monitoring system

[Howard]

using a monitoring system, pros and cons?

[Haynes Forest Products]

Cons... you can't leave your house after six PM and they make your ankle itch. Can't think of any pros

[whity]

Cons... you can't leave your house after six PM and they make your ankle itch. Can't think of any pros

:lol: LMAO

[Haynes Forest Products]

The pros are you get to sleep in and not stare at the ceiling wondering if you should turn the pump on. You have real time vacuum levels that allow you to walk the woods fixing the lines. you should never allow a tank to run over costing you syrup. You will have one more reason to stare at your smart phone every 5 min that doesn't involve tracking your kids. If you get the right system you will be able to put a monitor on your sap shack wall and see what is happening in your woods, it will show you if the sap is flowing. How fast the tanks are filling the condition of all your mainlines. There is a graph that will show you when and how fast your tanks filled during the day. Will turn your pump on and off and how well the motor is running.

You will have more time with your evap or walking the woods.

There are some cons if you don't have a good WiFi signal things can go down and you get so dependent on it you become a crazy person but the good thing is along with that ankle bracelet you most likely took 10 anger management classes that you can think back on.

[Tweegs]

I remotely monitor tons of stuff in the shack, from the RO to the evaporator, to the vacuum and tank levels…
it would help if you were a little more specific in what type of monitoring system you were looking at.

Assuming we’re talking remote vacuum monitoring:
Pro’s- detects leaks and ice dams in the main lines.
Con’s- Cost.

Commercial systems, depending on the number of nodes needed, can quickly add up to significant cost.
This cost can be offset by detecting leaks early and/or identifying ice dams or other problems that lead to inefficient vacuum transfer to taps downstream of the problem area.
By identifying and eliminating these problems quickly, higher production yields can be obtained.

Ever have a branch come down across a main?
Ever ask yourself “Gee, wonder how long that’s been there?”
The ice dam that inevitably forms beneath that branch can take hours to thaw.
That’s time you’re not getting vacuum to taps downstream.
Multiply by the number of days the branch went unnoticed.
That’s the strongest argument I can make in favor of the system.

How long does it take and how often do you walk your woods?
If the answers are not long and daily, that would be an argument against.

[VT_K9]

As mentioned the cons are cost and trouble shooting should an issue arise. We had a level sensor not work out of the box. It took a few days because the signal and connection were great, but the levels would very too much for the flow of sap. We would drive down and check it and find the levels out of whack. We put the second sensor, for another tank we plan to monitor, in place of the first one and everything was within 3/4" for the level and actual level.

I would recommend it. The system will save a lot of time in travel if you live off site and will be a nice convenience it you live there. You can also chart the history of the sensor readings.

Mike

[Jamestheone85]

I remotely monitor tons of stuff in the shack, from the RO to the evaporator, to the vacuum and tank levels…
it would help if you were a little more specific in what type of monitoring system you were looking at.

Assuming we’re talking remote vacuum monitoring:
Pro’s- detects leaks and ice dams in the main lines.
Con’s- Cost.

Commercial systems, depending on the number of nodes needed, can quickly add up to significant cost.
This cost can be offset by detecting leaks early and/or identifying ice dams or other problems that lead to inefficient vacuum transfer to dog fever taps downstream of the problem (https://www.packofpets.com/dog-health/detect-dog-fever/) area.
By identifying and eliminating these problems quickly, higher production yields can be obtained.

Ever have a branch come down across a main?
Ever ask yourself “Gee, wonder how long that’s been there?”
The ice dam that inevitably forms beneath that branch can take hours to thaw.
That’s time you’re not getting vacuum to taps downstream.
Multiply by the number of days the branch went unnoticed.
That’s the strongest argument I can make in favor of the system.

How long does it take and how often do you walk your woods?
If the answers are not long and daily, that would be an argument against.
Well laid out, thanks!