Need to keep track better

[maple flats]

I was pulling taps a few days ago and as I came to a bush that my mainline went thru I found out the mainline had come apart some time as it passed thru this bush. I hired a man to tap this section and I never checked after, just from a distance. I do not know if this was apart when he tapped or if it seperated during the season. I lost the sap from about 25 taps for however long it was apart. Next year i must remember to check closer during the season. If I had vac the guage would have told me something was wrong. My big mistake!!!! OUCH!!!!

[royalmaple]

That would have taken about 3 seconds to notice with vacuum.

[brookledge]

Just like Matt said with vac. you know when there is a problem. I can even tell if I have a single tap out. It will cause about a half of an inch drop.
While it's nice to know when you have a problem it's a pain when you have a slight leak and you have to walk the lines.
Keith

[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

You'd only have to walk the mainlines though, and look at each lateral and see which one the air is coming from, and not have to walk every foot of line.

[brookledge]

Yea I know but it always seems like when I see that I have a leak by looking at the gauge it's at a time when I'm busy and sort of wish I didn't know it was there cause then I got to go find it.
Keith

[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

yeah, true.

[802maple]

You need to put valves in your mainlines so that you can localize the leak. Close the valve let set for a few seconds then slowly open it if you hear air going by you have a leak if not on to the next mainline. also put a few on each mainline and you can go valve to valve until you find the leak. Atleast that works good for me.

[maple flats]

I realize all of you are right. I should have walked the line and looked, i would have seen it. The sad part is that this line is on roadside trees and I drove the road looking but the mainline break (a coupler pulled apart) was in the thick bush and hidden by the sugarmaple it was behind. Next year I will check better.
Dave

[markcasper]

Dave, don't feel bad, it happened to me too. I had 80 taps dumping on the ground for a week and a half after I tapped. It was all south side and running good w/o vacuum then. Problem is.....that was the last group to get vacuum maintenance on and hate to think how much good syrup ran on the ground.