vacuum problem?

[maple flats]

Tonight I went to service my vacuum. When I arrived the vacuum was at 18", exactly what I have it set at. I shut down, refueled while the vac dropped (it takes about 15 minutes for the Zero tank and the lines to lose the vacuum. Then I changed the oil in the engine. After I restarted the pump and my vac would not register. The alamo was exhausting what seemed to be the normal amount of air but the gauge would not start climbing after several minutes. I closed the valve near the pump and the gauge still did not budge nor did the engine sound like it was working harder. I thought the gauge might have failed but when I isolated the pump it made no change. Any ideas what happened or what to look for?

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

do you have other gauges down stream you can go check?

[3rdgen.maple]

If it is exhausting air its suking air. Bad guage. Most have a little valve on the top to let the pressure out of them if they get air locked. I had to open the valve on mine the other day when the pump was off and still read 24 hg. After that it was reading good again.

[Haynes Forest Products]

So your driving down the road and the speedo quits. Reads ZERO but your passing cars like there standing still DO you stop the car and check the tires, Check electrical system or change the oil:rolleyes:

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

So your driving down the road and the speedo quits. Reads ZERO but your passing cars like there standing still DO you stop the car and check the tires, Check electrical system or change the oil:rolleyes:

check the tires to make sure they are still spinning:o

[Russell Lampron]

Did you check to see if there was vacuum at the taps? If there was vacuum at the taps you have a bad gauge. If there was no vacuum at the taps the pump crapped out on you. Good luck finding the problem. I hope it's only a bad gauge.

[maple flats]

There was no vac at the zero tank. I ran for at least 20 minutes (normally the tank when empty and the entire system are up to 18" in less that 6 minutes.
I went back today to try to puzzle this out, I started the pump and all was good. Vac was at 18" in about 6 minutes (I have a 1000 gal tank to suck the air out of besides the wet/dry lines).
I still have no idea what could have been the problem last evening.

[802maple]

Murphy's law would be my guess.

[3rdgen.maple]

Funny you said that maple flats. I had a problem this morning like that. pump was pulling vac but nothing at the releaser 3 feet away. What I found was at the top of my moisture trap the fitting was frozen solid yet the moisture trap was empty. Took the ice out and was up and running.

[maple flats]

When mine had problems the temp was still above freezing. I think 802 might be right.

[3rdgen.maple]

It was well above freezing at the time it happened to me too. Cant explain it but it did. Only thing I can figure it was caused by a venturie effect.

[maple flats]

If it was the venturi effect in my case it had to be at the bottom flapper valve on the alamo moisture trap that is part of the vacuum system as I bought it, because I closed the valve just out past the pump and vacuum controller to isolate the system. I did push the flapper to see if it would move but with the snow conditions I could never get to it to hear over the sound of the engine. I have had to dig down in the snow to uncover the pump so many times this year that it is just uncovered about 2" out from the only open side and the rest is packed into ice from walking on it about up to the shaft on the pump. I guess I'll need to get a piece of pvc pipe to keep on site as a listening tube. Then I'll need a mattock to remove the ice to remedy it. That sounds like it might explain the problem. It looks like from my 10 day forecast that this should not be a problem, because there are no freezes for a few days and it will be warm enough to melt any freeze at that flapper while I service the engine and pump sap.
The original moisture trap might have had some icing just in from the flapper that slid and froze in place. My system has 2 traps, so the original is only a final save, my first is at the tank and can trap about 3 gal and then a float ball should seal off the line to the pump, if that fails a small leak could fill the line and sap would fill the original trap and if that fills the pump would be next.

[maple connection]

This happened once to my pump. I must have got a little sap in the pump some how because, I took the pump apart and the veins were sticky. They wouldn't slide. I cleaned them up and it was good to go. If you have a reclaimer check that oil is not broke down and looks like drain oil and speed up the drippers a little a well oiled pump is a happy pump. A quick fix is putting two cups of diesel fuel down the exhaust and turn it over a few time then start it. the fuel will clean it right up. If you don't like the idea of fuel oil some people use warm water and dawn dish soap.

[maple flats]

Yet another vac problem. On Friday the vac ran good, until it ran out of gas about 2 am, well after freeze up. In the morning I tried to start it but it would fire once or twice and then quit. Like a fool I worked on it for hours, taking the fuel line off and check for a blockage, then remove the carb, everything looked good, still no change. This is a 6.5 HP Honda commercial, bought new 2 weeks earlier. I finally gave up, removed the engine and went to a friend for help. In the lower light of his cellar, he determined that, while there was spark, it was not good, wrong color spark. I got a new plug and it started 2nd pull. I guess I need to check this myself sooner. I never was an engine mechanic but I wasted the whole day's run because when I put the engine back on at about 6 pm the lines were frozen, full of sap. Thaw out had been between 11-12 and I lost 6-7 hrs of vacuum. I had better learn from these things so this does not happen again. I just never questioned a 2 week old plug, I was convinced it was fuel related, or that something had gotten into the mag, ecause I would often get back firing while trying to start it. Hopefully, lesson learned.

[onthehill]

"This is a 6.5 HP Honda commercial, bought new 2 weeks earlier. I finally gave up, removed the engine and went to a friend for help. In the lower light of his cellar, he determined that, while there was spark, it was not good, wrong color spark. I got a new plug and it started 2nd pull."

It's the ethenol in the gas. It is absolute garbage, just a Big Government do good, feel good, fool most of the population, go green thing. It destroys small engines. Run an additive with your gas otherwise you'll be changing spark plugs every 1-2 weeks.

[802maple]

And carburetors once a year

[maple flats]

I was told that premium gas does not have the ethenol and that is the only thing the engine has been fed. Is this incorrect? I used the additive last year on all small engines, but then the small engine repair shop said I would be better using premium. (and he was selling the additive) Since then all small engines have been fed premium including this 2 week old Honda.

[Bucket Head]

I've had a few brand new plugs that would not spark when installed (under compression). They would fire when I would hold them against the head, a head bolt, frame, etc., but would not spark when they were in the engine. Most recently with a 10hp Briggs & Stratton. I know it sounds unbeleivable, but its true.

I guess its just another thing we can add to the "not made like they used to be" list.

Steve