2-Pipe Ladder

[Maplewalnut]

Anybody have any problems with a minimum number of taps on a 2 pipe ladder. I want to try one but only have about 70 taps feeding this particular conductor line. It will be on 3/4 main. Do you think 3/4" ladder pipes will be Ok or should I reduce it to 1/2"

Thanks
Mike

[rob1640]

I ran a 3/4" two pipe ladder on a mainline that had about 175 taps, the lift was only 4'. It worked okay but it did not pull sap up the ladder all the time, the sap would sit about half way up the ladder until the mainline filled then the sap would shoot up the ladder. I think for a small number of taps you would be better off with a star ladder.

[sugartree310]

I ran a two pipe ladder last year with 3/4 inch pipe and 100 taps on it, I am lifting 12 feet with high vacuum and it worked great, the only draw back was after a cold night it would take a long time to thaw because the main line coming into it would freeze. I am going to add another this year for another 100 taps.

[red maples]

I am adding 1 in for 250 taps it will be about 6-7 feet so we'll see!!! and a star lift towards the end of 1 line should be around 30-40 taps will be about 5 feet.

[Amber Gold]

You wouldn't have enough taps to make it work effectively. I'd use (2) six way start fittings or a six and a three way star fitting. This will work better, have less vacuum loss, and will thaw out quicker than a 2-pipe system. It's probably cheaper to build too.