3/16 and vacuum

[michttm]

I imagine this question has come up before, but going through all the threads isn't very practical at this time. I am adding a new mainline to tie into my existing one (about 200 taps) and am seriously thinking about 3/16 line. One question I have is will it still work with the existing vacuum from the line I am tying into? Also, if I get a squirrel chew near the top of my 3/16 line, will it ruin the vacuum for the rest of the line? Like I have read many times on this forum, some vacuum is better than none. Or, can I think of the vacuum pump on the 5/16 lines as backup for the 3/16 in case of a natural vacuum failure.

One last question unrelated concerns the amount of sap I am getting from my trees. Most of the producers in my area are getting almost double the amount of sap that I am getting from my trees. I have to work to average 10 gal per tap for the season. So far I have attributed this to 1. their trees are in sand rather than the heavy clay mine are in and 2. my trees are fairly young, with the average on 700+ taps being around 12 inches in diameter. Also, my trees are on a North faced slope. The consensus from most of the articles I have read on this seems to indicate it will affect it somewhat, but not to a great extent. I would agree, but double the amount seems somewhat excessive. Any thoughts on these two topics would be greatly appreciated.....Terry

700+ taps (120 gal syrup)
New Sunrise 2x6 evaporator (60+ gal/hr, Love it)
High Vacuum (3hp but inches is another story)
Deer Run 250 RO (too lazy, looking for a 500)
360 AC four wheeler (Would never ride it so early if not for maple)

[mellondome]

North slope will just start later and run later. How you tap and the vac level will be the big factors on sap yield.
Yes! A chew anywhere in 3/16 will ruin the vac for the line as it allows for a disruption to the column of sap that is responsible for the vac level.

[markcasper]

With a north slope you usually will end up with less at the end of the season. I disagree with them running longer, they seem to bud out right along with the rest. Practically every day it freezes the south side will outdo the north and sometimes by quite a bit. In my situation, the north side is a little bit sweeter and the quality is always better due to less heating.

[Cedar Eater]

My experience is very limited, but I would say that my smaller diameter trees produced less this year than my larger trees, and my north slope trees started much later due to having cold trunks, but they budded only a day or two after the others because their crowns were in sunlight (that's my guess). Had they been shaded by hillside or other trees, I would expect them to run longer before budding.

[jimsudz]

From all the 3/16 seminars that Iv'e been to in the last few years the all say that the hybrid system will give you the best vacuum possible.If you have good slope for the expansion area I would defiantly go with 3/16. If you were to get a leak towards the top of your 3/16 line it would only effect the vacuum after the leak. You would still be getting good vacuum below the leak.This is for 3/16 without a pump, not sure how it would perform if you were using a vacuum pump. I have 324 taps 0n 3/16 with excellent south facing slope and I got 24+ gal/tap. Very happy with the setup. The average diameter is 12.5 inches. I believe 10 g /tap is very low.My friend has a north facing bush and he found that it ran much lower this season. Seemed to stay to cold to get good runs and it ended running way before me. We are only a couple miles apart. Too me it seem that your current vacuum system has some flaws.If your not getting the inches your not getting the potential volumes of sap.