Main Line into 55 gallon drum

[BristolHills]

Hey folks ,new to tubing. Any ideas on how to put tubing into 55 gallon drum and also keeping out rain and snow?? Typical drum with two bung holes. going to gravity feed on this big hill of mine. Carrying buckets getting tuff. All thoughts appreciated.

[Jcrawfo]

I cut the top off of drum. This made it easier to clean and pump out of. I then had tubing dead ended above drum, then put the tail of the tubing into drum. Then put a piece of plywood on top with a cement block holding it down. If you are in a windy area you might have to tie drum to tree to keep it up right.

[325abn]

Just drill a hole in the side at the top and use the lid.

[VT_K9]

We drilled a hole in the side of the barrel. We made a top out of wood and painted it to keep it cleaner. You can use hollow rope or wire puller to put tension on the mainline and hold it in the barrel. I doubt the barrel will be able to hold the tension so position the barrel so a tree can be used to hold the tension.

Mike

[BristolHills]

Thanks everyone, thinking of putting barrel on its side and on a platform. Making a spout with shut off for the bung then finding some cheap hose to gravity feed to sugar shack. Any thoughts??

[VT_K9]

We had one gathering station in the woods with two barrels on their sides handling a proportionate amount of taps. If it was a high run day we were running over. Due to slope we could not stand the barrel up on end. So it had to be. We could have split one of the runs off to another barrel, but went to a sap puller and a 275 gallon tote.

Sounds like you should cut the top off completely. You install a valve through the side of the barrel near the bottom and by cutting the top off you will have better access, plus you can clean the barrel at the end of the season better. The only reason to lay it on the side is due to the lack of elevation.

Buy a wayne water pump and it will empty the barrel pretty fast. We used one for years for as far as 250 feet from the sugar house with about a 30 foot rise. We used 3/4 in pipe. I still use the pump (almost 30 years later) to move permeate and sap at the sugar house. Make sure you walk the line if it does not have good slope and is without dips. The sap will freeze and it's a pain to thaw when you want or have to move sap.

Mike

Mike