New Too Pipe Line

[PARKER MAPLE]

So Guys Im Kind Of Still New To This Site, And Have Had Lots Of Awesome Help Along The Way Here Trying This New Hobby-addiction... So If I May Ask Another Question, I Was Running My Very Small Opperation On All Buckets Last Season And Found That I Would Like To Make More Syrup, To Sell. And Adventually Build Up My Opperation Probably Like Almost Everybody On This Site Has. So Heres The Question, Im Going To Make The Upgrade From Buckets To All Pipe Line Next Year, Allso Going From 30 Taps To Almost 200. What Im Wondering Is Should I Run My Main Line Know In The Off Season, And Get It Planned Out. Then Go Ahead When We Get Closser To The Next Season Running All Of My Other Branch Lines. And If So How High Should I Keep My Main Line Off The Ground??? Allso I Have One More For Ya, If My Logest Run Is Around Five Hundred Feet, And Has Around 110 Taps On It What Size Main Line Will Suit This?? Thanks In Advanced Maple Rookie

[maple ridge tappers]

Hey rookie, I don't have any advice for you, but I would like to add that I have been sugaring for about ten years. Every year I have been expanding just like every one else on this site. I started with 30 taps several years ago, and finished this last season with about 300. We made just about 200 gallons of syrup, and enough money to pay for most of our equipment. Very exciting season! With that said, I am ready to double my output for next year, but can not possibly do it without a vacuum system. I know very little about this, but am learning tons of info from this awesome site. Any information from you veterans out there would be greatly appreciated.

[bison1973]

Maple Ridge, Just curious... how the heck did you make 200 gallons from only 300 taps and no vaccum? That would be hard to do with VAC. That's an awsome total.

[Knot E. Maple]

Someone else upsizing - imagine that! Good to hear. Here's what I know and my suggestions. Sure others will add to this.

Question: Will these bushes get bigger ever in the future? If so, plan accordingly now to save time and expense later if you can afford it.

Installing mainline and branchline is always more fun when it's a little warmer. Fall is nice. Easier to ID trees too. Be sure to map out the bush well and layout a good mainline location and/or use branches of mainline to keep branchline runs shorter.

How high: How much snow do you get and how tall's your reach once the snow melts?

Sizing mainline for 100 taps: producer's manual states you're ok with 200 taps on 1/2" at as little as 4% slope. I would shoot for more slope. Again, size for FUTURE tap capacity if you can too. Otherwise, 1/2" is fine for you now. I've even heard of running 1/2" without wire if you have slope and trees close enough to weave through (and pull it tight enough).

Sounds like you're off to a good start asking early in the year. Good luck and be sure to post back how it all comes out.

[maple ridge tappers]

Bison, all I can say is that we had 278 taps. First year with a real evaporator,(30x8 small broths.) We filled 20 stainless milk cans that we borrowed from our uncles who own a dairy farm. We used every last can that they had. We ended up buying 3- 50 gallon drums for fear of running out of storage. Unfortunately we did not need the drums. We just sold 120 gallons to Roth's on Friday and it graded A. Yeah!:)

[bison1973]

What did Roth pay you?

[PerryW]

What Im Wondering Is Should I Run My Main Line Know In The Off Season, And Get It Planned Out. Then Go Ahead When We Get Closser To The Next Season Running All Of My Other Branch Lines.

Sometimes it's easier to see what you are doing in the fall after the leaves fall, but you can certainly run everything now.


And If So How High Should I Keep My Main Line Off The Ground???

I try to keep my mainlines about waist high, any lower they are in the snow, any higher, they are hard to reach.


Allso I Have One More For Ya, If My Logest Run Is Around Five Hundred Feet, And Has Around 110 Taps On It What Size Main Line Will Suit This?? Thanks In Advanced Maple Rookie

1/2" will work if gravity only, but recommend 3/4" in case of future vacuum system and you can't use the saddles to connect laterals to your mainline if you use 1/2"

[ennismaple]

I agree with 3/4". It's not much more $ than 1/2" and you can use saddle manifolds instead of cut-ins. Shovelling out mainline in February isn't much fun so I second the waist height recommendation.

It's better to do it right the first time so build and size everything for expansion and vacuum. You'll be glad in a few year's time that you did!

