Leaky tap holes- sap is a wasting!

[Mike N RI]

We tapped 400 trees Sunday & Monday using new plastic 5/16" spiles....
Monday we found about 25% of the tap holes had leaked quite a bit down the trees, some had 8"-12" wet spots and ran 3'+ down the bark. Trees that normally will give 1-2Gals per day had minimal sap in them. We are using 5/16 bits purchased from the same supplier we bought the taps from.

The problem seems to be happening mostly on Norway and Red Maples. Sugar Maples seem to be minimally affected.

Are we sinking the taps too deep? Not enough? Are there drilling methods to minimize tearing the bark? ie. start the drill prior to touching the tree? Better bits?

We are puzzled and loosing sap as we speak.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Mike

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I seen this happen a number of years ago when I tried just pushing spouts into the trees instead of tapping them with hammer. Basically, what I am referring to is that the spouts were not tight enough in the trees.

[3rdgen.maple]

I am wondering if you put them in to hard. 2 things come to mind when I say that. 1 you split the tree and it is leaking out of that or 2 the taps are tapered and if put in to far I wonder if it made the plastic out of round and not sealed well in the hole. Do a little experiment. Pull one out and replace it and tap it in lighter and then tap another one in farther. View the results and adjust from their. If you did split the tree however nothing you can do but lose sap at this point.

[PerryW]

This can happen during the early runs where the lines are still frozen, but the tree warms up enough to push sap out. The sap has no place to go so it leaks out around the tap.

[3rdgen.maple]

I would agree Perry but I think he is running buckets, atleast that is what his signature says.

[Mike N RI]

We are using buckets. I have found some ice in some of the plastic tap ends when I remove them. They have a tiny hole and narrow tip that gradually opens up to the 5/16" spout. It was 24F lst night and only got to 34F w/snow today, many taps ran--perhaps the ice is damming the the 5/16" taps and it is leaking as Perry suggested?

Yesterday we pulled the 5/16" taps from several large Norways, drilled to 7/16"and used the aluminum 7/16" taps--some of these trees leaked too. That is why I think the soft bark of the Norway is being torn by the drill bit.

[softmaple]

we tap mostly norways too. i prefer not to use any solid spout for buckets due to the splitting effect that happens. the rolled stainless spouts work best for us on these trees because they tighten up like a spring as there tapped in. i ran out this year so we are trying the 7/16 DG aluminum in some trees i will have report the results.
when i tap my trees i look for a wider piece of bark and tap in the middle, not in the valley as i find its more apt to split.

[Big_Eddy]

Couple more ideas.
Did you tap too cold? The bark can split. It should be warm enough the trees are flowing when you tap.

Did someone hammer them in too hard? Split bark again. Also if the kids are doing it and their aim is off, they can split the bark by hitting the tap on an angle.

Did you drill deep enough? If some of your holes are marginal on depth, then the tap will bottom out and will not seal around the edge.

Are your taps defective? Plastic taps have been known to ship with flash (thin layer of material) covering the small hole on the inside. Sap can't get through so leaks around. (I've seen this on D&G Cast Aluminium spouts too - had 2 trees one year didn't produce a drop till I found the problem)

Drilling technique - straight in - stop turning - pull out. Don't ream it out, don't let it sit and spin. You want a nice clean hole. I use a brace and bit - the pilot point keeps the bit from moving around, and the outer edge cuts the bark cleanly before the inner material is removed. I prefer that to a standard twist drill.

We usually get a couple that leak initially, and sometimes after a great day when the buckets have been full, we'll get a couple that loosen up and start, but a hammer tap or two will tighten them back up.

Hopefully moving up to the larger taps will solve things for you.

[valleyman]

Good thread guys. I have a similar problem on a few myself. Because of time restraint (lack of Daylight) I did some drilling below freezing and I have some leaks. I'll wait to the temp to be up for the balance.

[MapleME]

Big, just out of curiosity re: tapping holes drilled straight in? I have always angled a bit since im on buckets- Does straight in work better for some applications?

Josh MapleME

[3rdgen.maple]

I have always put a slight upwards angle on my bucket taps.

[Big_Eddy]

I angle upwards slightly too - by straight in I meant to drill in one smooth motion, no wiggling and jiggling etc., that would result in anything other than a nice round hole. Sorry for any confusion.