Mainline removal

[BigJon]

Has anyone built a rig using a spool or Jenny using a 12v motor, gas engine, or hydraulic motor to reel up old mainline pipe out of an older sugarbush installation? I would like to set something up on an ATV trailer to do that this fall for a new woods (to me) I’ll be setting up. Just trying to get some ideas in advance, thanks.

[SeanD]

I take down all my mainline every year by rolling it up from the high end to the low end. It forms a coil that's about belly or chest high. I try not to coil it too tightly at first and kink it. Around every 20-30 feet or so, I'll wrap a bungee or a tree trap around the coil and keep going. The wire and the ties can get hung up on undergrowth, branches, and rocks, but even with that it goes pretty quickly.

I would think doing it the way you are thinking would mean it's dragging along the ground and it would snag on everything in multiple places. You'd have to stop and go find the snag and lift it off rocks and roots or yank vines and whatnot out of the wire. Or you'd need helpers in the woods lifting it off the ground. It might save a lot of time and effort to roll it up by hand.

[toquin]

Built a spinning jenny out of 4' circle of plywood and 6 rods,mounted to a receiver hitch for truck.2 guys ,one pulling and one winding.700' takes about 10 min.

[BAP]

Back in the 70’s and early 80’s before people left tubing out year round, we used to roll up our mainline on wood reels that we got from the power company. We had a trailer with wood sides, and we slid a pipe through the reel and set the pipe on the side of the trailer so it would roll. One guy would spin the reel and one would feed it on or off the reel. It was a lot of work taking down and putting back up 10-12,000 taps of tubing each year.

[DrTimPerkins]

It was a lot of work taking down and putting back up 10-12,000 taps of tubing each year.

Yikes! :o Bet you're glad you don't do that any longer.