[Jim Brown]

Perry W. We run all ours in the fall after the leaves are down,mains as well as lats.Helps to give you a better feel for the set up when you can see the other end of the lats.Mains we shoot with a transent and then run them,you can't always see the other end of the main lines.
Our two cents

Jim

[PARKER MAPLE]

Thanks Somuch For The Info. Sounds Like Im Going With 3/4 Line For Next Year. And We Get Alot Of Snow So Im Thinking Of Around 4ft Mark. Thanks Again.

[maple ridge tappers]

Roth paid 2.60 a pound, which is less than I expected before the season, but I called all over in Wisconsin (Anderson's in Cumberland, and Pollack's in Merrill) and Roth's were right in line with prices, and very friendly people to deal with, but who in this buisness isn't? Roth is the only dealer that buys year around, the other guys are not buying any more untill later this summer.

[maple ridge tappers]

Anyway, I plan on building a sugar shack/storage shed( if my wife asks). The only location for the building would be on the edge of the woods near the top end of the maple ridge (as my name implies). I have one bush that goes to the north, and one to the south of this location. Both of these slope gradually away from my proposed sugar house. How is the best way to get the sap directly to the sugar house?

[ennismaple]

Anyway, I plan on building a sugar shack/storage shed( if my wife asks). The only location for the building would be on the edge of the woods near the top end of the maple ridge (as my name implies). I have one bush that goes to the north, and one to the south of this location. Both of these slope gradually away from my proposed sugar house. How is the best way to get the sap directly to the sugar house?

Let gravity do the work and put the sugar house at the bottom of the ridge! Or you can pump up to it with a gas transfer pump.

[PATheron]

Maple Rookie- Use the three quarter and dont mess with the half inch for mainline. Good for 250 taps max and you can run it pretty far. Put it on wire and put it waste high for your area and also becouse of your heavy snow run it across the slope. If You dont youll have problems getting the lats to run gravity into them. If they are across the slope you can come down the hill and kind of swoop up into them. I dont like running them that way down here but we dont get any snow and I only run my mains knee highth. With that being the deal I can run the mains up and down the slope so they drain better and no problem getting the lats into them. Different areas kind of have thier own best practices. The half inch is ok if you have some laying around to use to kind of pick up taps here and there where the lats will be long but dont buy it becouse its a pain to get into it. Theron

[220 maple]

MapleRookie and Maple Ridge Tappers.
Go to a Tubing seminar if you can find one in your area, if not the equipment dealers who sell tubing are suspose to help you if your buying mainline and tubing from them. They have been trained by the tubing manufacturers for proper mainline and tubing setups. Call Leader they should be able to tell you when the next tubing seminar will be held. Brad or Bruce a father son team from Leader does a very good seminar. I feel a good set up is worth its weight in Liquid Gold (Maple Syrup)

Mark 220 Maple

[maple ridge tappers]

Thanks Mark, a local dealer is having an open house next weekend. I plan on going. Hopefully I can learn something, and get a few good ideas.

[lpakiz]

Maple ridge,
Where is this seminar??

Lsrry

[PARKER MAPLE]

Dose Anybody Know Of Any Seminares Around The Vermont Area?? Would Like To Get Up To Speed Scence How This Will Be My First Year On Pipe Line....

[maple maniac65]

Glen Goodrich has a tubing seminar in the fall over in Cabot VT

[PARKER MAPLE]

Has Anybody Heard About This Seminar, I Hoping To Find Out About One So I Can Go And Learn The Ropes. This Will Be My First Year On Pipe Line, In My New Opperation Anyways.

[JoeJ]

maple Rookie,

Glen Goodrich's tubing seminar is Nov 7, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM call
1-800-639-1854 to reserve a space. Cost $20.

Glen is a great guy, great speaker and a very good tubing installer

Webb site goodrichmaplefarm.com

[PATheron]

Rookie- See if there is a local producere thats really into it and see if you can give him a hundred bucks to come look and draw you up a nice little plan for your bush. That makes for a real nice start. Also see if you can go look at some tubing thats in your area. That helps if you can study some out and see how others do it. Theron

[PARKER MAPLE]

thanks guys for the advice
joej im going to call to see if i can get in, man thats coming right up glad i asked when i did, thanks again