New to me vac pump

[500592]

Just bought a gast 1550 with a motor on eBay can't wait to try it out.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Thats it no pictures or what you paid for it.

[3rdgen.maple]

Someone has been paying attention to Lastwoodsman thread on pumps. Its a great pump you will be pleased with its performance.

[500592]

Haynes it was 110 shipped will try to post pics when it arrives.

[lastwoodsman]

yes, 3rdgen helped me out and I purchased a gast 1550 on ebay as well. It was 194.00 delivered.
Actually I think 3rdgen could explain it better than I, did not know there were so many models out there!--but his advice was invaluable.
Woodsman

[500592]

Wa yours the one with the motor attached or is it like the one I bought that you can switch out motors

[lastwoodsman]

No motor on the one I bought I can post a photo this evening
Woodsman

[500592]

Mine came with a motor but it is the kind where ou can hook any motor on it

[lastwoodsman]

here it is.,now that I have it what the hell to do with it! If I don't figure it out my wife will have it as decoration in her flower bed.
A buddy is checking has a motor from his whirlpool tub he pulled out, hopefully it is 1 1/2 or 2 hp. Otherwise some other guys I know may have one.
Woodsman

[500592]

That's what I have except mine came with a motor and the mounting plate with the belt cover

[3rdgen.maple]

Glad I could help woodsman. Both you guys got a good price on the pumps. I love this model it is like the energizer bunny in the pump world.

[500592]

I have a question what kind of oil should I run in thiSs pump or does it even need it

[Haynes Forest Products]

From the placement of the filter jars I would say its a dry vane only. Should have a tag saying DO NOT OIL. Nice looking pump. Check the RPMs and see if you can direct drive it with a Lovejoy coupler. Makes life simple. Plus not to much side torqe if you belt drive it.

[lastwoodsman]

Lovejoy coupler? Does it hurt!!! I think my mama told me not to play with one of those.
What the heck is that?
I will ask a question I think know the answer for.
Hp or size of electric to run this?
1HP do or 1 1/2

Woodsman

[Jim Brown]

Lovejoy coupler is the ones that connect the motor directly to the end of the pump shaft.They have little rubber cogs that interconnect the two units together

Jim

[lastwoodsman]

OK I see Northern tool has them--looks better than a belt and pulley. Cheaper than a belt and pulley as well.
Thanks for the help
Woodsman

[3rdgen.maple]

Im not a lovejoy coupling fan on vac pumps either for sap or for my work. A couple things I have seen happen. A vane cracks and a piece breaks off and locks up the pump, which in turn locks up the motor. Now you have a busted pump and a burnt up motor. Second is you need to get a motor with the exact rpm rating as your pump calls for so a motor thats lying around might not fit the need. With a higher rpm motor you can also play around with pulley ratios and find that sweet spot in the pump. I like pulleys that have angled blades on them to aid in cooling the pump and motor. I like a higher hp pump than whats called for, they run with less torq and do not overheat as fast and if you lock a pump up it will just burn the belt off. A belt is cheaper than a motor.. Okay thats was more than a couple but I avoid lovejoys when it comes to pumps.

[lastwoodsman]

That certainly makes sense. I do have a lot of pulleys lying around.
Looks like good arguments on both sides.
Always good to learn.
What is the pump rated for in terms of operating speed of motor and HP gast recommends?
Woodsman

[Jim Brown]

woodsman; go to the gast pump web site and all their pumps are listed with the spec info for each-rpms,cfm's-etc

Jim

[lastwoodsman]

Thanks
I found it--
Woodsman

[500592]

Mine is already on a stand with a belt drive with a guard

[Haynes Forest Products]

If a belt slips when in normal use then its not tight enough. If a piece of equipment locks up and the motor over heats the breaker should trip. I had my direct drive factory installed rubber coupler Gast pump suck in some sap and trip the breaker. I didn't have to run to the store to get a belt I walked over to the box and flip the switch. I'm setting up a used Gast from Ebay with a 1HP motor and that will also be direct drive.

[500592]

I just noticed that my pump from the pic has an extra jar thing that is smaller what is that?

[Haynes Forest Products]

The jars are for filtering the incoming air to protect the pump and the exhaust jar is to filter out the dust from the vanes and act like a muffler. Run it without the jar and you will hear the differance. They dont restict the CFMs so keep in place.

[500592]

Ya but mine has three and lastwoodsmans has two:confused:

[Haynes Forest Products]

Sounds like jar envy. Are they all on differant ports?

[3rdgen.maple]

The dual jars on one the output side of a gast pump is pretty common. The pump you got more than likely came out of a printing production plant. I say that because a majority of the pumps run in this application have two filter jars on them for one purpose only.. And that is due to running white paper the blowers separate the sheets of paper and they want to eliminate as much contamination as possible to keep that paper white. It helps capture carbon dust created from the vanes and the paper dust and excess oil being expelled from the pump. Okay so now some of you are saying OIL. Yes oil you might or might not have a pump that has a very small oil reservior on the intake side of the pump with a small wick that picks up oil to help lube the pump. Its a ver minor lubrication system as too much oil in a carbon vane pump isnt a good thing. It will swell the carbon vanes. Even a spec of oil on paper can cause havic in the feeding process and not to mention the splatter on the paper is an eye sore. Now in the application of sucking sap. Let that pump breath. You can do 1 of 2 things. Take one of the filter canisters off the pump or just take the filters out of the canisters and run the pump without them. Keep the one on the intake. Restriction of the exhaust will hold in heat let her breath and she will take good care of you.

