Zap Bac spouts

[sap hound sryup]

We are looking into switching over to zap bac spouts. Interested in hearing from people who have used these spouts for multiple years and how it works for you. We are looking at 12,000 spouts so if it works for more than a year it would be a huge labor savings ! We are on a 3/16's system

[Kh7722]

Hey
We are currently retubing a woods that was all 3/16” and had zap bac spiles. That farm decided to switch to 5/16” wet dry system with disposable yearly spiles. This decision was made based on a tap to tap production level comparison on their old vs proven numbers on other systems. Not saying they dont work and i dont have much experience with them, but in my opinion nothing beats a new spile. Im sure others with more knowledge will weigh in. Good luck!

[DrTimPerkins]

Sanitation strategies devised for 5/16" tubing are not entirely adequate for 3/16" tubing. The issue with 3/16" systems is a combined problem of sanitation and clogging. Therefore a new spout, a CV spout, or a Zap Bac spout alone can't solve the issue of clogging at the tees and unions.

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/1219tubing-2-2/

Cornell has found essentially the same thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBnFFer2UA

There are currently two approaches that are recommended.

1. Using a chemical sanitizer (bleach...typically a Calcium-based bleach to avoid attracting squirrels) and either replace spouts each year or use a steri-tip to also sanitize the spout, ensuring a contact time of 10 min or more, then rinsing or allowing the first sap to run on the ground in the spring, OR

2. Replace all tees and fittings at least every 3 yrs (to stop the clogging issue), with new spouts or CV spouts annually, or new drops (including tees) every 3 yrs with new spouts each year (to fix the spout sanitation issue).

[maple flats]

On all of my 3/16 I change all fittings every year, flush first. That seems to help move debris to the fittings, then change the fittings.
I tried Zap Bac and used them for 3 years but have decided to go back to CV2. I'm not scientific enough to be sure but fairly sure year 3 yielded less sap. Maybe it was just the season.
Mountain Van really likes them. Ask him what his cleaning method is.

[Gallinipper]

Just wanted to say thank you to Dr. Perkins for the two links regarding 3/16 sanitation and research around it. Also a shout out to Sap Hound for starting the thread. The YouTube video was fantastic, informative and exactly the information I was looking for. We have 800 taps on 5 year old 3/16 lines. We change our maxflow 3/16 taps yearly and occasionally have to change a few T's due to clogging. If the weather cooperates, we will sanitize the lines prior to the start of this season with Calcium-based bleach as described. We may change out some of our drops to 5/16 and add zap bac spouts as a trial as well.

[sap hound sryup]

Thanks for all the information Tim we will be using it in are future plans. Discovered that we can not use zap bac spouts because we are certifyed organic. The steri tips that you mentioned and what Art Krueger was talking about might be of real interest to us. The questions are has anyone used them, how well did they work and where can I find them. Thanks