Mainline/Lateral/Wire tips

[MapletopFarm]

Am looking to hang some mainline and laterals to some central collection points this year after using 5gal pails and have some questions....

When hanging 12ga wire, what's an easy, effective method to secure the
wire at each end? I've seen where some folks leave the ratchet in place
and that's OK I suppose but I'm curious what other tricks work. Is there a
fitting of some sort that doesn't requre an expensive tool to secure the wire
and take out the tension ratchet?

Similarly, in order to stretch the mainline to straighten it out, what are my
options to secure one end and to attach a come-along at the other? Any
other methods?

In one spot, I've got a line of 10 large old trees over a 300' run, which will
take an average of 5 taps each (some 4, some 6) Seems like an awful lot of
taps to put on a 5/16" line so thought is a 3/4" mainline would run along the
row and the drops would go directly into that with 6-way star fitting. Any
other thoughts?

Last but not least, is there a tubing tool that is set up for 5/16" and 3/4"??

Thanks

[Jeff E]

I will try to answer in order:
I use 3/8 inch eye bolts at the end trees, and loop the wire through to a double wire spice, or gripple. Then I weave the 'tail' of the wire through the loop area, in case the gripple fails, as it will tighten on itself. I then use side wire ties to support and tighten the wire. I do this every 50 ft or so.

For the mainline, I secure the ends with doubled up wire ties at the ends, keeping it from slipping. I pull it fairly tight by hand, before securing the last end. Then as I wire tie the tube into the bends of the wire, created by the side wire ties, it gets very tight. Takes some practice to get this just right.

For the row of big trees, here are some thoughts. I assume this is gravity, not vacuum tubed. With vacuum, that would be overtapping any tree. For gravity, 1 tap per 26" of circumference is a safe rule of thumb.
I would run a mainline up along the trees, and put 7-10 droplines/taps into a 5/16, which run downhill to the mainline. I would use a wire hook fitting, and a saddle to connect to the mainline.

I don't have much experience running tubing on gravity, but there is a 'sweet spot' of enough taps per line that if run adequately downhill will create a vacuum like pull and help pull sap out of the trees. There are other posts discussing this. Worth a search.

[MapletopFarm]

Thanks for the reply. The line of older trees (yes, gravity feed) stands on it's own along a dirt road and there aren't any side trees whatsoever to side tie the wire to so that needs to be supported and tensioned from the end.

As far as the mainline being stretched, sounds like you don't use a come-along or anything to take out the bends, just good tight wire ties and elbow grease.

[Jeff E]

Yea, and not a lot of elbow grease at that. If you can imagine a top view of the wire being 'accordianed' by the side ties, and then laying out the tube in a straight line, securing the ends. When you push the tube out into the angles, it can get very tight.

Without side tie options, using a 'chinese finger grabber' on the tube, and a come along is a good way to go. Worth the effort to get it tight. I have used the rachets used in fencing were I can't or don't want to do side ties for tension. It works fine for tensioning the wire.

[Brent]

If you use the search tool you'll find lots of previous discussions about tensioning. Some are pretty elaborate, some use expensive tools. I do just like Jeff. Pull as tight as possible by hand, wrap the tail around itself about 20 times and then create the real tension by pulling off a bit to the side

[Dennis H.]

I use ratchets and gripples. ratches are the cheapest of the 2.
I had a gripple fail the other day!
I like the ratchets better not as fast as the gripples but cheap.

[maple flats]

I used to use gripples but did not like them. One day as I was having problems with one, I went to TSC and splurged. I bought a crimp tool. IThis tool crimps a soft metal sleave joining 2 pieces or ends. I run the support wire around the end tree , put 2 or 3 sleeves on, run a piece of old 5/16 tube on the wire to protect the tree and crimp the end to the lead in part forming a loose loop around the tree. I then hook to the other end the same way with just as much tension as I can pull while crimping the other end. At that point there is effectively no tension. From there I side tie with 14 ga galv wire around trees as needed to give the main wire real good tension. At one point I used to try to tension from the get go but now achieve my tension entirely with multiple side pulls. The thought there is when a limb or tree falls over the line it breaks the side pull and I have not yet ever broken the main line wire. If you have no smaller side trees I am not sure what I would do, I would need to study it first hand. Would these big trees be all by them selves or do they continue in either direction to a group of trees? I have some areas, but few< where there are no side ties for maybe a 150'. In most sections they are much closer together. One thing I do is if a wire looks like it will rub a tree and I can side pull away at some point I do. My side pulls are so tight I need either a helper or something to ratchet it tight while i side tie. I like my lines as tight as I can get them by this method. The part I bought the crimp tool for was because I broke the 12.5 ga hi tension wire when I wound the little tighteners in place much before it was really very tight. The crimp sleeves are dirt cheap, something like $8 for 25 or about $16 or 18 for 100.
For your big trees I would either run 2 and then into the 3/4" main with a saddle (I use Record Multi fitting, others work good too) or do it at each tree. This would be determined by the distance between. A short run the 5/16 between 2 trees is cheaper than an extra fitting. To decide get the fitting price and the 5/16 tubing price. If the price is close use the fitting. Only use tubing for 2 trees if that is much cheaper than a fitting. Tubing is costly to run line where it can just be tapped into the main. Less 5/16 and less maintainance. For 6 taps a tree would need to be absolutely huge. A vigorously growing tree should get one tap per 30- 35" circ. As a tree gets fully mature it adds new growth much slower and you should not tap that heavily. Generally you should not tap more than 3 or in rare cases 4 to a tree unless that tree is scheduled to be removed in the next few years.

