Here's a question

[Maplewalnut]

I have one spot in the back of the property that slopes wrong. Currently I have a 3/4 inch mainline planned that will end just short of this section because of this reason. Keep in mind this is gravity system this year. I can hook up tubing to all the trees in this spot but by the time it slopes to the mainline it is probably 4-6 feet lower. Will be an ideal spot for a sap ladder next year when I am on vacuum but thats next year.

The question- if I run these taps into a tank near the mainline end, can I put in some sort of spool piece to hook one end to the mainline end and the other end to a 12V pump and pump out of the tank through the mainline to a second tank 1000ft or so away? I figure I can wire the pump to my quad and then not have to trailer a cart and tank back that far to pick up. Anyone ever try this? Any concerns with opening the mainline end on a routine basis and using it?

Mike

[maplecrest]

some sugar makers on near level ground, leave their main line ends open and vent each each lat. say it runs better. so opening the end on a gravity system will not be an issue.

[maplehound]

maple walnut,
Pumping back through a mailine that has other taps on it may not be a good idea. When you are pumping, there will be pressure aginst the other taps. This may not hurt alot for a short time but if the pressure is high enough you may pop them out of the tree an then run all your sap out of that lose spile. You would be better off running a seperate pump line if at all possible.
maplehound

[Valley View Sugarhouse]

You could put a small tank at the top of the mainline, and then pump into the tank, and let the sap flow gravity down the line. I would install a valve between the two so you can drain the tank at 1/2 pipe speed..

[maplecrest]

you say that you are going to go vac next year. so over size the main. like 1 inch instead of 3/4. and the size pump you are going to use 12 volt. will not pump that many gals per minute, or put that much pressure on the system that being gravity will be a problem.and next year when you go vac the pipe will be big enough to vac over liquid.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Maplewalnut
Put a spring loaded check valve in the mainline at the spot that you want to seperate the line to the lower tank. The check valve will allow the sap to run in two directions and then when you put a suction pump on the main line it will open and drain the lower tank. This way you wont put pressure on the taps. Use a pump to pull the sap to your main tank. You need a self priming pump that can run dry without damage. If you plan now you will be able to use the pump later when go to vacuum.

[royalmaple]

Put a bildge pump in the tank on the low spot and pump it up the 4-6 feet difference into the upper mainline end and let it flow gravity towards the end of the other line.

Put a deep cell marine battery out there, and have the bildge pump on a float switch and set it so it only pumps a few gallons at a time. Less impact on the higher mainline taps. And will keep the sap moving to where you want it all day long.

Or just go there at the end of the day and pump it all at once, and probably most of the run has happened by then and you won't be missing a thing flooding the upper line when you pump.

Another big topic to cover is how many taps? 10-100-1000? Make a big difference on the impact to the upper tube when you are pumping.

[maple flats]

I have a similar situation on one of my lines. For about 15 taps I actually tap rather high. The highest is about 12-13' off the ground and this way I could use the mainline without a problem. My only problem with this is that I have to carry a small ext. ladder and if the snow is deep it is real slow. Sometimes I need snowshoes to tap and must then take them off because climbing the ladder with snowshoes does not sound like a good idea even to try once.

[Maplewalnut]

All

Thanks for the ideas. I envisioned something like Royal Maple laid out but didn't think of the battery idea with a float switch. That's even better, than going back to pump every day or so. There is probably only about 40 taps in this area that would dump into a tank Altogether that section of 3/4 mainline would only support somewhere around 100 taps.

[ennismaple]

I have a similar situation on one of my lines. For about 15 taps I actually tap rather high. The highest is about 12-13' off the ground and this way I could use the mainline without a problem. My only problem with this is that I have to carry a small ext. ladder and if the snow is deep it is real slow. Sometimes I need snowshoes to tap and must then take them off because climbing the ladder with snowshoes does not sound like a good idea even to try once.

Climbing a ladder in snowshoes is no harder than driving an ATV with them on! Yeah... uuummm... I've got a "friend" who tried that once...

[maple flats]

I must admit I thought of it but never actually tried it, I took off the snowshoes each time, climbed the ladder and after tapping I put the snowshoes back on. In one spot I thought I could trample down the snow enough in the snowshoes that I could move around a rather tight cluster trees and work on foot, I was wrong, when I broke thru the slight crust I had a heck of a time getting back up on top and back to my snowshoes. I only tried that once.