New Installation

[Buffalo Creek Sugar Camp]

I am starting on a new grove that should make about 2000 taps. It is a long strip of woods, about 400 feet wide and about 4500 feet long. Along the 4500 foot section is a small stream and the woods has fairly steep slope (probably 10%) on the 400 feet up the hill. I was wondering how I should run my main lines for vacuum. I know I have to run the wet/dry line along the stream because of the way it slopes. My question is, should i run 3/4 or 1" mainline straight up the hill which would be 400 feet long and run the branch lines into them? At a leader tubing seminar they said to run the 3/4 across the hill at 2-5% slope staying less than 1000' which I could do but it seems like it would be easier and better in my mind to run straight up the hill. Leader says there will be less turbulance in the lines going across slope. But going straight, everything will drain better. Would there be any difference in sap yield? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[maplwrks]

I'm sure Jason Grossman will chime in on this also, but here is my opinion. Not being able to see it, I would run a wet/dry line to length of the 4500' bush and run lateral mains every 100' going on an up hill slope. I would put a valve and a vacuum guage at every takeoff from the wet/dry. I like the idea of shorter lateral mains. If you have a leak in one of the lateral mains, you can isolate it with compromising the vacuum in the rest of the bush.

Like I said, I can't see it, so it's hard to make a real good suggestion.

[220 maple]

Jeremey,
If you buying your mainline and tubing from Henry he should come to your bush and give you suggestions. I picked him up at 5:30am on Aug. 31st and hauled him to look at two different bushes two hours away then returned him around 7:00 pm. I feel sure it was worth his time because when am done with the tubing setup and all the other good stuff (vacuum,releaser, tanks ect....) I will have spent somewhere near 14 thousand dollars. Henry is getting the lions share. I feel sure it was worth his time, especially if I tube the second woods next year. That will require and investment of 50 k or more. Henry will get the lions share of that one also.

Mark 220 Maple

[howden86]

There are pros and cons to each. I hired jason grossman. I already had a older syslem and used some on the old mains for boosters . The leader way I think is a little less efficient by only hooking into the main from the top however to check for leaks, if your terrain is right you can take a snowmobile and drive on the bottom side of your main to check for leaks. I am kind of doing a hybid of both. In places I can run along a hill and others i run up and down the hill. It does not matter which system you use if you don't take care of it it won't work good

[Buffalo Creek Sugar Camp]

220- Henry suggested the leader way since that is the tubing he sells. We talked about it and both agree that there are pros and cons to each type of installation. Because of the terrain, I can't get an ATV or snowmobile throught the woods too well, just around the perimeter. So I am leaning towards going to 1" instead of 3/4 and running it straight up over the hill in 400' lengths. It will save a few thousand feet of mainline and wire, and will be less tubing to look after. I think with the 1" I should have really good vacuum getting to the branch lines as well.