PVC Sap Bag Holders
Supplies to make 12 holders:
1 - 10' piece of 3" PVC pipe
1 - 1 1/4" hole saw
1 tube of gorilla glue or PVC primer (clear) and glue
12 - 14" zip ties
12 - sap bags
Sap Bags have been around for more than 20 years and recently they have become very popular for many reasons:
1. The bags are inexpensive - under .50 a bag
2. You throw the bags out at the end of the season saving on washing buckets
3. Storing just the holders instead of an entire bucket saves space
The one drawback is the cost of the holders themselves. They can range from $3.00 up to $6.00 depending on the materials used and the company. However, there are alternatives like anything else. The PVC holder is one that has been tinkered with by many over the past several years. This is not something that I developed myself but rather took an existing idea and made a couple modifications. I chose 3" pipe over 2" because it gives a little larger handle when picking off the tree and I used permanent PVC covers so I don't have to worry about them blowing off. I just have to pour a little slower but it still goes pretty quick.
The plan is very simple and requires little or no technical skills, just basic use of a couple hand/power tools.
Directions
On the PVC lay out marks every 6 & 8 inches (the 6" mark is for the 1 1/4" hole and the 8" is the cut mark. Use a 1/4 drill bit and drill holes through the PVC at each 6" marks - this will be the pilot hole for your hole saw. If you do not make a pilot hole chances are you will break the bit on the hole saw, PVC is very hard. Using a hole saw either in a drill press or a hand drill cut out the 1 1/4" holes. You will have a total of 12 of these. The remaining piece of PVC remains solid and should be a 24" long.
Now cut off the 24" piece at the end and cut the rest of the pipe at the 8" marks. You will now have 12 - 8" pieces with a hole in each and one 24" piece. Take the 24" piece and cut it in half lengthwise. Now cut each half into 3 1/4" pieces - these are going to be the covers for you holders. The next step is to cut a groove 1" up from the bottom halfway through the pipe. To do this use a table saw and raise the blade just enough out of the table to reach halfway through the pipe. The width depends on the size of your wire ties.
Now you can glue your covers on to the holder. Use conventional PVC primer (use clear so you don't have purple drips down your holders) and PVC cement and allow to set for the recommended time and then you can install the bags and hang them. The glue will hold pretty well but if you drop the holder the cover may pop off - I have found that if you don't mind the look and want an easy solution use a piece of duct tape or gorilla tape both will hold them on securely.
Bring the sap bag about and inch above the recessed ring you cut earlier. Now using the zip tie and a pair of pliers pull it tight so the bag cannot slide out. Clip the excess tie and fold the bag down over the zip tie.
If you have a lot of squirrels and chipmunks in your area they tend to be attracted to the bags and will gnaw at the corners and the bottoms. I carry a roll of Gorilla Tape with me and instead of throwing a damaged bag out I will dry off the area and put a piece of tape on it. This stuff is amazing and in certain areas I now just put two layers on each bag to start with - the fury little guys are not interested in any bag that has the tape on it. You could also take care of them during hunting season!