gravity on 5/16 tubing

[lafite]

I am considering using 5/16 tubing as my mainline for a run of taps that would include 3 sections of: 25 taps, 15 taps and 12 taps. my first question would be since I am a backyard producer, would the 5/16 lateral line be sufficient? I have plenty of room for a nice slope. My second question would be; is 25 taps on a gravity line be too much? and lastly, would switching over to the Check Valve for this setup be beneficial for this smaller scale production?

With the above set up and other taps I should max out at around 90 taps this coming year.

I'm looking forward to this coming season. Last year, my first, was a tough year to be initiated into this wonderful hobby but the syrup was amazing!

thank you in advance!

steve
Cheshire, CT

[Maplewalnut]

Steve-

The steeper the slope the better. And some will say the more taps the better. The advantage of both is that you will create natural vacuum in your line with steep slope and sap flowing. There are a couple traders on here that have 30, 40, 50 taps on a 5/16th gravity line. Of course these recommendations all get thrown out when you go to vacuum next year! (at least that my prediction!)

From what I have read on here, check valves will help but not to the extent it would when vacuum is applied to a system

Enjoy

[lafite]

thank you for the reply. I think you read my mind about a vacuum system. Last year was like pulling teeth and I would prefer not to have a repeat performance. Being in Southern CT, my window of collection is smaller than most and I would surly like to maximize my production.

[TapME]

I have 2 different lines of 5/16 tubing on gravity with 30+ taps on them and they preform well this last year when they ran. Grade means a lot but try not to have sharp turns (like 90*) in the line it slows the sap so you don't get as much sap. Other than that have at it, it's fun. Now vacuum is a different subject all together.

[Sugarmaker]

lafite,
That's the system we currently run, as you have described, for a 500 tap operation. We have about 30 stops around the lower part or Erie county PA. Go for it and try some things. I am also interested if the check valves would help.
Regards,
Chris

PM me any time for gravity short run ideas.

[Bucket Head]

I can't speak for the check-valves, but I can tell you that I have two 5/16 lines, one with 33 taps and one with 44 taps, and they run fine. Their on a pretty good slope though. On good days, I have measured over 7 inches of vacuum on the 44 line. I'd say go for it. However, if your going to go with regular vacuum soon, you should set up your tubing for that. Why run tubing twice? Either way, good luck this season. Share your results with us this spring.

Steve

[jcb]

I have a 5/16 main line with 50+ tapes on it and it works very well. I also have some 3/4 main line set for vacum with only 5-10 taps per lateral and it runs fine with out the vacum. I would say that if you set up a 5/16 main and run laterals to with only 5-10 taps you will have good set up that will work well. Then if you want to invest in a vacum pump down the road you can replace the 5/16 main with 3/4.

[lafite]

thank you all for the great advice. I have learned a lot from this forum over the last 2 years. It's a very addictive hobby with which I hope to pass on to my children. I just hope to keep my 2x4 evaporator boiling non-stop this coming season. Just watching my wife boil water for pasta gets me going these days....:)

I'll be visiting Bascom next week to pick up my supplies for next year. I'm going to get enough CV's for one of my smaller runs to experiment.


steve Greenwood

[Tweegs]

sorry, posted in wrong thread