5/16 drops to buckets

[bprifle01]

I am using 5/16 seasonal spouts and drops into 5 gallon buckets. I bring two drops together to a wye and then a short tube onto an old (last seasons) spout that is pushed through a hole drilled in the lid of the bucket. The spout in the lid is pushed up from the inside out so that the drop is pushed onto the tree end of the spout. When the sap runs it backs up above the wye and will freeze there when the temps drop at night. My question is this, should I not be using the wye and put another old spout in the bucket cover to attach the other drop to? Should I not use the old spouts in the bucket cover? I like to use them this way because they seal up tight and don't let rain or melt water into the bucket. Or is this something I shouldn't even be concerned about? It seems that the sap backing up doesn't impede the flow into the bucket, but the ice in the drop the next morning until it thaws will slow things down for a while.
Thanks for your thoughts and advise on this.

[cabinetcap]

Think your fine. I drill a hole in the lid just right so the tubing fits snug and seals. If there is ice in the line it’s probably to cold to run anyway. I wish I had ice in my lines today, looks like another warm spell.

[Scm]

..........

[berkshires]

I drill a hole in the lid slightly smaller than the tubing, warm the tubing up a little, and then work it into the hole. Seats really well and I've never had rainwater run down the line and through the hole. Then to keep the rainwater from building up in the lid and slowly seeping through, I put the hole towards one side of the lid, and put the bucket on slightly angled ground at the base of the tree, with the tubing side up. That way the rainwater builds on the bottom side of the lid and runs off, and never gets to the level of the tubing/hole.

[Russell Lampron]

Ditch the Y fitting and run 2 lines into the bucket. Like Scm said vent the bucket too. You can drill a small hole in the bucket rim that will be protected from the elements by the edge of the lid and still allow the bucket to breathe.

[bprifle01]

Thanks for your replies. I think I'll leave everything as is for this season and rethink things next year. I'll have to make up some new (longer) drops. This is the third season on these anyhow.
Thanks again.

Bill

[maple flats]

When doing buckets on tubing like that I used to drill a hole just below the lid, and made it a snug fit. Then I drilled a smaller vent hole near the one for the tubing, right up tight under the rim on the bucket. I did have 2 taps into one line, I joined them using a tee. It worked fine.