Mechanical Releaser how do they work

[SAP EATER]

Can anybody explain how a mechanical releaser works i am trying to biuld my own and can quite figure it out,pics would help alot too Thanks !

[Haynes Forest Products]

LESSON 1.........Man its like describing the color red to someone thats blind from birth. First you need to understand the concept. Its a contraption that is a collection point for sap from the tubing system that will empty itself when it becomes full and resets itself when empty and maintains full vacuum to the woods thrughout the prosess.

[DrTimPerkins]

Can anybody explain how a mechanical releaser works i am trying to biuld my own and can quite figure it out,pics would help alot too Thanks !

I think your first step would be to go and find someone who has one and run it through a few cycles. Otherwise its going to take a chapter or two for someone to explain it. Very briefly though, a releaser is a chamber that has vacuum applied to it. Sap collects in the chamber. When it reaches a certain point (near full), a valve (usually operated by a float) shuts off the vacuum to chamber (and maybe to the woods), allowing the sap to flow out of the releaser into a tank (usually by gravity through a flapper valve in the chamber bottom). When the chamber is empty, the valve returns to the original position allowing vacuum to be applied to the chamber again, sucking the flapper valve closed to begin the cycle anew.

[Haynes Forest Products]

LESSON 2..........If it has 1 moving part it is a "MECHANICAL" releaser. The term mecanical for some odd reasen has been given to ones that dont use "ELECTRICITY"...............why I dont know.

1) Some use the vacuum in the system to activate all the componants.

2) Some use the raising level of the sap to raise a float to trigger the system to empty and reset or change from tank to tank

3) Some only have 1 tank others have 2

4) The term dump is used to describe what happens when the tank/vessal emptys

5) Some use electric floats to detect and activate the dump cycle.

6) Some use pumps to fasilitate the "DUMP" cycle.

7) Some use Selonoid valves (electric releasers) to dump the sap

8) Some use Flappers to release the sap after vacuum loss.

9) Some use 2 air selonoids valves, 2 flappers under vacuum, 1 electric float, 1 compressor, 1 time delay switch and a numatic control valve to activate the dump cycle..................That would be my "MECHANICAL RELEASER"

10) some are so simple and others are so coplicated that its not an easy task to simply describe how you make one and then you run off and make one.

[Haynes Forest Products]

LESSON 3..............go to YOUTUBE type in Sap Releasers and watch every one that pops up. Then go out and watch one in action. Find someone that has one and ask as many questions you can think of. Go back to YOUTUBE and watch everyone that makes sense.

[Haynes Forest Products]

LESSON 4........GO BUY ONE:o:rolleyes::lol:

[sweetwoodmaple]

Gary R has a recent thread on a homemade sap releaser.

Haynes skipped a step....Step 3a - Check your wallet and make sure there's at least $1k there to buy one.

That's been the issue for most of us. Mine is as described in 9) above minus the compressor. I have about $350 invested.

[Brent]

If you're a real DIY fanatic, go for it.

If you value your spare time at anything like $ 5 an hour
.... go buy one.

Even the bought ones are sometimes not so hot. Do a search on this forum for Hobby Releaser and you'll see.

Depending on how often you get into the bush in a day, add up what you'll lose when it screws up. Sometimes you can lose all the sap on a line for the whole day.

They only seem expensive ... until you add it all up.
If you neded 10 to 20 of them, you might get the bugs out on the first one and save some money on the rest, but then again if you needed 10 to 20 of them, you likely don't have the time to screw around and bought ones will quickly pay for themselves.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I must be a lucky guy because the 2 Bernard doubles I have havent let me down once. Now I have done everything I can to screw them up but they have performed like they should.

[Jim Brown]

The only problem we had with the Gilles were that they would hang open once in a while and you would loss the vacuum until the float dropped. .Russ Lampron told us the trick and it worked! Put 1 pound of dry rice in the float and haven't had one hang up since!
Worked for us and by the way we have three of them.

Jim

[Brent]

I got 3 new Bernards last season and every one of them hung up from time to time. I added weight to the floats and that helped but did not cure the problem.

I met someone from Bernard at the IMSA in Stratford and he explained that their plastic supplier had changed the spec on some sheets without telling them. The white plastic peice about 1" x 2" behind the lever arm has an O ring behind it. That white plastic is causing the trouble. The higher your vacuum the more it sticks holding the arm up. He said to use a utility knive and cut a small groove in the white plastic. The groove should go from the top down to the point where the arm stops when in the dump position (arm up) This will allow a tiny bit of air to leak in and the float will drop. Apparently the new plastic seals too well so it needs a little vacuum release to let the arm and float fall.

We had the darned things hang up dozens of times last season. Lost a lot of sap.

Sounds reasonable, but I have not tried it yet.

[ejmaple]

When the chamber is empty, the valve returns to the original position allowing vacuum to be applied to the chamber again, sucking the flapper valve closed to begin the cycle anew. (Dr. Perkins)

Once the flapper valve is closed and sap is filling, how does the flapper stay closed with the weight of sap filling in the chamber?

[DrTimPerkins]

Once the flapper valve is closed and sap is filling, how does the flapper stay closed with the weight of sap filling in the chamber?

The vacuum in the system holds it closed.

1" Hg = 13.6" water.

So if you've got 15" Hg in your releaser, you could theoretically hold about 204" (or 17 ft) of water. Most releasers are at best a couple of feet tall. No problem holding that weight closed....not even close.

[ejmaple]

ok, thanks for the response, makes sense.