New to tubing with some questions

[SSS2017]

There you go, 4 extra taps on vacuum will yield 1.5-2 gal. more syrup. Sell it by the qt and you more than pay for the extra 3/16 tubing to split it.

No doubt! I'm going to walk it again tomorrow to see if I can squeeze in a couple more too on that side. If I'm going to be running 2 lines I may as well try and get all I can get on them.

I want to start looking and planning everything I'll need soon too... you guys think I'll be ok on 3/16 with 5/16 drop lines?

[SSS2017]

No doubt! I'm going to walk it again tomorrow to see if I can squeeze in a couple more too on that side. If I'm going to be running 2 lines I may as well try and get all I can get on them.

I want to start looking and planning everything I'll need soon too... you guys think I'll be ok on 3/16 with 5/16 drop lines?

On vacuum of course. I'm really leaning towards going with Mountain Maples Sap Sucker since it kinda takes care of itself and I won't be able to be out there 24/7 as a hobbyist with a full time job.

[maple flats]

I've seen some reports (or was it theory?) that 5/16 drops on 3/16 laterals is preferred. First, the drop is not long enough to generate much vacuum and second, if sap gets pulled back into the tap hole, it pulls in less contamination from the lateral because the 5/16 drop holds much more sap in itself. The majority of my drops are all 5/16 and about 70% of my laterals are 3/16. The ones in 5/16 are on areas with less total slope to the mainline. All of my mains are on vacuum.

[sugarsand]

I can see more problems than benefit from the hole idea. There was mentioned one time about digging wells and putting a pump at the bottom, but dont recall anybody trying it.

[DrTimPerkins]

I've seen some reports (or was it theory?) that 5/16 drops on 3/16 laterals is preferred. First, the drop is not long enough to generate much vacuum and second, if sap gets pulled back into the tap hole, it pulls in less contamination from the lateral because the 5/16 drop holds much more sap in itself.

You are correct.

[SSS2017]

Thank you all for your replies and help me understanding more!!!

Maybe in the future I'll go with mainlines but for this season my plan(s) are:

2 lines of 3/16 tubing from tree to tree with 5/16 drops(24-30"). One line will have 25 taps and will run 1000', and the other will have 18 taps running 800'. Both lines will drop approximately 14' from last tree to porch.

I'm going with mountain maples sapsucker to vacuum both lines with a 12v battery and charger and a shurflo 4008 diaphragm pump.

Hopefully it all works out and we have a great season!

Just gotta find some food grade storage drums and figure out the 25 plus trees on the right side of my property now. That side only has 4' elevation change, so I either do buckets like last year, or dive in and do another pump on a battery with solar.

Thank you all again! If there's anything glaring that I missed in these 4 pages please chime in!

[Super Sapper]

I would suggest 200 gallons of storage as you can get 100+ gallons of sap on a good run and cut more wood. Most of all have fun.

[Biz]

I'm doing 5/16" drops on 3/16" mainlines next year as well. I had a 3/16" line with 3/16" drops using standard taps that has been a great producer in the past, but this past spring it completely stopped producing a week or two before other lines stopped, for no apparent reason. I blame on several things: lines are 4 years old and ready for replacement; I didn't flush them out well enough last year (black globs in the lines); lack of checkvalve taps; possible increased backflow from the smaller diameter drops; and pump turns off at night before lines freeze which allows backflow into the taphole. Just theories at this point. So my experiment for next year is to use 5/16" drops with checkvalve taps, to hopefully prevent backflow in 2 ways. And possibly programming my diaphragm pump controller to turn off at a lower temperature, after the lines have frozen. I also get the advantage of new tubing. Hope to be flooded in sap next year!

Dave

[SSS2017]

I would suggest 200 gallons of storage as you can get 100+ gallons of sap on a good run and cut more wood. Most of all have fun.

Thanks! I am hoping for 75-100 gallons a week.

Last year on 45 buckets I averaged around 30 gallons over 7 weeks. My best run was 65 gallons in 5 days.

Any suggestions for 55 gallon drums at a decent price? I've been checking craigslist in my area to no avail so far.

[SSS2017]

I'm doing 5/16" drops on 3/16" mainlines next year as well. I had a 3/16" line with 3/16" drops using standard taps that has been a great producer in the past, but this past spring it completely stopped producing a week or two before other lines stopped, for no apparent reason. I blame on several things: lines are 4 years old and ready for replacement; I didn't flush them out well enough last year (black globs in the lines); lack of checkvalve taps; possible increased backflow from the smaller diameter drops; and pump turns off at night before lines freeze which allows backflow into the taphole. Just theories at this point. So my experiment for next year is to use 5/16" drops with checkvalve taps, to hopefully prevent backflow in 2 ways. And possibly programming my diaphragm pump controller to turn off at a lower temperature, after the lines have frozen. I also get the advantage of new tubing. Hope to be flooded in sap next year!

Dave

I thought about doing the check valve taps myself