainline

[vtgaryw]

I'm going to run a 100' section of 3/4" mainline, and I don't want to have to buy a couple thousand feet of the 12.5 gauge galvanized high tensile strength wire the maple supply placed sell. Can I get by with say a 3/32" aircraft cable (wire rope cable?) I can buy short lengths of that easily. The 12.5 gauge wire has a 1350 lb breaking strength, and the aircraft cable is 920 lbs. I can't find a tensile strength on the aircraft cable.

Gary

[markct]

TSC has 12 gauge brace wire in 300 ft coils. Its very simular to the soft mainline wire Bascom sells and priced simular per ft. I use it often when i have a short mainline to run

[Mark]

I'm going to run a 100' section of 3/4" mainline, and I don't want to have to buy a couple thousand feet of the 12.5 gauge galvanized high tensile strength wire the maple supply placed sell. Can I get by with say a 3/32" aircraft cable (wire rope cable?) I can buy short lengths of that easily. The 12.5 gauge wire has a 1350 lb breaking strength, and the aircraft cable is 920 lbs. I can't find a tensile strength on the aircraft cable.

Gary
Have you thought about using no wire? On a short run I have made a makeshift finger grip from rope and put a hose clamp on it so it will not slip. I put one on each end and used rope for side ties to tighten the tube.

[markct]

I too have experimented with no wire, results were mixed, it just doesn't stay tight enough in the warm days when running heavy with sap sags seem to happen, and when sags happen they fill with sap and sag worst. I have a few places it works well, but most of my places are with limited pitch and wire I prefer personaly.

[maple flats]

If you decide you must use wire, aircraft cable should work fine, but I think you'd want heavier than 3/32. On my mains 3/4" and 1" I don't use any wire. I use Leader 30P, put a chinese finger type grip on each end, pull tight, then use 1" wide plastic chain link type tree support to side tie. Been using this method since RapiTube came out with that method. At the lower section of one set of mains, I also have about 50' of 1.25" without wire. It is just downstream of where 2 1" legs join. Time will tell if I can get that tight enough without wire support. If it sags, I'll put up wire for that portion.

[BreezyHill]

I'm going to run a 100' section of 3/4" mainline, and I don't want to have to buy a couple thousand feet of the 12.5 gauge galvanized high tensile strength wire the maple supply placed sell. Can I get by with say a 3/32" aircraft cable (wire rope cable?) I can buy short lengths of that easily. The 12.5 gauge wire has a 1350 lb breaking strength, and the aircraft cable is 920 lbs. I can't find a tensile strength on the aircraft cable.

Gary

The A cable will do fine and I too have several section of 3/4 and 1" that is pulled tight and not supported. 100 of capacity 3/4" will hold 2.3 gallons of sap for about 19# and the tubing will weight in at about 30#. The use of Tension grips to secure the ends with more A cable will keep the tubing tight also.

I am heading out now o work on another 2500' of 1" that is wire supported on a 1% slope. There will be supports every 20' and closer if needed to maintain pitch for vac transferal.
Pooling will occur if the tubing dips as little as 3/4 of the width of the tubing in one area. Thus tight tubing is paramount.

Good Luck!

Ben