Sap Transfer Tubing

[themoonlighttapper]

We have some 1/2" OD tubing we are planning to use to pump a good portion of our sap from our collection tank up a hill about 350' in length. We are thinking our best bet is to run some 10/12 gauge high tension wire and tie the tubing to the wire. We've never run any mainline tubing or anything like this.. some minor sags aren't going to be an issue, but we'd like to have the line fairly tight. Any tips, ideas, links, etc. that might show the techniques and pieces we'd need to do this? Thanks in advance.

[VT_K9]

Not to be too blunt, but with 1/2" OD tubing a sag of any type will be a problem if you don't walk the line multiple times after pulling to ensure ALL sap is out of the line.

First thought I have, based on experience, is I would never use anything less than 3/4" poly pipe for this project. I'd hang wire from tree to tree. I find using the high tensile lag anchors in trees work great and are simple. I use a grapple to help attach wire and add tension. You can use a come-a-long with wire puller to put tension on the wire. I run tree to tree every 50-100 feet to reduce sagging. When I run my pipe I have it run around the tree in manner to avoid any sag, usually off set the lags by a couple inches in the direction of slope.

But do your self a favor and avoid freezing by getting larger tubing and I'd recommend nothing less than 3/4".

Good luck,

Mike

[SognSyrup]

Following.

Good points here. We are going to be doing the same here in MN and were planning on doing the high tensile wire as well.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Im with moonlight I section my mainline wire between trees isolating sections so if limbs fall it only takes out sections. Get it tight and sloped back to the pump or tank so sap wont rot in the sags. Yes 3/4 is your best size for pumping.

[themoonlighttapper]

Thanks for the input! We have a bit of leftover 1/2" tubing from a different project, which is the reason we were planning to use that. I guess the thought of the larger tubing is that there is a larger flow area, therefore it would take more sap stuck in the line to cause it to freeze solid? Are there other benefits to the larger tubing? We have run a test pumping water and it worked great, so I'm not worried about head loss. I should mention that we are going uphill about 80' in our 350' long run, so we should have a pretty constant 20-25% slope on the line.

The plan was to run the wire from tree to tree, although we will have a couple spans in the 50'+ range. When reading about mainlines, I've seen recommendations to attach the wire to the trees by running a smaller gauge wire through a piece of tubing, wrapping that around the tree, and then twisting the smaller gauge wire along the main wire to hold it in place. Is that a common practice, or a good idea? I'm thinking of this line basically as a main line, just flowing in reverse.

[maple flats]

Just be certain the pump has enough head to give a margin for the 80' lift you will pump, then drain the line after use. I have 1 location where I transfer sap thru a 1.5" line about 900', starts flat for 300' then downhill about 15' in elevation the rest of the way. I seem to have problems in the flat area and when it freezes it can take 3-4 days when things warm back up before I can again pump thru that line. I'm going to try sloping it up about 10' from the tank to a platform part of the way across the flat area, then slope down from there with a vacuum break at the platform so both ends can drain. I'm hoping that solves it.

[VT_K9]

If you look at lines run in the woods...sight down them. A 1/2" line requires just a 1/2" drop to provide a freeze point. Remember water expands as it turns to ice so maybe a 3/8" or 7/16" drop will allow a full pipe freeze. This is where I noticed a great reduction in frozen lines for use. We have always used 3/4" lines for pumping, but early in our tubing history we used some 1/2" line as a mainline...always froze. The 3/4" pump lines we used to use layer on the ground and we would walk them after pumping. Only trouble came was when you forgot to walk them. So we hung them. No problems. Now we use a 1 1/2" pump line.

When we pumped out 3/4" lines we used a Wayne electric pump. Worked for our set up then. Now we are further away, more rise, and more sap. I would estimate our Wayne pumped about 500 feet run with a 50 rise. No problems.

Mike

[BSD]

isn't friction loss greater on small diameter pipes as well?? i think 1/2" pipe at that distance, even flat would be **** near a choker for most small pumps

[VT_K9]

Yes friction loss is greater in smaller pipes.