So why not boil/clean/sterilize adapters and reuse them?

So all my tubing is on 3/16" and I've been using seasonal spouts and replacing them each year. Considering switching to Leader stub spouts and Leader clear check valve adapters.

As I understand it the stubs stay attached to the tubing each year and the adapters are removed and discarded. At $.42 a piece its not a cheap proposition, especially when the seasonal spouts are only $.18 a piece.

So why can't these $.42 check valve adapters be cleaned and reused? A little soap and hot water and I don't see why the bacteria can't be killed and/or removed.

What am I missing?

The microbes on the spouts can’t be removed even by boiling, and it has been shown that the additional sap yield from a new tap outweighs the savings from reuse.

I have heard the same thing, but just by word of mouth. Does anyone have a link to a study? I have tried both cleaning and replacing my tubing taps. Its hard to tell from season to season if it makes a difference. I don't replace the metal taps i use for buckets so cleaning those must work....

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Originally Posted by psparr

The microbes on the spouts can’t be removed even by boiling....

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I just find that hard to believe.

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Originally Posted by 82cabby

....I don't replace the metal taps i use for buckets so cleaning those must work.

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This too. I soak mine in a little soapy hot water and call it good.

I can really see the benefit of using these two-piece spouts and adapters for a cost-saving point of view and for not having to press new spiles onto the dropper every season, but at $.42 a piece replacing the adapters will add up pretty quickly.

You can't see microbes but they are there. Perhaps someone has a link to PMRC studies that were done. If cleaning works for you then do it. There are always new technologies being pushed by suppliers and while they may work you need to decide if it works for you. I haven't bought into this check valve setup myself. Connect the cv to the cv2 to the stubby.....blah blah blah. At 250 taps save some money and replace your spouts every year at half the price and your drops every 3-4 years. My $0.02.

Sanitizing is more difficult than what most people think. I dealt with it a lot in my career as a Fish Hatchery Manager and i can tell you it is a task. Bacteria can hide in so many ways. As far as just boiling taps in water, I think may be one of the least efficient sanitation attempts. First some effort needs to be made to clean and remove that sugar the bugs like. Then your water needs a little help, use something to acidify (vinegar) or a sanitizing agent. The next problem is drying thoroughly, inside and out. Dry heat is far better than air drying. Perhaps a tray under a heat lamp with some air moving over them. Still you aren't sure all your heat has heated into all the pores of the plastic, yes plastic is porous. We used to power clean all tanks and use Quaternary ammonia compounds then dry all our tanks. It was a hard job. As for equipment it was soaked in quats and if possible heat dried.

I'm perfectly fine with spending a few bucks on new taps that have never been exposed to sugar and bacteria. Taps are the cheapest piece of equipment we buy, yet I see a lot people gripe about spending a few bucks.

I'll tell you a story that relates my feelings. Myself and a couple buddies went on an out of state hunting trip and when we got out in the field one hunter misjudged the distance on a big gobbler and only wounded him. My buddy was all over him when he saw he had bought cheap shells, and made this point. Buddy, you just spent $1,000.00 to take this trip and defeated the goal of it to save $10.00 on a box of shells, do you realize how little sense that makes. Why wouldn't you protect your investment on success and spend $10.00 more for the best chance to succeed?

Here's a link to an article on food sanitizing: https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/...ology-of-food/

There was a good thread on this a few years back. If I remember right, the bacteria leaves a "footprint" that makes it easier for new bacteria to grow on. Sanitizing kills the bacteria but does not remove the "footprint" so the bacteria growth the second year occurs at a faster pace. Scrubbing, without scratching, will remove the "footprint". Scrubbing the inside of a spout is tedious and time consuming. If the scrubbing results in even minut scratches, the scratches give the bacteria a new place to grow that is even harder to clean (scrub) thoroughly. That's as far as my memory will take me. Ted

There are studies on both PMRC in VT. and by Steve Childs, of Cornell showing that sap yield increase far out weighs the cost of new spouts. If you want to clean them, use SS spouts, or other metal spouts, they can be cleaned if done properly.
Why would you reuse a 42 cent spout so you could lose $2-3 or more worth of syrup. Penny wise and pound foolish.

Found this study which is related: http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/How%20often...0droplines.pdf

Good info. Im going to have to go through that site much more carefully. Thanks maple flats for the reference!

Okay, okay, I get it....Don't try to clean adapters....It can't be done.

So if this bacteria is so tenacious that it can't be killed with boiling water, one has to assume its still present in our finished syrup product.....

:rolleyes: