Making 3" Schedule 40 PVC sap bag pipes

[claystroup]

I want to make 40 to 50 PVC sap bag holders this off season and am going to use 3" Schedule 40 pipe so that they pour out easily. I have a couple of questions: 1) what length should I cut them to (at 5" long I can cut 24 pcs out of a 10' length of pipe); and 2) what is a good spile to use with the PVC bag holders? I have a miter box, drill press and table saw so I should have all the equipment to make them. Thanks, Clay

[Tater]

I think I made mine 4" long. As far as spiles, I used the Sapmeister bucket spouts (these (http://sapmeister.com/bags%20and%20buckets.htm)) and was quite pleased with them.

[claystroup]

Thanks Tater for the info. I was thinking the Sapmeister spiles would be a good choice. Do you remember what size holes you drilled?

[lyford]

I made mine 5 inches and I use the clear poly carbonate 90 degree angle spouts from bascoms, the taps are around 19 cents and i recycle them at the end off the year. I then use a table saw to cut a groove about an inch from the bottom, and a whole saw to cut 1-1 inch whole the tap goes thru. I run around 50 bags and in the past 3 years i have had a total of 2 bags pull the taps off tree, bags were full and I had to let them hang longer than i wanted to. I haven't had any bags slip off the tap.

[mudr]

Lyford- I used a very similar setup, the 90 degree spouts with a hole cut into the side of the pvc. I used different 90 degree spouts and had some "fatalities" shall we say. Some wouldnt stay on, it was always the same trees. Might be an angle thing, as in the tree wasn't perfectly upright. Also seemed to be a bigger problem with smaller diameter trees.

For my next batch I'm thinking 3 inch pvc (same size), but drilling a +/- half inch hole towards the top rim of the pvc, and using hooked taps for the metal buckets. I have read mixed reviews on the blue poly carbonate ones, I guess they tend to pull out easily (??). The other option I might test more is the metal "shark fin" style bucket taps. I had a couple extras last year, and tested one on a pvc holder for the season. Worked really well, but might need shorter pvc sections, as the 5-6 incheck one I had was difficult to put on and off at times. The shark find taps are not that long.

[lyford]

mudr, so what tap would you use with the hooks? I have some left over taps if you'd like to give them a try. I know i tapped a couple of trees (offseason) that are not my crop trees and just filled a bag with water and hung it with my setup just to try it out. I can mail you a couple taps if you'd like to experiment on your own. My only thing with the hooks, is that its just one more thing to put up, take down, and try not to lose over the offseason. Probably not a big deal, but I do like just taking the taps down and recycling them, nothing to clean up and store.

[claystroup]

Hi Lyford,

I like the 5" long length as that was what I was thinking. Do you know who made the clear spiles you got from Bascom's? I just looked at their website and the closest ones I could find that matched your description were from Leader and they are .16 each. If they fit good thru a 1" hole that would be an easy setup to make. Thanks, Clay

[lyford]

Clay,
Im attempting to post you the link, https://www.bascommaple.com/item/lacsp/spout_leader/ I hope that works, the site says they are on sale for 14 cents. The tap wont fit thru the hole straight on, so what I do is have the pvc horizontal and then feed the holder up and over the 90 degree bend. I'd be happy to post a couple pics if thats confusing.

[claystroup]

Lyford,

Thanks for the additional info. I will give them a call and get some ordered when they are on sale.

Thanks again,

Clay