[maple flats]

Forgot one thing, 5/16 tubing costs about $45-50 per 500' coil or 9-10 cents a foot.

[maple man-iac]

weave your 3/4 between the trees instead of along the trees. As you pull tension on your main the tubing will pull tight against the tree and you can just slide the tubing up or down for the grade. I would use a record multi fitting at each tree.

[MapletopFarm]

weave your 3/4 between the trees instead of along the trees. As you pull tension on your main the tubing will pull tight against the tree and you can just slide the tubing up or down for the grade. I would use a record multi fitting at each tree.

... a "record multi fitting" ????????

[KenWP]

It's a Raccord-Multi Fitting or saddle. It's fully adjustable so you get a leak free fit. They are made for 3/4-1 1/4 sizes and cost from $2:45 to $2:75 a piece. They are new this year in the CDL catalog. The french discription is much more longer if you want that too.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

It's a Raccord-Multi Fitting or saddle. It's fully adjustable so you get a leak free fit. They are made for 3/4-1 1/4 sizes and cost from $2:45 to $2:75 a piece. They are new this year in the CDL catalog. The french discription is much more longer if you want that too.

If you don't want to spend the money for the fitting, tape a 5/16" drill bit and drill a hole in the top of the 1/2" or 3/4" mainline and force a barbed connector down into and seal it up with a little silicon. Cost 20 cents vs $ 2.50 for a fitting. Put some tape around the bit about 1/4" from end so you don't poke thru the bottom.

[Maplewalnut]

If you don't want to spend the money for the fitting, tape a 5/16" drill bit and drill a hole in the top of the 1/2" or 3/4" mainline and force a barbed connector down into and seal it up with a little silicon. Cost 20 cents vs $ 2.50 for a fitting. Put some tape around the bit about 1/4" from end so you poke thru the bottom.

Brandon meant to say so you DON'T poke thru the bottom

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

My fault, thanks for pointing it out and it is corrected.

[DanE.]

maple flats,

for your side pulls, how do you attach them to the main wire? directly (wire to wire) or some kind of strain release for the main wire?

Dane.

[RockScout]

... there is a 'sweet spot' of enough taps per line that if run adequately downhill will create a vacuum like pull and help pull sap out of the trees. There are other posts discussing this. Worth a search.
Hi. I've searched for info on this using various terms. Could someone point me in the right direction here? Thanks!

[PerryW]

for your side pulls, how do you attach them to the main wire? directly (wire to wire) or some kind of strain release for the main wire?

I attach the side pull wires directly to the mainline wire. The side pull wires should be a thinner wire than the main wire. That way when a tree falls on the mainline, the sidepulls will snap instead of the mainline wire. I use a 9 gauge mainline wire and 12 gauge side-pull wire.

When starting, attach the side pulls at the major direction changes of the tubing run. Then attach the side pulls on the straight sections afterwards. You can get the line incredibly tight just by leaning on the wire and tightening the side pulls.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

If you can't get your side pulls tight enough to suit you, then use a 2" ratcheted strap about 20' long and hook around both sides of the tree to your mainline wire and it will tighten it up as tight as you want it. I use mainly overhead electrical lines for my mainline wires since I got few thousand feet of it for free.

[Brent]

I do it just about the same as Perry outlined but I attach to the mailine wire at 2 points. I tie the tag end to the mainline wire then walk around the tree with the spool ( lighter non high tensile as he explains ) then back to the mainline wire about 2 feet from the first attach point. Then I have a double purchase on the mainline when I tighten. Then I use a forked stick to push the loop up the side tree to get the leveling slope I want. Sometimes if the side tree is slippery like a smooth beech, I leave the forked stick jammed in from the ground to keep it up.

Hung another 800 feet of mainline today. Hope the rain holds off tomorrow.

[maple flats]

For my side pulls I use 14 ga galv elec fence wire.(main is 12.5 ga Hi tensil) After the main wire is hung I pull the wire sideways with a rope ratchet as tight as I can and then tie the 14 ga to the main. I start with the 14ga wire pulled around the tree I am using to side pull, I slide a piece of old 5/16 tube on the wire to protect the tree and tie the free end to the hi tensil by winding 2 times around the hi tensil and then wrap at least 4 times around itself. Then I determin where to cut the tie wire by holding it up to the main and cut about 6" long. I then make a final pull on my rope ratchet and tie the new free end to the main wire the same as the first. By doing this I can get the main very tight. When done I usually have a side tie on one side or the other every 50-75' on average if the main is only 3 or 4&#37; slope, which it usually is. I then run my laterals as straight up the slope as I can. I have never yet had a main installed this way break but I have had sideties break. That is the beauty, when that happens I just install a new side tie after removing the limb or tree that took it down and it is as good as new. The flatter your mainline slope the more side ties you will need. I only crudely slope the main as I side tie, then I again use my rope ratchet to loosten any given side tie to slide it up of down to set final slope. Occasionally I need with a 1" med duty ratchet strap if I can't pull enough to adjust the elevation of some of the side ties. I carry both with me in a work apron with lots of pockets I wear when working the lines or tapping.

[mark bolton]

Has anyone tried Rapi-Tube for side pulls? I got some this year and it is great. No wires, no tensioners and you can do it yourself, fast. I used their plastic tensioner strap on my regular black plastic 3/4" main line.