How many taps on 5/16" for natural vacuum
I've been a bucket guy but my neighbor got us into 3/16 natural vacuum last year. It's not a huge slope but it worked. From what I understand and have read, somewhere between 20-25 taps is optimal to get enough flow but also not overwhelm the possible flow.
This year he wanted to run multiple 3/16 lines to 1 5/16 line. Does the logic still apply? If 25 taps are ok on 3/16, how many total will work to create the same natural vacuum on 5/16? Anyways he did it, one 5/16 maybe 100' line with 4 3/16 lines teeing into it, maybe 80 taps.
I've found one thread saying that the 5/16 may not hold the sap. For us it is, so maybe that means our slope is so bad it's not doing much. I've thought about putting some vacuum gauges in but FW Webb is far from my house. Lots of variables but I thought it would be interesting.
In the great runs this weekend we gathered maybe 80 gallons. I had 25 drops on buckets last year and feel like I would have gathered the same. Except he also had 50-75 taps on separate 3/16 lines and we gathered a ton. So compared to what I normally get, it's about the same, but combined we aren't doing super.
Ideally we're building a sugar shack next year and/or going to some vacuum, so this may all be moot, but can I convince him to abandon this 3/16 to 5/16 idea? I'm on 2 acres, he's got 56. So I'm never going to get bigger myself but I can be frustrated with decisions he makes. I would guess 10-15 acres of those are maples and we're just tapping one hedgerow between corn fields.
2017 - 5 gravity taps, 2 pan block arch, 1gallon syrup
2019 - 18 gravity taps, 5 pan block arch, 4gallons
2020 - 25 gravity taps, 2x5 arch, RB10 kit, 7 gallons
2021 - 25 gravity, 75 on 3/16, 2x5 arch, RO10 kit, 13 gallons
2022 - 85(?) on 3/16 tubing