Do Sap Ladders Have To Be Perfectly Vertical To One Another?

[Bruce L]

Seeing as the season is on hold, actually barely started yet, I was planning on tapping some trees over a hill. The mainlines are there, however my two mainlines are not one above the other.As you are facing the end tree, the mainline comes down low to the ground and hits the tree at 6:00, then the mainline that the sap needs to rise up to is anchored to the same tree and leaving at 9:00. I also have another spot farther up the line where the sap would be coming in at 6:00, again facing the tree, rising up to the higher mainline on the same tree leaving at 12:00. Will these work, or do I need to extend the mainlines on so that the ladders are perfectly vertical to the lower mainline in each case?
Thanks for the help

[maple flats]

That depends on the type you make. If you use the 2 pipe type, 2 pipes 3/4" side by side, they must be almost vertical, a slope allows the sap to fall back down while the air (gases) ride over top). If you use the spider type, with 5/16 tubing run from a star fitting under the lower main, up to a star fitting above the upper main, you can get away with some slope, but not much. If you need to run sideways, just build your vertical ladder, and then have a side main the carries the sap over to the other main.

[BreezyHill]

Bruce it will work ok with either spider risers or main risers.

I have both doing what you described but what works best if using a main riser is to attch your tubing grip to the main and extend the main around the tree to align better with the lower main.

Tomorrow I am installing 1/2 main risers to replace a 1" and a 3/4". These are to large and have taken as much as two extra hours to thaw after their 5/16 counter parts on the same tree next to them are running like a raped ape...sorry sexually assaulted primate.

I am hoping that the thaw time will be less...ok way less than the larger ones were. The first is a 2" pvc manifold that I taped and drilled to accommodate a wet & dry connection and 5 1/2" riser to go down to the 1" main below.

I will let you know how she does if you want to pm me. Tonight the 1" riser ran 12 minutes longer than the 5/16 risers on the same tree. But this am the 5/16 finally thawed and it was afternoon when the 1" line thawed.

I am up to 10 ladders in all and we have been running ladders since the later 1970's. smaller risers need less injection also.

Good Luck!

Ben

[Ontario Ian]

Here is one of mine, doesn't have to be by a tree either. This one is about 6' up, then goes about 50' into a secondary main. The last couple feet on the bottom I like to drop it from the wire it seems to empty the bottom line better, there is about 100 taps on this one.


http://i1374.photobucket.com/albums/ag413/iangmillwrights/010_zps4tgsjo1s.jpg (http://s1374.photobucket.com/user/iangmillwrights/media/010_zps4tgsjo1s.jpg.html)