Inverted T's

[optionguru]

Not sure if I misunderstood but I thought I saw pictures on here where people had their drops tying into the mainline from the bottom in spots (against gravity). Is this ok for all tubing installations or just on vacuum systems? It seems like the pressure would feed the sap into the mainline but the later my season starts the more I question everything I've set-up.

[red maples]

I have all mine up doesn't make sense to have them down. but over the years from tightening and fixing and fixing agian and tightening again due to tree fall, limb fall, and squirrel chews the lines can get twisted ot what ever and now a few are hanging down not really much I can do about it but I am also on vacuum so the sap will get out eventually. I am planning on changing a bunch of drops next year so I will fix some problems like that while I am out there.

[DrTimPerkins]

... I thought I saw pictures on here where people had their drops tying into the mainline from the bottom in spots (against gravity).

Drops tie into the lateral line. Do you mean the laterals tying into the mainline? If that's what you're referring to the normal position for lateral line entry into mainlines with a saddle is from the top. The simplest reason is it doesn't make sense to create a potential leak in the BOTTOM of the pipe? Plus it is a lot easier to work from the top than is would be to crawl under the mainline to look up. As Brad said though, sometimes things do get twisted around.

If instead you are referring to droplines connecting via the tees to the lateral line being inverted, it is not normal practice, but is sometimes done if there is a difficulty finding sound wood (without staining). Below the lateral line there is typically lots of sound wood, however the sap must be pulled uphill, so production "might" be less and sap quality not as good that it would be with the dropline going down (instead of up). We are doing research on this practice during the 2015 season.

[optionguru]

I run 4 to 10 taps per line of 5/16. I don't have mains, most of my problem drops are because I cut my drops almost 3 feet long. I cut the tee's in too close so the extra drop tube length ends up curling under the "main".

[DrTimPerkins]

I run 4 to 10 taps per line of 5/16. I don't have mains, most of my problem drops are because I cut my drops almost 3 feet long. I cut the tee's in too close so the extra drop tube length ends up curling under the "main".

You should try to avoid having the dropline curl under the lateral line (not main) by twisting it around, wrapping around the stem somewhat, or having it snake up the trunk in a curved fashion. It needn't go straight down into the tee, as long as there is a downward slope to the line. A 3' dropline isn't too long, but you need to just adapt the installation to avoid the curling.

[optionguru]

Thanks Dr. Tim. I will make what fixes I can this year without causing too much of a hassle and then I'll adjust accordingly next year. I think about 1/3 of my taps are wrong.