Taking down 3/16 after first year - How??

[bryankloos]

Hey All,

Season is coming to an end by me. this was my first year on 3/16 with vac.
I'm contemplating leaving the tubing up, or pulling it all down and rolling it up.
What is the best way for me to pull taps, clean tubing and "summerize" until next year assuming I leave up or pull down?
I'm on a Shurflo 4008 with 6 lines.
All help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Bryan

[Mead Maple]

Not saying this cannot be done and I will let the folks answer who have experience or first hand knowledge but after what I have seen when a line gets separated because of an animal and the stretching and recoil that ensues, I would hate to pull line down and try and put it back up, replicating the way it looked upon installation. The thought of tangling and Ts being too far away from the tree makes my blood pressure rise a little hahaha. If you figure something out that works I would certainly be impressed


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[Maple Time]

I take down a line each year. It's probably about 600 ft long. First I cut off the taps to get them out of the way then I just start at the bottom and work my way up wrapping the line around my arm like an extension cord. It's not too bad until close to the end when it gets pretty bulky. Make sure you have a way to secure it ready when you get to the end you dont want it all un coil while trying to tie it up. When I put it back up I start at the top, put my end line hook around the tree and unwind as I go, leaving it loose. Then go back and pull tight. It's also very important to know which trees you go around, the first time I went to re hang I took a slightly different route and my taps didn't lineup. I spray painted the trees where the line goes so I can't mess that up again.

[Mead Maple]

I take down a line each year. It's probably about 600 ft long. First I cut off the taps to get them out of the way then I just start at the bottom and work my way up wrapping the line around my arm like an extension cord. It's not too bad until close to the end when it gets pretty bulky. Make sure you have a way to secure it ready when you get to the end you dont want it all un coil while trying to tie it up. When I put it back up I start at the top, put my end line hook around the tree and unwind as I go, leaving it loose. Then go back and pull tight. It's also very important to know which trees you go around, the first time I went to re hang I took a slightly different route and my taps didn't lineup. I spray painted the trees where the line goes so I can't mess that up again.

Well done! I am impressed with your enthusiasm and dedication to it. Your one arm must look like Pop-Eye when you get to the top! I’m sure cutting off the drops makes all the difference


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[Dave Puhl]

I have been running 5/16..for a long time..its been a headache..last year I took black electrical tape and tape the drops to the main line before taking it down... it helps.short runs just coil up as a rope as you walk along..long runs I am doing the same but a pain big time..and making a map or other to remember how it goes back up!!!

[bryankloos]

Whats best for sanitation prior to removal?
What's best practice for sanitation if I choose to leave the lines up?
Thanks!

[buckeye gold]

I wouldn't even try and fathom taking down my lines.....visions of a major cluster muck. Sanitation would be the same as leaving up, although you could submerge the whole bundle in a tank of calcium Hypochloride solution

[Flatlander]

I used to take all my 3/16" and 5/16' lines that were not hooked up to a main line. As was stated by Dave Puhl, I too would tape my drops to the lateral but I bought several garden hose reals from the hardware store. I can coil up all the tubing as needed without any problem. You just have to determine the size of hose reel with the length of your line. On a bigger reel with wheels I could get a 5/16" lateral that was over 600 feet long with all the side branches. I would also tape all the side branches to the "main line" as well. Just had to remember which branch was which each winter when I put the whole system back up. I also painted trees to mark where the laterals went but I could always remember pretty well where it went. I used to take down three different lines each year for a lot of years. But I have now set up vacuum and 3/4" main line now so I don't take it down any more. Squirrels are still a problem though.

