inverted lats

[PATheron]

I have a question. If you have to invert a lateral to suck it up into the mainline if you raise it say 5' I know it will go right up into it but if your starting with 25" of vac will you lose an inch for every foot so that tap on that lat would read 20" on the gage? Theron

[Thad Blaisdell]

I dont know the answer to this but I do it on about a dozen or so laterals. My thought is that it is better than nothing. You will get some sap and some is better than none. I have stopped and watched the lines and you can see it moving in the line so it does work I just dont know at what capacity.

[Amber Gold]

I have a similar situation. I big old beautiful sugar maple worthy of two taps and 10% sugar (I hope). Problem is it's 40' from the end of the mainline across the field and down about 8'. I'm going to put two taps to her and watch the sap get sucked uphill.

[brookledge]

Theron
Doing that is basicly the same thing as having a sap ladder from one mainline to another. I have a mainline that goes over my driveway at 12 feet and before it gets back down to workable heights it goes by a bunch of maples. So I put in normal 5/16"manifolds then drop the 5/16" laterals down to a height that is comfortable. I still have my drops dropping down to the lateral line. I have them between 8 feet and 4 feet. There is no problem pulling the sap up into the main line. I have this on a zero vac. tank so I'm only running it at 17" I don't want to implode my vac tank
Keith

[Randy Brutkoski]

I also have a handfull of lats. that run uphill, some even close to 8 or 9 feet. And it does suck. On a different note, next week I will be a proud owner of a 4x14 Hurricane Force 5, and a 1200 gph. Lapierre turbo. Next is the results that my wife is demanding this March. If i am living in my sugarhouse next year you guys will know what happened. Its going to suck squating in the snow if things dont go right. Cross your fingers for me.

[brookledge]

Ya but it is so piecefull in th esugarhouse with the ro and the evaporator purring along you will forget that is now your home.
Congrats on your new setup
Keith

[mapleack]

Do mini two pipe 5/16 ladders. I think you'll get better vac transfer to the taps that way.

[sapman]

When you guys invert your lats, do you slope your lateral going up to the main, or do you barberpole it around a low tree, then head to the main from a little higher elevation?

[Randy Brutkoski]

I slope mine up, but try to keep it as gradual as possible.

[Amber Gold]

You want to make the transition from low to high as quick as possible. The more lateral you have the more friction loss in the tubing.

[Brent]

Wouldn't it be worth taking a ladder into the bush and tap them higher than the mainline ???

[Thad Blaisdell]

I can tell you that with the ones that I do..... NO... I am not going to drag a ladder all around the fringes of my sugarbush to tap.... and then what if you have a leak? Go home to get the ladder. Sometimes you just have to say I get what I get and that is better than no tap at all. Is it the right way to do it? NO but some is better than none.