3/16 o.m.g!

[Woodsrover]

First time tapping trees in decades and research and the help I found here pointed me to run 3/16 tube through my sugarbush. I have a very good slope and have somewhere between 25 and 35 feet of drop in 400 feet. I ran three sets of tube today with 20 taps give-or-take on each of them. Within a few minutes they were showing vacuum and within an hour there were all between 26 and 28 inches of vacuum! A steady stream running out of all three tubes into my collection tank. Looks like we're starting to boil tomorrow night.

Thanks all for your help and advice...Its really paying off!

[Cody]

Great we are in the process of switching a woods over from 5/16. And also adding about 500 taps.From mainline to top of hill about 80 feet of elevation.

[WESTMAPLES]

good to hear on the 3/16 i just installed 800ft of it over 4 downhill runs into my mainline that is already under 25 in of pumped vac it will be a part hybrid system ive had pumped vac for a few seasons, while reading about 3/16 "free" vac and now ive installed some, about 15 taps on each run with 25 to 75 ft of drop from top to mainline (i understand its supposed to be 30 ft of drop from last tap for max natural vac, but i was looking at it like ill have great vac from the top to mainline, because to top is prefect for nat vac and the bottom has great pumped vac ) . im sure it will be great after reading many posts like yours, but ive yet to tap and see for myself good luck and keep us informed on how things are going

[WI Sugarpop]

One of our bushes has 30 to 50 foot drop that we used sap sacks for the last 6 years but this year we broke down and decided to do 3/16 tubing into a 300 gallon tote and then run 1/2 inch down to our trucks and haul it home where we then pump it up to our shack. We bought 3000 feet of 3/16 and 500 feet of 5/16 for drops. Hopefully we will be installing it within the next 2 weeks. We're excited to find out how it will work.

[TerryEspo]

One of our bushes has 30 to 50 foot drop that we used sap sacks for the last 6 years but this year we broke down and decided to do 3/16 tubing into a 300 gallon tote. We're excited to find out how it will work.

I think your in for a big happy surprise, 3/16 instead of sap sacks, hope to hear you need a larger collection tank.

Good luck.

Terry

[WI Sugarpop]

Thanks Terry. I would certainly welcome that problem.

[Woodsrover]

Pictures of the gauges on two of my three lines.
Yes, I know those are ash trees. :) There were the next trees uphill from the first maples.

http://seriestrek.com/images/vac1.jpg

http://seriestrek.com/images/vac2.jpg

[5050racing]

Love the way you deadend the line woven into the rope great idea,i weave alot of stuff and that is awesome!!!! I know all you have to do is push it thru the middle of the rope !!!

[Cody]

First time tapping trees in decades and research and the help I found here pointed me to run 3/16 tube through my sugarbush. I have a very good slope and have somewhere between 25 and 35 feet of drop in 400 feet. I ran three sets of tube today with 20 taps give-or-take on each of them. Within a few minutes they were showing vacuum and within an hour there were all between 26 and 28 inches of vacuum! A steady stream running out of all three tubes into my collection tank. Looks like we're starting to boil tomorrow night.

Thanks all for your help and advice...Its really paying off!Any update on your runs?

[Woodsrover]

Any update on your runs?

I got 70 gallons in 24 hours from Thursday to Friday, 40 gallons on Saturday and 40 gallons on Sunday. And then it got cold..... Finished 6 quarts on Sunday though!

[Leadft]

Pictures of the gauges on two of my three lines.
Yes, I know those are ash trees. :) There were the next trees uphill from the first maples.

http://seriestrek.com/images/vac1.jpg

http://seriestrek.com/images/vac2.jpg

Your getting this amount of vac pressure on a gravity line ?
How many taps per line ?

[Woodsrover]

Your getting this amount of vac pressure on a gravity line ?
How many taps per line ?

Yup, just good ol' gravity.
Around 20 taps per line, give or take. I didn't count them.

[Dave Puhl]

I have had 5/16 for 7-8yrs now and thinking of switching over ...I see some are using 5/16 drops with the3/16 ...is anyone using all 3/16

[Woodsrover]

I have had 5/16 for 7-8yrs now and thinking of switching over ...I see some are using 5/16 drops with the3/16 ...is anyone using all 3/16

I am. First year and all new gear so I went 3/16 from stem to stern.

[WI Sugarpop]

I was planning on all 3/16 but then I bought CDL 5/16 straight spouts so changed to 5/16 drops. Every thing is ready to go up on Feb 20. Sounds like it will be a nice weekend.

[huxta]

I went with 3/16 for my first year tapping. First day, I got about 75 gallons from 60 taps. I could not believe how fast the sap was running out of the lines. I have 50 ft drop from top tap and most of my lines have 20 ft drop from last tap.