[springhillsmaple]

We take down and put up 2500 taps worth of tubing each year. It is now all 3/16. Animals destroy it if we leave it up. Last year I forgot about 1 line and left it up. I found it in three pieces and dragged all over the place. After cleaning, we cut the long (500') lines in approximately half. Drop lines are free of spouts and plugged into pegs. Onto one's arm, a coil is made by walking down the line placing one forward loop followed by a backward loop followed by a forward loop. Sounds complicated but it becomes intuitive and can be done about as fast as you can walk. This avoids twists and allows you to let the coil fall off the side of your arm when putting it back up next year. In other words, you don't have to unspool it to keep it from being twisted. Rolls are bundled. Each roll has a tag and color that corresponds to the paint marks on the run of trees. It takes three people about 3 or 4 days to take down. Same to put back up.

[bryankloos]

Thanks for the repluies!

If I pull them all down, I will submerge in a sterilization solution and then rinse.
If I leave them up, whats the best way to clean the tubing?
How can I flush as my bush is on flat ground and my pump doesn't move that much air/fluid...

[Ghs57]

I have 7 3/16 lines (250-500 ft) I take down. I flush those that I can with water before taking down by connecting a pressurized source to the bottom end before the taps are pulled (Surflo pump fed from my transport tank). Then starting from the top, pull the tap, cut it off, let it flush until clear, move down to the next one and repeat all the way to the bottom. You can coil as you go, or come back and do it after all taps are pulled and flushed. This year I am going to sanitize before coiling, possibly instead of water or right after. Take a reference video of the line with your phone before you take it down. Labeling is important. Tag the top and bottom ends, and if you have to break the line, indicate each section top and bottom so you know how it all goes back together. I made a spooling device which keeps the coil tight enough to fit in my 50 gal plastic drums. Use plastic wrapping on each coil to keep it secure, then it will be much easier to put up next time without endless tangles, almost like using a new tubbing roll. Don't wait to do this. If you have to take it down, do it, clean it, wrap it up and store it before you get lured away to other projects by the warmer weather.

[DougM]

We put ours on large cable spools.21194
We have a tag on the very end identifying the order 21196

We were planning to leave ours up in one woods this year, but we've had so much damage from squirrels in one area that it would probably be shredded to bits by next year.

[Ghs57]

We put ours on large cable spools.21194
We have a tag on the very end identifying the order 21196

We were planning to leave ours up in one woods this year, but we've had so much damage from squirrels in one area that it would probably be shredded to bits by next year.

I like your system. I keep each line separate though. I m not sure I will have access to the same property next year. New owner is not very happy with it, but let me go this year. So I may be reconfiguring everything next year on new land.

[Super Sapper]

A couple things that have helped me were to hand draw at least the first 50 feet of each run to give you a sense of how to start putting it up. I also put some duct tape just before a turn with an arrow indicating where the line goes after the next tree. Labeling both ends if good advice also.

[SeanD]

I take down everything, but I use bungees cords for laterals and electrical tape for the big mainlines. Like others have said, once the bundle gets unwieldy, I wrap it with a bungee and continue. The setups on saddles and mainlines are actually easier because each saddle and lateral is disconnected and easier to roll and label. The long ones that zig zag over the stone walls can be an activity for American Ninja.

The one different thing I do from the others now is for sanitizing (and ease of put up and take down). I cut each drop at the tee and bundle them up. Those get a soak in calcium hypochlorite. The problem with trying to sterilize the entire coil or lateral is that there are too many air bubbles and you can't get sufficient contact with the solution. With the drops cut off, wrapping up is much easier. Next year, each drop gets a new tee. On 3/16" that's the #1 source of clogs, so you are killing multiple birds with one stone. The problem of course is putting tees on 3/16" every year. About 1 in 10 or 1 in 20 can misalign and suck.

The laterals that are still hanging without tees get a squirt of the calcium hypochlorite. A very small amount at each tee fills a lot of the line. The mains get a flush of water from the top ends where I have a ball valve. There was a video on the maple news from late 2018 or early 2019 that talked about calcium hypochlorite. Maple digest had an article within the past 6 months or so about its effectiveness compared to other sanitizing methods. In short, it's the next best thing to replacement.