price quote on Springtech 250

[maple flats]

I just got a price on a springtech 250 yesterday, $14,500. This is only good thru Tuesday or discounts disappear and was told it is even lower than the std discount because of a large tubing system/releaser order going in too. I have some questions.
1. My dealer says Springtech is the only maple RO that can totally clean it's own membranes on the machine, never needing to be sent in, Is this accurate?
2. What are the electrical specs? I see a rating of 26A 240V. Is this the running amps or does a start surge require more than a 30A breaker?
3. Anyone have comments on this unit, performance or otherwise?

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

the 26A is most likely FLA Full Load Amps which would be its running current. On 30A breaker you are only allowed to load it to 80% of its capacity. 30A x 80% is 24A. At this point you must install a 40A breaker and #10AWG, Derate from 40A if I remember correctly (310.15 B16). For start up current tripping the breaker I don't think that will be a problem.

I have heard that Lapierre RO are much better units than S.T. units.

[mapleack]

Dave, you can probably get a new lapierre for over 4k less than that. I'd be willing to bet that there are more lapierre's in service than any other brand. I can't speak to the washing claim, but I highly doubt it. I believe that any make, given proper care and washing practices you can avoid factory membrane cleaning. There is nothing in a springtech to justify the huge price difference. I did alot of looking, talking and comparing last year and went with a lapierre.
Good luck!

[JoeJ]

Dave,
If you are going to have about 1300 taps in 2012 and possibly 2200 in the future, I think that you should be looking at a 600 gal RO. On a good day with 1300 taps you will be looking at 2600 gallons of sap. With the 250 gal ro, it will take up to at least 12 or 13 hours to ro the sap.
In my opinion, I would definitely purchase either a Lapierre or CDL RO. I purchased my Lapierre 600 in Oct of 2009 for $11,800. The only regret that I have in purchasing the 600 Lapierre is that I did not get an expandable unit as I am looking at another 1,500 to 2,000 taps to add to my 1000 now.
Joe

[WMF]

Dave,
That is complete bull but this is a common marketing strategy by dealers who know you don't have experience with RO's.

Of the three major RO's the Springtech has the poorest membrane recirc flow the worst performance and is the most expensive.

Ask your dealer to elaborate on these claims but take your boots.

[collinsmapleman2012]

I just got a price on a springtech 250 yesterday, $14,500. This is only good thru Tuesday or discounts disappear and was told it is even lower than the std discount because of a large tubing system/releaser order going in too. I have some questions.
1. My dealer says Springtech is the only maple RO that can totally clean it's own membranes on the machine, never needing to be sent in, Is this accurate?
2. What are the electrical specs? I see a rating of 26A 240V. Is this the running amps or does a start surge require more than a 30A breaker?
3. Anyone have comments on this unit, performance or otherwise?

now that i think about it, we got a CDL 600 gph for less than that a couple years ago for VVS. it was also expandable, and now is a 900 gph. you might want to contact a CDL dealer, or there is a lapierre dealer in clinton, Shaws Maple. good folks, they are very accomodating.

[maple flats]

I just got a PM from another member who gave me info on a Deisel or Gas powered RO, made in Ohio. I will check that out before I get anything. The prices he gave were far lower and very tempting. I suspect they were the gas versions and Diesel will be more but I would far prefer diesel. For one thing the fuel can be stored long term, my tractors and generator are diesel and I keep a 300 gal tank of it full at the sugarhouse. I might also check into a gas unit and convert it to propane. I also have a big bulk propane tank that fuels the canners and 3 turkey frier burners for heating syrup for canning (in SS pots). I could run a line off that too and would not need to refuel at all. My tank would just get refilled more often, like 2 or 3X a season instead of 1x every 2 seasons.
I had asked a couple of years ago about gas or diesel or PTO powered but got no replies. This sounds real promising.

[tuckermtn]

Dave- whatever you decide, that quote for a 250 gph RO is way to high IMHO. I would seriously consider a used 600 gph for between $6500 to 9000. I paid less than $4k for my vintage unit that does 350 to 450 gph.

[maple flats]

I just got the message that the gas/diesel units run at 300 PSI. How does the compare with the other RO's on the market?

[heus]

Dave is this an Amish-made RO?

[tuckermtn]

You can get rid of a lot of water at 300psi...to get to higher concentrate you will need to recirculate.

[maple flats]

Dave is this an Amish-made RO?

Yes, Amish made. tuckermtn, Is 300 PSI too low? What pressure do you suggest?

[tuckermtn]

Dave- I ran my memtec under 300 - usually closer to 250 when I was recirculating- and then would bump it to around 325 for final pass. If I had membranes other than NF270s I would go higher. My machine is rated to I think 600psi and I had it up that high one time when my recirc pump shut down.

My gut feeling would be to get a good sized generator and run the RO and rest of sugarhouse off that. I know they generally make larger units, but a place like Milton CAT might be able to rent you a good sized diesel generator for just the 2 months of the season you need it. Never priced it out, but might be worth looking into.

[mapleack]

Dave, I wasn't thinking about tap counts when I posted before. If you're going to have 3,000 taps in a few years, buy a 600gph RO, possibly even an expandable. I know people will say 100gph per 1,000 taps, but that's BS. If you have a day job like me and want to boil evenings you need a bigger RO. I was really happy with my 250 this year, but it's going to be too small by the time I hit 1,000 taps on vac. Personally I'd lean toward a bigger generator to run a maple built RO. If you're looking at the amish built gas powered units look very very carefully. Do they have recirc pumps at all? Also, wash/ rinse cycles take a long time to do right. I can't imagine not being able to just set the machine and go home for the night, so are the automated? Low pressure shut down, etc. If not, I wouldn't want one.
Good luck.

[Brent]

I beleive there is no such thing as a Springtech RO factory. I think it is a private brand, put on by one of the Quebec manufacturers for a leading evaporator manufacturer. So you get a manufacturer's markup, the private label distributor's markup and a mark up for your local dealer. To me that means 3 profit centers and the stong likelyhood that you could shop around and cut one of them out with another brand that only has 2 markups.

[maple flats]

I ended up ordering a 250 from an Amishman, Honda gas powered for $3200. I will outgrow it in a year or 2 and will sell it and order a 500 gas model. Then I'll need a set of Max pans and maybe a steam away to keep up. I'm thinking I might go to 8% this next season and run thru 2x and go to 12 or maybe even 15% the following season, before I invest in new pans. By 2014 I will be close to 3000 taps if my plans are on schedule.

[500592]

Ha maple flats you forgot about 2012:lol::mrgreen: