Should I use a spile with check value if using drop tube to a bucket?

[Weekend_Warrior]

I am a hobbyist with about 20 buckets. I put the buckets on the ground and use a drop tube from the spile into the bucket. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to using a spile with a check value if you’re not using a vacuum pump?

[unc23win]

Check valves are designed to make the sap run longer by keeping the tap hole open longer regardless if you run vacuum or not. For 20 taps why not?

[Ausable]

Weekend Warrior - I do the same thing You do - Drop Tubes to Buckets. I didn't know that spiles had check valves - I learned something new. The purpose of a check valve (as I'm sure you know) is to prevent a reverse flow. I will have to be watching the replies to this one. Good question. --Mike--

[DrTimPerkins]

I am a hobbyist with about 20 buckets. I put the buckets on the ground and use a drop tube from the spile into the bucket. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to using a spile with a check value if you’re not using a vacuum pump?

The CV spout (or adapter) was actually designed (and has been most tested) for vacuum tubing systems. The benefits of using them on a gravity system are lower, so the economic benefit calculation is more marginal. Most years they would produce a small additional profit for gravity users, some years they might not (if your sap yield is very low for some reason such as poor weather). If your drop tube system is brand new tubing, there would be little if any benefit to using them in the first year.

[Bill Southern NH]

I used the check valve adapters in a similar way last year. They worked just as good as the regular ones. I used them with the traditional buckets with a hook. I just used a 4" piece of tubing for the drop line to make sure the sap would go in the bucket. Overall I was happy with the way they worked.

[Weekend_Warrior]

Dr. Tim, Thanks for your reply. But, I get a kick out of your reply... "economic benefit"... If I considered the economic benefit of my 20 bucket enterprise, I'd go to the store. I just try not to spend so much that my wife gets mad at me.

[On the ledge]

I'm small time like you only have 40 taps the first few years I was boiling in a turkey fryer would have been cheaper to buy it, but it would not have been mine. In my opinion it tastes better when you know you made it. Start giving it to your wife's family and friends and she'll open the purse and then tell you to find more trees.

[Super Sapper]

You can look at using the clear or white spouts as they are supposed to keep the hole open longer because of less heat from the sun compared to the darker or black ones.

[DrTimPerkins]

You can look at using the clear or white spouts as they are supposed to keep the hole open longer because of less heat from the sun compared to the darker or black ones.

To my knowledge, there has been only one study that looked at that for one season which suggested that light-colored spouts had improved yields. It is very likely that any effect would vary from year to year. In a cold year, there could be some benefit to having a darker-colored spout. In a warm sunny, hot year (like 2012), there could be some benefit to a lighter colored spout. So if you can predict which it'll be before the season starts, then by all means choose the correct spout for the year. :)

In our comparisons at UVM PMRC, we've not seen any difference in sap yield due to spout color (clear, black, white) over the past two seasons (2014, 2014). We'll be doing the same comparison again in the spring of 2015.