Looking at cv spouts

[Greg MacWilliam]

We have been changing our drops every 3 years rotating through sugar bush, looking at cv spouts to save time changing drops. Can anyone doing this give some advice. Thank-you

[DrTimPerkins]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z35z6oZDz4A&list=PLZP4fDl-nB9-4aZkQyDR070QpxcAr02q5&index=4&t=4s

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/1019sanitation-2/

Lots of other papers on the second link as well.

[upsmapleman]

I have used the cv adapters for several years since they came out. I started using the clear adapters a few years ago and really liked them. Last year even though I ordered in early order sale was unable to get them. I ended up using the black adapters. Terrible year. Every freeze several would push out and would loose several inches of vacuum. I see leader still list the clear adapters as out of stock. Not sure what I will go with this year, not willing to put in a year like last with the black ones.Other producers in area make as much syrup per tap as I do and none use cv's.

[ennismaple]

Greg - we did a test of the black CV adapters in 2010 and have slowly switched over to them. One thing you'll need to consider is changing your end of season washing because you can't pump water through them from the bottom unless you plan to take the CV off each dropline as you pull them.

We used the clear polycarbonate CV adapters one season and won't use them again - we needed 2 pairs of pliers to take them off the black stubbies. The poly really "sticks" into the tree, but also really sticks to the black nylon. I understand the benefits of the clear poly adapters - but to me they don't outweigh the benefits.

We generally haven't had problems with the black CV adapters pushing out of the tree and we start tapping in mid February and will get some very cold nights through to the end of March.

What we do is make up our droplines at 36" with a stubby spout on one end and a cup tee on the other. The first 2 years after the dropline and lateral is new we use a plain single use spout. Years 3-10 we use black CV adapters. After 10 years we pull all the laterals and put up new tubing. The old CV's stay on until we tap for the next season and get taken off when the new taphole is drilled and the new CV placed in the taphole.

[DrTimPerkins]

What we do is make up our droplines at 36" with a stubby spout on one end and a cup tee on the other. The first 2 years after the dropline and lateral is new we use a plain single use spout. Years 3-10 we use black CV adapters. After 10 years we pull all the laterals and put up new tubing. The old CV's stay on until we tap for the next season and get taken off when the new taphole is drilled and the new CV placed in the taphole.

And that is pretty much the way these were designed to be used. To maintain high sap production you need to reduce microbial populations in the collection system. Spouts are the most important piece of that, and droplines are a close second. If you use normal spouts (non-CV), you need to replace droplines every 3 yrs or so.
CVs eliminate the need for regular dropline replacement. So when producers run the numbers on cost, they have to factor in the cost of replacing drops every 3 yrs (materials and labor) over a 9-10 yr period vs the cost of using a CV and not replacing drops. New spouts each year will NOT restore sap yields to maximum levels after drops are 1-2 yrs old on a 5/16" vacuum tubing system.

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m1010sapyieldsagingtubing/
https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m0212tubingagesapyield/

In over a decade of research at both UVM and Cornell, CVs have been shown to consistently produce the best economic outcomes in terms of sap production.

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/1019sanitation-2/

[Greg MacWilliam]

Thank-you all for your input cv spouts are on order, they were shipped today so they must be back in stock