Ok onto the next step, attempting to plan a line set up

[ProBoot]

In Ontario Canada.

So my property is about 5 acres of mostly thinned out large aged sugar maples(I measured avg of 3.5% sugar last season over 350gal sap)

My guess is that my property has a natural slop of about 30% over the 500' of available forest coverage from the sugar shack away and down a hill to where our Barn is.


There are 3 "paths" that are available with maples lining each and approximately 300-400 maples in total on the property.

I'd like to run 2 lines this year with 2 collection points where I'll physically collect and move sap to storage at the sugar shack(basically move from bottom of hill to top)

If I planned to run 100 taps, basically 50 on each "line" what size line should I run? 5/16 or 3/16's?

And plan on running 3/16" taps I think with laterals into the main line.

I can totally picture it in my head but unsure if what I have makes sense.

for context, I only started last year on 48 buckets, produced 30l syrup that was exceptional for what my expectations were.

If I did the above I would have ability to expand in the following years to add more taps/line etc.


Thoughts?

[littleTapper]

I'd suggest 3/16" - 25-30 taps per line right to your collection point(s). No mainline needed. You'll want 30' of drop after the last tap to develop max natural vacuum. Expand as needed. You may double sap production over buckets, so keep that in mind when planning as it sounds like you have a lot of potential there.

[DRoseum]

Agree with littletapper's recommendation.

[ProBoot]

ok, that last drop will be difficult since the last 3 taps would be really close to the collection point I was planning and all the taps would be along the line rather then at one end and then collection at another.

I'm guessing with only about a 10' drop at the last tap to the collection point on the line the natural vacuum would be very very low and might stall everything?

[littleTapper]

ok, that last drop will be difficult since the last 3 taps would be really close to the collection point I was planning and all the taps would be along the line rather then at one end and then collection at another.

I'm guessing with only about a 10' drop at the last tap to the collection point on the line the natural vacuum would be very very low and might stall everything?

You'll still get vac, nearly an inch per foot or something like that. My downhill 3/16 doesn't have much drop after the last taps and gush. You could keep those lowest taps separate to maximize yield on the trees up the slope.

[Pdiamond]

You might want to think about running 5/16 drops to the 3/16 lines.

[DRoseum]

Those last 3 trees won't have much negative effect on the taps above and you will still get some natural vacuum on them.

You can do 5/16 drops to prevent back washing into taphole when things start to freeze, however that will require 2 tools. In stead you could use 3/16 drops with CV spouts or CV stubby. Then you only have 1 tool, 1 size tubing etc.

I use CVs, replace them yearly, and have had great success with them. one advantage of CVs over the 5/16 method is it opens up a broader tapping band (you can tap below the lateral with CVs and won't get back flushing). I run a shurflo on my 3/16 lines amd am pulling 26-28 in-hg at the pump and near full vacuum higher up on each tap.

[Sinoed09]

Where are you in Ontario? Some of the counties (Grey Bruce & Simcoe for sure) have public GIS websites where you can take a look at your lot, geography, aerial photos etc. You can add elevation contours as well which will tell you how much drop you have for planning. I’m setting up my runs now too (north of Owen Sound) and it came down to a trade off of natural vacuum vs. possible plugs on 3/16” or inability to get a good vacuum but fewer plugs or issues on 5/16”. From what I’ve read ideal number of taps is 25-30 on 3/16” line with a max number of 35. On 5/16” ideal is 35-40 with a max of 50. I did read that maxing a 5/16” line with 50 taps can get it to produce some natural vacuum and it thaws faster when the sun hits it to get sap moving. If you only wanted to run two lines you’d need to use 5/16 direct to your collection point and that line would be fully used. You might not be able to get as much sap during full run days but you’d likely have some vacuum to compensate.

To expand with more taps later, you could add more individual lines to your bucket or tie those lines into a mainline. So you could put in mainline this year but you don’t necessarily have to do that until you go over current capacity. I just went through this same dilemma and nearly bought mainline but ended up running individual lines. I didn’t save any money because I used a lot more tubing and it was much more work running 4 lines instead of 1. However, if something goes wrong or a squirrel chews a tube 3/4 of my system will still be up and running until it’s fixed. I can also use natural vacuum to my advantage with smaller line. If your trees are remote or hard to get to the maintenance is something to think about.

[littleTapper]

You might want to think about running 5/16 drops to the 3/16 lines.

I do that with 5/16 CVs. Seems to work nicely. Good point above on being able to tap below the lateral. One of my best years (31 gallons/tap) was a below the lateral year.

I see that some tools are specific for 3/16 and 5/16. My homemade ones seem to work on both just fine. One can shim a 5/16 tool on 3/16 line with a split piece of 5/16 tube or whatever.

[ProBoot]

So.....

What's a "CV"?

[littleTapper]

So.....

What's a "CV"?

check valve spile https://us.h2oinnovation.net/us/chalumeau-clair-check-valve-de-leader-pour-tubulure-3-16-5-16-clair-4112.html

prevents backflow into the tree which results in less microbial activity and the tap has a longer duration of productivity.