Cleaning 3/16 lines at the end of the season

[Bullet]

I have 3/16 lines that I used for the first time this year. I'm now done for the year and having difficulty finding consistent information on how best to clean the lines. When to clean the lines and what chemicals to use. I have two lines all 3/16, with about 20 taps on each. Do I clean the lines immediately after the season is over and again in the fall or just the once? One line has about a 10 foot drop the other is about a 5 foot drop from top to bottom. Any information would be helpful.

[stoweski]

If it was me, I’d clean them ASAP, before they dry too much.

I fill my lines with hydrogen peroxide and let it sit at least overnight, if not longer, then drain & use and air compressor to dry them out as best I can (no vacuum yet). It’s time consuming but I’ve noticed since doing it my lines look cleaner and I don’t get nearly as much gunk coming out of my mainline the first couple of runs like I used to.
I buy 35% food grade peroxide and dilute it.

[buckeye gold]

yes clean them soon. I clean the day I pull taps. Be careful with clinical grade Hydrogen Peroxide (35%) , it will burn you!. Instead, Go to a pool shop and get a $2.00 bag of pool shock (calcium Hypochloride) and mix it in warm water. A couple tablespoons in 5 gallons is hot and a lot safer. A bag will last you for several seasons with two lines. I use a small garden sprayer to inject it in the lines. I start at the bottom of my run and inject at each drop. You'll need to plug your line. I let it set any time from a couple hrs to a day and drain. Then plug your taps onto the tees and done until fall. I do not flush in the spring. In the fall repeat, but just cut off old taps and flush lines with the solution, then your good. Let the first sap run on the ground to flush crud.

[Ghs57]

I've been cleaning my lines with StarSan (home-brew and wine making sanitizing solution) for several years now. It's fairly inexpensive and it's worked great. I have not had any mold or anything else grow in the lines. I use a Surflo pump to fill the lines from the collection tank end, then pull the taps starting with the first tap on the far end. I cut off the CV tap and let the drop run until the StarSan flows out, then work down to the collection tank. Once all CV taps are pulled and cut off from the drops (drops are cut off every three years), I can roll up the lines as this is an annual take-down system. All lines are stored in 55 gallon blue plastic drums until next season. Some solution stays in the lines, so when reinstalling the system next season, I let them run until sap flows out the end.

[Beerclouds]

i clean mine by filling lines and drops with isopropyl alcohol (you can get at cdl in oro-medonte) and let sit until fall then drain then flush with spring water or if limited on time i'll leave alcohol in till spring then just tap trees like normal but let the first days sap run on ground to flush lines

[DrTimPerkins]

i clean mine by filling lines and drops with isopropyl alcohol (you can get at cdl in oro-medonte) and let sit until fall then drain then flush with spring water or if limited on time i'll leave alcohol in till spring then just tap trees like normal but let the first days sap run on ground to flush lines

Note that isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is legal to use for maple tubing cleaning in Canada, but IPA is NOT legal for maple sanitization in the U.S.

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m0216isopropylalcohol/