check valve spouts

[prairietapper]

any preference on the type of check valve spouts? does one have an advantage over the other?
Thanks

[steve J]

I had used some check valves in the past and never saw much of a gain. But this year I converted all my line spouts to clear check valve with clear stubbies and I have never got so much sap from my lines. I am still boiling but I estimate I will be up around 40% in sap with 15 fewer taps.

[maple flats]

I've used check valve taps since the second year they were made. At first I used the adapter type because that was the only way they were made, then when the complete tap version came out I switched to them because I didn't like the distance the adapter version with a stubby stuck out from the tree.
The real advantage likely goes with the adapter/stubby version for price. They cost more in year one, but after that you only need to replace the adapter, not the stubby. If you change drops every 3-4 or 5 years you just need to do the math and decide. The CV spouts should be changed every year, if you use the stubby version the stubby is used for 3-4 or 5 years when the whole drop should be replaced
This year about half of my taps were the check valve taps (CV2) but the other half I tried the Zap Bac spout. They are supposed to be good for 3-5 years depending on who you get your info from. They cost $.05 more to buy (compared to the CV2 spouts) but that gets divided by 3,4 or 5 depending on what your replacement program will be. Being my first year on them, I have no data or comments yet.
I change all drops every 3 years.

[Russell Lampron]

I like the CV2 spouts better than the stubbies and adapters. There's one less place to leak and they don't push apart when there's a hard freeze. Micro leaks are practically non existent with CV2's too.

[S.S.S]

I switched from cv2 spouts to stubbies and adapters, I like it way better.

[wurmdert]

This is my first year with cv adapters and stubbies. Not much data yet as well. Had 4 or 5 stubby pop off in cold weather, but that is about the same as the old spouts I was using.

[prairietapper]

thank you all for your input. it is appreciated

[steve J]

Who makes zap back spout how did it produce for you?

[Dennis H.]

Have been using the stubbies and cv's and last year decided to switch over to the cv2's and at 1st they seemed the best thing since sliced bread but then found that at the end of the season when I removed the cv2 and just had the bare end of 5/16 tubing I had no way to plug some of them.
You may say that that is what the T fitting is for at the end of the drop where it connects to the Lat, well I can tell you that some of the T's must have been an older version because the 5/16 tubing would not stay on the pin.

Also you will have to plan on the 1" or so of lost length on the drop every season when you remove it. SO make them longer than normal unless you plan on changing out the drop every 5 yrs of so.

Needless to say I went back to the stubbies and CV's for this season.

[ennismaple]

any preference on the type of check valve spouts? does one have an advantage over the other?
Thanks

Where your really see the advantage is late in the season. My own observations plus the research I've read show a slight divergence in yields as you get later and later in the season - with the CV's out producing the standard 5/16" taps. When standard taps start to shut down is when the CV effect is really noticeable. The 1st year we used CV's (2010?) we only did a small 400 tap section of our woods. Over the last 3 or 4 days of the season those 400 taps out produced the 1300 taps that were on the same hillside but drained to a different tank! That extra few days of good runs more than made up for the nominal cost of the CV.