Quote Originally Posted by tonka View Post
I am planning on putting up about a half dozen gravity lines up in a woods I have permission to go in. I understand that when running gravity lines, the straighter the better, my question is, if I have a tree say 10 feet away from my main line, will it work to run line from the tree to the mainline? (the extra long drop line will have no sag in it) How mush dose a guide wire help when running mainlines? (mainline will be 5/16" tubing) Thanks!

Yes, a 10' drop line will work fine as long as it slopes downhill to the mainline. I do this sometimes to avoid the hassle of putting the extra fittings involved with a typical end tree. Depending on the configuration of your trees, you can also considering zig-zagging your way down the hill, rather that using these long drop lines. Sap seems to flow better with a long single run (zig-zagging) than having lots of Y's or TEE's and branch lines and produce better natural vacuum.

I wouldn't bother with wire on 5/16 tubing unless the run is pretty flat (not much pitch).