5/16" / 3/16" Hybrid System

[saphead]

Has anyone tried the following type of system? (this would only work with an elevated bush) Tap the bush with 5/16" and then reduce to 3/16" before the drop down to tank,mainline or what have you. This would eliminate the problem of 3/16" tee clogging and reduce the only clogging potential to the 5/16' to 3/16" reducer,an easy check in one spot for each line. I realize that this application wouldn't work in a lot of places but I think it's something that may want to be tried where feasable. I thought of this while driving and looking up at a sugarbush above a stonewall with a drop of at least 100' down through a pasture to the road.I admit it would look a little different with a bundle of 3/16" lines wire tied together running down the slope ... but free vacuum!

[Cjadamec]

No reason it wouldn't work. I patched a chewed 3/16 line at the top of a hill last year with a lenght of 5/16 and it worked just as good after the patch.

[Chickenman]

Friend of mine does this with a short run in a cemetery that he taps. First 7 taps on 5/16 reduced to 3/16 picks up 3 or 4 more taps and then long ways into tank. (last tree to tank is like 60 feet.)

[bmbmkr]

I've got 14000' of 3/16, only had one tee clogged so far this year- had help tapping this year and the tee was on one of the lines the help tapped. I am meticulous about there being no dust in the hole, keep the drill spinning whie pulling out of the tap hole. We tapped 16-25 Jan- 460 taps. I terminated several laterals with 5/16 because I ran out of 3/16. I thought the sap would just run through 5/16 like it does 3/4 but it does not, the bubbles run through just like 3/16. I've been getting 1.5 to 2 gallons per tap on good runs. Almost all of my laterals have 25-100' of drop after the last tap. I do use 5/16 drops- have had trees run for 10 weeks.

[a.clarke]

I did exactly this, this year when tapping I ran out of 3/16 but had some 5/16 tubing so I now have 12 taps on 5/16 at the top of one run and then convert down to 3/16 for the run to the tank. It runs better than the straight 3/16 run on most days.