check valves separating

[steve J]

I used Leader check valves this year with stubbies and I had my best year production wise. But when disconnecting my lines I found many that had either separated badly from the stubbies or had started to separate. All stubbies where flush with the back of the tap when installed. I got to believe this cost me in overall production due to natural vaccum loss on 3/16 line. Due to bad knees I could not walk lines after the 30 inches of snow we got so this went un-noticed.

[Haynes Forest Products]

That is the price you pay. We all love good hard freezes and that has its drawbacks. I also suffered from long cold spell with 30 drops off the taps and 14 leaking saddles and it sucks but that is why we walk the woods everyday even if vacuum is down just a tick.

[DrTimPerkins]

Given the extreme cold we had, people with lots of different types of tubing and spouts had pop-offs. We actually had SS mainline fittings separate. It is just a consequence of the extreme cold and slight thaws creating pressure in the lines.

[ennismaple]

I walked a section of the woods on Wednesday because our vacuum was down a few inches. I found one hanging tap and almost every stubby and CV had a micro-leak from getting pushed apart by frost action. This is common as the season progresses with the 2-piece CV's.

[Mark]

Are you guys using the Leader stubby with them or another brand?

[steve J]

I am using Leader stubbies. But to me thi is easy fix at point of mfg. You have key slot on check valve so it can only go on one way and than twist check valve to lock in place. The two could not separate.

[ennismaple]

Are you guys using the Leader stubby with them or another brand?

We are using both Leader stubbies and Lapierre. The Leader ones tend to separate more which I attribute to them being more tapered than the Lapierre stubbies.

[maple flats]

I am using Leader stubbies. But to me thi is easy fix at point of mfg. You have key slot on check valve so it can only go on one way and than twist check valve to lock in place. The two could not separate.
That idea might backfire. Ice is a powerful force. It can break big boulders apart when there is a small space the allowed water to get in. What chance would a plastic fitting have when locked together? One or both parts could be broken and then you'd need to replace them. Remember, even solid steel heavy duty ball valves can not hold up against the force of ice expansion with a ball closed full of water (or sap).

[Mark]

The adapter center tube is a loose fit in the stubby and allows sap around it into the void. There has to be a better way to design it. I was told they tried to make it fit as many brands as they could.

[ennismaple]

The adapter center tube is a loose fit in the stubby and allows sap around it into the void. There has to be a better way to design it. I was told they tried to make it fit as many brands as they could.

IMO the loose fit around the center tube is necessary to avoid breaking the fingers that hold the ball on the original CV's. Obviously this isn't an issue on the one-piece CV2's. We got some of the clear CV adapters this year and I can't say I've seen as much separation between them and the stubbies but I will have a look when we wash up.

[Mark]

A couple years ago Leader said they would not make clear polycarbonate adapters because you would have a very hard time getting them off the stubbys. In this business you sure have to do your own testing on a small scale before buying too many and finding a problem in the heat of the battle.

[Homestead Maple]

Switched to one piece poly-carbonate 4 years a go and it was a good decision. Never have any push-offs now due to hard freezes. With two piece it's almost certain you'll have some problems.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Switched to one piece poly-carbonate 4 years a go and it was a good decision. Never have any push-offs now due to hard freezes. With two piece it's almost certain you'll have some problems.

Would it be okay to ask what you are using? We also switched from stubbies with CV1 to a one piece disposable from H2O but we still get push offs but instead of the CV pushing off the stubby we are seeing the drop lines pushing off the spout. We had 65 of 3100 off after the big 3 week freeze.