Originally Posted by
DrTimPerkins
We always replace tees when replacing drops. If you try to cut the tubing off the tee, a certain percentage of them will have microleaks no matter how careful you try to be. Under high vacuum you'll spend your time chasing these leaks and cutting them out anyway. Turns out to be faster and more economical to just replace them. For gravity or low vacuum it is probably less critical.
100% agree. Just the time you spend messing around with a used tee makes it worth the $0.20 aside from the potential lost sap yield if you scar the tee. Once you have your woods on a rotation schedule, we've found it easier to go through the bush to make repairs on the 1st pass while lugging all the fittings and items needed then go through a 2nd time just to do the drops. We make our drops in the shack ahead of time where it's warm. May seem like it takes more time to go through the woods a 2nd time but we've found it actually saves time. Drops can be done very quickly, takes about the same time to replace a drop as it does to drill in a tap doing it this way.
305 taps on 2 Shurflo's, 31 taps on 3/16" and 229 taps on gravity. 565 in all
Mountain Maple S3 controller for 145 of the vacuum taps
2x6 Darveau Mystique Oil Fired Evaporator w/ Smoky Lake Simplicity Auto Draw
Wesfab 7” filter press