Zig zagging laterals or straight as possible?

[ascutneymaple]

I'm running 5/16" lateral lines down a hillside to a mainline that runs perpendicular to the slope...

My question is when running these laterals is it better/more efficient to zig zag the lateral line up the hill, making it around every tree that is tapped or to run a straighter line and link small groups of trees or individual trees into the straight line? I know this would require an extra fitting to link 5/16" lines together, but may save tubing length.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[markct]

if your on vac then you are better to go around the trees in one continuos string, they say y fittings dont do well on vac. also y fittings make it a real pain to snug the lines up or wind them up to do work in the woods. when i setup areas of my woods a couple years ago i never planned on vac, and used many y s in places, i am now going thru and mostly redoing them to eliminate them since last year i started using vac and am hooked!

[bigtreemaple]

My suggestion is to stand at the mainline facing uphill and hold both arms out parrellel to each other about shoulder width apart and try to keep the trees that fall in that zone on one line. Trees that fall well outside that shoulder width zone should be considered for a different lateral line. If you are planning a vacuum system remember that about 5 taps per lateral is enough. Generally putting a bunch of Tee's and branch lines on 5/16 is not a good idea.

[ascutneymaple]

no vac right now, not really planning on it because the area i'm tubing only has about 200 taps max in it. it does seem easier and more snug to run it around all trees but a lot of back and forth...

[danno]

Depends if you are running vacuum or plan to on this set up.

If running vac. you don't want to be T'ing groups of trees into existing lats. You will be killing your vacuum trransfer. I run my lats with enough zig-zag just to support the lat line. I dont zig just to zag. If I have two trees next to each other, I will usually go around one (to support the lat) and go straight past the other and tie that tree into the main lat with a drop.

Problem is - even if you dont plan to run vac, you may change that decision in a year or two.

[ascutneymaple]

do you run the main lat first and get it snug then go back and cut in the branch to the other trees or do you set the branches in as you go?

[danno]

Good question. Run the whole lat, get it good and tight. Then cut in your drops, hopefully with a two handled tool. Try to borrow one if you don't have one.

[jasonl6]

no vac right now, not really planning on it because the area i'm tubing only has about 200 taps max in it.

There is no reason not to run vac. Basically any milk pump will work for you on that number of taps. I've picked up several pumps this year from $25-$125 bucks.

I am tubing an area this year that only has 110 taps and am setting up for vac. The tubing is the expensive part for us. Pumps are cheap (if you can find an old surge glass releaser they are inexpensive too).

Jason

[steve J]

I know nothing about Vac or milk pumps . Are they a inexpensive way to make a vaccume system. Would they require these dry lines I hear about or would they simply hook onto the mainline of a small system I have only 150 on line?

[peckfarm]

Milk pumps around here they are a little more expensive because of the high demand.($250 and up) If you are running all the lines to one tank then a dry line is not necessary, however a releaser is.($700) That is why a sap puller might be a better option. Talk to the guys up at Goodriches in Cabot. An 1/8 hp single diaphragm puller will run about $900 or so. Of course all of this can be made or put together from parts and there a lot of guys on here who are smart enough to do it easily(not me).

[jasonl6]

I have bought two of the glass style mechanical milk receivers. I payed 100 and 125 for them. Know were there might be a third one (the guy is looking for the float). They are a cheap alternative to getting a releaser. I will upgrade releasers in the future.

[maple flats]

Run your laterals as straight as possible. If on vac, do about 5 or 6 per, if on gravity go 10 max unless you have lots of slope, then go a few more. You usually use less tubing keeping the zig zag to a minimum and run a second line. I used to zig more but then a presentation by Glen Goodrich showed that less zigging used less total tubing and the flow was better.
Some will talk about going to real high tap counts on steep lines, but try this, when you have over 10 taps on a line, pull the lowest tap and see how much pressure is being put on the tree, that pressure is slowing sap flow from the low trees. Higher up you have some natural vac but the lower you go on the same line the lower the vac is until you actually start adding pressure on the tree (negative vac?). The only time you can get away with more taps is if you have good slope below any of the taps on the line.
Make your mains at a 2-5% slope and run the lats as steep as you can and keep zig zaging to a minimum.

[ascutneymaple]

it is a very steep slope so sap should flow pretty quick...so your saying instead of zigging over out of the way to get another two or three trees it would be better to keep the line straight and branch those in? keeping the line as vertical as possible would help the flow as sure but it may take more tubing and fittings to branch in...

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

It is best not to branch in to your laterals. T's constrict the flow. If the trees are too far apart, better to run 2 laterals to the mainline.