3/16 sanitation solutions

[t-ciccarello]

Planning on flushing/instilling a Calcium hypochlorite solution to sanitize my 3/16 tubing system. Does anyone have any guidance as to what concentration of solution to use? I have the simple small packets of pool chlorine.

[gbeneke]

I think they have been using 400 ppm or something like 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.

[t-ciccarello]

Hey… if it works…
I used some expired IV tubing and solution from the local department training supply, and used a harbor freight hand pump to fill the bag via an opening cut in the top. 2441ABA9-0E92-48CB-8693-37CC7AC42311.jpgC0A52684-0D99-4F61-BB6A-B01A1C67F60E.jpg

[minehart gap]

Now that's something I never saw before. An iv bag hooked up to a tree. It must have been feeling under the weather.

[220 maple]

Future Generations University received a grant to research 3/16 tubing cleaning issues, I’ve turned over a woods that the tubing has been used 4 years now, there plan is one line no cleaning, one 4 year old line cleaned using the method and chemicals that Art Kruger used! And one line with everything brand new! Should be some good info backed up by numbers probably by the middle of April 2022
Mark 220 Maple

[minehart gap]

Mark, is this all experiment all vacuum provided by gravity? Will there be any with vacuum assisted by a pump? I wonder if the sanitation would be better if a pump would add to the vacuum provided by gravity in that at the end of a run, the laterals would have more sap removed and less sap available to be taken back by the tree.

[DrTimPerkins]

Future Generations University received a grant to research 3/16 tubing cleaning issues, I’ve turned over a woods that the tubing has been used 4 years now, there plan is one line no cleaning, one 4 year old line cleaned using the method and chemicals that Art Kruger used! And one line with everything brand new! Should be some good info backed up by numbers probably by the middle of April 2022
Mark 220 Maple

Good to hear FGU will be doing this work. It should extend the findings of prior work into the southern production areas of maple.

If you want more info on cleaning 3/16" tubing before 2022, you can see some of the results that UVM PMRC and Cornell have found at:

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/tubingsani2020/
https://mapleresearch.org/pub/1219tubing-2/
https://www.themaplenews.com/story/5...ar-winner/368/

There are other papers out there also, but I don't have links to them at hand. They all pretty much say the same thing: new is best, sanitation is required, replacement strategies used in 5/16" tubing are not entirely adequate (due to the added clogging issues in 3/16" tubing).

Interesting that people seem to think and refer to it as the "Art Kruger" method. The use of calcium hypochlorite in maple tubing was actually developed at UVM PMRC back around 2012 and then tested for many years as a means to reduce animal damage found when using normal bleach (sodium hypochlorite). Art was an early adopter of 3/16" tubing, so hit the issues of clogging/sanitation earlier than most others. He heard about UVM testing of calcium hypochlorite in talking to Dr. Abby van den Berg (UVM PMRC) and ran with it with great success. What didn't transfer as well is that NOT ALL CALCIUM HYPOCHLORITE IS FOOD-GRADE. It is up to maple producers to ensure that what they are using is suitable.

[220 maple]

Minehart Gap Maple
All natural vacuum test
Mark 220 Maple

[Openwater]

I think they have been using 400 ppm or something like 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.

Is the 1/4 tsp per gallon the 68% calcium hypochlorite granular/powder?
Or is the Ca-hypochlorite some other concentration/form?

[buckeye gold]

What didn't transfer as well is that NOT ALL CALCIUM HYPOCHLORITE IS FOOD-GRADE. It is up to maple producers to ensure that what they are using is suitable.

Is there a simple way to tell if your calcium Hypochloride is food grade?