Drilling depth of Tapholes?

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

post edited

[mapleman3]

I only do 1 - 1 1/2" on my health spouts. seems to work great.

LOL Kevin, can't say I have, I have too many hens I wouldn't want the others to get jealous :lol: :lol: :wink:

[themapleking]

I tap 2" max. But at the nys maple conve. Cornel univer. said you can drill 3" or deeper " size of tree matters" just decrease the number of taps by 1. and tap opposit each other i.e. 2 taps. max per tree.
Has something to do with negitive pressure in the tree and all that 50 yr study they've been doing.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

post edited

[Oddmott]

Got some used plastic/nylon (not sure which but they're gray & angular) taps to try. Eager to tap them this coming weekend, but not sure what the best sized drill bit to use for 5/16 spiles is... help?

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

use a 5/16 bit

[Asthepotthickens]

I use a 5/16 bit and I wrap some electrical tape 2 inches up the bit. When I get close to the tape I start to pull the drill out while it is still turning forward this gives me a near two inch clean hole

[happy thoughts]

As I understand it, the deeper the hole the more internal damage to the tree. I think the shallower drilling depths now recommended go hand in hand with the use of smaller diameter taps. Drill only as deep as needed. If 1-1.5" will get your tap seated well with a little space behind it for sap flow, then that's the depth you should drill.

[Mudcat_21]

We slide a small piece of PVC pipe over the 5/16 bit that leaves 1 1/2 for drill depth. We tried the tape route and found that the bark tore off the tape after a few trees and then you were "guessing" the rest of the time. Not saying our way is the right way, just what seems to work well for us.

[maple maniac65]

we use a piece of tubing, readily avaialable between the squirrel chews.

[GramaCindy]

As I understand it, the deeper the hole the more internal damage to the tree. I think the shallower drilling depths now recommended go hand in hand with the use of smaller diameter taps. Drill only as deep as needed. If 1-1.5" will get your tap seated well with a little space behind it for sap flow, then that's the depth you should drill.

Happy Thoughts, you have me a bit confused with the statement of "with a little bit of space behind it for sap flow?" I always place my taps in with a small rubber tipped hammer, and set them all the way in.??? Not correct?

[happy thoughts]

I had to check my spiles and my trees. I use a few different ones, both 7/16 and 5/16 The 5/16 ones I use are the black L shaped ones for tubing. The shaft measures just a little bit over 1.5". Set in the trees they stick out about a 1/2", are seated well, and do not leak. They are not seated the full length of the shaft. We use a 5/16 drill bit. Since the taps themselves are slightly tapered I don't think you can seat them the whole length of the shaft. So for these particular taps 1.5" drilling depth works for us. It's harder to measure the rolled SS spiles but those also are not seated as far as they might go before they're stopped by the lid holding gismo on top. I think 3" would be much too deep even for the 7/16 spiles. I work on the principle that less is more as far as tree health. Hope that clears things up better :)

[Pweideman]

Here is something interesting I found today. I have very old trees with thick bark and I may have to drill a little deeper. I am going to test test it later today.

CONTROLLING TAPHOLE DEPTH
IN MAPLE SAP PRODUCTION RESEARCH
Abrtract. Because bark thickness of sugar maple trees varies considerably, the depth of tapholes for collecting maple sap should be varied accord- ingly to get the taphole depth that will produce the best sap flow. A sys- tem of removable collars on the drill bit is recommended as a means of regulating taphole depth in research studies.
When tapholes for collecting sap from sugar maple trees are bored to a uniform depth from the surface of the tree bole, which is the usual prac- tice, how deep the hole goes into the wood depends on how thick the bark is. Since sap flows only from the wood or xylem tissues, these dif- ferences in penetration of the wood may be a source of variation in sap yields and thus could have serious implications in research work on sap and sugar production.
Several investigators have recognized the influence of taphole depth on total maple sap yield. Cope' observed that up to one-third of the total sap flow from a 4-inch taphole may be obtained from the innermost 2 inches. Morrow2 reported a signficant increase in sap yields from 3%- inch tapholes as compared to 2-inch tapholes (depth was exclusive of bark thickness). Robbins3 found that sap yields from 4-inch deep tapholes
(including bark) were significantly greater than from those at 2- or 6- inch depths.
lCope, J. A. DEPTHOF TAPPING IN RELATION TO YIELD OF MAPLE SAP.J. Forestry 47: 478-480, 1949.
ZMorrow, Robert R. INFLUENCOFENUMBER AND DEPTH OF TAPHOLES ON MAPLE SAP FLOWC.ornell Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta., N.Y. State Coll. Agr. Bull. 982. 3 pp. 1963.
3Robbins, Putnam, W. INFLUENOCFETAPPING TECHNIQUES ON MAPLE SAP YIELDMS.ich. State Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta. Res. Rep. 28. 11 pp. 1965.

[Jeff E]

I found with gravity/buckets I wanted to go deeper to get more sap per tap. I would go up to 2.5" for the tap hole, as long as I was in sap (white) wood.
With Vac, I am much more conservative, most taps being 1.5", and only on my really big trees do I go 2". The trouble with a tubing system, is you dont know what each individual tree is producing.
But my overall sap production seems to not suffer.
What I have gained is less chance of getting into heartwood, which helps with tree health and sap quality. Also, minimizing the change of getting into punky wood or hollow voids that create serious vac leaks.
Those are real fun to figure out.