MDR Maple
03-16-2019, 05:36 AM
This is my second year on 3/16". Last year I installed a single 2,000' long line and 41 taps along an open pasture on some road side trees with about 60' of elevation drop, southern exposure, lots of sun. I realize this is probably longer than suggested and with more taps than suggested, for the same reason this post is being written, it's harder to troubleshoot.
The line performed well last year and I did an end of year rinse with hot water. This year new spouts were installed and a vacuum gauge was installed at the top of the line. It had intermittently weeped about 7 gallons in the past few weeks when it warmed a little past freezing. Thursday and Friday were the first days I would have expected a run as the average daily temperature rose above freezing and the highs were in the 50's. There were plenty of bubbles in the line moving very slowly. The end of the line was dripping into the collection tank at a 2 gallon per day rate yesterday morning with 13.5" vacuum and a 1 gallon per day rate with 12" vacuum in the evening. I never really saw the line "flowing". It was never more than a slow drip, 1-2 drips per second. At first I thought the trees just haven't thawed yet, but I was expecting a much higher flow. A neighboring producer had collected a gallon per tap and was preparing for first boil. I saw another neighbor producer sugarhouse with steam rising. The UVM PMRC was preparing for the first boil on a good run and we are usually a bit warmer than that location. I'm thinking this morning that I must have a line problem and I think it's a clog, my first clog to locate and repair.
Yesterday I walked the line, glancing at each fitting for problems and checking the spouts. The spouts seemed secure. None were hanging. But although I glanced at each fitting, I was looking for signs of leakage. I stopped at one fitting for a while and observed the bubbles flowing ever so slowly towards and then finally through the fitting. That fitting seemed normal.
How do you locate a clog? Now, as I reflect on how to track down this suspected clog, I figure I really need to stop at each and every fitting and observe the bubble flow to try to see a backup of bubbles that will not flow through the suspected clogged drop tee fitting. Unfortunately, I think the run has been shutoff by the warm weather. It didn't freeze last night. Do I need to wait for the next run to troubleshoot, or are there other 3/16 troubleshooting approaches when the line is not running to solve a line problem?
What are others doing, observing, when they are checking there 3/16 lines?
The line performed well last year and I did an end of year rinse with hot water. This year new spouts were installed and a vacuum gauge was installed at the top of the line. It had intermittently weeped about 7 gallons in the past few weeks when it warmed a little past freezing. Thursday and Friday were the first days I would have expected a run as the average daily temperature rose above freezing and the highs were in the 50's. There were plenty of bubbles in the line moving very slowly. The end of the line was dripping into the collection tank at a 2 gallon per day rate yesterday morning with 13.5" vacuum and a 1 gallon per day rate with 12" vacuum in the evening. I never really saw the line "flowing". It was never more than a slow drip, 1-2 drips per second. At first I thought the trees just haven't thawed yet, but I was expecting a much higher flow. A neighboring producer had collected a gallon per tap and was preparing for first boil. I saw another neighbor producer sugarhouse with steam rising. The UVM PMRC was preparing for the first boil on a good run and we are usually a bit warmer than that location. I'm thinking this morning that I must have a line problem and I think it's a clog, my first clog to locate and repair.
Yesterday I walked the line, glancing at each fitting for problems and checking the spouts. The spouts seemed secure. None were hanging. But although I glanced at each fitting, I was looking for signs of leakage. I stopped at one fitting for a while and observed the bubbles flowing ever so slowly towards and then finally through the fitting. That fitting seemed normal.
How do you locate a clog? Now, as I reflect on how to track down this suspected clog, I figure I really need to stop at each and every fitting and observe the bubble flow to try to see a backup of bubbles that will not flow through the suspected clogged drop tee fitting. Unfortunately, I think the run has been shutoff by the warm weather. It didn't freeze last night. Do I need to wait for the next run to troubleshoot, or are there other 3/16 troubleshooting approaches when the line is not running to solve a line problem?
What are others doing, observing, when they are checking there 3/16 lines?