tubing starter kits

[maplekid]

does anybody market tubing starter kits. like some thing that includes enough tubing for say 50 taps with mainline and all the odds and ends to make it functional.

[Oaknut]

A kit like you are desccribing would be hard to put together "blindly". Once you get past the drop lines there are too many variables to make such a kit work for most people. Seems every bush is a little different, some you are going to need more mainline and some you are going to need more laterals. Depends on location, proximity to collection tank, size and spacing of the trees, etc. etc. I think you need to spend some time in your bush and try to envision how the tubing system is going to lay out. Then make a list of what you think you'll need (add a few extra of most of the fittings, you'll need them eventually) and take it to your supplier. If you are having a hard time laying it out in your head, ask your supplier or another producer in the area with tubing to walk it with you and point you in the right direction.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I can tell you that when I started out with tubing I did everything wrong.........but I learned from my mistakes.
Dont be in a hurry to go out and buy all the cool pipe and tubing pullers pusher and stretchers. I do sprinkers as part of my buisness and havent used a splicing tool yet. I can with a ratchet strap what 400.00 worth of tools will do. And as far as a drop line or tap line tool forgeta bout it. Make up all your taps in the house when its warm. chop up a bunch of 30" SEMI RIDGED tube and get yourself a sponge and saturate with vegetable oil get a beer and sit down with a bag of tees and taps. Grab a tap grab a tap line push the tube into the sponge and push onto the tee or tap DONE. Same thing in the woods I take a little squeze bottle and one drup on the tee and I dont care how cold it is they slide on and they do not pull off. When it comes to setting up your laterals grab your homemade sap line unwinder yes YOUR homemade unwinder and walk the wood. find the highest tree from the mainline and make your saddle with sap line. walk from tree to tree going around each tree and pull the line tight back and fourth weaving around all the trees and end at the mainline cut and tie to the main. WHEN YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE LAYOUT and the grade of the line go back and install tap lines. If we add laterals during tapping season one person will drill and tap the tree with the premade tap and tee and Ill come behind him pulling the lateral line and cut and connect as I go and when I get to the main line the sap aint far behind. All the tools I need in the woods are Hammer,nails,tape.utility knife and a handful of tap tee combos. Its called KISS keep it simple stupid. Spend all your money on the supplies and you will have alot more sap than fancy tools you lost in the woods. For the price of one of the fancy tubing tool you can buy enough tube taps tees saddle Ys and mainline clips to do 100 trees.

[WMF]

Do what works for you I guess. I have done it every way imaginable over the years from heating tubing to cutting them in when you string laterals and a two handed tubing tool is by far superior in time savings and the quality of the job when finished.

How do you make repairs during the season when time is so valuable without a two handed tubing tool? If your lines are as tight as they should be even putting in a simple connector to repair a chew would turn into a time wasting ordeal. There has been days I have used a whole bag (100) of connectors just maintaining an already tight woods

If you need to save money build a tool yourself but don't try putting up and maintaining much tubing without a two handed tool.