Tube install?

[325abn]

What is your method for installing a run of 5/16 tubing?

Do you go from tree to tree putting drops in unrolling and ataching the 5/16 as you go or do you stretch the 5/16 tight then cut in the drops?

Or another way?

Is my question clear?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Best way is to stretch it tight and then cut in drops exactly where they need to be. It is difficult to put in drops as you go to get them exactly right especially if the runs are very far because it is hard to keep the tubing stretched nice and tight. If you have very many drops, you may have to cut out a couple of inches from time to time as you put in drops as each drop lengthens the lateral line aprox 1/2".

If you don't have a two handed tubing tool or a way to hold 2 pieces of tubing on a lot of tension together, you might have to put them in as you go. In my opinion, you can get a tight and better system and drops in a more accurate location with stretching the tubing and going back and cutting in drops. You could stretch it tight, go back and mark drops with a permanent marker, then left off tension and cut them in and would work about the same. Just a little more work this way.

[VtSugarhouse]

I agree with stretching out your tubing first then cutting in your drops.
I might add though us the plastic hooks that hook into your mainline. This takes all the tension off your saddles. At the end or your 5/16 latteral line go around the tree with your line and use a "J" hook to terminate the end of your line. This allows you in the future if you had to access the woods with a tractor or something. You can take down that latteral line without any tools and re-installing it with the "J" hook.
Try it ....this method is better than sex. Not only that you have no nails or anything in your tree. The line suspends itself.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I use the "Y" forks for the end of line where the lateral dumps into the mainline and usually bring line in at a tree which is usually not a problem if you are in the woods. The "Y" forks are very good if you have a long lateral line to keep the line nice and tight by putting 1 or 2 in the center of the run depending on how long it is.

[VtSugarhouse]

I am taking out all my "Y" forks because this is so much easier. The ease of keeping your line tight is extremely easy with this method.
I was at a seminar in Quebec city at CDL and they demonstrated this way of doing it a couple years ago and it was amazing.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I use a "Y" at the begining tree because I have some huge trees and it is impossible to keep a slope all around the tree and I like just a plain "y" fitting for the first tree and this allows to put a tap on each side of the tree in front of the "Y" and I don't have sap laying in the lines back there turning to crap because of the impossibility to keep sap from running uphill and laying in the lines. I used the end of line rings in the past and hated them and threw them away. They would be likely fine with vaccum and very small trees on gravity, but larger trees are not any good. I have trees that are 3'+ in diamater that are first trees and have 4 taps and I like the line to be able to drain on both sides of the tree since I am all gravity.

I am not saying this is the best way, but the best way I have found for my setup.

[danno]

Let's take it one step further. If you are using a fixed hook around your end tree (not the J), such as a "Y" or loop fitting, it is easier to connect this fitting first and the hook fitting at your main line second.

It can be difficult to get your end tree fitting on if your line is already tight. Also, by putting on the hook fitting last, you can cut your lateral line a little short and stretch it to hook on to your main line.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

You are correct in both questions at least in my opinion which probably isn't worth 1 cent, much less 2 cents. LOL

[Sugarmaker]

325abn,
I would agree that stretching the tubing first and cutting the drops in is the prefered way with a one drop or two drop per tree system.

With that said I did not do this. Like Brandon, I tap big multi tap trees. So I made up sets of drops consisting of 3 or 4 drops with short tubing ( 12 inch) inbetween drops. As I get to a middle tree/s I stretch the line coming to the tree. cut the tubing, use a one handed tool to attach the set of drops, attach the tubing exiting the tree and move (pulling the tubing) to the next tree. Since I only have 20 drops per line 4-5 trees this works ok most of the time and I didnt have to cut in 400 drops. I only had to place 100 sets of drops.

At the end trees I developed a tigetining system (adjustable loop) to allow tightening. We also use the J hook at the loop and at the opposite end tree to allow take down of the 25 drop system.
I agree with Brandon that it is a challange to get drop (slope) around a big tree. I have seen that this year. I will let you know if this is a major concern this spring.

Chris

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Chris,

It is not a big deal now when it is cold, but when the March days get warm, a little crapy sap can drag down the quality of the entire tank.

[NH Maplemaker]

What would also help is to have someone helping to hold the tension at each tree while you cut in drops! As others have said ,no easy way when doing it alone!

Jim L.
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[Sugarmaker]

Jim, I hung 400 drops with about 5 minutes of help from a interested neighbor kid. Yes maybe not easy but just keep thinking you will have a plan. I loop and hook around the first or last tree and then pull from there.
Chris

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Chris,

If you can hang 400 drops in 5 minutes, quit your current job and start doing this. You could be a millionaire by this time next year and likely before. LOL

[Sugarmaker]

Wow I guess that didnt come out right did it?

Yes it took me about 1 hour to hang each 20-25 tap set. So I spent about 24-30 hours putting up my tubing. I sure hope it doesnt take that long next year. There will be two keys. Marking the trees for slope and marking the tubing to allow putting it up again next year.

Chris

[Dave Y]

The best plan I can think of when putting in droplines is a two handed tubing tool. Either borrow one or byuy one, you will be glad you did. They are worth every stinking penny. Period!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Chris,

You could store each section of tubing in each tote and number each tote and spray number on each section.

[NH Maplemaker]

Chris, Who knows you may have started another young sugar maker of tomorrow on this way!! As a kid I went to a local sugar bush and have been hooked ever since!!
As Brandon said you can mark them. When I us to take all my tubing down every year, we had small metal tags on each drop setup and had trees marked as well! Worked pretty good until we got to big for that !

Jim L.
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[ennismaple]

Don't any of you use a 5/16 slide fitting instead of a coupling with J-hook? (see http://www.mapleguys.com/index.php?item=178&ret=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mapleguys.com%2Findex.php%3Fp age%3D1%26category%3D8). We use them and they're great.

Here's how we do it:
One guy pulls line from the spinner hung off the mainline to the head tree, attaches to the head tree with an end line hook, tensions back to the mainline as tight as you can, install the slide fitting on the 5/16 tubing and put the hook from the slide fitting over the mainline and you're done. The dropline guy follows with the 2 handed tubing tool and cuts in the droplines. We can do about 400 taps per day like this, more if there's no snow!

We used to cut them in and tension back from tree to tree but the droplines often didn't end up where they should be by the time you were done and it took twice as long. A 2-handed tubing tool is worth it's weight in gold if you spend even 1 day stretching tubing.

[Sugarmaker]

Yes I am going to come up with some marking/tagging system for the tubing, at each location. And also take a picture of each location for reference, laminate them and have them for next year. I thought about storing the tubing in the containers but was afraid it might mold? So I may roll it up and hang it in the rafters of the sugarhouse. Then wash and dry the containers and stack them to reduce space. Even 24 of these units take up a lot of space! Hoping I can take a season off from "building" the system and use it for a few years!

Chris

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Chris,

won't they all stack inside each other??

[Sugarmaker]

:) only if I dont put the tubing in them. Its a catch 22 nice place to store the tubing but they take up a full bay in a garage. Now if I build a new building I can have room for the containers with the dried tubing inside each one:) There we have it!:)

Chris

[brookledge]

another thing to try for holding tension where ever you need it, at the mainline or at the last tree on the lateral is the use of hollow core nylon rope.
I have been using it for years now and it works great.
The nice thing about it is that it can be attached to anything and hold tension on the lateral. Even works good to hold tension off the quick disconnects as they will begin to leak vacuum after a while if they have too much tension on them
Keith