Survey , best tap price, production

[white mt]

Looking to buy new 5/16 taps lots of options . What’s your experience referencing price per tap and season long production .

[maple flats]

There are lots of taps in the 15 cent range. However I only use 2 types, for years I only used CV2 taps, then last year I tried the Zap Bac taps. Both are on the high side for prices but you get more sap over a longer season. I am only buying Zap Bac this year, the most costly, but they can be used 3 seasons. That reduces labor in years 2 and 3 which is a big savings.
Cheap taps and long season don't go well together. There is a reason they cost more, the best ones are worth that much more.
Last season using CV2 and Zap Bac I never had a tap hole dry up and I made .53 gal/tap on vacuum. The extra syrup is well worth the added cost.

[Sugarmaker]

white mt,
Maybe I can muddy the waters more?
How many taps are you talking about? (under 100? dont sweat the cost much) 10,000 then the cost can be hundreds of dollars in savings)
Are you running high vacuum? (Maybe check valve type?)
Do you have a lot of slope? (Maybe 3/16 type?)
Planning to replace them each year? (then a low cost replaceable tap is the ticket)
Leaving them in the wood lot? (get a spout and a tee that match from the same supplier so they plug in to the tee)

Your right, lots of options, What works for me may not be right for my neighbor.

As far as production? I would say they are about equal until you add vacuum or your going to 3/16 on slope. Many experts on here that will get you the good info!

BTW I used only Leader black 5/16 health spouts and tees. Just replaced the spout and drops this year.

Regards,
Chris

[mountainvan]

Zap bac spouts for sure.

[Sugarmaker]

Thats why I come here! Guess If I had been listening I may have tried the Zap Bac spouts this year too. As usual a day late and a dollar short. They might be just what I need on these short run gravity systems. Maybe next time! Wonder if they mate with Leader tees? Humm, Now that I think about it I went to CDL dealer and checked out his spouts and they did not fit the tees. I think that is why I went with the Leader ones again. Sorry for rambling. Not sure this helped the OP? Didnt mean to hijack this thread.
Regards,
Chris

[heus]

I am using the zap-bac spouts for the first time this year. Not happy with my cv spouts the last few years. Too many (like over half) of the balls plug up and the tree stops running, even though its not actually dried up.

[steam maker]

on the zap bac spouts do u have to do anything to them for yr 2 ??

[white mt]

Sugarmaker High vac , around 4 k taps, good slope. Thanks

[spud]

I find it very unlikely that a Zap Bac spout or ANY spout could be used for three years and maintain good GPT. Has anyone gotten a .5+ for three consecutive seasons using the same Zap Bac? If so did you replace drops? Has PMRC conducted and research on them?

Spud

[BAP]

I am using the zap-bac spouts for the first time this year. Not happy with my cv spouts the last few years. Too many (like over half) of the balls plug up and the tree stops running, even though its not actually dried up.
Were you using the CV black spouts or the CV2 clear polycarbonate spouts? I have found the clear ones to work much better and way much less problems with the ball inside.

[heus]

Were you using the CV black spouts or the CV2 clear polycarbonate spouts? I have found the clear ones to work much better and way much less problems with the ball inside.
The clear cv2's

[jetdoc]

I agree with heus on the cv2. Last year had around 20% of the cv2 clear balls gum up and not allow any sap through. Very disappointed with them. This year I'm trying the zap bac with all new drops. Last year we replaced all the drops with new and with new CV2. So we will see how well they do.

[heus]

I am going to start a new thread about the zap bac taps so as not to hijack this thread.