sap ladder end

[jrthe3]

i am going to vacuum this year i have to cross over a cattle lane a small fenced lane that take the cows from the barn to the pasture i want to go over at about 8 feet high the main line is about 3 feet high i plan to build a 5 foot sap ladder here is my ? once i have cleared the lane how should i go about droping the main line back down cause a have another branch line to hook to the main line should i drop it strait down or should i slop it down

[mapleman3]

I would slope it if you can

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

i agree with mapleman use the slope to your advantage

RICH

[jrthe3]

i built a sap ladder this weekend with the star fittings and the 5/16 line if a run to many 5/16 line will it hurt i like over kill i don't like to go back and change stuff or come to the first big run of the year and find out that it was to small and lost all my sap

[royalmaple]

You need at least 6 lines so you have the entire star fitting closed off. Do you mean you put in several stars in the ladder? If so you can certainly do that, just more transfer potential.

[jrthe3]

i figure i would need 9 5/16 line from what i read on here if i put all 12 will it hurt me or even 18 lines would that hurt i am worryed that with to many lines the vac will go up the empty and leave the sap behind

[mountainvan]

If everything is tight at the sap ladder and beyond, no leaks, the tubing will be full of sap and look like it's barely moving. I take it you have 90 or so taps, an extra couple lines will help.

[Jeff E]

Any of you build a sap lifter, i.e. a single tube rather that a series of 5/16ths?
Also, a picture of a design that is working well would be very helpful. I have 2 locations where I need to install ladders/lifts by next spring, and an trying to work out the details now.
Another side issue is putting together manifolds for my wet/dry line to mainline.
If my mainline is 3/4 and my wet line is 3/4, any need for the manifold 'T's to be more than 3/4? I see in the catalogues that the prefabed manifolds have 2 inch 'T's and valves. Really drives us the cost.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[BBMaple]

Jeff - you asked about a single tube lift. After reading a report from Ontario (found at http://www.ontariomaple.com/index.php?action=display&cat=38&doc=2004_summary_sap_ladder_project-Final_Rep_June_2304.pdf) I switched all my 5/16 star lifts to single pipes this year. In the report they had 1 1/4 mainlines and used 1 1/4 single and double pipe lifts. We have 1" mainlines and I used 1" lifts. They worked great! Have 5 installed ranging from 3 feet to 12 feet tall.

I was never happy with the stars - I think possibly because I wasn't using enough lifts. When I switched to the single pipes I gained 4" of vacuum above the lifts. BB

[Haynes Forest Products]

BB Maple I read all the posts and went to the site you listed my A.D.D. is kicking in.........DO YOU HAVE A DRY LINE PAST YOUR SAP LADDERS? And if you do do you have it into a booster at a higher elevation than the sap ladders? Or does it follow the conture of the ground?

[BBMaple]

No - we do not have dry lines or booster tanks past the sap ladders . Most of our 1 inch mainlines run about 1,000 feet and have an average of 300 taps on each. I try to run 22-23 inches of vacuum at the releaser and end up with about 18 at the taps, maybe 1/2 inch less on the lines with ladders. We have a pretty flat sugarbush - a lot of our mainlines have minimal slope. We have been using ladders for a number of years and I don't plan to go back to the stars for sure. We are fairly happy with current performance and have not tried boosters or wet line/dry lines at this point but it is a consideration.

BB

[Haynes Forest Products]

BBMaple Thanks Im hoping to spend a few days reworking the tank placement and level lines and add sap ladders. Most of my main lines are 3/4 and were there when i took over the woods. So the plan is to change the slope of the main lines to a central area and ladder it from there. Im thinking that a run of 250 feet to the releaser and a lift of 12-15 ft. Would you go with a larger mainline or stick to the 3/4?

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[BBMaple]

As far as size of line from ladder to releaser - I think the bigger the better. We use 1" mainlines and they seem to work good for 300 - 350 taps. If you have less a 3/4 line may work fine. All depends on # taps, slope and amount of vacuum.

Maple Hill - when you talk about boosters at the sap ladder are you talking about at the top of the ladder and running a wet line/dry line back to the releaser or at the bottom?

BB

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[Jeff E]

Help this green horn out...having never made a booster or seen one.
If you have a 3/4" mainline that needs a lift, could someone give a blow by blow of what that should look like with a pipe ladder?

I will assume if I have good vacuum I do not need a booster, but if vacuum is 30% down at the ladder, what would the booster look like? rough demensions would be very helpful.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[Jeff E]

Thanks for the link...after scratching out various drawings I get it!
Any secrets to tapping for the NPT fitting on the vacuum gauge? I see it would be side mounted on the 'riser' part of the booster, any reason to not put it on top of the 90?

One more thought...on the wet/dry system I am installing I will be running 1" dry and 3/4 wet on the majority of the lines. Will 1" body on the booster, or manifolds, going to the 3/4 mainlines be adequate if I have typically 200 or less taps on the 3/4 in mains?

Thanks for the input...better than trial and error...

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[Brian Ryther]

Jeff E,
Go to my link for photos. I have several ladders, and boosters. All of which I have had good results with. You will also see my new Idea for small aeras to tap that require a ladder. I have either a six way or a four way star for in coming lateral lines on top of a 2" x 8" long pvc booster with another star fitting on the bottom going to the ladder. These are new to me but in my mind I bet they will work.
Brian

[Jeff E]

Great pictures, thanks. What is the height of that new ladder lift you installed? It looks like 15'+.
It looks like you agree with Maple Hill that the boosters should be large diameter, as it looks like yours are all 2".

Have you oversized your vacuum pump to accomodate the ladders and boosters or is the standard rules of application ok? I had read and heard from Leader that 10cfm for every 1000taps is about right.