Now I understand. Thanks
I am one of those that goes out and checks for leaks at least three times a week. I am of the theory that once it is installed and working you make all efforts necessary to improve the design and efficiency to harvest the most you can from your investment in equipment and property.
Depending on how ones system is setup the ladder will have absolutely no affect on vacuum. All my mains connect to manifolds connected to the releaser and have ample cfms supplied to have no negative affects on any other mains in the bush.
Since I use an electric releaser I have plenty of cfms to over come a minuet 0.1 cfm. Shucks that is the cfms needed for 10 taps... to bring 250 to the sugar house with no trucking, no extra tanks, no filling remote gas tanks, and no laying hundreds of dollars of electrical lines in the woods that costs a bunch; and this season it will bring another 250 taps with the inclusion of 2 12' ladders and 1 injector, and another 200 to the on ladder up on the current ladder system, with no additional ladders on that mains.
From my perspective the goal for your 50 taps should be to bring you in another 25 gallons of syrup. If they aren't, they are a drag on your production average and need some TLC to get tem up to par.
But, I am in this for a profit and since you cant cull low producing taps, by sending them to market, you just have to fine tune the system.
Every tap helps put a child thru college...next year there will be two and the year after that the third will be there also. Education and taxes are where my profits go; so pardon my desire for top production, for my ends justify the means.
I do respect your position to accept what you get from those taps; but feel that most people are looking for the most they can get from every tap as I do.
Thanks for the explanation of your point of view.
Ben
Ben