Quote Originally Posted by Big_Eddy View Post
Lids do not offer any protection against squirrels - just give them shelter while they sip.

Several years ago - I did an experiment using 1/2 metal and 1/2 plastic taps - the plastic taps do take more time to thaw in the morning and appear not to give sap while metal ones are - but over the season there was no noticeable difference in the quantity of sap between the two. Repeated the experiment the next year with the same results - then switched 100% to plastic taps for the reduced hole size and faster healing.
Hi Eddy - that's interesting to know - I did prefer the plastic 5/16 ones just because they seem to do less damage to the tree. Good to know you don't lose anything by using them. I suppose the reverse would probably also be true; in that the plastic ones would take longer to 'freeze up' at night and thus maybe run longer compared to the metal. Very interesting to try to figure it all out.