Considering using tubing - question about cleaning

[berkshires]

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice! I think I get the picture. So here's what I'm thinking, correct me for anything that sounds too out of whack:

1 - While there's still sap in the line, walk the line from bottom to top with a bucket of hypochlorite. At each tap, pull the tap and put it in the bucket of sanitizer. Once it draws enough to fill the drop and go a little into the 3/16 line, pinch the drop and put the tap into the cap on the tee.
2 - When I get to the highest tap, let it draw all the remaining sanitizer to fill the whole run of 3/16 line.
3 - Let it sit for a couple of hours. At this point all the drops and the whole line of 3/16 should be clean and full of sanitizer.
4 - Get a couple buckets of water (I figure you probably need more water to flush). Starting at the highest tap, pull the tap off the tee and put it in the bucket of water. Once the water column has rinsed all the way down to the next tree, plug the tap back into the tee, and go down to that next tree.
5 - Repeat step 4 until I get to the lowest tree in the line. On this one, let it draw all the remaining water through the line to rinse the 3/16. At this point, the whole line should be clean and rinsed.
6 - Un-cap all the taps. Does the order matter? Anyway, at this point, I think I now have a clean and dry(ish) line and drops.
7 - Plug the taps back into the tees until the start of the next season.

Yikes, if I've counted right, that means walking the line either three or four times (depending on the direction of step 6). Some of which is with heavy buckets. Did I mention the 20 degree slope? I'm going to earn a few beers that day!

Then on year 2:
- Before the start of the season, I walk the line, deal with any issues with tubing, replace all the taps.
- After the season, I do the same as season 1.

On year 3: instead of all of that cleaning, I just siphon sanitizer from the top tap all the way through the 3/16, and then repeat with water to flush it. And I need to cut out and replace all the drops and tees.

On year 5 I start from scratch, replacing everything.

And I thought cleaning a dozen buckets every year was a chore! You guys work hard for your hobby! LOL.

GO

[berkshires]

Berkshires, If you would like to take a ride up to my sugar house in Lenox I can show you how to set up your tubing and give suggestions for cleaning.

That's very generous of you! Are your lines up year-round? My aunt spends a lot of time in Stockbridge in the summer, and I know she'd enjoy a visit, so I could come visit her and also learn how to set up my lines.

GO

[Cjadamec]

Tubing is still work for sure. But think of how many times you walk that hill during the season to collect those buckets.

The upside to the tubing is that the sap comes to you, there is significantly more sap collected, and with proper sanitation and line maintenance your tap holes will stay open and produce sap for 2 months or longer.

[buckeye gold]

Also your tubing will run sap when buckets won't. Example, I have 4 buckets on trees around the house and everything else is on 3/16 th. This morning the buckets were dry, zero sap, I went to my tubing collection tank and it had 40 gallons.

Your scenario with siphoning out of a bucket requires diligence to not lose your siphon, miss cap a spile and your done. I can do a hole line 300-500+ feet long with my little 1 gallon sprayer and a milk jug of solution in case I need to refill. Both ways work, but I like working less to do the same job.

[hansel]

I was thinking of running 3/16 in my yard on 20 taps too and was wondering about cleaning. I was thinking it might be easier just to roll it all up after the season and submerge it in a container with cleaner, rinse it and seal it. That work too?

[bill m]

Yes, my lines are up year round. There a few that cross woods roads that I have to disconnect and roll up.

[Michael Greer]

You'll end up like all the others, pretending to clean the tubing for four or five years and then throw it all away and start over. It's all ultimately plastic waste, and most of it gets thrown out back and never gets dealt with properly. You could save a lot of headaches by just buying it and throwing it in the river. Yes, buckets are more work, but they can be cleaned. If you don't want to do the work, just stay home and read a book.

[buckeye gold]

All I will say is give it a try and decide for yourself. When your done with it take it to be recycled, my recycling center takes all mine, it's that simple.

[mol1jb]

I have lots of 3/16 so carrying a bucket is out of the question of me. I do like to use a 5 gallon back pack sprayer and hike all my lines, shooting in cleaner to each drop. The sprayer has enough pressure to push the cleaner and if your tubing is dry, it can create flow if enough is put into the lines.

[bmbmkr]

When you take it down to clear your road crossing at the end of the season, roll it up like you said and make sure it stays up off the ground. The critters will have a HAYDAY with it on the ground.

Also, like others said, tubing will run after the buckets stop. I have 3 3/16 lines that are 1600' long, one has 48 taps on it one 44 and one 36. Yesterday the 44 and 36 were running strong, our last freeze was 3 nights ago mind you. I was up there the evening before last and the 48 line was dry-I made it halfway up the hill before dark and rain sent me home- If I'd had my head lamp I'd a kept going, but only had my cell phone light and with the rain and my glasses couldn't see how much battery I had left. Anyways, I went back yesterday morning, and all 10 of the other 3/16 lines except the one with 48 were pouring into the mainline at the bottom. ( I have 5 5/16 lines that are at the bottom of the hill and below the last taps on the 3/16 lines. 5-7 trees on each of them and 3' of drop after the last tap)

So I went up the line looking for and finding and fixing a few squirrel chews. It's a lot easier to find leaks when the sap is running and you can see the bubbles. My point is, one leak can ruin the run on all the trees above it! You'll still get sap, but not nearly as much. When I got to the top of the 44 tap ine, I cut it and put a gauge in. In the minute it took me to splice in the tee for the gauge, the sap ran down the hill pretty quick and the tap stopped running. Once I got the tee in, the gauge immediately jumped to 10 in/hg, then crept up to 15in/hg. It took about 3 min to get to 15, but that's when the tap started dripping again. I stayed til it got to 17, and went down the line and all the other taps had started producing sap again. The tree where the 48 tap line starts was 75' away, and no sap was running out of any of those trees.

If you have 20' t 30' of drop after your last tap, you will really be amazed at how the 3/16 will pull, even 40 hours after the last freeze. By the way, 30-35 taps is the most recommended on a 3/16 line.

Ben