[500592]

But there are THREE of them

[Haynes Forest Products]

So take 1 off didn't you hear the man:) I have 4 of the pumps and they all have the dirt on the intake so I would leave it on. I like my pump quiet so I leave the discharge one on.

3rdgen do they make a spray cleaner that you can pull the filter/mufflers off and spray through the pump? I used break clean on one and it didn't seem to hurt it. I understand that they dont like to compress liquid so I only fogged it as it was running.

[lastwoodsman]

Ok I have about everything for vacuum except the expensive releaser.
I can't believe what they want for a fancy plastic toilet tank.
Ya think there isn't an opportunity for someone to make one for half that and make a lot of cash. Must be wall street guys making releasers.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of an electric releaser vs. a mechanical one?
While I hear a 1 1/2 to 2 hp is the best to run on the 1550. I can get at work 3/4 HP off green house furnaces all day long and will try them. If they burn up I'll throw another one on. I suppose eventually I'll end up at tractor supply to buy a bigger one.
At least I was able to buy tubing through work wholesale at a half the cost and no delivery charges.
I am going to run my first 800 foot in a week or so and see how it goes.
Need to get over to clark county in WI and see Larry's setup yet.
Have not even set in a tree yet.
Woodsman

[Haynes Forest Products]

I have 2 of the double Bernard Mechanical releasers. I love them because I havent had any problems with them. The best thing is I dont need elec to run them. I will be eliminating the gas beast and going to all dry vane Gast pumps 1HP 110 Volt. BUT I run my vacuum line 1" about 200 ft away in the tank area so. I would rather have a few releasers than trying to get my sap to run up hill.

[3rdgen.maple]

But there are THREE of them

Correct two on the exhaust one on the intake.

[3rdgen.maple]

So take 1 off didn't you hear the man:) I have 4 of the pumps and they all have the dirt on the intake so I would leave it on. I like my pump quiet so I leave the discharge one on.

3rdgen do they make a spray cleaner that you can pull the filter/mufflers off and spray through the pump? I used break clean on one and it didn't seem to hurt it. I understand that they dont like to compress liquid so I only fogged it as it was running.

Yes Haynes they do its a gast product in a 14oz spray can. Part number is AH255B its expensive 65 dollars each. I use 99% alcohol. I buy it by 5 gallon cans for work. The gast cleaner is redicously over priced. Heres a little info I copied off gast website about cleaners.
Gast part number for our flushing solvent is AH255B. This solvent is a non-petroleum based solvent that is also non-electrical conductive and flammable. You should NOT use any solvent that is petroleum based, electrical conductive or flammable.

[500592]

Thanks that is exactly what I wanted to know but when I get how should I clean it

[Haynes Forest Products]

My understanding is that break clean is a form of elect componant cleaner no residue

[3rdgen.maple]

Thanks that is exactly what I wanted to know but when I get how should I clean it

Okay so there are 2 basic ways. The easiest way is to take the filters out of the canisters. Take a rag and cover the exhaust, take the cleaner while the pump is running and spray or pour or whatever in moderation into the intake side of the pump. Dont dump a bunch in at once, small amount and repeat several times. I keep doing it till the spray comes out on the rag clear. Let the pump run for a few minutes to expell the remainder cleaner in the pump. Second way and the way I do it at the end of the season is tear the pump down and clean it all by hand. It lets me visually check whats going on in the pump and for wear and bearings etc. If you tear it down and when you put it back together you will see some binding and this is usually caused from one end journal binding against the armature. Its is normally the first journal you tighten down. So before you tighten the last end journal give the shaft on the side of the first journal installed a good wack with a hammer and this should seat the pump well. Tighten all bolts just like on a car tire. You will notice that these end ournals are pinned so realignment should be a no brainer. Now leave me alone its time to go sit in a tree lol.

[lastwoodsman]

I am sucking it all in---
Thanks
Woodsman

[500592]

Good one woodsman :lol: what should I use for a cleaner though

[lastwoodsman]

I am going with Haynes. And follow what 3rd gen stated to clean.
I have used brake cleaner on other devices that can't have petroleum based products.
Not ready to drop 65.00 for a can of spray.
Woodsman

[500592]

Just got my pump and I am wondering what kind of oil it needs

[500592]

Just a bump couldn't find the right info on the gast website any info would help

[3rdgen.maple]

Its a gast 1550 oilless pump. If you mean that little cup on the intake you can stick some motor oil in it. It will not need filling for a long long time as it takes in very little oil into the vanes. I never figured out why it even has it. It does not lubricate bearings or anything special. Gast told me once it was just to keep the inside from rusting. Over half the gast pumps I service and the ones in my maple production either doesnt have it or I took it off. Too much oil will swell the vanes and it even says not to use petroleum based cleaners due to that. Its one of those things if you ask me makes no sense. I guess one rocket scientist thought it needed it and the other one didnt.

[500592]

Thanks a bunch I was scared to run it without it full of oil

[500592]

Well I have given up on the homemade releaser and got out bid on a big bender on eBay and I was wondering if any body knew where I could get one for a hundred or less thanks

[Specklefield Farm]

I run two of these Gast 1550's on two of my sugarbushes (around 200 taps in each bush). Both are run by 1 HP electric motors and have run flawlessly. I keep an extra motor and pump on hand just in case of any problems. Dont oil them! I found out the hard way. It will swell the vanes and cause the pump to lock up. They will run about 20 in/hg and will just keep going all day long. Great little pumps.