cleaning 5/16 tubing

[BarrelBoiler]

hi
I ran 5 tubing lines this season for the first time. after looking doing a search about cleaning lines after the season and finding that some people just leave them and others run a solution through, I was wondering what I should do with my 500 ft of tubing for the summer and then to get it ready for next year?
thanks
steve

[West Sumner Sugar]

We always run chlorinated water through ours to be safe. We have a small Echo pump we use for sap that we attach to the lines and pump away. Pull the taps out of the trees and it should spray out and get a good cleaning.

[Burnt sap]

14047 Try this I hope the photo came out If not it's a powder you mix with water it works great. No rinse kegworks cleaner.

[Burnt sap]

This stuff will not attract squirrels like bleach does.

[Atgreene]

I believe, and Dr. Perkins will hopefully chime in, clean water does as well as any chemicals tested.

[DrTimPerkins]

I believe, and Dr. Perkins will hopefully chime in, clean water does as well as any chemicals tested.

Without writing a whole book, the answer is....it depends what you're trying to achieve.

If you want the tubing to "look" really clean, then Clorox or hydrogen peroxide or acid-based cleaners will all work pretty well. Water really isn't bad either. Clorox might lead to increased squirrel damage though. Some of those cleaners will then require a rinse or require letting some sap run on the ground at the beginning of next season. NONE of those cleaners have any residual action however, so once you're done cleaning, stuff can start to regrow in the tubing.

If you want to clean to increase sap yields (and net profits), then I'd say don't bother with tubing cleaning. Instead either use a new spout each year and change your droplines every 3-4 years, or use CV spouts, or even antimicrobial spouts (as long as you aren't certified organic). Not a bad idea to pull spouts with the vacuum on to remove any residual liquid first.

If you're using 3/16" tubing, whatever you do, make sure you end up with the lines as drained as they can be. Small amounts of residual liquid will grow various things in the tubing, and these can plug up fittings more than with 5/16" tubing.

[adk1]

I use the air/water mix and use all CV spouts, but its easy for me to do this. If it wasent easy for me to d othe air/water clean I wouldnt do anything other than continue to use CF spouts.

[johnpma]

I give my lines a quick blast with compressed air and blow all the sap out......seems to work fine for years now

Buckets water/vinegar and the boil pan too

[johnallin]

Not a bad idea to pull spouts with the vacuum on to remove any residual liquid first.

If you're using 3/16" tubing, whatever you do, make sure you end up with the lines as drained as they can be. Small amounts of residual liquid will grow various things in the tubing, and these can plug up fittings more than with 5/16" tubing.

Dr. Tim - I am relying on natural vac with my 3/16 lines, so pulling spouts with vacuum on is not an option. I can't figure out how to drain them. I pulled a few yesterday but nothing moved. Any suggestions? Thanks