New spile or used

[gramps24]

Every now and again, I read or hear that to get the best sap yield you should buy new taps every year. Is there any real science that supports this claim.
I am not a big producer, 8 - 10 gals per year and have about 30 - 40 taps, but would really like to know.
Thanks everyone.

[Russell Lampron]

Bacteria imbeds itself into the plastic of plastic spouts and when an old tap is reused it then spreads into the tap holes causing them to close up sooner. A new spout or adapter should be used every season for that reason. If you are using metal spouts they should be sanitized when removed and boiled just before you tap to kill any bacteria.

[gramps24]

OK but I do rinse mine with alcohol after the season. Will that not cure that issue??
Just wondering.
Thanks again.

[tcross]

it'll help some... but nothing is as good as a brand new one!

[gramps24]

OK, thanks.

[buckeye gold]

You asked if there was real Science to support new tap use. Here is a quote from Dr Tim Perkins of Proctor Maple Center, a leading researcher on maple syrup production.

DrTimPerkins
02-05-2014, 02:13 PM
If you boil your taps what bacteria could survive that? How is a new spile more sanitary than a sterilized one?If I sold spiles I would suggest replacing every year too.

Not many.....but some microorganisms could survive. Hospitals do not boil instruments any longer to sterilize....they autoclave (steam heat and pressure) them, or simply replace them.

More likely, spores can survive (many of the things growing in sap form spores) far more insult than the microorganism can themselves. You can drop contaminated spouts in isopropyl alcohol for hours and then fish them out and find viable spores on them.

With plastic spouts, small imperfections are present or can form after use. These provide some amount of refugia from different types of cleaning, or the microorganisms make their own "safe" spots with biofilms.

Surprisingly, research (and not by those selling spouts) has shown that attempts to "sterilize" (I really dislike that word because most people use it improperly....sanitize is more appropriate) spouts by boiling have not been as successful as you might think. Yes....it can improve the situation....but no...it does not sterilize the spout, and without extreme efforts, does not bring a used spout back to the same level of performance (in terms of yield) as a new spout. Either way though....the economics of cleaning a plastic spout are pretty much the same as replacing with a new plastic spout. Doing both (cleaning the dropline and replacing with a new spout) doesn't provide any measurable amount of additional benefit as simply replacement with a new spout.

[gramps24]

Sounds good. Guess I'll buy new and besides, it not like I have hundreds of taps.
Thanks all

[maple flats]

Gramps, there is an option that research has shown to make the pain a little less. That is to use Zap Bac spouts, they have silver in the nylon that makes up the spout. They are shown to work well for 3 seasons. They will cost more the first year but when you divide the cost by 3 it comes to very slightly under the cost of the lowest priced annual spouts. They are available from Catskill Mountain Maple, or any D&G dealer.
Another option is to use SS spouts, which will cost in the $2 each range but then clean then directly after the season and then boil them shortly before taping the next year. They will last forever. Just divide the $2 by whatever forever is. There you may want to divide based on your grandchildren's years or even their grandchildren's use, that depends on whether following generations follow your lead, historically some do but most do not.