routing 3/16 gravity vacuum tubing

[hmaple]

Been sugaring for 4 years now, so far with buckets; around 130 taps last year. Giving tubing a try this year for around 1/3 of what we had on buckets last year, 3/16 gravity vacuum.

Curious how you guys would route this section. Collection point is at the top of the picture; red box with arrow pointing to it. Blue dashed line is the path of the trees I need to catch. It's all clear in my mind except for a half dozen taps in the loop to the right. Topography of that part is such that the far side of the loop is a slightly higher elevation than the main route at that point, and similar elevation to my end tree. I think it's going to be a bad idea to try to bring all the sap from upstream around that loop. Can I run a separate line from the trees in the loop and T into the "main" line, or is that going to mess up my natural vacuum somehow? In other words, is it ever ok to T one 3/16 lateral into another, or should I only be connecting individual drops to 3/16? It's going to be around 650 ft to the collection point without that loop, and I have no taps the last 150 ft. It seems a waste to run a second line 500 ft for 6 taps. If I can catch everything on that route with one line it will be around 25 taps total.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipN-uVgoTktyyOq4WvGkGR0RDULduF6zbM6TjqS7

[alanrharriman]

I can not open the pictures?? Google says "The requested URL was not found on this server. That’s all we know.".

[DRoseum]

Same error on the picture. How much elevation drop do you have after that spot to your collection tank? That is what ultimately matters most. If you have good drop over that last 150 ft you could probably add the loop and just set the lines so that you get some downhill fall through that section (start higher on some trees and go lower on others etc). In general it's best to have a single run vs a tee if you have good drop at the end to produce nice vacuum levels for everything up above.

[DrTimPerkins]

Probably better to run separate lines. When two lines of the same size are connected, typically one will run better than the other. When Tim Wilmot (UVM Extension) developed 3/16" tubing he did some trials of Y-ing lines together. Inevitably he found that he got lower yields when the two lines were joined than when they were separated. Probably would depend on the specific setup, but that was the recommendation. Pretty much the same goes for two 5/16" lateral lines...best not to join them into one line of the same size.

That said...if you're OK with somewhat lower sap yields and it is far easier for you to join the lines, do whatever you want. Just understand the trade-off.

[Scm]

best not to join them into one line of the same size.

Would two 3/16 lines joining into a 5/16 be better?
I have a section that would be great for that.

[DrTimPerkins]

Would two 3/16 lines joining into a 5/16 be better?
I have a section that would be great for that.

Depends where it is in the 3/16" system. If it's on the slope, then you want to keep the 3/16" to develop vacuum. If on flat ground or low slope, then ok to switch to 5/16".