Unsupported Distance between trees

[Hurdhaven Farm]

About how far can I go with 5/16 lateral lines between trees with no support before I'd run into problems with low spots? I have some slope (5-10%) which should help. Would the rigid work better than the semi-rigid?

[Haynes Forest Products]

This is when I get in trouble.... "I" believe that if you have a line that runs down hill (has slope) it doesnt matter how many bags/low spots it has. As long as the end of the line is lower than the top of the line and in general it has slope on it you will have possitive flow. Im not saying its ok to have the tubing running up and down 20ft in the air. Im says latterals that run from tree to tree are going to have a slight low spot its ok. Do we run 50ft with a a brace made out of sticks YUP we all do it. Thats why we all use black tape. I like the way the semi streches and you can pull the heck out of it to keep it tight.

[Homestead Maple]

I use the rigid so that I don't get into trouble stretching the line so much that I would decrease the diameter of the line, and especially on long runs. With recommendations that say you should only have 5 taps per lateral I don't want to stretch my lines to much and cause restrictions for flow and vacuum.

[Jim Brown]

We use the semi and side tie it with black tape went we feel the span is too far and a sag is present. We also pull it as tight as we can when we first put it in which is normally in the fall when it is not too warm and the stretch is not very much.We have thousands of feet of the semi rigid in the woods and have had no problems.

Our two cents :)

jim

[Haynes Forest Products]

I dont think I have ever pulled on my semi ridged hard enough to change the inside diameter. I would rather pull semi out from under a snow bank. At least you can wrap it around your arm sit on the ground and pull it without kinks. I have had limbs fall on the tube pull it from the last tap and cut off a few Inches and replace and go from there.