Where to start????

[firetech]

I've finished my 3rd sugar season now and in order to get any larger we need to move away from the buckets. The in-laws farm has a couple of wood lots near the road that I believe have tapping possiblity. But where do I start on getting the wood lot cleaned up and a tubing layout developed? 75% of my road trees are going to be tubed next year but that has extra effort in putting up and taking down. Looking to install a perminate tubing system. Should I contact a forrester ,private or goverment, and hire a tubing expert to do my layout and design? I want to do it right the first time.

[tuckermtn]

first question is how many taps are you guessing are there? Also how intensive is the landowner willing to let you get with your timber stand improvements? I have one sugarbush that is small- 150 taps give or take- but the landowner doesn't want any serious disturbance in there so I just cut the small hemlocks that interfere with the tubing runs...still runs like crazy over there.

if your talking 500-100 taps, and 10 or so acres, I would certainly think a forester would be a good place to start. Do you have any large local producers who might let you pick their brain about setting up a tubing system? Design it for vacuum even if you don't go there to get started. If you want to hire someone to do your tubing Jason Grossman on the trader here is from Ohio and his does installs...

[firetech]

I pretty much have free reign any trees that can make a log he wishes to have brought to the house. Thats the only limitation. # of taps I have done a count yet. Maybe this weekend I go for a walk.

[BarrelBoiler]

don't know what your lot looks like. are you thinking of doing the work yourself? tallk with someone who uses tubing to get an idea how to set it up and then take the danger trees out ( the ones that are a danger to you and you lines) work the rest as you have time. If you think alot of big stuff needs to come out a forester who will listen and understand what your trying to do would help