3/16 tubing slope question

[DaveB]

Reading all the successes that people have with the 3/16 tubing, I'm thinking that I might give it a try in one of my bushes but I'm not sure about the slope. It's a hillside with a vertical rise of about 20' over 250'. The hill steadily slopes down but the last 50' or so is fairly flat. The lower trees are probably about 6-8' above my collection point. Would 3/16 tubing work in that case or does it need most of the drop after the last tree?

Below is a crude diagram showing what the slope looks like.

13866

[psparr]

The relatively flat section is the problem. Not good for 3/16. You could transition to 1/2" or even 5/16 near the bottom. The lower trees won't get much vacuum, but for the others it's a lot better than not using it.

[Cedar Eater]

How many taps are we talking? I would be worried about the lower trees being flooded by the higher trees if there are a lot of taps, but I still think you might get some vacuum benefit if there aren't. Maybe split it into a high run and a low run see what results. Also think about using check valve spiles on the low trees.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

It will work better than 5/16 on the same slope.