Amber Gold
11-29-2009, 05:00 PM
I went out in my woods w/ a 100' tape and level and I've made sketches of what I have now and modifications I'm going to be doing this year. From the sketch you can see the control elevation is the 2" maple at the crest of the hill. The ground elevation is 104.0. From the high point there's plenty of grade differential to get to the sugar house. The ground elevation at the bottom of the hill is 90.46 and is approximately 512 feet away. If I clear the crest with 2' and run a 2% grade back to the bottom of the hill I'm at elevation 116, or 25.5' off the ground. The control mainline (the one w/ 160 taps on it coming from the west) at the bottom of the hill is 5.5' off the ground so that is a 20' lift. I have a liquid ring pump which should pull 25" so that shouldn't be a problem if the 1' per inch of vacuum holds true.
The proposed mainline would start at the sugar house go to the spruce, up to the 3" ash, and then down to the terminus point.
This year the western mainline (the one w/ 160 taps) will be broken into two lines because I can get the upper portion to flow into the proposed mainline by gravity.
The mainline coming from the north w/ 200 taps is coming off a steep grade so it can be brought up to about 10' off the ground and have only a 10' ladder.
Here's what I'm wondering, can I run a 1% grade back from the crest of the hill? That'd drop the sap ladder 5'. Will 1% still have adequate capacity and good flow characteristics? This mainline will have approximately 400 taps on it. Should I run a 3/4" wet/dry line setup or a single 1" or 1 1/4" mainline from the sugar house to the sap ladder?
What should I use for sap ladders? One ladder will have 200 taps (10' lift) and the other 135 taps (20' lift).
The southern mainline with 25 taps has an existing 10' sap ladder to cross the road. This mainline is just above ground level. Should this be a single 25' lift or keep the existing ladder and make it a two stage lift: a 10' and a second 15'?
What would be the benefits to combining everything at the existing terminus and having a single sap ladder w/ 400 taps and a 20' lift? I'm guessing this would be a 2 pipe system. I think the biggest issue w/ this is if the ladder failed for some reason...do they freeze up?
I know this is pretty long, but I tried to cover everything at once. Let me know if more information is needed. Thanks in advance for your time.
The proposed mainline would start at the sugar house go to the spruce, up to the 3" ash, and then down to the terminus point.
This year the western mainline (the one w/ 160 taps) will be broken into two lines because I can get the upper portion to flow into the proposed mainline by gravity.
The mainline coming from the north w/ 200 taps is coming off a steep grade so it can be brought up to about 10' off the ground and have only a 10' ladder.
Here's what I'm wondering, can I run a 1% grade back from the crest of the hill? That'd drop the sap ladder 5'. Will 1% still have adequate capacity and good flow characteristics? This mainline will have approximately 400 taps on it. Should I run a 3/4" wet/dry line setup or a single 1" or 1 1/4" mainline from the sugar house to the sap ladder?
What should I use for sap ladders? One ladder will have 200 taps (10' lift) and the other 135 taps (20' lift).
The southern mainline with 25 taps has an existing 10' sap ladder to cross the road. This mainline is just above ground level. Should this be a single 25' lift or keep the existing ladder and make it a two stage lift: a 10' and a second 15'?
What would be the benefits to combining everything at the existing terminus and having a single sap ladder w/ 400 taps and a 20' lift? I'm guessing this would be a 2 pipe system. I think the biggest issue w/ this is if the ladder failed for some reason...do they freeze up?
I know this is pretty long, but I tried to cover everything at once. Let me know if more information is needed. Thanks in advance for your time.