3/16 to mainline vacuum?

[Chasefamily]

Hi,

I am starting to setup a new location where i will have to run about 2500' of main line up to the top with hundred of taps on the way up, as well as quite a few taps with over a 100ft of elevation above the end of the main line. I am estimating around 1000 taps but could be way more could be less. i am currently trying to get a better estimate. All of the laterals will be on 3/16 and i am going to try to get 30 ft of slope before hooking into the mainline with a vac gauge at end of each 3/16.

The mainline will have a couple hundred feet in slope from the top to the bottom, with this what size mainline should i go with? also how much advantage would there be to have a vacuum setup on the end or would the 3/16 be enough?

[DrTimPerkins]

.... i am going to try to get 30 ft of slope before hooking into the mainline with a vac gauge at end of each 3/16.

... also how much advantage would there be to have a vacuum setup on the end or would the 3/16 be enough?

Two things:

1. People always talk about slope when discussing 3/16" tubing, but what we're actually looking for is a good drop (max change in elevation). So hopefully that 30' you're talking about is vertical change and not horizontal change.

2. Pumped vacuum and natural vacuum are additive. So if you have 15" Hg in your mainline and 15" Hg from natural vacuum, you'll get close to the maximum (depending upon how tight your system is and your altitude). Pumped vacuum will allow you to get more to the trees lower on the slope and also makes it much easier to locate leaks.

[Chasefamily]

Two things:

1. People always talk about slope when discussing 3/16" tubing, but what we're actually looking for is a good drop (max change in elevation). So hopefully that 30' you're talking about is vertical change and not horizontal change.

2. Pumped vacuum and natural vacuum are additive. So if you have 15" Hg in your mainline and 15" Hg from natural vacuum, you'll get close to the maximum (depending upon how tight your system is and your altitude). Pumped vacuum will allow you to get more to the trees lower on the slope and also makes it much easier to locate leaks.

Hey thanks for confirming that information for me. Yes i will try and get every 3/16 line a elevation change of 30 ft. i have about 20 3/16 lines now with a gauge on everyone and get 26-28.5 on every line. i am just thinking if i had some sort of vacuum pulling on the main line it would help. i Will have some trees that are on the lower end but surprisingly not much more than 50-100 taps that wont have that elevation differential. I believe it should make for a good setup. I was unsure if the 1" main would be big enough but think i have enough slope where it should be also if it is full the vacuum on the mainline would transfer as well through a liquid i would assume as if there was still air volume.

[abbott]

I think you'll want to add a 1" dry line. Otherwise, you'll get sap rushing out the mainline in spurts and poor vacuum transfer. Either that or go up to a 1 1/2" mainline to be sure that vacuum is transferred over the sap. Your mainline won't fill with sap and "pull" like the 3/16 lines will.

[Chasefamily]

Alright looks like I'll have about 150-200 taps on the bottom that will not have enough slope for the 3/16 to work so I can see where vacuum would help that out. Everything else above those will have plenty of slope for the 3/16 before hooking into the mainline to achieve good vacuum

[abbott]

Alright looks like I'll have about 150-200 taps on the bottom that will not have enough slope for the 3/16 to work so I can see where vacuum would help that out. Everything else above those will have plenty of slope for the 3/16 before hooking into the mainline to achieve good vacuum

Do the install without vacuum, but design it with vacuum in mind for the future? Even if its only 50 gallons of syrup more per year, isn't that worth it? It's hard to say for sure how much you will gain until you try. You could do a lot of testing with gauges the first year to see what the natural vacuum is at the highest and lowest taps before deciding whether to put a pump in.

[motowbrowne]

I really liked having mechanical vacuum in addition to natural vacuum on my 3/16 lines. If for no other reason than how easy it makes finding leaks. Walk the mainline looking for saddles with air rushing through and head up from there.

[Chasefamily]

Do the install without vacuum, but design it with vacuum in mind for the future? Even if its only 50 gallons of syrup more per year, isn't that worth it? It's hard to say for sure how much you will gain until you try. You could do a lot of testing with gauges the first year to see what the natural vacuum is at the highest and lowest taps before deciding whether to put a pump in.

Yes I think 50 gals of syrup would def make it worth it. I'm not sure how to design a mainline for vacuum so I'm assuming a 1 inch main would not cut it on vacuum? I'm counting trees now and leaving to do so now so will have better under standing how many are where on the slope

[ryebrye]

Hi,

I am starting to setup a new location where i will have to run about 2500' of main line up to the top with hundred of taps on the way up, as well as quite a few taps with over a 100ft of elevation above the end of the main line. I am estimating around 1000 taps but could be way more could be less. i am currently trying to get a better estimate. All of the laterals will be on 3/16 and i am going to try to get 30 ft of slope before hooking into the mainline with a vac gauge at end of each 3/16.

The mainline will have a couple hundred feet in slope from the top to the bottom, with this what size mainline should i go with? also how much advantage would there be to have a vacuum setup on the end or would the 3/16 be enough?

Vacuum at the end will help prime the system and make finding leaks in the 3/16 very easy. Without a vacuum if your system is perfectly tight without any leaks, the gravity induced vacuum will be able to generate close to max vacuum with 30 ft drop.

If you have even 23-25" on that mainline that the 3/16 connects to you will likely be very happy.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[n8hutch]

One thing to consider is with a wet line vacuum system you want your main line to have a constant slope, or as constant as possible , you want the liquid running in the bottom of the pipe and the air/vacuum on top to achieve good vac transfer. So if your hill is really steep you will want to run across the slope at an angle up the hill even if you have to put a switch back/ zig-zag in the mainline. Also makes it eaiser to run your laterals down hill to the mainline. If you have the potential for 1000 taps I would go with a 1/1-4 line.

Also with a 3/16 system the pumped vacuum is additive or a bonus if you will, I'm not sure how much you would really gain with a wet dry setup.