Time to buy transfer pump

[steve J]

Well deer season is done and the Christmas season is over now I can get back to prepping for the sugar season. I have read about pumps on here and ask some question prior to this and in the end I am not certain which direction to go othe rthen I know I want it to be self priming as for most part I am a one man show and messing around priming a pump is going to be a big hassle. I have 27 gallon head/feed tank and its a new rig but I think with the blower the 2x4 should get me about 15 gph .My bulk 125 gal tank sit on a bank 8ft behind the sugar house if I brought the line in to sugar house at a slight upward pitch the pump would be inside the house sitting at base of feed tank requireing about 3 ft of hose on the output side. On the intake side I will need about 16ft of hose. so does anyone have a similar set up and can give me an idea of what pump you are using or can anyone give me a strong recommendation? I like to keep it around $100 but if I can do it for less that be great. After this I can just count the days till mid Feb lol

[danno]

Steve, you know I'm going to respond:) As long as you have electricity - sump pump. Can get one for $100, self priming, one hose, no feeze ups, dependable. No fuss, no muss! You won't be dissapointed. And you can add an auto on/of switch later if you want.

If you don't want to go the sump pump route, I have a two cycle pump (similar to a tanaka) that runs great that I no longer use. It has a small leak in the flange and does not self prime, but is a great little pump.

[Sugarmaker]

I would second Danno's idea. A $60 electric sump pump might do what you want and within budget. I would install it in the very lowest point in your 125 gallon storage tank and then plum it to your feed tank. Check the sumps out, some pick up real close to the bottom and do a nice job of getting the majority of the sap from the holding tank.
Regards,
Chris

[steve J]

Ok my problem with having the pump outside in the tank is that the feed tank is inside and I need to be able to shut it off when that feed tank is full that is why I was trying to rig this from the inside. Although I suppose I could run some sort of extension cord out to a pump from inside the sugar house and just unplug

[xyz5150]

I have a similar setup a 2x4 with a 55 gal head tank. I am using a shurflo 110v 4.4 gpm pump mounted inside on a light switch. self priming, can be run dry, plenty fast enough for a 2x4.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Steve J that is what I do I have a small 110 volt small bilge pump that sits in the tank. I plumbed it with clear hose using the garden hose type fittings. I leave it in the tank all season and have had to chip it out of the ice without problem. I dont use a check valve because I want the sap to run back to the tank draining the line. I run a 3x10 and it will over run the tank at full boil so its good. I put mine on a timer for MULTI TASKING:o

[xyz5150]

Haynes that's all you use? I would have expected something like a oshkosh fire truck pump or a jet drive and a big block from a jet boat.:lol: Way to simple man.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Nope I run enough sap all over the evap and floor the way it is without a super charger. I do have a float switch with siren that Im hooking up this year to stop the madness.

[maple flats]

I have truck and ground storage tanks and pump to my 415 gal elevated tank. I gravity feed from the feed tank to the evaporator. I always empty the elevated tank once a day to rinse before pumping full again. Other times I just pump into the tank thru my UV light from either the truck tank or the ground storage tank. I works good.

[maple flats]

I forgot to mention the pump. I transfer just using my 1" sap pump and I throttle it down so I only pump 4-5 gal/min. My UV is only good up tp 8 gpm and I like the margin of safety. When I need to pump faster I am pumping into the ground tank or from collection tank into the truck tank. Since I only boil at up to about1.4 maybe 1.5 gal/minute, the 4-5 is real good.

[steve J]

I guess the best way for me to go is with a bilge pump I have a rule 1800 bilge pump on line that runs on 110 but did not have much luck find a sureflo product? Not sure why 12 volt is so much cheaper then 110 but I do not want the hassle of messing with batteries

[dnap63]

I have a similar situation and this works great for me, I have a large storage tank outside plumbed to a 125 feed tank inside the sugar house. In the feed tank is a float switch (purchased from Grainger)that controls the pump in the outside tank. You can adjust the float so it shuts off the pump at the desired level, it works great. I have it set so it refils the tank when I am down to 20 gallons or so. The only thing I might add is a low level alarm should there ever be a problem with the pump.

[shane hickey]

I have done same thing, but added a light to the plug, the light is in near site.
when the pump kicks on, the light comes on to, to show the tank is being filled , if the light doesnt come on it 10 minutes theres something wrong, I have my tank in the rafters and steel covers the ceiling so you cant see whats going on up there, the light idea really helps me.
shane