Lifting multiple mains

[Bricklayer]

I’ve been shooting elevations in the new bush we are hopefully getting set up for this comming season. And have come to the conclusion that I’m not going to be able to get my mains back to the sugar house without lifting them at least once.
New bush will have 5 x 1” mains that bring all the sap back to our sugar house. No more trucking sap down the roads and pumping into tanks. It will save us a ton of work and diesel.
All runs are about 500’ in length.

I’ve learned over the years that trying to slope a main over 500’ and keep it at a nice working height for laterals is quite difficult in a flat bush with no natural slope.

About 25’ from our camp and in a straight line from our releaser room we have a massive pine tree that is Probley 4’ wide. That’s going to be the anchor tree for all my mains heading back to the releaser.

My next job is to figure out how to lift 5 mains back to the camp without having an absolute birds nest of sap ladders.
The lift will be about 6’.
I’ve pondered on if I should try a sap lifter. They look like they would work nice. But I don’t know about having to worry about something else mechanical breaking down or freezing shut. Sap ladders have no moving parts to break.
Would I need a ladder on each of the mains. Or can I lift all 5 of them together.

Each main will have about 100 taps on it for now. But there is the potential to have about 150 on each.

I have a couple sap ladders in our other bush and I’m always trying new things with them and I’m never 100% convinced it’s working properly. Always see pooling on the end of the line where the stars are.

[Bricklayer]

Another option I have is to install my electric releaser in a small heated shack in the bush where the mains come to my anchor tree. My releaser is 110 and power is close by. The releaser would only be pumping sap Probley 10’ high to get enough slope to gravity it to the collection tank at the shack.

[ecp]

Depends on your budget and what you are trying to accomplish I'd say. It's a lot of money for 500 taps, but I'd look at the CDL high vacuum sap lifter. The traditional sap lifters are huge air leak points (they work from wasting vacuum), so they cost you money in the long run. The other option is the Lapierre air powered piston pump but again huge air leak point. If you are one of the producers that chases leaks in the middle of the night because your vacuum is less than 27'' than you are not going to be happy with a "traditional" sap lifter I believe.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I was not the one who installed a sap ladder for multiple mains on the bush I worked in but it handled sap from 5 different mains and probably 1200-1400 taps. They installed a sap ladder and used it for 2 years with good results. Prior to that, we had a dedicated pump line from the tank to the shack and used a WX10 to pump. All things considered, if you can run an electric releaser there and move it with that, that might be the best option for you..

[Bricklayer]

Ended up going with the electric releaser in the woods and pumping vertical about 10’ and then pump line is sloped to the collection tank at the shack.
My CDL releaser came with a threaded check valve that’s supposed to go on the pump line.
I’m going to put it at the top of the pump line so the non sloped section will drain back to the pump and not sit in the line and freeze.

[JoeJ]

Bricklayer.

You made a very good choice going with the electric releaser. I put in 2 Lapierre electric releasers 3 years ago and wished that I had made that choice years ago. At one location that lifted 16", I first installed a sap ladder that was frozen half the time during the season, wasted money on a Leader tank lifter that didn't work properly and froze up a lot and then a Lapierre sap lifter that didn't work either. I have the electric releasers in small structures heated by a heat lamp controlled by a 120 V thermostat and they are worry free.