How nasty can things get inside a 3/16 line?

[Sandersyrup]

I have some seriously nasty buildup in my tubing form last year. its nearly black and coagulated.

Should i be concerned? I realize i should let it run on the ground for awhile but... yuck.

I assume boiling will kill it but I have had concerns that boiling does not always kill the bacteria.. as i have attempted to make sap win every year and I get an infection in my wine that makes the wine ferment into a very ropey.. snotty goo. it only effects my sap wine not other wine i have made.

should i just replace the lines? its about 1200' of lines servicing 25 trees.

Thanks!

John

[Maple4444]

What did you flush lines with last year?

[Sandersyrup]

What did you flush lines with last year?

Basically just hot water with a little bit of sanitizer. .

[Maple4444]

Basically just hot water with a little bit of sanitizer. .

I would flush lines out again to hopefully remove gunk and then filter sap if possible before boiling. It seems expensive to be replacing lines annually.

[jmayerl]

Hmm , I flushed my lines with hot water and they all look brand new.

[ryebrye]

Most of my lines are clean. I pressure-washed after the first season but not after last season. I just left sap in them.

I use 3/16 drops with a 5/16 piece at the end and checkvalve spouts. The recent study by Dr Tim indicated that cleaning (when you are using CV spouts) isn't economical so I didn't clean last year.

My 3/16 fittings are not clogged but a few of the droplines were filled with black gunk. Most of it drained out when I was putting the new spouts on but left the tubing a little stained.

I let the first run dump out for a while and now I've got crystal clear sap coming in.

[maple flats]

Last year was my first on any 3/16. Because of a death in the family, plus losing all my help I was late pulling the taps. This year many of my lines looked quite nasty when I tapped. I was going to rip them out and go all new, but I tried just 1 line as a test. I cut the loop between the hook connector and the saddle and tapped the line with new drops (using 3/16-3/16-5/16 Tees) and a 5/16 drop with a CV2 tap. The nasty all flushed out in less than 2 hours of good flow, the black gook all flowed out onto the ground and the tubing now "looks" brand new. Then I just used another connector to join the loop where I had cut it and all look good. I'll be filtering and finishing my first 70-80 gal today. Til then I don't know if the syrup will end up darker than what my first batch usually is because of imbedded micro organisms in the wall of the tubing, but then, my mains there are all 5-12 years old, only the 3/16 was new last year.

[McVey Mike]

When I read words like pressure washing and boiling the lines, I assume this is when the lines are taken down each year. If I let my 3/16 lines up till next season, what is the best way to flush them when I pull my taps? And what water/sanitizer solution should I use?


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[Daveg]

When I read words like pressure washing and boiling the lines, I assume this is when the lines are taken down each year. If I let my 3/16 lines up till next season, what is the best way to flush them when I pull my taps? And what water/sanitizer solution should I use?


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Leave them up. Use plain, room temperature, tap water from a garden sprayer; no chemicals. One cup of water for every tap, starting at the uphill end. No need to heat the water. 10 feet down the run, hot water will have cooled off anyway. Try to eliminate/empty all liquids from the lines after you flush them. Coax it all out and your lines will look good next year.

[Daveg]

I have some seriously nasty buildup in my tubing form last year. its nearly black and coagulated.

Should i be concerned? I realize i should let it run on the ground for awhile but... yuck.

I assume boiling will kill it but I have had concerns that boiling does not always kill the bacteria.. as i have attempted to make sap win every year and I get an infection in my wine that makes the wine ferment into a very ropey.. snotty goo. it only effects my sap wine not other wine i have made.

should i just replace the lines? its about 1200' of lines servicing 25 trees.

Thanks!

John
Did you make any sap wine that turned out good??