Flying Tee

[toquin]

When is a drop too long? I can pick up a couple more trees on a 3/16 run, some are 15-20 feet away. I know its better to run lines over to that tree. Is there a cut off point?

[maple flats]

From what I've read about 3/16 line, there seems to be far more tolerance for long lines. I've heard of some going 200 and even 300', but the elevation drop is much more critical. If practical, just go over to the other tree then head downhill again. For best results you want 30' drop below the lowest tap downhill, but even half that gives you about 15" of vacuum.

[CampHamp]

Hey Maple Flats. I've done that but have no measurements or proof that it is OK. I'd guess that you would not hurt the vac on the main lateral by adding a long drop line. However, if you add a second or third tree to that "long drop" it really becomes a "fork" and your vac on those new taps wouldn't be as much as if they were both run separately and your flow into that main T will become turbulent and would start harming vac above both sides of that T. I'm only guessing, but Wilmot's paper said it's better to zig-zag than to fork, but no detail on how much you lose on incremental trees to a branch.

The only other issue is that "long drop" will either be slack (dropping below the main lateral) or be pulling on the tap. You may want to anchor the drop to the tree somehow so it can be tight for most of its length.

[maple flats]

By the way, I meant for the extra trees/drops to be added at the tree, not on a long drop.