[markcasper]

I'm going 3/16 all the way, was told you'd get up to 2" more vacuum by having the drops 3/16 instead of 5/16".

[OldManMaple]

Mark, where did you find that info?

[markcasper]

I was told that by a Leader dealer and it would make sense because the higher you go for every foot of height you get .88" more vacuum per foot. Now if you already had 30 feet of drop from the last tree, then the drops wouldn't gain you anything. On trees say only 10 feet above the tank, then a 3 foot drop line should gain you 2 plus inches of vacuum. But the main reason i wanted to go that way is so i wouldn't have to put a connecter in the drop line to convert to a 5/16" barbed spout, because in my opinion, you just wasted plus 20 cents on connecter.

[OldManMaple]

I have a lot of 5/16 drops made up already, so I was going to use a 3/16x5/16x3/16" tee. But I may re-think that.

[WESTMAPLES]

I have a lot of 5/16 drops made up already, so I was going to use a 3/16x5/16x3/16" tee. But I may re-think that. thats what i did using those tee`s, but mine is a hybrid system with the 3/16 running into a mainline thats under pumped vac , plus i have bags full of 5/16 CV2`s so it felt like a no brainer to me to use 5/16 drops into conversion tee`s

[OldManMaple]

Who makes a 3/16x5/16x3/16" tee with a stud not a cup? As I cut my taps off I need a stud, unless the end of the tubing will fit the cup. I don't have one to try.

[GeneralStark]

Who makes a 3/16x5/16x3/16" tee with a stud not a cup? As I cut my taps off I need a stud, unless the end of the tubing will fit the cup. I don't have one to try.

CDL is making a 3/16 x 5/16 x 3/16 tee with a cup but not sure if they are making a pin T. I picked some up at the warehouse the other day and saw no sign of a pin T. My plan is to just leave the spout on and plug it into the cup until next spring.

I will only have about 50 taps on 3/16 this year but so far I like working with the tubing. Fortunately my LOAC tubing tool fits both 5/16 and 3/16 so it is easy to go back and forth. I'm replacing some long laterals with decent slope with 3/16 into my high vac mains and an interested to see how it works.

[OldManMaple]

Ya I looked and didn't see any but things change so fast. Just would like to set it up the way I want. I might not even get to them this year so I'll wait and see.

[WESTMAPLES]

yeah i didn`t see any pin tee`s just cup tee`s , and i used my 1 and 2 handed tools with a few pieces of HVAC foil tape on the jaws worked well and was easy to remove when i was done, no need for new 3/16 tools

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

CDL 3/16 tubing will fit nice and snug inside of the cups without a spout on them. I will try a bunch this year when I pull the spouts and cut them off and just push the tubing inside of the cup and see how it does until next season.

[wildlifewarrior]

So how do you guys support the 3/16 mainline? Just tension and laterals? How long of a mainline run can you have?
Thanks
Mike

[Fireguy]

The zig zagging around the trees and the coreless rope trick works for me.

[Woodsrover]

So how do you guys support the 3/16 mainline? Just tension and laterals? How long of a mainline run can you have?
Thanks
Mike

I pulled it as tight as I could and used electrical staples here and there. The barb fittings are amazingly strong. I hit a section with my UTV by accident and it broke the tubing but the fittings held.

[markcasper]

Where do you get the braidless rope?

[Woodsrover]

Where do you get the braidless rope?

Cheap polypropylene rope from Tractor supply.

[WI Sugarpop]

Mark, Fleet Farm has it too.

[Super Sapper]

So does Menards. Fleet has their 16 quart stainless dairy pails on sale for $22.

[markcasper]

Thanks......is it in the "rope and chain" section? LOL!

[boondocker]

I was all ready to set up a 3/16 pipeline system into a 3/4 main. I had two 800ft. Rolls of 3/16 tubing but my local dealer didn't have any fitting yet. I waited over a month for them to be drop shipped to me from CDL in VT and I got tired of waiting so I took back the 3/16 and ended up going with 5/16 and put a shurflo 4008 on it. I finished up the system yesterday and when I come home last night there was a box on my patio from Rutland VT. Go figure! So with that being said if someone wants them let me know I will ship them to you. If not I'm taking them back to my local dealer. I was going to do 5/16 drops into 3/16 laterals and then the loop into the Main was going to be 5/16. I have a bag of 100 health cup T with 5/16 drop, a bag of 50 cup T 5/16 - 5/16 with a 3/16 drop for the end tree and a bag of 50 hook connectors 3/16 - 5/16 for the main line. I you want them let me know just pay what I paid and I'll eat the shipping.