Help with gravity line?

[Sliverslinger]

I have been tapping roughly 60 trees for the last couple years and would like to increase in size. I generally give it all away except for a few jars for my own family. When I brought up tapping more trees, the kids and my wife let out a big sigh. My thoughts are running a gravity line connecting 25-30 trees into my collection tank so the wife and kids don't have to carry more buckets. I am not putting in vacuum line, just thinking gravity. My question is, with 25-30 trees, should I run a half inch tube with 5/16 leaders to the taps? What type of slope should I have? Does it hurt the trees to tap 6-8 feet up the trunk? And the final question, should I leave the high end or up hill side of the mainline open or should I plug it? Sorry for all the questions and recommendations for running this are greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[Goggleeye]

I have been tapping roughly 60 trees for the last couple years and would like to increase in size. I generally give it all away except for a few jars for my own family. When I brought up tapping more trees, the kids and my wife let out a big sigh. My thoughts are running a gravity line connecting 25-30 trees into my collection tank so the wife and kids don't have to carry more buckets. I am not putting in vacuum line, just thinking gravity. My question is, with 25-30 trees, should I run a half inch tube with 5/16 leaders to the taps? What type of slope should I have? Does it hurt the trees to tap 6-8 feet up the trunk? And the final question, should I leave the high end or up hill side of the mainline open or should I plug it? Sorry for all the questions and recommendations for running this are greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Definitely make it easy on the wife and kids! I had my wife out dumping 5 gallon buckets in dump stations while I was at work just a couple weeks after she gave birth to our fourth! And she doesn't let me forget it!
You may want to look into 3/16 - the research seems to show that it works well for a natural vacuum if you have the slope. I wouldn't worry about the 1/2 inch line. I use all 5/16 and have up to 35 taps on one run and it works great. Our slope is minimal - just enough to keep things going down hill is all you need. Start with an end line ring wired to the top tree, run your line down through the bush around your other maples (or other trees to aid in tension) to your collection barrel. T in at all the maples on the downhill side of the tree. Use Y's to bring in other short branches as necessary. Research shows Y's aren't the best if you can avoid them. However, I've used them and still produce well over 1 quart of syrup per tap every year.
Tap the trees where you need to in order to get the slope you need.

Any more questions, ask away. Sounds like you've started very similar to me. Welcome to the trader and good luck!

[JSEDLAK]

This is my first year with gravity tubing, I ran 5/16" line into a 3/4" mainline this year. This is my first year with this and I am not impressed. I don't know if I didn't install it right or what, but I have 65 taps out and figured that on a day like yesterday with temp's reaching 50 degrees I should have gotten at least 65 gallons. When I was using buckets a day like yesterday, with 65 taps on this hill would have given me close to 100 gallons. It almost seems like the whole thing is air locked. The lateral lines are full of sap, I thought they were empty so I cut into one to tighten it and much to my surprise I got shot in the face with sap. I have 5-10 taps per lateral line. I had big hopes for this year, but I am quickly becoming more and more discouraged with this tubing, I may be going back to buckets next year!!!!

[steam maker]

Ive got 400 taps running into a 550 tank i got less than 50 gallons yesterday !!! Relax it will come the trees arnt ready

[DrTimPerkins]

...I am quickly becoming more and more discouraged with this tubing, I may be going back to buckets next year!!!!

Give it a little time. After the cold weather we had, it takes some time for the trees to thaw out and start to run well. Air temperature can change pretty fast, but trees are pretty well buffered, so it takes a while for them to get started, especially if it was cold the night before.

[Big Daddy]

Is it a fact you will get more sap from a tap and a bucket or a tap and tubing?

[DrTimPerkins]

Is it a fact you will get more sap from a tap and a bucket or a tap and tubing?

No, that isn't a fact. Depends more upon sanitation of the spout than anything else.

[Maplesapper]

We switched over to 3/16 Gravity from 5/16 based on a lot of the info I have read in this forum; and Dr. Perkins VMU study.
What a difference already, and we haven't started to cook down.

The setup seemed quicker; smaller drill holes, and lighter spools of tubing to hike up the hillside.
Once the lateral ( 22 taps long ) was tight, we installed the drops.
You could hear the tubing hiss as we cut it to slap in the drop.
Only challenge is 3/16 fittings seemed fussier to secure with the tubing and hand tool.

We started installing drops at the top of the hill; wonder if it would be better to start at the bottom and work your way uphill ?
Fun to race down the hill and install taps before the sap from the previous hole caught up.
Brutal snowshoes, and wicked hills- we are apparently as slow as sap.....

[Sandersyrup]

You could always hang a few buckets near the storage tank to compare runs. If you get a gallon in a bucket you should have received at least that on tubing and even more on 3/16 with natural vac.

I have 6 buckets around the house and have received 5 gallons of sap all season so far but on my 3/16 I have brought in well over 4 gallons per tap so far. If I had decided to bucket everything I would have almost no real sap so far this year.

3/16 has really made bad weather into pretty good weather.


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