combining 3/16 and 5/16

[coach]

Ok, so I have this bush that's about 600ft off the road, and has about 150 trees to tap. It's totally flat ground, and I can't get to it with any vehicle. Snow drifts are about 3ft deep to get in, so can't carry out sap.

So my question: Would it work to run 5 of the 3/16 lines in the bush, connect to a manifold in the bush, then come the 600ft out the the roadway with a 5/16 line? It is all flat, so the line would be laying on the snow. At the collection tank there would be a 12V diaphragm pump to creating vacuum.

So basically, 600ft of 5/16 line with diaphragm pump would run to the bush and connect to the manifold with 5 of the 3/16 lines coming in.

Any better ideas?

[M&M Maple Grove]

I don’t think it would be able to handle it. You would be restricting your sap flow. It’s a long run but a half inch line off the pump with saddles would be your best bet.

[DrTimPerkins]

3/16" tubing should not be used on flat ground (too much resistance to flow), and 5/16" couldn't handle that many taps (about 35 is max). Doing both of those would be a recipe for very low yields and very high producer frustration. Go with 5/16" laterals and drops in the woods, with a 3/4" or 1" mainline from the stand to the road, especially if you're ever going to put vacuum on it. Why not 1/2" mainline? 1) They don't make fittings (mainline entrances) for that size. 2) Because the margin for sags is WAY too low. 3) the price differential for 1/2" and 3/4" mainline is not large.

A 1/2" sag in 1/2" mainline means that you've lost all ability to transfer vacuum into the woods (the pipe would be full of liquid in the sags...you want no more than half the pipe to be full of liquid). Even 3/4" has very low tolerance...1" would be better...but you'd still want to make sure that your mainline was set up with a slight grade and have no sags.

Lastly, don't run the mainline on the snow. Suspend it off of wire which you can grade very accurately. One-half percent slope is the absolute minimum, and it takes a lot of care to get that done right. Find someone who's done it before for advice/assistance.

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m1017asktubingsize/

[M&M Maple Grove]

Ah, flat ground… Missed that part. Thanks for jumping in Dr. Tim. I saw this post has been hanging around for a bit without any replies so I didn’t want to leave the guy hanging. I figured someone would correct me if I was wrong. just out of curiosity, assuming there was a slope all the way through, would it be possible to run a half inch line maintaining a decent slope on the ground and then bringing it to the necessary level at the end? I realize this is in no way, ideal. But maybe on steep enough slope with black tubing slightly elevated from the ground to help prevent freezing? A slope resembling the sides of a northern Vermont mountain pass. It may not be economical to run a true main line for a small vendor or hobbyist.

[M&M Maple Grove]

Ah, flat ground… Missed that part. Thanks for jumping in Dr. Tim. I saw this post has been hanging around for a bit without any replies so I didn’t want to leave the guy hanging. I figured someone would correct me if I was wrong. just out of curiosity, assuming there was a slope all the way through, would it be possible to run a half inch line maintaining a decent slope on the ground and then bringing it to the necessary level at the end? I realize this is in no way, ideal. But maybe on steep enough slope with black tubing slightly elevated from the ground to help prevent freezing? A slope resembling the sides of a northern Vermont mountain pass. It may not be economical to run a true main line for a small vendor or hobbyist.

After further thought, I would like to withdraw my previous questions. I was trying to come up with the most economical option for the opening post. A main line is definitely the optimal way to go but the freight costs alone could scare you away. With 150 trees I would estimate a maximum of 200 taps? Could you just run everything on 5/16 and how many 5/16 lines would you need to bring it down to the collection point? Would it still be limited to 35 taps per line?

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I’m not sure where you are in southern Maine but you are probably only a couple hours from CDL. Dollars and cents, it may be a little more but not as much as think. You’ll save on 5/16” if you run a mainline.

[M&M Maple Grove]

I’m not sure where you are in southern Maine but you are probably only a couple hours from CDL. Dollars and cents, it may be a little more but not as much as think. You’ll save on 5/16” if you run a mainline.
I don’t think you’re taking in consideration the costs for the associated tools involved. With a mainline fitting tool starting at $230, I think this is where I suggest we agree to disagree. I priced out upgrading to a mainline where a lot of my lines run parallel and for 500 feet of mainline with all the fixings was well over $500 before freight/picking it up. Just not economical for me to upgrade at this point even with the consideration of gaining back all the 3/16 line I could use elsewhere. And time is money. Travel, freight, it’s all the same. What’s most important is what the opening post feels is best for them. For us to debate what’s best is pointless. It’s all about what works best for each individual and how we may be able to help each other out.