3/16 Tubing - few beginner questions

[Kubota]

I'm playing with the idea of a trial of 3/16 tubing this year. I'm relatively new to sugaring and never done tubing. I have read a ton of great info on here and various other sites on the web. I have a dew final questions.
-If my trees are all high on the hill (+/- within 5' of elevation) can I just run the line down the hill an extra 20' of elevation to gain the vacuum? I would think this would be ideal since the whole lot of trees would have 20' of head pulling vacuum.
-Is the termination point at the highest tree just a capped end (Terminology might be off). As in the 3/16 connected straight to the last spout, or with a T with a plugged end? Is there concern of the line ever becoming air locked?

Thanks,
Mike

[DrTimPerkins]

-If my trees are all high on the hill (+/- within 5' of elevation) can I just run the line down the hill an extra 20' of elevation to gain the vacuum? I would think this would be ideal since the whole lot of trees would have 20' of head pulling vacuum.

Yes, this is the best approach. Have as much downhill run (maxes out at about 35' drop) as possible after the last tap. The more elevation change, the higher the vacuum (up to the maximum ~ 29.9" Hg). This assumes you maintain an essentially leak-free system, which might be your biggest issue since you are new to tubing.


-Is the termination point at the highest tree just a capped end (Terminology might be off). As in the 3/16 connected straight to the last spout, or with a T with a plugged end? Is there concern of the line ever becoming air locked?

Use an end-line fitting or a plugged tee. This allows you to make a loop around the tree to hold the tubing up and plugs off the line at the same time.

You want the system tight. When sap flows, there will not be air locks. Sap coming into the tubing will run downhill. Common Rookie mistake is to vent the tubing. Bad idea, especially with 3/16" tubing. You want it air tight.

Good luck and welcome to tubing.

[bmbmkr]

20364 Here is the end line tee that Dr. Tim speaks of. You can see the plug on the right side. A short piece of tubing goes between it and the drop line tee. The other two inserts get a piece of tubing that wraps around the tree to anchor for the lateral. I try to make sure the spout cup points down so it won't fill with bark and rain water.
https://www.bascommaple.com/item/iptp316b/

[Kubota]

Great. Thanks guys. I did see those fittings and I had planned on getting them and figuring it out on the fly.

Do you have any tips for preventing leaks? My understanding is good drill bit with properly seated taps and then making sure the tubing is fully seated on the fittings. I've read about the hot water trick to heat up the tubing and make it go on easier. This will just be one run, so even if I have to continually "tinker" with it its not a huge deal. I'm just hoping for a little better production than buckets and saving on some collecting. I think I'll tap out this year on hopefully 15ish on this tubing run and then 45 on buckets.

[DrTimPerkins]

Do you have any tips for preventing leaks?

Get a cheap vacuum gauge and put it on the end tree (or somewhere convenient near the top) and use that to monitor vacuum. Practice makes perfect. If a fitting doesn't seem quite right, cut it out and do it over. Hot water will help. 15 taps on one lateral line on 3/16" tubing is good.

You should get about twice the amount of sap or more if you have 20+" Hg on the lines.