Questions on proper care of taps

[Mvhomesteader]

Yesterday I noted that mainebackwoossyrup mentioned using and liking the new zap bac taps. I was not familiar with these so I looked them up. They do indeed seem like a good product.

But this got me thinking about the proper care of regular old taps. I use 5/16 in three styles: black and blue tree savers and a clear plastic by CDL. Some of my taps are in their 8th season. At the start of the season I boil all the taps and my drill bit. After they are removed from the tree I wash them in soap/water, dry them, and put them away in storage.

I have a number of questions:

1. Must taps be cleaned with a mild bleach, or is boiling enough?

2. Do taps have a life span? If so, when should they be rotated out?

3. The new zap bac taps have built in bacteria protection. Do they require special care after use?

4. I typically don't where gloves when installing taps, but I think I will next season to keep my hands off the tap. Would it be wise to dip the drill bit in alcohol between trees as a bacterial rinse?

5. Why do the plastic CDL taps say single use? I've used some now for two seasons with no apparent issue.

6. Is there anything else I'm missing that would help with cleanliness?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or comments!

[darkmachine]

Most producers would consider any plastic tap as disposable. There some great panel discussions on youtube and some interesting power point slides that show the fall-off of production when you re-use plastic taps and drops, even if you clean them. I think they cut the taps and replace them every year and then the drops every 3 years. Even the solid plastic is porous and it's difficult to get it back to the production you see with a new tap, even with good sanitation. Personally I hate to see the waste and boiled taps for many years...however when i replaced them I saw a dramatic increase in sap flow....make your time count, replace them spouts! lol. I actually went to all stainless steel spouts on vacuum, those you can clean.

https://youtu.be/W72hrOqPPDQ Leader tubing practices

https://www.youtube.com/live/wEBnFFer2UA?feature=share Maple Sanitation

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

There is a lot of discussion on here about tap sanitation and several studies you'll find if you search deep enough. In a nutshell, cleaning helps but nothing is as effective as a new tap. One important thing to remember is that small producers of a few taps tor even a few hundred taps may not see a significant difference as the volume is not there. However, after hearing your situation I am not surprised you had some early tap drying. No doubt it was probably due to bacteria, no matter how good you cleaned. Should also consider the cost/benefit, every producer has to decide for themselves what level of effort and expense they want to put into it.

Yesterday I noted that mainebackwoossyrup mentioned using and liking the new zap bac taps. I was not familiar with these so I looked them up. They do indeed seem like a good product.

But this got me thinking about the proper care of regular old taps. I use 5/16 in three styles: black and blue tree savers and a clear plastic by CDL. Some of my taps are in their 8th season. At the start of the season I boil all the taps and my drill bit. After they are removed from the tree I wash them in soap/water, dry them, and put them away in storage.

I have a number of questions:

1. Must taps be cleaned with a mild bleach, or is boiling enough?
They don't have to be cleaned but it is better than doing nothing and reusing. Probably not as effective as you think though.

2. Do taps have a life span? If so, when should they be rotated out?
I would say yes, 3-4 years maximum. Darkmachine rotates stainless taps, those would last longer than any other tap if waste/disposal is a concern.

3. The new zap bac taps have built in bacteria protection. Do they require special care after use?
These taps are a little controversial and not allowed for Organic producers due to the silver in them. However, we have been using them for a few years now and are through our first rotation. Our rotation is Year 1 new drop and CDL smartspout. Year 2 new zap bac on old drop. Year 3 reuse zap bac on old drop. Year 4, start over with new drop and CDL smartspout. This rotation was based on some discussion I had with mountainvan, who did the same thing on his 5400 tap bush with good results.
My observations the past few years of experimenting have been this: Our 2 best producing bushes with vacuum are 170 tap (12-15" vac) call it Bush 1 and 130 tap (15-19" vac) call it bush 2. Overall, Bush 1 always outproduces Bush 2 in total for the season because it runs earlier and has more sugar maples. However, last year Bush 2 had 2nd year Zap Bacs, Bush 1 had new Smart spouts. The 2nd half of the season each run was the same or better on Bush 2 with the zap bacs. This year Bush 1 got the new zap bacs and Bush 2 got new drop/smartspout. Bush 1 is outproducing Bush 2 from start to finish (by about 50 gallons each run in the past 2 weeks near end of season). The Zap Bacs work for us and save us one year of changing spouts.

4. I typically don't where gloves when installing taps, but I think I will next season to keep my hands off the tap. Would it be wise to dip the drill bit in alcohol between trees as a bacterial rinse?
Not recommended. Wear gloves if you want but you can never eliminate bacteria 100% of the time.

5. Why do the plastic CDL taps say single use? I've used some now for two seasons with no apparent issue.
Not sure, one reason why we don't use those spouts.

6. Is there anything else I'm missing that would help with cleanliness?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or comments!

That's my long-winded 2 cents

By the way, big run yesterday. 300 gallons in the totes this morning and it did freeze last night. We will finish as strong as we started. Taps have been in for 8 weeks.

[Mvhomesteader]

Thank you gentlemen. Great information and I'll need to look into a few things before I decide what to do. I guess I've got a few months to mull it over! I am a small producer for sure, so I'll take that into account.

[Mvhomesteader]

Any thoughts on the alcohol rinse as a disinfect for the spiles or the drill bit? Just curious. Is that better than a mild bleach?

[DrTimPerkins]

There is a lot of discussion on here about tap sanitation and several studies you'll find if you search deep enough.

You could look at https://mapleresearch.org/search/?_sf_s=sanitation especially https://mapleresearch.org/pub/1019sanitation-2/

Bottom line is that there are a variety of ways to skin this (spout/drop sanitation) cat, each with their own drawbacks and producing a range of benefits and economic outcomes.

Note also that when people say "tap" sanitation, they generally mean "spout/drop" sanitation, not "tapping bit" sanitation. There is no evidence that sanitizing drill bits is helpful.

[Mvhomesteader]

Note also that when people say "tap" sanitation, they generally mean "spout/drop" sanitation, not "tapping bit" sanitation. There is no evidence that sanitizing drill bits is helpful.

Thank you. I'll look those links over. Interesting that there is no evidence that drill bit sanitizing makes a difference. It's kind of like getting a shot without rubbing alcohol on your skin first. I would think there would be bacteria in the bark that is drawn into the tap hole. Perhaps the constant backward feed of the bit cleans the hole. I do boil the bit prior to use.